This review looks at the Cygnett Unison i-X5 iPod speakers and docking station. We’ve been looking to buy a set of iPod speakers for some time now and finally opted for these. We bought the black speakers, but they are also available in red and white.
Box Contents
This is what you get in the box.
- 2 i-X5 speakers (left and right)
- iPod dock for charging and syncing with iTunes
- iPod inserts for docking cradle
- Remote control
- USB cable for connecting the docking cradle to your PC
- Power cable for speakers
- Power cable for docking cradle
- 1.5 metre S-Video cable
- 5 metre audio cable (6.5mm)
- 5 metre audio cable for iPod dock (3.5mm)
- Sticky foam pad feet for speakers
- User manual
The technical specifications are as follows:
- Size: 270mm (H) x 176.5mm (W) x 197mm (D)
- Weight: 10kg
- Built-in 5 inch subwoofer
- Tweeter 1 inch
- Amplification: 70W
First Impressions
Our first impressions of the speakers were very good. The built quality was very good and the high-gloss finish gave the speakers a lovely shiny appearance.
The left speaker has a built-in amplifier, power switch, volume control, headphone jack, 6.5mm jack output, auxiliary left and right RCA line input, vent port and blue LED power indicator. The right speaker has an audio connection to join with the left speaker.
The dock consists of one USB port, DC in, audio line-out connection and S-Video port on the rear, a remote control receiver on the front and a set of volume buttons on the top.
Setup
Setup was very straightforward. The dock is plugged into a power socket using the power cable. The 3.5mm audio cable connects the iPod dock to the Aux In port on the left speaker. The Jack output on each speaker is then connected together using the 6.5mm audio cable.
A variety of dock inserts are provided depending on your make and model of iPod. Slot the appropriate insert into the dock and then you’re ready to attach the iPod. You can optionally use the USB cable to connect the iPod dock to your PC and sync with iTunes.
If you want to connect the speakers to a computer sound card or other audio device then a left and right RCA line input is provided on the back of the left speaker.
Setup took us around 10 minutes. If you intend to view videos from your iPod then you will need to connect the provided S-Video cable from the dock to your TV.
We experienced no problems during the setup process.
Docking Station
The dock can either be simply connected to the speakers, or you can use the provided USB cable and additionally connect it to your PC so you can sync with iTunes. Since the dock is connected to a power supply it will charge your iPod too.
With the dock just connected to the speakers we experienced no problems, but with the dock connected to a computer we ran into a number of issues.
At first everything appeared to work fine and we were able to sync with iTunes. But once we had disconnected the iPod from our computer (using the safely remove hardware feature in Vista), we experienced issues where either the iPod would lock up, or when placing the iPod back into the dock then either Vista would report a problem with the iPod hard drive, or iTunes would not recognise the iPod.
We ran into this issues multiple times, and each time we had to perform a factory reset of our iPod. So there is clearly some issue here, we’re not sure what the problem is though.
We’re convinced there was no problem with our iPod. We have a docking station from an iPod AV Connection Kit that has worked fine with this iPod for several years. We plugged the iPod into this old docking station and everything worked fine, as soon as we plugged the iPod back into the i-X5 docking station we ran into problems again.
Remote Control
The dock includes a small remote control. On the whole we found the remote control reasonably responsive provided it is pointed directly at the docking station. If you want to control the iPod using the control wheel on the iPod itself you can do that too.
Speakers
Despite their relatively small size the speakers delivered a good amount of bass and they are loud when you turn the volume up. Volume control can either be done via the remote control, docking station or on the rear of the left speaker.
We tested a variety of music genre from classical to trance and vocals sounded crisp with a good level of bass.
There is a decent amount of audio cable to enable you to space the speakers apart. The speakers look good too with their high-gloss finish.
Summary
The Cygnett Unison i-X5 are a decent set of speakers which are compact, look good and produce excellent sound. We also like the detached speakers which you can position whereever you like, unlike some iPod speakers which are fixed to the dock.
But there are issues with the docking station when connected to a PC which you need to be aware of before buying. If you don’t intend to use the dock to sync with iTunes (like we do) then these speakers are a good buy, although a little expensive compared to other iPod speaker systems available.
Buy the Cygnett Unison i-X5 iPod Speakers from Amazon.
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5 responses so far ↓
1 Garth // Mar 2, 2009 at 2:48 pm
They are a little pricey aren’t they? I have a 2nd Gen iPod Touch – are you going to review any other speaker systems?
2 Dean // Mar 2, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Hi Garth,
They are pricey I agree. I’ve no plans to review any other speaker systems at the moment. I’ll let you know if I do.
3 Edifier IF500 Luna 5 iPod Speaker Review // May 6, 2009 at 9:28 pm
[...] Luna 5 marks our second outing into the iPod speaker market, having previously reviewed the Cygnett i-X5 [...]
4 Dean // May 6, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I’ve just published a review of some more iPod speakers, the Luna 5. I’m also planning to publish a review of the MP300 speakers soon.
5 Edifier Luna 2 Speakers Review // Aug 20, 2009 at 9:22 pm
[...] it bang out a couple of hours of solid dance music and it didn’t disappoint, although again the Cygnett Unison speakers we’ve previously reviewed produce a better performance in the bass [...]
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