The Sound Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker from manufacturer Xiaomi is an affordable outdoor Bluetooth speaker aimed at providing a solid audio experience for the outdoor enthusiast. Featuring Bluetooth 5.4, a rugged, compact, smart design and a 2600mAh battery, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor offers an impressive lineup of specs.
The Sound Outdoor’s design aligns with many of the cylindrical-style Bluetooth speakers on the market. Weighing 597g and measuring 7.74” L x 2.7” W x 2.6” D, it offers a fairly compact factor considering its 30W power output. In fact, in hand, it’s about the thickness of a 500ml water bottle, making it ideal for carrying in a backpack while on a hike, in a purse or, as in my case, in my computer bag.
With an IP67 rating, the XiaomiSound Outdoor holds up quite well to dust and water. Even after two weeks of using the Outdoor in a construction area, it’s easy to dust off and wipe down. Thanks to the silicone pads located on the bottom of the unit, you never have to worry about it sliding around either.
“Featuring Bluetooth 5.4, a rugged, compact, smart design and a 2600mAh battery, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor offers an impressive lineup of specs.”
As for carrying, while it often found its way into my bag, there was more than one occasion where I simply connected to a carabiner thanks to the included rubberized lanyard attached to the end of the speaker and hung it off the side of my bag. It is designed to be an exceptionally versatile system and works quite well regardless of the setting.
Setting up the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor is a simple affair leveraging the same basic operation as most Bluetooth speakers. After powering on the unit for the first time, it will automatically put itself in pairing mode. Once selected from the list on your phone or computer, the system links, and you’re listening to your favourite tunes. While all of this is not new, what makes Sound Outdoor unique is its simple and powerful linking capabilities.
While many Bluetooth speakers have their speaker-linking system, Xiaomi has simplified and streamlined the process. We were sent two units for review to test this feature, and the results were impressive. There are two linking modes available for the Sound Outdoor: two-speaker stereo mode and multi-speaker pairing mode.
“With an IP67 rating, the XiaomiSound Outdoor holds up quite well to dust and water.”
The former simply requires having two identical units. Once powered up and the first is connected to an audio device, simply press the additional pairing button on both speakers. They will automatically connect, each taking a stereo channel by default requiring no further setup.
The results are quite impressive. The stereo mode was tested with the DOOM Eternal Lossless soundtrack (thanks to Bluetooth 5.4) which provides an excellent full stereo audio sample. The speakers performed well presenting clearly and accurately the mix without any issues. It is impressive how well the speakers identified and performed especially considering how simple and hassle-free the setup process is.
As for the multi-speaker pairing mode, while we couldn’t test it fully in-house with only two speakers, the setup process is similar, simply requiring that the link button be held for three seconds instead of a second to put the device in the proper mode. The two speakers we had on hand easily swapped between the modes and, while in multi-speaker, presented a standard mono mix.
By far the most impressive aspect of these modes is that there is no latency in playback between the speakers. Even when spread out over an area, they play the audio in sync with no notable delay. Again, while similar features exist on other Bluetooth systems the price point of the Sound Outdoor makes it impressive. This isn’t something we typically see at a $69.99 price point.
Shifting now to audio quality, once again, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoors presented an impressive audio experience. While the frequency range is just slightly narrower than what we see on most Bluetooth speakers, coming in at 60Hz to 20KHz, the output sounds great. In frequency testing, there were no notable trouble areas, with the lows sounding punchier than I would have expected from such a small form factor. As for the mids and highs, they presented quite a balanced mix, with vocals clean and clear and balanced well against background instruments.
As for volume levels, the Sound Outdoors are impressively loud, again considering their size. Even when running only one speaker, it still produces a quality audio experience while entertaining people on a back deck or small house party. Things get more impressive as the units are linked together and provide an impressive audio experience in most settings.
Another audio element that I’ve not typically run into with Bluetooth speakers is a built-in microphone system that allows you to leverage not only your phone’s assistant but also allows for easy, hands-free phone calling. While most speakers tend to default back to your phone’s internal speaker and mic, the Sound Outdoor allows you to take the call right on the primary speaker. In testing, there were no issues with echo, and the person on the other end of the call had no issues hearing my side of the conversation. It’s a nice added feature that I’d expect from much more expensive speakers.
“Shifting now to audio quality, once again, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoors presented an impressive audio experience.”
The final note on the audio experience comes from Xiaomi’s smart volume balancing feature. The speaker system actively adjusts elements of the audio based on volume levels to help maintain a consistent listening experience, no matter the volume level. In a traditional system, lower volume levels generally translate to low end frequencies overwhelming higher frequencies which leads to difficulty hearing things like vocals at lower volumes.
Xiaomi’s system attempts to adjust audio elements to compensate, thus creating a more consistent audio experience regardless of the volume settings. In practice, it worked quite well, As there was no notable audio mix difference across the volume spectrum. The music sounded consistent despite volume levels.
The Xiaomi Sound Outdoor also features a 2600mAh battery. Rated for 12 hours at 50% volume the Sound Outdoor Speakers has a fairly long battery life for again such a compact speaker. As someone who never does anything at 50%, real-world tests revealed that you can safely get about 8-10 hours of audio at 75% to 85% volume easily. This is still far better than many speakers in its price range.
The Sound Outdoor speaker from Xiaomi is an impressive outdoor speaker system. From its long battery life, durable and compact build quality and impressive linking system, there is a lot to like about the Outdoor speaker. Throw in an impressive audio experience with way better bass than it has any right to have, and this device has become a go-to speaker system for this reviewer. All of this at a sub $100 price point easily makes the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor one of the best-in-class Bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed. Available at Walmart for $69.99, the Xiaomi Sound Outdoor is a worthwhile purchase if you’re in the market for a compact form factor and impressive audio experience.
