[Listening test] Wiibo Karino 200 - passive minimonitors

Product: Wiibo Karino 200 - 2-way bookshelf loudspeakers
Manufacturer: Wiibo - Spain
Suggested retail price: ±€150/pair, depending on offers and shipping
Reviewer: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Reviewed: January, 2026

Foreword

In 2022, I reviewed the Wiibo String 15 model, with far from flattering results. Years later, I'm returning to the scene of the crime after coming across this new model, the Karino 200, which at first glance appears to be more carefully put together.

The brand, which seems to be an offshoot of the Spanish company Panarrecord S.A., is based in Madrid. I still believe it is simply a company that imports Chinese products and rebrands them. It's impossible to determine who actually designed these speakers.

A closer look

The Karino 200, like the earlier String 15, are two-way speakers, this time featuring a rear-firing bass reflex port, a 13 cm woofer, and a 1-inch dome tweeter. These are the same drivers used in the String 15. The crossover is the usual minimal one: a capacitor and a resistor on the tweeter, while the woofer is left to roll off naturally via its mechanical cut-off.

The capacitor on the tweeter differs from the previous model and is branded Arttmic, a non-polarized aluminium electrolytic, while the attenuation resistor appears to be 2Ω. The drivers look well made, and the woofer is equipped with a generously sized magnet. The input binding posts are multi-standard, gold-plated terminals that accept banana plugs, spades, and bare wire (the String 15 model used spring-loaded plastic terminals instead).

The interior of the cabinet is - just as in the String 15s - partially filled with sound-absorbing material. Unfortunately, the cabinet, which was the weak point of the String 15 model, retains a similarly flimsy construction. It is made of an unidentified material that resembles Masonite: very light and extremely fragile. Even the driver mounting screws are barely held in place by this crumbly substrate. The reflex port is rear-mounted this time, and it finally appears to be correctly sized for the opening in the cabinet (unlike the String 15). Unfortunately, the enclosure resonates heavily, which does not bode well for listening enjoyment.

On the official website, the listed price is €159, currently discounted to €139, but online they can be found for around €100 including shipping. The asking price includes a set of speaker cables, eight anti-vibration felt pads, and a basic user manual.

Claimed tech specs

Try it again, Wiibo!

Comparisons were carried out both with speakers in a similar price range - such as the Lonpoo LP42MX, the Eltax Monitor 1, and the Polk Audio XT 15 - and with a reference model in a higher price bracket, the Indiana Line Tesi 2, which costs roughly twice as much as the others.

To be honest, I don't understand why these Karino 200s are more expensive than the String 15s. Aside from the finish, the binding posts, and the slightly larger dimensions, everything else is essentially the same. The appearance is vaguely more refined, as the cabinet has rounded edges, but upon closer inspection, you can see that cheap imitation wood vinyl was used. See the details in the photo above.

The sound isn't much different from the poor one of their previously reviewed stable-mates. The bass still seems a bit bloated and dirty, undoubtedly due to cabinet resonances. Despite the size of the woofer, cabinet, and new rear-firing port, bass extension is limited, so much so that the claimed 40Hz, without specifying at how many dB, is a bit fanciful.

Referring to my memory and what I wrote in the String 15 review, the midrange seems slightly improved. Vocals still lack presence, but at least they're fluid and have lower distortion. It's possible that the capacitor used to filter the tweeter is somehow better, or that the lack of a front-firing reflex port near the tweeter - as it was on the String 15s - leaves the tweeter's output freer and cleaner. However, a certain veiling is still there in the high range, rendering the sound generally inoffensive. A warm and embracing sound, as some enthusiasts like to call it? No, it's a limp, boring and lifeless sound.

This characteristic is also confirmed by the dynamic performance, which is below average, with hints of slowness, especially in the bass range. Impulsive percussive sounds, both acoustic and electronic, are smoothed out, with shallow attack time. The image remains confined to the space between the two speakers, and I find the therapeutic obstinacy of seeking sound planes other than the horizontal one pointless.

Overall, the sound of these Karino 200s reminded me of the clunky Japanese speakers that equipped budget single-brand racks in the 1980s: bloated, flaky, and muddy. However, I still have the distinct feeling that these speakers could perform better (especially the woofer) if placed in a cabinet made of more rigid and non-resonant material.

Honestly, I hoped that these Wiibo Karino 200s, costing more than the String 15 model, could overcome the latter's limitations. Unfortunately, however, there was no way. The low price excuse doesn't hold up, firstly because the list price is €160; and secondly because the competition, for the same price, offers well-made MDF cabinets, sometimes even featuring internal bracing. The comparison with the first series of Lonpoo LP42s and, even more so, with the new LP42 MX is simply merciless. When listening to the HiFi system makes me want to turn everything off, I have no doubt that I'm dealing with a badly designed component.

Remarks & Complaints

Manufacturing & Finish.
The cabinet is the usual disaster: flimsy, lightweight, and overly resonant. The finish - despite the cheap materials - is decent and makes the speakers appear more luxurious than they actually are. The user manual and the stated technical specifications are deplorable: they list a sensitivity (incredibly referred to as signal-to-noise ratio!!!) of more than 80 dB, which is technically meaningless; we are not talking about an electronic component like an amplifier! Even the claim of distortion below 0.5% is more typical of electronics; as we know well, with loudspeakers the distortion at certain frequencies can easily exceed 5%. Even the size of the tweeter is wrongly reported.
Sound.
What else can I add to what has already been said? The sound is dated, dull, and inoffensive, and it does not improve in any way by changing the speakers' placement in the room. And if they sound like this when driven by a very high-end system in a room with optimal acoustics, you can easily imagine how they will sound when connected - as will realistically happen in 99.9% of cases - to a very cheap system in an untreated home environment.

Conclusions

There's no way around it, compared to the previous String 15s, there hasn't been any significant evolution. Perhaps the midrange has improved a little, making it slightly smoother and less distorted, but otherwise the sound is very similar. It's a shame, because at least they look like serious speakers, but the performance is too low even considering the best price they can be purchased at (±€100). Once again, Wiibo is warmly encouraged to work harder.

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