Maxhub BM21 — a premium business speakerphone
Maxim Liadov
Maxhub belongs to CVTE Group, a large, award-winning Asian company with 16 years of experience designing and making intelligent equipment for business, education, medicine, and system integration. The manufacturer focuses on high-quality, reliable products based on its own research and development and the latest technologies.
The Maxhub BM21 is the top model in the BM speakerphone range. It competes with higher-end models from leading manufacturers and meets current conferencing needs. This compact, easy-to-use speakerphone combines six pressure-zone microphones (PZM) for calls with up to 10 people.
Its premium position is visible throughout the product. Packaging, accessories, modern styling, and aluminum housing materials suit a modern office. More importantly, it provides high-quality speech in both directions. The full-range loudspeaker reproduces the remote voice naturally, loudly, and clearly. The microphone array picks up speech from 5 meters in any direction across 360 degrees. Digital signal processing suppresses off-axis sounds and noise while also removing echo.
The Maxhub BM21 packaging and accessories are excellent. Even leading brands do not always offer this level, so we decided to show the unboxing.
The attractive, very rigid embossed box deserves mention. Clearly, good designers were involved.
The quality is evident throughout. Inside are two small manuals printed on high-quality coated paper.
The manual may help office staff who have never used a speakerphone. We checked it for hidden button combinations, which some devices have, but found none here. Operation is basic and requires no long study.
The quick guide gives essential information. For example, the Power button must be held to switch power on or off, presumably to prevent accidental presses during an important call. Apart from that, all controls are simple and standard.
Polyethylene foam inserts in the upper and lower lids hold the speakerphone securely during transport. Cables have a separate compartment.
There are three connection options: wired USB to a PC, wired analog audio, and Bluetooth to a mobile device. As expected, all three can work simultaneously.
A desktop without Bluetooth or a laptop with an old Bluetooth adapter is not a problem. A small Bluetooth USB dongle is included. It is already paired with the speakerphone and works immediately.
Maxhub BM21 specifications
| Microphone | |
| Voice pickup range | 5 meters |
| Microphone | 6-element microphone array |
| Frequency range | 150 Hz–8 kHz |
| Sensitivity | -38dBV |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | 65 dB |
| Loudspeaker | |
| Sound pressure level | 90 dB SPL at 0.5 m |
| Total harmonic distortion | <1% at 1 W |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | >75 dB |
| Operating frequency range | 150 Hz–16 kHz |
| Inputs, outputs, buttons, indicators | |
| Inputs/outputs | USB Type-C (audio input/output + 5 V/2 A charging) 3.5 mm AUX (audio input/output) |
| Linking multiple units | Yes, with an optional cable |
| Bluetooth | Version 4.2 + EDR |
| Operating formats | Music mode/Call mode (over Bluetooth) |
| Buttons | 6 (Power, Answer/End, Microphone mute, Bluetooth, Volume+, Volume-) |
| Indicators | Power, Volume, Bluetooth, Microphone, Answer/End |
| Physical specifications | |
| Dimensions (diameter × height) | 120 mm × 35 mm |
| Weight | 380 g |
| Color | Dark gray |
| Battery | |
| Capacity | 7.4 V/2200 mAh |
| Charging requirements | Wired charging, 5 V/2 A |
| Operating time | Up to 8 hours |
The stated 5-meter pickup range is large, and our listening test confirmed it easily. We could speak calmly at a normal level without raising our voices. The speakerphone can sit anywhere suitable on the table, and users can even move around the meeting room. The other end hears everything clearly, without noise or unwanted sounds. Coverage can be expanded by linking a second identical speakerphone through a special extension cable.
Choose a position where the speakerphone is not completely blocked, for example by several open laptop screens. Long battery life and Bluetooth are useful here: no power cable is needed, and the USB-C socket sees less wear. Wired USB is useful too, particularly for conferencing applications installed on a desktop or laptop. No drivers or settings are required. Windows and Mac detect the speakerphone immediately when USB is connected and assign communication functions to it.
Overall sound quality is very good. The speakerphone can handle speech and video playback during presentations.
To avoid audio/video synchronization problems, use a wired USB or analog connection. The analog cable is thoughtfully included.
Controls are standard and need no learning or manual reading. All touch buttons respond on the first attempt. A special sound from the loudspeaker confirms every press.
A large soft-rubber pad underneath, combined with the solid weight of about 400 grams, holds the speakerphone securely on a desk.
The indicators are bright and easy to see even in sunlight. Five LEDs show volume, each with 3 brightness levels. Holding a volume button gives fast continuous adjustment. The speakerphone is comfortable to use, with thoughtful, clear controls that show the manufacturer's experience. When connected to a PC over Bluetooth, the volume buttons synchronize with the operating system slider, so adjustment works from either side.
The Maxhub BM21 can run from any 5 V/2 A mains adapter or from its internal batteries for up to 8 hours continuously. Wireless charging is another BM21 feature, although the charger is not included.
A short press of the power button shows battery charge. The LEDs turn green, and 5 segments display the remaining level.
Since the speakerphone already has hardware processing, software processing should be disabled to avoid processing the signal twice and harming the sound. We did this. A test call before the meeting can reveal how the voice sounds to the other participant. We had no problems: voice was transmitted clearly from several meters away without effort, allowing full attention to the business discussion.
We recommend the following Zoom settings:
The same approach works in MS Teams and Skype for Business. Clear the options for extra software audio processing.
Conclusions
The Maxhub BM21 left an entirely positive impression. It succeeds in every area: premium looks, simple controls, long battery life, good sound, and stable communication for important calls. It is versatile enough for business, education, or personal use as a good portable Bluetooth speaker. It performs its tasks well and should satisfy the user.
The only possible obstacle is the fairly high speakerphone price. Even so, it remains competitive when the excellent accessory package is considered alongside leading brands' top models.
Note. This is an adapted machine translation into English. It follows the “In simple terms” approach. Read the original article at https://prosound.ixbt.com/microphones/maxhub-bm21.shtml.