- Tronsmart Fiitune X30 is now for $ 179.99 (approx. £ 154 / AU $ 322)
- 80W output with built-in subwoofer and up-firing “Sky Driver”
- IPX6 Water resistance and 14 hours of battery life
Tronsmart Fiitune X30 is a direct rival to the Sonos era 300, and it has a particularly appealing quality: That’s less than half the price of Sonos.
Where Sonos ERA 300 has a list price of $ 449 / £ 449 / AU $ 749, Fiitune X30 is launched with a price tag of $ 179.99 / € 179.99 (approx. £ 154 / AU $ 322).
As you would expect, there are a few differences in spec to achieve the much lower price. And if you are serious with spatial sound, one of these differences may be a deal breaker.
Fiitune X30: Key features
The Fiitune X30 has six driver units, including an upward firing illuminated “Sky Driver” to throw some sound against the ceiling, a down-burning active subwoofer, double tweeters and double medium height drivers. There are four passive bass radiators and the overall effect is 80W. Frequency range is not specified beyond “an ultra -40 kHz bandwidth”.
It is a portable design with an integrated handle, connection with double devices and IPX6 water resistance, and it promises 14 hours of fees-it is quite low compared to the best portable speakers, although there are plenty of speakers to handle here, to be fair.
You can set the sound of the accompanying smartphone app for iOS and Android, and Android users can stream audio to the LDAC speaker for the highest possible sound quality. The speaker can be used solo or as half of a stereopar.
It is not a bad spec for money, but there is an important warning: the spatial sound here is not native because the speaker does not support Dolby Atmos (or rival spatial sound formats, but atmos is the crucial to music right now).
Any spatial effect will be from the ‘upscaling’ music to having virtual extra height using the top-mounted speaker, and any 3D ranking beyond stereo will also be added by the speaker.
This means that it is targeted at a very different market than Sonos, and I suspect it is a real rival, is not the ERA 300, but Sonos Roam 2 .. The smallest Sonos are nowhere high as the Fiitune X30 – it’s 10W rather than 80W and has far fewer speakers – but it is priced identical to $ 179 / £ 179 / AU $ 299.
Thronsmart could still be a juicy set of speakers with plenty of power at a low price, but this can be a case where there is no point to put the extra effort from spatial speakers in unless you want to go all the way and include atmos.
