Dimplex Multi-Fire XD Electric Fireplace Review (2026)

Why you should trust this review

I bought this insert and ran it on a basement TV wall for five months. Dimplex did not provide it and had no part in this review. Electric fireplaces live and die on one question that a product photo cannot answer: does the flame actually look believable, or does it read as the flat, obviously-fake loop most cheap units produce? The only way to know is to install one and watch it in a real room, in real lighting, over real evenings. So that is what I did.

I also installed it myself, so I can speak honestly to what the installation actually requires, which is more than plugging it in. Five months covered enough evenings, with and without the heater running, to judge the flame, the warmth, the noise, and the daily realities of living with it. Everything below comes from that, not from marketing renders.

How we evaluated

I installed the Multi-Fire XD into a recessed cabinet on a basement TV wall and used it through five months of regular evening use. The central test was the flame illusion: I watched it in different room lighting, from across the room and up close, and noted how casual visitors reacted, since fooling a casual observer is the real bar for this kind of product. I cycled through the flame colors and intensities to judge how usable each mood setting is.

I ran the heater to assess how well it warmed the space and whether it overheated a moderately sized room, and I listened for operating noise during long sessions. I also paid attention to the practical ownership details: what the installation recess demands, whether the ember bed can glow without the heater for warm-weather ambiance, and how quickly the glass front shows fingerprints. The goal was to judge it as a fixture you live with, not a showroom demo.

Flame realism

The flame is the reason to buy this insert, and it is genuinely convincing. The holographic-style technology projects flames onto a multi-plane backdrop, which gives the fire real visible depth rather than the flat single-layer loop you get on cheaper units. From across the room it reads as a believable fire, and across five months casual visitors repeatedly assumed it was a real flame until I told them otherwise. That depth is the thing flat-screen electric fireplaces cannot replicate, and it is what separates this from the budget inserts. If a believable flame is what you actually want from an electric fireplace, this delivers it better than anything else I have seen at this level.

Heat output

The heater is genuinely useful and well-judged for its size. It warmed my basement room comfortably without the overwhelming, dry blast some electric heaters produce, taking the chill off a moderately sized space effectively. Over five months of cool evenings it was the difference between a room that looked cozy and one that actually was. The honest limitation is control: the heater is on or off only, with no thermostat for fine temperature regulation, so you manage the warmth by turning it on and off rather than dialing in a setpoint. For a basement TV room that worked fine, but if you want precise temperature control as a primary heat source, the lack of a thermostat is a real consideration.

Flame colors and ambiance

The multiple flame colors and intensities are more than a gimmick; they genuinely expand how you use the insert. The warm yellow and orange settings give a traditional cozy fire, while the blue and green options turn it into dramatic accent lighting for a different mood entirely. The standout for me was the independent ember bed: it glows on its own without the flame or the heater running, which means you can have warm evening ambiance in summer without heating the room. Across five months that flexibility got real use, letting the insert work as mood lighting year-round rather than only as a cold-weather appliance. It makes the fireplace feel like a feature you actually interact with rather than a static heater.

Installation and upkeep realities

Now the honest tradeoffs. This is not a plug-and-play device; it requires a cabinet or wall recess to install, so you need an existing opening or the willingness to build one, which is real work and possibly a real cost beyond the unit itself. Plan for that before you buy. The build quality is excellent once installed, and operating noise was low across long sessions, no distracting fan whine. The one daily annoyance is the glass front, which shows fingerprints and dust quickly and needs wiping roughly weekly to keep looking its best. None of these are dealbreakers, but they are the practical realities of owning a recessed insert rather than a freestanding plug-in heater.

Who should buy the Multi-Fire XD?

Buy it if you want the most believable flame illusion in an electric insert, you have or can build a recess to install it, and you value flame-color variety and an independent ember glow for year-round ambiance. For realistic flame and mood flexibility, it is the standout choice.

Skip it if you want a simple plug-and-play freestanding heater with no installation work, you need a thermostat for precise temperature control, or you are not prepared to wipe the glass regularly. A basic freestanding electric fireplace suits those needs better.

The verdict

After five months on a basement TV wall, the Dimplex Multi-Fire XD is the electric fireplace insert I would recommend to anyone whose top priority is a believable flame. The holographic-style fire has genuine depth and repeatedly fooled visitors into thinking it was real, which no flat-screen insert manages. The heater warmed the room well, the flame colors and independent ember bed gave real year-round flexibility, and the build quality and quiet operation held up over months. The honest tradeoffs are a recess requirement that makes installation real work, a heater with no thermostat, and a glass front that needs frequent wiping. If you want a convincing centerpiece flame and can handle the installation, this insert delivers the illusion better than anything in its class, and that is exactly what most buyers are really after.