As a reviewer you get a lot of things other than electronics and speakers sent and whilst some are inexpensive and serve a useful purpose, there are those that are much pricier and fail to impress…others do. The doodad we have here falls into the former category…well sort of.

WHAT IS IT? 

..or rather, what are they? Designed to fit underneath components the X-Air system allows air to circulate underneath your valuable electronics and keep it cooler. The idea is that by keeping your kit cooler it will last longer. Effectively they are adding an extra 14mm of space underneath each component.

In the pack you get a couple of pieces of hollow alluminium 255mm long, 25mm wide and 14mm in height. You also get four stick pads to fit underneath to stop them slipping about. They cost a penny short of ten pounds.

DO THEY WORK? 

When the distributor asked if they could send these I was pretty emphatic that they would be of little or no use. Most of my kit sits on purpose made anti-vibration feet from various makers that inherently add an extra layer of space for air to circulate underneath and so an extra little gap would be neither here not there.

In honesty I struggled to find a use for these in the main set up until it dawned on me that they would be perfect for adding a ventilation space under the laptop.

In recent months I’ve embraced streaming technology and files are (usually) my main source. The laptop I use is not the newest of models, but it has been optimised for audio playback and it is dedicated for this purpose. It is quiet enough but it does get warm. Popping the X-Airs underneath does seem to have reduced the frequency of the fan coming on. Obviously I’m not going to comment on whether this will prolong the lifespan of the computer!

CONCLUSION 

In high-end audio I can’t see these being used as the majority of kit has plenty of space underneath and if not users utilise more esoteric products that will incorporate vibration control…well I do. However, I did find a good use for them under the laptop and they do work to a greater or lesser extent.

Of course you could introduce an air gap in other ways using blocks of wood or whatever, but for the sake of a tenner these do the job very nicely and unobtrusively.

No Scores but effective if you feel you can find a use for them like I did.

Stuart Smith