My Nokia Blog

Nokia MD-6 review: Mini Stereo Speakers - Maximum Sound

Thanks Stefan Constantinescu of intomobile for giving me his extra “Nokia Go: Play” press bag. (And WOMWorld for bringing me there :p) I only found out once on the train home from London this fantastic little gadget wedged amongst the press releases. Here’s my review of the MD-6 and my first post on this blog.

Also posted on mobileburn forums.

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The MD-6 measures in at 32mm x 33.5mm x 122mm, and weighs in at 140g …It’s smaller than most dedicated travel speakers out there, but can it deliver in audio quality?

Physical Aspects:

The Nokia MD-6 appears to be a pen case or a retro cologne bottle, but actually it’s neither. The MD-6 becomes portable stereo speakers, compatible with any device than can accept a 3.5mm AV connector plug.

Glossy black plastic (tends to pick up scratches quickly) with matte red at the poles.

At the bottom end, the MD-6 has approximately 73cm of phono cable that can be discreetly coiled and hidden by the slide of the red switch. Pretty useful as you can set the length of the cable to your needs whilst hiding the excess.The slot that allows the cable to escape does have a tendency to be too tight and pinch the wire, if done too many times could snap it.

Opposite is the business end. Flicking the lid 180 degrees reveals and activates the speakers. The on status is indicated by the white LED. It is held closed by two pairs of magnets, and likewise, kept open by another pair. There’s no mechanical latch to keep the lid closed so if you apply a twisting motion the lid does move side to side.

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The speakers are powered by 4 AAA batteries. On the reverse side to the red switch you’ll notice a pill shaped recess .Pushing down and towards the wires slides this battery cover out exposing the batteries. Its easy when you know how but the past few weeks, it has been a mystery to me as to how to remove that.

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Check out this first video for MD-6 physical Aspects.

Onto the action: Performance:

For something so relatively small, the speakers provide astonishing volume and clarity to your music. There’s ample bass to separate itself from the best integrated speakers of the N800/N95, making the N800/N95 sound more obviously tinny. On full charge, it’s much louder than the loudest Nseries, but still maintaining that crisp sound with no distortion. The only let down perhaps is poor channel separation since the speakers are barely 1cm from each other.

Take a look at this second video and judge for yourself, MD-6 speakers vs phone speakers.

Note: YouTube has degraded video/audio quality as usual. Hopefully the difference is still noticable.

Verdict

The MD-6 seems to personify “wonderfully surprising” with its unconventional, yet highly practical design and great sound quality and volume. Other than the poor channel separation and the tendency of the slot to pinch the wire too much the MD-6 is a well thought out music companion for your Nseries, and every portable decide with a 3.5mm port.

+ Pros:

• Ultra Portable
• Innovative, appealing design
• Loud
• Great Sound

- Cons

• Poor channel separation
• Glossy black plasic vulnerable to scratches
• Cord prone to getting pinched

Battery life is stated to be around 27h. I’ll update you when I have tested this how much I’m able to get.