Zebronics ZEB-Station Review

By Michael Browne

08-08-2011

Michael Browne

Digit Rating: Good

3.5/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Super affordable
Well built
Multiple inputs and FM Radio support

CONS

Very ordinary sounding
No iPod dock
Speakers lack bass

BUY

N/A

MRP: 1650

Available at 1 store/(s)

BUY

N/A

Summary

ZEB-Station is a decent product in terms of features but not a good performer. At its price, an uber affordable Rs. 1,650, we're willing to forgive most of its shortcomings, simply because it would be nigh to madness . Sure - an affordable tag doesn't improve quality any, but to be honest casual listeners will not find a lot to complain about. In fact it's quite a deal, given that it's a full-featured FM Radio player with speakers too. At this price, if you're looking for a decent set of speakers with a few extra bits like extra connects and FM Radio, the ZEB-Station is excellent value for money.

Review

iPod docks are a dime a dozen these days, and given the popularity of MP3 players, it’s no wonder that every computer peripherals manufacturer is flocking to make one. We’ve tested docks from the likes of Bose, Logitech and Creative, and Zebronics has decided to join the game with the ZEB-Station. The emphasis on branding via capitalisation not withstanding, the ZEB-Station is a rather simple looking dock, pretty typical for something headed straight of the manufacturers docks in China.

Look and feel

Mock wooden grain finishes are in, if the success of furniture shops palming off plywood for teak in metro cities is any indication. The ZEB-Station takes the tried and tested route with a mock wooden finish the colour of dark mahogany and the surface finish is reminiscent of Formica (Sun-mica). Although rectangular shaped the sides are curving – something much needed what is a glorified stereo speaker system with a couple of extra input options. It seems well built and the cabinet is obviously made of MDF but is quite solid, and the unit is reassuringly heavy without being a backbreaker like some high-end speaker systems.

The power switch is located on the rear, just beneath RCA inputs for connecting to a stereo source. To the side of this is a thin protruding sheathed wire about 2 feet long that serves as the FM Radio antenna. The front of the unit has a mirror finish front panel with all connectivity options and controls. On either side are the speakers, and the cloth mesh covering each unit is removable. The control system consists of a large fancily designed volume knob that has a backlit blue ring around it, and the controls for standby, input source select and the usual playback controls that consist of three buttons – play/pause, previous and next. Beneath these buttons are the USB and SD/MMC ports. The same volume knob can be pressed and this doubles as an adjustment for bass and treble as well. When in FM mode, you can use it to modify the volume level as well as cycle through radio frequencies although it is not very intuitive to use in this way.

While this glossy front panel is a bit loud, the overall effect with the orange single line text that displays which input source is in use and the number is pretty nice. We like the effect of the blue LEDs with the orange display, although we would like the control buttons to be larger and thereby more comfortable on our fingerpads. We’d also like the buttons to be softer – they’re far too hard. The volume dial might look cool, but it has play, and the attenuation is not evenly stepped. While moving the volume from 15 to 13 there is hardly any change in dB levels, while from 11 to 9, there is a huge difference. This aside, it is easy to get the music at a comfortable listening level with a little bit of fiddling of the volume button. Zebronics does provide a remote unit, and while it’s a small and basic looking one, it does have a good number of controls on it, and works fairly well from a distance of 5-6 feet away.

Continue reading about ZEB-Station, its features, and our verdict, on the next page...

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