Several people I spoke to while auditioning the Luna 5 said something along these lines: “Oh, Edifier, they started out making really crappy computer speakers.” If that’s the case, congratulations are in order for the Beijing-based company, because the Luna 5 is one of the best-sounding iPod docks I’ve yet encountered.

Of course, when you’re talking about sound quality and iPod docks, you’re always dealing in relativities. There isn’t a dock on the market that perfectly replicates audiophile-grade hi-fi systems, and the reason is obvious: these are miniaturised components configured to deal with often poor-sounding files in which a lot of the grain, guts and texture have been stripped from the original recording.

So instead of attempting to sound authentic, a good-sounding iPod dock will work its own tricks in order to sound good to the human ear.

The Luna 5 is an odd-looking thing, and its aesthetic (judging by the reaction of staff at Tone Central) is either love or hate at first sight. So here’s a message to its design detractors: The Luna 5 has just won the prestigious 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovations Honour Award.

But back to the task at hand. The big, round bloom of speakers makes perfect sense when you hear it: this particular Edifier disperses sound in such a way that it seems to float around the room. The mids and highs have an airy feel that prevents it from sounding boxed in. The bass, meanwhile, really makes its presence felt and punches well above the usual weight of even the better iPod docks.

I compared it to a similarly priced Tannoy dock and both had their charms. While the sound coming from the Tannoys seemed more accurate and convincing, the Luna 5 was in many ways more enjoyable due to its emphasized bass and the way it cast its sound around the room.

It sounds good at all volume levels and, when the juice is pumped up, it really packs a punch. This is undoubtedly thanks to the reasonably powerful onboard amplifier and the decent-sized woofer.

It’s also resilient — when I connected my iPod with its full-quality sound files straight after a session with crappy files on a Shuffle, the volume differentiation almost blasted me to another dimension, but no damage (to either my ears or the speakers) was sustained.

Other features of the Luna 5 include its touch controls, bass and treble controls, a tuner and an oversized but useful remote (with full control of your iPod). The aforementioned Shuffle was connected via the Aux input.

LYNN ANSELL
Edifier Luna 5 iPod Dock – Tech Specs

Speakers: 5.75-inch woofer, 2 x 2.75-inch mid-ranges, 2 x 1-inch tweeters
Power output: total 50 watts RMS
• Digital FM radio
• Aux input

Pros
    * Open and wide sound dispersion
    * Pumping bass
    * Dares to be different in the design department

Cons
    * The remote control is preposterously large for an iPod dock

Verdict
Overall, the Luna 5 is one of the best iPod docks I’ve used

Contact
www.digitalblue.co.nz