Music Maestro please!

Introduction

Speakers for computers and MP3 players are nothing new. Speakers with docks for iPods and iPhones are also nothing new (in fact they've become rather prevalent nowadays!) Finding something that does all of these things, and does them pretty well, is not easy. There's a lot of dross out there.

If you're not happy with the sound from your current speakers, you'll want an alternative. Step forward the Cygnett Maestro speaker system, a 2.1 speaker system with left and right speakers, and a small woofer all built in to a compact little cabinet. It also has a nice little remote control to control your iPod/iPhone when it's docked with the speaker.

You can either run the Maestro from the mains or from 4xAA batteries.

Operation

Pretty simple really. Unpack everything. Plug in to the mains (or insert 4xAA batteries). Plug in an audio source, either by connecting your computer's line out, connecting another external audio source (e.g. MP3 player) or inserting some form of iPod/iPhone into the dock.

Press the power button on the top to switch on (a nice little blue LED indicates power). Adjust the volume with the buttons or the remote control. That's all there is to it.

Sound Quality

As with other iPod dock type speakers, you have to remember that it's just that. A speaker that's designed to dock with an iPod or another MP3 player. It's not a KEF speaker. It's not a Mission speaker. It's not a "insert name of famous speaker manufacturer here" speaker. I know that I say that about any speaker like this, but it is important to remember it.

And it's not a bad speaker at all. When hooked up to your computer or iPod/iPhone (or any other audio source) it performs perfectly adequately. And whilst it doesn't outperform some of the other things on the market sonically (e.g. the Edifier E3350) it has another selling point. You can power it using batteries, so you can take it wherever you go, including into the great outdoors where you might be away from power sources. Great for having your own little mini-festival in a field somewhere...

It performs nicely with various audio genres, from rock to pop to dance to spoken word material.

Conclusion

A nice speaker at a reasonable price. It's not the best one I've heard this year (that goes to the Edifier E3350), but it's by no means the worst. It's a good little device, and the iPod/iPhone dock might be the thing that sways it for you - it's obviously the easiest way to connect such a device. And you can run it from the mains or batteries. You can't really tweak the sound that comes out of it that much (apart from tweaking the output of whatever device you attach to it), but it's a solid enough performer for most ears.

It may not win design awards (and looks a little dull when compared with the sleek pyramids of the E3350) but it does the job, and has a nice little remote control too, so that you can access things on your iPod/iPhone from a distance.

If you're on the lookout for an iPod/iPhone dock for Xmas, then this might just do the job for you.