Our mp3 Docking Station Buying Advice offers a complete buying guide for anyone in the market for a new mp3 docking station, whether they happen to be novice or expert. We hope you get what you need!

Docking Station Buying Tips

Where do you start when you’re looking for a new docking station for your iPod or mp3 player? Before you even start looking, there are several things you need to work out…..

Budget

In general, when it comes to buying an mp3 docking station, the more you pay, the better sound quality you can expect. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should always go for the higher price and some top-of-the-range models will sometimes lack certain features you may expect. Unless you have a lot of cash to burn, the best thing to do is set your budget at its absolute limit and choose which is more important; sound quality, features or a happy medium. Read on for the rest…

Audio Quality

Sound quality is very important to most people – but not everyone. A lot of docking stations offer piles of features, or excellent sound quality, but only very few offer everything. Always ask for demos at your local retailer (before buying from here, of course!) and you should listen out for a balanced sound with no distortion or squawking. For those that are particular about how your music sounds, aim for a docking station with EQs to raise or dip the bass, mids and treble to your liking.

Size and Design

Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to docking stations – always ask for a demo. However, size and design is vital when considering where you will be putting your docking station. If it’s tucked away in your bedroom under a pile of dirty football kit, who cares what it looks like? But if you want it pride of place in the living room, or subtly blending in with the surroundings, then this is a key issue. And watch out when buying online – some of these units are bigger than you might think.

Portability

If you’re constantly travelling and want a docking station for livening up countless hotel rooms, you’ll need a dock that can fold flat into a suitcase. Docking stations designed for travel will also require batteries, so you can use them if getting electricity is an issue. Watch out though; portable docks generally only offer poor-quality sound and when pushed to their limits will distort. Not a problem when you’re on your own in a hotel room – but throw a party and you’ll be in trouble.

Docking Stations: Features

There are more and more features continually being installed onto mp3 docking stations and although it is sometimes the case that those features come at a cost in terms of sound quality, they are obviously important to people as they continue to be popular. Here are some of the key features to look out for…

Bluetooth

Bluetooth technology transmits information via radio signals and successfully transmits to within a 10 metre radius and is handy in docking stations because it means you can transfer music files between two different devices – your docking station and your PC, for example.

Radio

A perennial favourite in all stereo systems, the radios on your mp3 docking station will at very least be a traditional FM tuner, but if you fork out a bit more, you can get the wider choice and better quality from DAB radio.

Clock

Having a built-in clock in your docking station may not be a vital feature, but if you keep it in your bedroom it will save you having to get a bedside alarm clock as well.

Video Output

If your docking station has a video output then you can use it to play videos via your mp4 player and loop it straight through to your TV/monitor.

Recharger

Docking stations often come with a built-in charger, so your music player can get a juice boost while playing your favourite tunes.

USB

Connect up your docking station to a computer by using a USB, which means you can update your music library without moving it from its cradle in the speaker dock.

Docking Stations: Accessories

Although docking stations could well be classed as accessories themselves, there are still a few accessories you might want to think about to add to your speaker dock experience.

Headphones

Headphones are an essential purchase if you have neighbours who don’t appreciate your music tastes, or are much bigger than you. Make sure your docking station has a 3.5mm headphone jack to plug into – it’s the standard and any decent pair of cans will fit that jack.

Cables

Another key accessory if you are planning to link to other systems or devices. Don’t be fooled by high prices – digital signals either work or they don’t; there is no ‘good’, ‘bad’ or better when it comes to sound quality, although more expensive cables may last a bit longer due to better build quality.

Remote control

Even though you will eventually lose it, a remote control is essential. We really don’t like getting off that sofa these days….

Docking Stations: Jargon Buster

There is plenty of scary-sounding jargon that may put you off buying a docking station, but have no fear! Here, we will aim to put your mind at rest with our explanations of what those tricky, techy terms actually mean.

DAB

Digital Audio Broadcast radio offers better audio quality and more choice than traditional radio. Over 85% of the UK is currently covered by DAB radio signals.

GB

A Gigabyte (GB) is equal to one billion bytes and is the equivalent of around 500 music tracks.

Internet Radio

Internet radio uses your home wireless Internet connection to connect to online radio stations, offering you much more choice. Great if you are into niche radio/music.

MB

A Megabyte (MB) is a unit of measurement equal to one million bytes. A typical mp3 track is about 4MB – so now you can work out the rest yourself!.

MP3 and MP4

mp3s and mp4s are very common file formats for storing music and video. Most digital music players support mp3 and mp4 formats

Ripping

‘Ripping’ is the act of creating digital music files from other files or formats, such as CDs. Apple’s iTunes and Windows Media make this very easy for beginners to rip music – but don’t forget the legalities of ripping and sharing music with others!

Station presets

There is no fiddly tuning on a DAB or Internet radio, just hit the customisable button to select and save your favourite channels to your docking station.

USB

You can use USB to transfer data to and from your docking station and computer, via a USB cable or directly into the USB port.

WMA

An audio compression file format  designed by Microsoft.

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