The ‘Expanding’ Speakers from Kinivo
There is no doubt we love our music. We carry a number of albums on our iPhones and iPads and use them regularly at the gym, running outside or while travelling. There are times where earphone won’t suffice, especially with two girls that want to hear the music also. We’ve featured a couple different Bluetooth options from EarJax and EasyAcc, so now it is time for a simpler solution – the Kinivo ZX120 Mini Speaker.
With all of the choices out there for portable speaker solutions, other than battery life and sound the one thing that sets them apart is good design. This is where Kinivo has their competition beat. In order to maintain a small form-factor and still produce great sound, the ZX120 incorporates a uniquely designed expandable bass resonator. With a twist of the top the unit it transforms into twice its size in a flash.
You can definitely hear the difference when playing the same music in regular vs. expanded mode, and can see the vibrations of the expanded area when the music hits the bass notes.
As I mentioned above, this is not a Bluetooth unit, so you must plug it in to any 3.5mm headphone jack. This makes it compatible with nearly every mp3 player ever made; not just the ones with Bluetooth. Hidden in the bottom of the unit is a short cable that tucks neatly out of the way for storage.
There is also a longer version that plugs into the side of the unit for when you need the additional distance as well as USB charging. Unfortunately for us, we received a slightly defective unit in this respect. It took a great deal of force to get the cable plugged into the unit and now that it is there, it will not come out. It operates and charges just fine, but I hesitate to pull on the cable too hard for fear of damaging the only way to charge it.
Another overlooked feature is the ability to plug multiple units together into a daisy-chain, creating an even fuller and more immersive listening experience.
Judging by the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the first generation, it is easy to see why this version is currently sold out on both Amazon and their own website! I’m sure it has a lot to do with the $19.99 suggested retail price as well. Want to know when they’ll be back in stock? Be sure to connect with Kinivo on Facebook or Twitter.
These devices sound amazing. Fancy them selling out already on some sites. It just goes to show, if enough people know about your product and recommend it, money is forthcoming. If only I had the exposure that Amazon does.
A great piece for music lovers.
Now those look amazing. We would love to have some of them! My son especially!
Very cool product, I’d like to hear the difference in the sound. The price is really awesome too! Sometimes when I plug in electronics to other devices I worry about it breaking or getting stuck especially when I insist that it fit.
I’ve never heard of Kinivo Speakers. These would be a great gift for tech lovers or music lovers.
oh, so sad you got a defective unit! But it sure looks cool! I love fun gadgets that function well but also look cool. And this one does! We love mobile speakers.
These speakers look awesome and they are very compact and convenient to use. The backdrop, not so much…
That looks so cool! I am going to check them out! {And you background isn’t THAT bad.} 😉
1. I have seen WAY uglier backdrops and I actually don’t think it is all that bad 🙂
2. I could totally use a speaker like this for when I am cleaning the house. It would keep me from basting the radio down in the kitchen so that I can hear it all the way upstairs.
I thought I was the only one that turned everyone deft with blasting music from the kitchen when I cleaned. lol.
Seriously; yes! This could save so many ear drums in our house. We always have music playing when we clean. And now its Spring Cleaning and packaging for a move. Even more important to have a great speaker to keep us motivated !
We use our speakers to blast music when cleaning, too. Our current favorite is Happy from Despicable Me 2.
I’ve never heard of these speakers before, but they look like a wonderful product. I like how speakers are getting smaller and smaller, but still manage to produce good sound.
I like the design. I use speakers like this in my car during the day since I currently work in a position that requires a lot of sitting and I can’t leave the car running all day. They are such a handy device to have around in times like that.
Bummer that you got a faulty one, but overall the concept still seems pretty neat. I like that idea of making a chain of them.
This speaker looks awesome! My boyfriend loves listening to his music from his phone in the mornings and this speaker would work perfectly for him!
Darn! Now I want one of these…hope they are back in stock soon. Thanks for reviewing, I have wanted speakers for my phone and tablet…this sounds like a great option and a great price.
That looks pretty nifty and a lot smaller than the BOSE speaker I use now.
I love all the things that are coming out with technology. That is such a cute speaker and I bet the sound quality is great regardless of the size.
Looks like a really cool product. I need to buy a new speaker!
That is a great price. No wonder it is sold out. I like the design too. I will have to mention this post to my husband and see if he is interested.
I can just hear my step kids fighting over it if we just got one of the speakers, I have three step teens 19,17 and 16 oh and of course my 6 year old would want in on the action then hubby and myslef that’s a lot of money for speakers if we were to buy them now that I think about it. Maybe it can hold off and be on our wish list for Christmas. 19.99 is very affordable I can get everyone a speaker over time.
That’s a great price for those speakers. I have seen similar speakers go for a lot more and then not even work well!
What cool little speakers. It’s becoming a necessity to have Bluetooth speakers in every room of the house.
I would like one of these it would make workouts so much easier I wouldn’t have to use earbuds.
Looks amazing. I like a good mini portable speaker. My girls love to dance and setting up music in each room is a little difficult and costly. They would love this.
Now that is pretty darn cool. I could use one of these handy devices
We have been looking for speakers. That background isnt so bad. lol
Oh, I’m all about extra speakers! I haven’t heard of these particular ones, but they look like winners to me!
I need to check into this. I love little speakers like this to carry to the beach with me.
I thought the backdrop was kind of cool! It took me straight back to the 80s, ha! Holla, Fresh Prince. 😉
You hit it right on the head! It is an old piece of material we had stored away from the late 80’s I used to make custom sweatshirt lettering in college.
That is such a neat little speaker! I love how compact it is, yet still delivers great sound.
How cool is this? I love that It’s small it is and I can leave it in the car for unexpected trips to the park or for when my son is at practice. No more wasting gas and running the car so I can listen to music! 🙂
This sounds like a great product. I would love to have one of these.
That looks really cool. My sis is looking for one of these for her phone and music (she loves to dance to her iphone songs). I’ll show her your review!
Those do look like great speakers. Great review.
Love the simple chunky design. We had a pair that didn’t look nearly as sturdy. They’re perfect for travel!
These speakers look pretty awesome. I would love these at work; I like to create different playlists and use my iPod. This would b a huge help.
I SO need one of these! I love to listen to much, but am not satisfied with the sound that comes out of my phone!
wow thats really great. My girls would love one of those for their Ipods
Oh these look like great personal speakers. They would go great with my iPad or iPod when I’m outside relaxing in the backyard.
Looks like a great speaker at an awesome price! My daughter loves listening to music..
My son would love these! Thanks for sharing!
Wow love that speaker. I WANT ONE!! Great post.
These look great! I never use earbuds on my walks, which is when I am usually listening to music on my phone. I like to know if there is a rapist or killer coming up behind me lol. Speakers don’t really deter “bad guys,” but I feel like I forget to pay attention to my surroundings when I have headphones on, so speakers are better for me!
I laughed so hard at “the ugliest backdrop” caption. You’re funny.
I love this device. I wonder if you can use it with your MAC. I usually hook it up to my Plasma so we can watch Netflix on the big screen, but the sounds is not great. Any ideas?
At first I was not able to figure out what is this gadget, then I thought it was a power bank or a back up data bank and then it was a speaker all the while.
I really need to get one of these for the summer when we are outside so much. Thanks for sharing.
I WANT ONE! I love that this one plugs in, and it is so cute and convenient. We play music from our devices all the time, including when we travel (even white noise at night).
WOW – these are pretty awesome – I could so use them especially when we travel
This would be great to bring along camping too!
these look awesome!
the price is really cheap! We bought a portable speaker a few months ago (around 250 USD) if I have known about this back, this would have been my purchase
Cool product. And LOVE the ugliest backdrop comment!
I like that it is expandable-that is very unusual and I’m sure it makes the music sound better. I also like the price!