WE`VE ALL GONE DIGI

Speaker docks
GROUP TEST
iLuv ArtStation Pro iMM514
iPad/iPhone/iPod speaker dock
Price: $299
I
cky brand-name and wanky model-name
aside, the iLuv ArtStation Pro looks an
instant goer, just as pretty in the flesh
as it is on the packaging, from which it
emerges with polythene wrapped all around
its protruding parts, like a Christmas present.
There are separate slide-in attachments for
holding either an iPad or an iPhone/iPod
in place, and of course the big sell here is
having your iPad raised up before you in
swivellable orientation, the perfect height
for working from, say, a coffee table, though a
tad high for a working desk. Once docked, the
iPad can pivot from pretty much vertical to a
halfway-to-horizontal 45 degrees, the perfect
angle for typing.
And that’s important,
because these iPad things
are multifunctional beasts,
and chances are you’ll want
to do more with it than
simply play a few tunes.
The iLuv makes a great
movie system, for example,
with the iPad swivelled to
landscape mode and the
soundtrack blasting through the iLuv’s speaker
array below. Or use a music-creation app and
play your sounds through the iLuv’s warming
woofers instead of headphones.
We did have set-up problems. All was fine
with iPhone and iPod, but we couldn’t get any
audio from our docked iPad 2. After several
reboots, a message appeared saying ‘An app
is required for this accessory’ — the manual
said nothing about this, but we downloaded
the iLuv app (two of them, actually) and
presto, not only did they work, but suddenly
everything else worked too. Of course we had
to mess with it again, didn’t we, pulling out and
redocking the iPad 2 (this connection requires
some care with the curved edge of an iPad 2,
by the way), and when we restarted the iLuv,
nothing worked at all, even the iLuv apps.
Australian distributor Bush says it has never
encountered the problem, so perhaps we have
a rogue unit, or strange iPad 2, or have been
cursed by the docking gods of yore.
So the sound quality we’re judging mainly
from an iPod nano sat in the dock, looking
rather small and lonely. The New York-based
iLuv folk are shy about the speaker specifics,
and the fixed wraparound grille prevents
full investigation, but it looks like a couple
of three-inch drivers porting to the front,
while the packaging promotes something
called ‘Enhanced jAuru Echo Soundcell
Technology’, which appears to be iLuv’s own
work. Whatever the secret, the sound is great,
with a solid underpinning of upper bass from
the compact 30 x 15 x 11cm base, and the
iLuv being as happy away on a table filling
a medium-sized room as it is right in front
of your nose when you’re playing close-up
with your iPad. It’s very impressive at the US
price of US$170 and still respectable at the
Australian pricing of $299 (distributor Bush
Australia pleads size-of-market for the pricing
differential, and advises that the street price
here is likely to be around $249 anyway).
Those set-up issues aside, this is a great
unit for iPad owners. The ArtStation Pro may
lack the convenience of AirPlay or Bluetooth
streaming but it is, of course, priced below
such equipped competitors while adding the
convenience of an integrated iPad stand/dock,
together with an auxiliary minijack input, a
remote that stores magnetically in the back
(we love that), and on-syncing via a mini-USB
socket to the rear. Recommended.
Verdict
iLuv ArtStation
Pro iMM514
iPad/iPhone/iPod speaker dock
Price: $299
• Docks and pivots your
iPad, iPhone or iPod
• Good sound for size/money
• Free app
• We had iPad docking issues
Dimensions (whd): 300 x 295 x 200mm
Weight: 2.2kg
Warranty: One year
Contact: Bush Australia
Tel: 02 9714 3434
Web: www.i-luv-australia.com.au
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TIBmurTON lweISemaN JamamerO But is it hi-fi?
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A
AustrAliA’s
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Aug/Sep 2012
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