Use any Bluetooth device to synch and play wireless through this powerful mind blowing dock. It sounds truly amazing! Retails for R1700. This is a BARGAIN at just R800. Buyer assumes responsibility for shipping costs. Varies from R150-R250. Brand New Sealed unit.
Design and features
First visual impressions of the Fidelio DS8550 are pretty good. It's the smaller, cheaper brother of the Fidelio Primo DS9000, and shares much of the same design notes, down to the concave shape that you'll either love or hate. We found it visually pleasing, with one small exception. It's one of the very few iPod/iPhone docks that doesn't come with dock adapters of any kind, and as a result, the dock connector juts up by itself in the middle of the dock, which has a rather jarring appearance.
Also in the box you'll find the rounded and pleasant-to-use remote control. While it's got the same kind of flat buttons you'd find on a much cheaper remote control, it's much better styled and feels solid in the hand.
Philips also supplies an iPad stand with the Fidelio DS8550, and at first glance you might think that this is a bolt-on unit for the Fidelio DS8550's speakers. It's not; the stand sits completely separate to the unit with the intention being that you'll use the iPad connected via Bluetooth to the speakers.
The Fidelio DS8550 is a little lower on the specifications side than the Primo. Where the Primo rocks 2x 50W speakers, the Fidelio DS8550 makes do with 2x 15W speakers. It's Bluetooth compatible, as well as featuring a 3.5mm auxiliary input on the rear of the dock. Like the Primo, Philips supplies an application for iPhone, iPod and iPad that gives a Fidelio-specific skin for music playback and alarm clock usage.
Performance
Audio is always the key consideration for any audio dock, and the DS8550 didn't disappoint us. Understandably, you don't get the range of volume that you would on the higher-priced Primo dock, but it's still quite crisp and clear with good bass separation. Bluetooth connectivity worked well from a distance.
At first we thought the stand was a nice but functionally weird inclusion in the Fidelio DS8550's box, until we plugged in an iPad. It does work plugged in, and the speakers are large enough that it doesn't look out of place, but naturally enough, it only works in portrait mode, making it less than optimal for video playback. Chuck it in the stand and connect via Bluetooth, however, and it enhances movie and game playback considerably.
One rather minor but very cool feature we've not seen on other battery-capable docks that the DS8550 sports is that it will recharge iPods and iPhones while plugged in, even if the DS8550 itself isn't connected to a power source. There are obvious limitations to this: it won't charge iPads, and it clearly depletes the on-board battery faster when doing this kind of double duty.
There are a few things we weren't so keen on. The Fidelio app isn't much more than just a skin for your music, but it'll nag you to grab it from the App Store any time you plug in a new compatible iPod or iPhone to the unit. As noted, when using the unit in Bluetooth mode, the dock connector looks odd sticking up at nothing. We've seen a number of docks that incorporate a sliding or hidden dock connector, and it'd be a great idea for the DS8550 to incorporate this.
