HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2011 Editor's Choice - Part 1

Best Speaker Docking System

Best Speaker Docking System

There’s just no stopping the giant that is Apple. With close to 300 million iPods, iPod Touches and iPhones sold, it’s no wonder that just about every major player in the consumer electronics market is coming up with their own iPod docking system. Although a vast majority of such docking systems are gimmicky more than anything else, a handful, however, have distinguished themselves as true-blue audiophile-grade equipment. Hence, we set out to find which is the best iPod docking system of 2010 by pitting the best of best from the biggest names in consumer electronics.

Nominees:

• Bose SoundDock 10
• Philips Fidelio Primo DS9000
• Pioneer XW-NAS5
• Revo Ikon
• Sony RDP-XF100iP
• Yamaha TSX-130

And the Winner Is...

In a nutshell, the Philips Fidelio Primo DS9000 is best sounding docks we have heard all year. It falls a bit short of the high standards set by the B&W Zeppelin, but considering the B&W Zeppelin is widely regarded as the best sounding docking system around, to say that the Philips comes very close to matching it is high praise enough. But more importantly, the Philips astounded us with how it excelled at handling different genres of music with its startling clarity, generous and precise bass, and super spacious soundstage.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.