By Irene Tham

AT FIRST glance, the lenticular-shaped system looks ordinary and bulky although its curvy shape would excite most testosterone-filled geeks.

Its glossy rounded rear takes up as much space as the protruding speakers in front, which gets in the way when plugging in my iPhone.

When tested for sound, however, the sturdy system shows itself to be a real performer.

The MPEG-4 music tracks I played sounded full and clear, be it jazz, rock or pop.

Listening to Italian pop-soft rock singer Laura Pausini's Angeli Nel Blu, I got the kick from hearing the bending of musical notes and the chord twang on the electric guitar.

However, for vocals higher up the frequency range in Stevie Wonder's Overjoyed and Superstition, the iF500 lacked crispness.

As a result, the songs sounded softened and even muffled at times depending on the quality of the recording.

Nevertheless, the five-driver speaker system lives up to its promise of superb vibration and resonance control.

There were no noticeable distortions or static even when I blasted my music at maximum volume.

There is plenty of boom in the bass thanks to the built-in 5-inch subwoofer; for a dock of this hefty size, it had better deliver.

However, if the original recording has weak bass, turning up the bass control on the iF500 would hardly rock the house.

The audio system also features a digital FM radio and a 3.5mm audio jack so you can plug in any MP3 player or mobile phone - an all-in-one audio system indeed.

The system can be operated via a full-function remote controller.

I could scroll through the playlist on my iPhone with it from across the room.

I could also navigate using the touch-sensitive buttons on the docking unit but they offer only limited functions like track skipping and volume change.

Final say

For this price, you can buy a hi-fi system that plays DVDs and gives you more granular sound equalizer controls.

However, the sound quality makes it worth every dollar.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

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