The Art Station Pro arrived the other day so I’ve been testing it out.  I have to say  opinions on the aesthetics of the design were mixed but it did grow on me and certainly wouldn’t be out of place in most rooms.

Click here for iLuv iMM514 details

The dock has different clips so you can attach it to your iPhone, iPod or iPad. It is fairly obvious that it has primarily been designed for an iPad so we tested it with an iPad 1.

The clip I have to say is not my favourite part of this dock as it is fiddly to try and slide your iPad in and the grips actually came out of the dock while I was trying to install the iPad.

The stand swivels so you can have the iPad horizontal or portrait mode. It worked well to watch a movie in landscape mode.

iLuv iMM514 with rotational arm

When you dock the iPad or iPhone you are prompted to go and download the app for your device so that you have all the features. The good news is that it is free.

The speaker gives a good sound and is punchy with a decent bass and it has a good wide frequency response. Whilst iLuv claim 3D sound I found the stereo placement of the sound to be quite narrow so the vocal did not stand apart as it would on more expensive speakers. That said it is a good sound and you are not going to be worrying about distortion if you turn it up. It could be described as an American sound.

When watching a movie the really good bass response certainly adds a lot of atmosphere and gives a very immersive experience.

The software incorporates a range of alarms and these…UUUUGH! They seem to have been recorded distorted. They all seem to play at fixed volumes and whilst there is a good choice they are all distorted. The good news is thatyou can choose to play music from your iPod to wake to instead. The issue with the alarms is not really the dock’s fault, I never heard any distortion on anything else, and could easilly be rectified with a software update.

The app has a clock feature and also displays weather information. There is a choice of different clock faces and it is very easy to set your weather location.  The app also has the ability to play internet radio which is quite well done.

The dock comes with a tiny remote control that very handily attaches magnetically to the back of the speaker. I did have some issues getting the remote to actually do anything other than when in iLuv’s software but it did work well when used in the software.

Overall this is a really good dock. The sound is a good as some docks I’ve heard which are twice the price. The swivel is great for watching movies and at around the hundred pound mark the dock is good value for money. I just wish they had come up with a better clip design.

See this dock at HMV

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