About.com Rating
Works With
iPods with dock connectors
The Good
Clear, detailed sound
Rich, deep bass
Loud and good at filling a room
The Bad
Slightly awkward looks
Remote can’t browse menus
The Price
US$299.95
To get big sound, sometimes you need a big package. That’s certainly true of mStation’s 2.1 Stereo Tower, a roughly three-foot-tall iPod stereo system. The 2.1 Stereo Tower offers sound big enough to fill a room, clear enough to sound great doing it, and bassy enough to make the room start dancing.
Though its design may clash a bit with some decors, the 2.1 Stereo Tower is a powerful entry into the iPod speaker market.
The 2.1 Stereo Tower is built around three connected cylinders. The outer cylinders of the system are crowned by two regular speakers, while the large, center cylinder is a 5.25-inch subwoofer. The iPod sits on top of the subwoofer, between the two speakers, and plugs in via a dock connector.
The sound producer by the three cylinders is excellent. Bass is loud and deep and heavy. The speakers offer rich, clear notes that effectively separate the different layers of songs, making the listening experience detailed and enjoyable. Even at loud volumes — and believe me, this thing goes to 11 — music is clear and undistorted.
You can control the 2.1 Stereo Tower in a few ways. While docked, the iPod’s controls work, letting you move through menus and songs. The tower includes buttons on its top to move forward and back through songs, and raise and lower volume. These buttons don’t allow navigation through the iPod’s menus, but you won’t need that since the iPod is less than an inch away.
The tower also includes a remote control that mirrors the functions of the buttons. This, however, is where not being able to navigate through the iPod’s menus is frustrating. As a result, if you need to change albums or playlists, the remote isn’t much use; you’ll have to walk over to the tower. The remote is also the only place to adjust the bass and treble settings for the tower, a potential problem for an item that could be easy to lose.
The other drawback that some may see in the 2.1 Stereo Tower is its styling. Because of its height and design, it looks a bit futuristic, or at least severely modern. As such, it may not blend well into certain decors (a room done in a country style, for instance, might not match it well).
Concerns about the remote and the design are small when placed next to the big sound produced by the 2.1 Stereo Tower. While it’s certainly not for everyone, people who like its design, and love music played loud that sounds great, will get a lot of enjoyment out of the mStation 2.1 Stereo zTower.