MINIRIG 4 vs. 3 compared: best audiophile bluetooth speaker on the planet

The new MINIRIG 4 fixes all the downsides of the MINIRIG 3: easy stereo pairing, USB-C PD charging, volume buttons, 50w of power and more! I compare this head-to-head against the MINIRIG 3 and Marshall Stockwell II with detailed sound comparisons so you can decide if this is the best audiophile bluetooth speaker on the planet.

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[tz]

Just got a pair of brand new 4’s delivered this morning to ‘upgrade’ from my 3’s?
They’re going back on Monday.
Something NOBODY is mentioning here is the signal to noise ratio.
THEY HISS LIKE CRAZY AT LOW VOLUME!?!?
My 3’s are silent at no/low volume, these are annoying AF.
I thought I’d got a dud so opened the other speaker to test and they’re both exactly the same.
Not happy as I’d waited months to get these and nobody mentioned it in any online tests.
I’ve used only Minirigs since 2014 and this is a big shock? What the hell are they thinking??

[Seanonyoutube]

Exactly the review I needed. Thanks man!

[richmondstar]

I highly recommend a 3d printed portable stand /case if you have a 2.1 set up….got mine off eBay here in U.K…just get some shorter leads for connecting them and just tidy everything at the back….just got the old minirig 2 & 3 at the minute but will probably update to 4 too and when new sub comes out.

[AMT]

I have had the minirig 3 with the sub 3 for about 4 years. I have always had significant issues with stereo pairing. When they stay together with no interference they are impressive as can be for the size.(the constant cut outs even with all other devices, BT and apps closed/ off does suck.) Overall, I do love the minirig 3; great battery, sound and powerful! but since you mentioned slight cut outs still on the 4s I don’t know if it’s worth the jump. My HomePods (although not as dynamic sonically) never cut out. Wonderful video!

[thepetlamb]

Love mine! Holding out for the 4.0 sub before I buy one: Level mixing is essential. The Marshall sounds like it has an excess of upper mids, and really doesn't have the clarity. 🤘

[shereifrostom]

Thanks for the straightforward and well presented analysis

[DanielKlíč]

Hi I have to upgrade, because of damage, but all of my friends have minirig 3, is BT connection between gens possible?

[wimnijenhuis]

Still happy with my 3's, will buy the 4's when I need them.

[JCisJD]

I have 2 x3s and a sub. Amd I would agree with everything you said. The connection problems i found very disappointing given my investment. And i had lead issues also (with charging cables ) all 3 Failed me. I really wish to support this excellent, Bristol based company but unless they give me a good trade in price im not folking out £150 squid . Sadly as it does sound brighter and the lead set up is better for sure. I will probably try Sony....oh and the case ripped with no effort on my part, it sort of just came apart within a couple of weeks)

[Kogalskaben]

Awesome review!
I been on minirig since 1, so been through every upgrade and version 😅
Have they removed the volume control for the output on the master and 5 band eq in the new app?

[ManuMoncleaah]

Nice review. Do you max SPL values for the Minirig 4 compared to the Minirig 3. I think you had them in the Minirig 3 review.

[张小让]

I want to know which is better, a pair of minirig4 speakers or a minirig4+sub3 speaker? Mainly for outdoor camping, looking forward to your reply! Thanks

[bnewson]

Im lucky enough to live near their workshop.
I bought the 4 with one sub to begin with. My music genres aren't really going to benefit 2 minirig 4's to begin with.
But since then, now have to minirig 4's and 2 subs . 1 sub only plays the bass from one channel. Like you said line2 can be a bit too much, but a lot depends on what you listen too, I guess.
Great review 👍

[Blackraven-lu]

I wish they could make it automatically turn on both minirig 4 and a subwoofer when connected if you tturn on the minirig 4 . And also hope they change the freq response to 20hz to 20khz .

[AnnoyingCritic-isrp]

The frequency graph shows its upper based heavy like a lot of these Bluetooth speakers. I wouldn't call that neutral at all. You really need a tweeter like in the sound core or tribbit. I just don't understand what they're doing here at all.

[zantesh]

I find the 4 way more practical with usbc, and the stereo connection to be way better, and to be fair while they've dropped a fair bit of bass, that's not much of an issue for me, since I mainly used my minirig 3's in high gain to reduce the bass.
Admittedly i'm yet to own a 4 yet, bought one for my partner, since she wanted a 3 for a while. But it just doesn't seem like enough of an upgrade for me even though they do sound better, i'll have to wait for my 3's to die first ( saying that the power button on one of them has started to flake out after about 5 and a half years).

[njo]

That Marshall sounded so bad. Very tinny. These minirigs sounded much better. The 4 seemed like a slight improvement over the 3.

[Aurum-gybt]

Where did you get the minirig stands in the video?

[bnewson]

I bought the sub volume controller, same as yours. And there doesn't seem to be much control on it, unless turned very low, then its full bass again after a quarter of a turn, 50% just seems like max bass on gain 2.
Tried swappping diifferent gain outputs but mo difference.

[videokropka]

Вы используете в приложении Minirig функцию Tilt EQ? Она усиливает верхние частоты или их понижает в зависимости от положения колонки. Хотелось бы, чтобы вы об этом рассказали.