Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 Audio test

We put the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 through our rigorous SBMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance in both recording sound using the built-in microphones, and playing audio through its speakers.
In this review, we’ll break down how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key audio specifications include:

• Two speakers (top side, bottom side, both on the same half)
• No jack audio output

Playback

Registration

With an overall score of 130, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 performed well in the SBMARK Audio tests and showed very noticeable improvements compared to its predecessor, the Mix Fold 2. The Mix Fold 3 especially shone as a recording device, thanks to a very pleasant timbre design and very effective wind noise reduction. Only when recording high-volume events, such as concerts, did the Xiaomi show some weaknesses. Overall recording results were better with the main camera, but the front camera and the memo app were almost at the same level.

Playback wasn’t at the same high level as the recording results, but still decent. Playback quality was very good at high volumes, with excellent bass and treble rendition as well as dynamics, but unfortunately the quality dropped at nominal and low volume levels. Like many other foldable devices, the Mix Fold 3 did not take full advantage of its form factor, with the integrated speakers positioned on the same half, playback was monophonic vertically, while the large size of the device would have suggested a wider sound and better performance overall space.

Test summary

About SBMARK audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluation under controlled laboratory conditions.
(For more details on our playback protocol, click here; for more details on our recording protocol, click here.)
The following section brings together key elements of our comprehensive testing and analysis performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Playback performance was decent overall, with mostly good tone. Tonal balance was undoubtedly the device’s main issue, with both treble and bass appearing rather weak compared to the midrange. That said, the results were drastically better at maximum volume, with the highs and lows gaining enough strength to improve the overall tone. At nominal volume, however, the midrange was quite thin and the bass was overall lacking, particularly in terms of low-end extension.

Dynamic performance was good, especially at high volume. Attack was weak at low volume, but decent at nominal volume and very good at maximum volume. Punch and bass accuracy behaved slightly differently. Both were good at nominal volume but didn’t improve at high volume settings. Spatial performance was slightly disappointing, especially considering the large size of the Mix Fold3 when unfolded. With both speakers installed on the same half of the device, the Mix Fold 3 didn’t take advantage of its size to deliver stereo output in portrait orientation. The stereo image also didn’t adapt to the device’s rotations in the default music and video apps, and the stereo balance of the speakers didn’t seem to be exactly perfect, as the bottom speaker seemed slightly quieter than its top counterpart. Overall, the amplitude was disappointing and the localizability of individual sound sources seemed blurry and imprecise. Remote delivery was also not entirely realistic.

The maximum volume was quite high and the distribution of volume levels was quite consistent, but our experts felt that the minimum volume setting was too low. Audio artifacts were very well under control, with no noticeable distortion or excessive compression. However, with a natural hand position when holding the device, the speakers were subject to some occlusion.

Listen to the playback performance of the tested smartphone in this comparison with some of its competitors:

Here’s how the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 performs in playback usage cases compared to its competitors:

Here are some sound pressure levels (SPLs) measured when playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:

The following graph shows the gradual changes in volume going from minimum to maximum. We expect these changes to be consistent across the range, so that all volume increases match user expectations:

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 provided excellent recording performance overall, although tonal balance varied depending on the use case. Recordings from the main camera provided clear and precise treble, offering good intelligibility of voices. However, the highs lacked clarity when recording with the front camera. The midrange was very good with all recording apps, but could seem slightly weak in some urban scenarios. At high sound pressure levels, such as when recording loud concerts, the tonal balance was much less consistent, with dark and almost muffled trebles and mids lacking fullness.

The signal-to-noise ratio was quite good with the main and selfie cameras, thanks to the noise reduction algorithm which did a great job, especially in domestic environments. However, when using the memo application in an urban setting, the background was quite noisy and hindered intelligibility. Envelope performance generally offered a crisp, precise attack, except in concert use where envelope accuracy was compromised by heavy compression.

The breadth of the recorded sound scene was very good with the main camera, and the localizability of individual sound sources was very precise. Range remained good with the Memo app, but was a little more limited when recording with the front camera. Remote performance was excellent across all recording apps and use cases. Volume was adequate in recordings made with the main and front cameras, but slightly weaker with the Memo app. The recordings were mostly free of artifacts, except for slight clipping on sudden loud vocals. Background rendering was excellent, with no noticeable artifacts.

Our engineers expected the Mix Fold 3’s audio zoom feature to perform better. The noticeable lateral rejection present by default did not improve with zoom level and, instead, boosted low-end signals such as background noise. The wind noise reduction feature, however, proved to be extremely effective; our experts found the DSP to be well calibrated and adequately improve intelligibility in windy conditions.

Here’s how the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 performs in recording use cases compared to its competitors:

Here are the sound levels recorded in the audio and video files, measured in LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale); For reference, we expect volume levels to be above -24 LUFS for recorded content:

In this audio comparison you can hear how this smartphone handles wind noise compared to its competitors:

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[“Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5”]=> string(73) “resources/Xiaomi/MixFold3V2.2/SamsungGalaxyZFold5_MicrophoneArtifacts.m4a”
[“Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max”]=> string(73) “resources/Xiaomi/MixFold3V2.2/AppleiPhone15ProMax_MicrophoneArtifacts.m4a” }