Microlab MD332 iPod Stereo System Review

MD332 Features and Build Quality

iPod docking systems and speakers are a dime a dozen - and since most are made in China from inferior parts, they are almost literally a "dime" a dozen. But every once in a while a product comes along that puts audio first and it's a pleasant surprise. All we could really say about the Microlab MD332 was "wow". Our first impression remained that single word until we were able to temper our excitement with a bit of down-to-earth evaluation that revealed some other "features" of this player that neatly dropped it from its lofty perch, back down the the realm of "mortal", fallible products. The MD332 plays loud. In fact, we got it up to 89dB SPL in-room and it never once compressed either the top  end or the bass output. This player is so much more dynamic and clean in the top and bottom ends than anything else we've heard at this price range. It really is that good... to bad it's got some hang-ups as well - read on

Build Quality and Use

The first thing you'll note about the Microlab MD332 is that it is quite large. I mean QUITE large, but that size has some advantages. First off, you're not dealing with a product that is attempting to reproduce full range music with a pair of 3-inch speakers and some fancy porting. The MD332 comes with a pair of 2.5" V12 speakers which are spec'd at 130Hz - 8kHz +/-1.5dB and 100Hz - 20kHz +/-3dB. That's a good start - but adding a ported 5.25" woofer to pick up the frequencies from 130Hz down to ~35Hz is nothing short of impressive. The trade-off, of course, is size. The question everyone will ask when seeing this product, at just over half a cubic foot, is "where on earth do I put it?" Before we answer that questions, let's take a brief feature tour.

The Clock

Pressing the Clock button allows you to spin the volume dial to set the time for the LCD display. Pressing the Clock button again jumps between hours and minutes and saves the time setting. It's a super fast time setting procedure, however for some inexplicable reason, the time is always displayed in military (24 hour) time. There is no way to get it to 12-hour time - it's just not supported. This ventures squarely into the epic fail territory for clock radio use.

Wake-up Timer

Setting a wake-up timer was pretty easy. From Standby, you simply hit the Alarm button, and then spin the volume dial to set the hour. Spin it again to set the minutes and then hitting the Alarm button once more to save the alarm (the display confirms this with a "good" message.)

Inputs
There isn't a ton of options for the Microlab MD344 iPod Stereo System. You can select between Auxiliary, Radio and iPod using the input button. Aux, of course, means that you can feed any stereo source into the rear analogue RCA stereo inputs.

Radio

Radio tuning, unfortunately, is done by the buttons on either the radio or the remote control. You can't type direct station numbers since the remote doesn't have any way to facilitate this (no numbers). You can save up to 15 preset radio stations, a feat accomplished by tuning in the desired station and hitting the Memory button on the remote control twice. Radio stations are stored sequentially, so you can't really replace or customize any presets once they are configured. In fact, you can't adjust presets at all. You can only delete all of them simultaneously, so choose your presets carefully or you'll be in for a lot of work. This is really kind of silly and shows that Microlab apparently focused on bare bones programming for this interface, spending a majority of time on the sound quality... honestly, we're not so sure that's a bad trade-off, but each potential customer will have to make that choice for themselves.

Alarm & Sleep Functions

The alarm will either use the iPod (if it is docked to the MD332, or the last tuned radio station. There is also a handy "Sleep" function (remote control only) that allows you to set a sleep timer for 15, 30, or 45 minutes whereby the system will turn off the audio automatically.

iPod Control

The remote control offers complete control over your docked iPod, including menu navigation and playback controls. It's a bit awkward in that the centrally-located directional pad on the remote is dedicated, oddly enough, to playback control while menu functions and the Enter button are on the outside. I would have probably flipped this and set up a dedicated area for Play/Pause and Skip functions, while designating the central pad for menu navigation which would surround an Enter button.

MD332 Listening Tests and Conclusion

Mr. Mister's "Kyrie" was the first track we brought up (after our initial testing to note distortion and max volume). Like those prior tests, we found that we could actually crank the volume up to 60 (the maximum) without even a hint of distortion. What we liked was the tactile bass hits that came when the second verse kicked in. It's something you'd expect would take a larger driver and certainly not the kind of sound commonly found in an oversized clock radio. Male vocals were clean and precise, much more so than on our iHome iP90 clock radio that we used for comparison (which, oddly enough costs just $20 less than the MD332). Of course, the iP90 is about 10x better in terms of its functionality as a clock radio, but if sound is your preference, then we're going to lean decidedly towards the larger Microlab product. The MD322 is simply a superior sound reproduction device unlike any other product we've yet seen. Next we queued up Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and settled back to hear the percussive kick drum, topped by crystal clear vocals that showed off an impressive top end. Mid-range was a tad weak, but that's to be expected with a smaller driver configuration, and we could hardly believe how much better it sounded than a majority of other desktop audio systems we'd listened to in the past.

We wrapped up our listening session with Sting's "If I Ever Lose My Faith" which we felt did a great job of revealing the texture and smoothness of the 5.25" ported bass driver that gives the Microlab MD332 its impressively low reach. Cymbals and the bell of the ride came through clearly and without that compressed sound that plagues smaller drivers that try to handle full-range frequencies. It was nice to hear a really smooth transition from the 2.5" speakers to the 5.25" bass driver. The effect was consistent in its ability to render a complete audio soundstage. Stereo separation wasn't stellar, but we didn't expect it to do too much since the speakers are only about a foot apart.

Conclusion

OK, this is where it gets hard. It's not hard to recommend the Microlab MD332 for its incredible sound. It is, however, to enjoy it for a clock radio. In fact, for this radio, you don't need a night stand, you need a night "table". The MD332 is, with the notable exception of its odd quirks, an incredible product. If you want a great radio - this isn't it. If you want an alarm clock that tells time to people who aren't in the military - this isn't it. If you don't want to take over your entire night stand with a radio, this isn't your product. But, if you want above-par sound and a value that can't be beat, this is your product. Now the only question remaining is: Where will you put it?

About Microlab
Microlab Technology Co., Ltd. is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer. It was established in Jan, 1998 as a Sino-America Joint Venture invested by Shenzhen Microlab Technology Inc. and International Microlab in USA. It specializes in the R&D, Production and Marketing of AV products and computer peripherals. Through years of development, Microlab has set up over 40 production lines to produce Speaker, Case & Power Supply, Keyboard, DVD Player, MP3, USB Flash Drive and Card Readers. From the setting up of factory in 1998, Microlab has started to export its products to international market by establishing the "Microlab Technology (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd." and acquiring the import & export rights from the government. Through 4 years efforts of over 2000 employees , Microlab products now enjoy a good reputation in over 40 countries from Southeast Asia, Europe, North & South America to Middle & Far East countries, meanwhile Microlab Technology has become a long term reliable partner of a lot of famous OEM brands.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Analogue Audio Performance
Radio Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup
Features
Remote Control
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value