Jay Park x X-mini

Jeweler to stars, Ben Baller, whose client list includes celebrities like Justin Beiber, Pusha T and Kanye West, tweeted to Jay Park: “You better bring me one to LA or get you know what broken in half.”

The souvenir Baller was referring to are the limited edition Jay Park x X-mini Capsule Speakers, which the K-pop singer-rapper from Seattle came to Singapore on May 21 to launch.

While he was here, the 26-year-old also showed up for an exclusive showcase at Zouk for the media and 10 lucky fans who won passes from Xmi , where he performed his new single “Joah” from his upcoming yet untitled second studio album, his cover of American hip hop artist, B.o.B’s “Nothin’ On You”, previous single “Girlfriend” and “Body 2 Body”. Did I mention Jay Park flashed his abs? Cue fan girl screaming.

The Korean-American singer is the first international star to collaborate with Singapore-based company Xmi Pte Ltd to produce a special edition speaker for its X-mini Capsule Speakers line. The speaker and its packaging box were designed to reflect Park’s style. Park himself designed the full metallic look for the product. Founder and CEO of Xmi, Ryan Lee, told UrbanWire that Jay Park was their choice of celebrity to work with because “he’s freakin’ cool” and also “very different from the other Korean artistes”. Lee presented Park with the first prototype of the speaker as a gift for their collaboration.

The X-mini Capsule Speakers have won multiple awards, including the prestigious Red Dot Design Awards in Germany and the Singapore National Infocomm Awards. X-mini is also the best-selling pocket-sized portable speaker in the world with over 4 million capsules sold in 80 countries.

Despite their popularity, Park confessed that he’d no knowledge of the speakers prior to meeting with the Xmi team through a mutual friend. In fact, he’d had initial doubts over their capability due to the diminutive size, but he was really impressed by the power and sound quality after trying them. Now, they’re practically inseparable.

Like the potently fiery chilli padi that has become synonymous with our tiny country, the X-mini punches way above its own weight, and is able to produce volume and bass sounds more than 10 times its own size. “I have nothing but good things to speak about the speakers,” Park added. He wasn’t the only one full of praise for the gadget. The speakers also received good response from Park’s staff and dancers. Park even said that they wanted more.

“(With the speakers) you can vibe out with people,” said the ex-leader of K-pop boyband 2PM. The singer has incoporated the minis into his daily life by plugging several of them to his laptop to watch television shows like The Simpsons. The lightweight minis also came in handy for the smoove dancer’s Bboy and dance practices and songwriting.

The limited edition metal speaker, stands head and shoulders above the previous plastic ones, and is sleek and “clean looking” as Park says. Its slightly heavier weight eliminates the common problem of the speaker hopping and vibrating around which its previous models faced.

With just 500 of the speakers scheduled to be released worldwide, Jaywalkerz, Jay Park’s fans better prepare for a tough fight to snag an exclusive piece at the price of US$99 (around S$145).

The release date is still unannounced and plans are “top secret”, said Darelle Eng, the company’s Head of Marketing and Communications.

“This was just something I wanted to do for them (the fans) so that they would feel like they have a part of me wherever they are while they listen to my music,” said Park.

Technical Specifications

Model: Jay Park x X-mini Capsule Speaker

Dimension (LxWxH): 60mm x 60mm x 44mm (closed resonator)

Net Weight: 120g

Speaker: Magnetism Prevent D40*H20mm (4 Ω)/2W

Loudspeaker Output: 2.5W

Rating Power: 2.0W

Frequency Response: 100Hz – 20Khx

Signal-to-Noise: ≥80dB

Distortion: ≤1.0%

Playback Time: Up to 12 hours

Battery Voltage/Capacity: 400mAh

Battery Charging Voltage: 5V/+0.5V

Battery Charge Time: 5V input – 2.5 hours