Price: From $810
Verdict: Infinite music in every room
without the need for custom installers? Sign us up now
Ratings: 5/5
Who needs to drill holes and re-plaster
walls to get a multi-room music system at home? Not you. With Sonos, creating a
simple two-zone system is an idiot proof doddle: the cheapest way would be to
combine two of the new Play:3 units with the Sonos Bridge router. Want to go
more high end? Hook up a ZP90 ZonePlayer to your existing hi-fi and router, add
speakers to the amplified ZP120 in another room, and enjoy. Upgrade with more
ZonePlayers like the Play:5 and control it all with the free iOS or Android
apps.
The new Sonos Labs platform is in beta and
gives users access to even more streaming services.
Denon D-M38DAB
Price: $520
Ratings: 5/5
Our favourite micro system packs a CD
player, DAB+ radio and 2x30W of amplification into its aluminium shell. A USB
port allows direct playback of digital music and iThing integration, audio
quality is excellent, and it’s US$120 cheaper without the speakers.
JBL OnBeat Xtreme
Price: $565
Ratings: 5/5
If you want to have your cake and eat the
whole thing as well, look no further than the OnBeat Xtreme. It's packed with
features - Bluetooth streaming, iThing dock, USB, built-in mic, video output
and more but it's also loud, fun and great sounding. Tasty.
Geneva Model M
Price: $860
Ratings: 5/5
Geneva
Model M
There’s a new dock on the block for
¡Audiophiles: the Model M pumps out a serious sound of the kind you’d expect
from a separates system. With only a dock, FM radio and 3.5mm input onboard
it’s hardly feature-laden, but then that’s not really the point here.
B&W Zeppelin Air
Price: $600
Ratings: 5/5
The Air brings the weighty sound and design
smarts we've come to expect from the Zeppelin family, and then adds AirPlay
streaming as a bonus trick. Audio quality isn't quite so hot if you go
wireless, but it's still better than almost anything else out there.
Philips Fidelio SoundSphere DS9800W
Price: $1,000
Ratings: 5/5
In a world awash with AirPlay-equipped
docks, the new SoundSpheres create a niche for themselves by offering proper
two channel stereo output. Idiosyncratic looks ensure they'll stand out even
further from the crowd, and they sound great too.
B&W Zeppelin Mini
Price: $460
Ratings: 5/5
It might not look anything like a Zeppelin,
but this beautifully built dock does the family name proud, producing a
balanced, composed sound with bags of detail. The pebble shaped remote is
nice, and it'll play music from your computer via USB, too.
Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox
Price: $490
Ratings: 4/5
Different people want different things from
an iPod dock. Some want a delicately balanced soundstage that can recreate harp
string plucs. Others want volume and bass that can smash down walls and
replicate a club sound. Guess which the Beatbox does?
Logitech S715i
Price: $160
Ratings: 4/5
A small, lightweight dock that does
everything you’d want a small, lightweight dock to do, and does it well. As
well as putting out a punchy, dynamic sound it comes with its own carry case,
stand and remote and will last for 8hrs. A good, solid bet for the price.
LG ND8520
Price: $410
Ratings: 4/5
This box of sound packs wireless AirPlay
tech, an iPhone/iPad dock up top and the ability to fill a room with 80W of
dynamic sound. Don't worry about the silly numbers only name or the garish
design, because it sounds pretty sweet to us.
Instant expert
Can one new product shake up an entire Top
10? I can if it's the Phone E. Unless you've been living under a rock,
on Mars, with no Wi-Fi, you'll know that Apple's latest blower has a new
‘Lightning' connector in place of the the old 30-pin effort which means it
won't fit into a few of the docks o.. this list. Instead you'll need to connect
it via one of two adaptors $30 for the stubby one; $45 for the cable version.
Why so much? The adaptors have a tiny DAC inside them to convert the iPhone's
newly digital only signal to a dock friendly analogue one. Even then, Apple
admits the adaptors won't work with all existing accessories. Plus, they'll
ruin the sleek lines of your Zeppelin Mini. The solution? Methinks it's time to
embrace Bluetooth or AirPlay options...
What to look for
Spread 'em
As proven by the Naim, left, mini doesn't
have to mean manky. Spreading the speakers out will help sound quality and
adding a subwoofer can be a good move.
Boxes of tricks
Look for as many features as you can get
for your money: demand DAB, decent build quality and aux in sockets for your
PMP, plus HDMI if you want TV connectivity, and DLNA, AirPlay or UPnP music
streaming tech.
Ugly duckling?
No matter how well-specced a mini system
is, it still needs to fit with the decor of the room it's going in. There are
plenty of lookers out there, so don't settle for a minger.
Stream team
Most Hi-Fi systems are network-ready these
days, but to take advantage of their streaming skills you'll need a server whether
PC or NAS drive and a good Wi-Fi set up. Going wired can be a better bet in
houses with thick walls.
