Performance
For a system with the ubiquitous-in-clubland
Ministry of Sound name slapped on the front, we honestly expected a
hell of a lot more bass, even for a lower-end system. The speakers
aren't capable of reproducing well the heavy drum 'n' bass beats of
Pendulum that we pumped through them. The pounding, driven bass lines
of Tarantula
sounded disappointingly washed out. At higher volumes the beats were
more prominent but mild distortion crept in, wholly ruining any chance
of us being any kind of impressed.
Next we tried Funky Monks, some classic Red Hot Chili Peppers from Blood Sex Sugar Magik. The beauty of this album lies not just in the songwriting but in the way it was recorded. The relentless punchiness of Chad Smith's snare drum and the red hot bounciness of Flea's trippy bass lines are only so well conveyed as a result of class 'A' production. Neither of these characteristics of this superb album are well reproduced here. Mids and highs are reprehensibly muddy and poorly defined.
However, without losing sight of the system's price, our criticism could be happily ignored by anyone who's after a loud, affordable and nice enough looking piece of equipment. It weighed hard on our minds though, that Griffin's terrific Amplifi system, while lacking a CD drive or a display, produced vastly superior, incredibly powerful audio and cost the same as Ministry of Sound's MOSMC139IP.
Conclusion
There's no doubt that this micro system's
notably poor sound quality and questionable construction leaves a
sizable amount to be desired. However, any teen on a budget looking for
a fairly attractive and loud iPod-compatible system for their bedroom,
will almost certainly approve.
If a CD player isn't a critical feature, consider Griffin's Amplifi. This dedicated 2.1 iPod speaker system boasts sound quality and power we'd expect of a £200 setup, yet it costs only £90. The built-in subwoofer packs a hell of a punch and build quality is truly second to none.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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