Reviewed – Sony RDH SK8iP


5 Feb 2011

This MP3 speaker system definitely has style, but is it a worthy addition to your home?

Docking station

The Sony RDH SK8iP is a pretty big device, measuring 605mm wide and weighing 8kg. While it’s not exactly portable, it’s a decent size if you want to have a sound system as a immoveable fixture of the sitting room or bedroom.

The system provides a dock for iPhone and iPod Touch devices, an audio in port for all other types of MP3 players and volume buttons.

Navigation through tracks can be done on the MP3 player itself or from the remote control, which offers a menu button, navigational buttons, play, pause and volume buttons. I found the remote control was quite responsive, though not great when using it from long distances.

The Sony RDH SK8iP offers 75W RMS sound output. It’s quite powerful with a lot of bass, so it works quite well for parties and for annoying the neighbours.

While it’s good on sound, the speaker system seems to be quite basic in terms of functionality. A lot of other docking systems of a similar price usually have other features, such as a display or an FM radio tuner. In this case, Sony RDH SK8iP’s killer app is its customisation.

Appearance

Sony SK8 skins

The sound system lets users change and design its front skin. Changing it is easy – by twisted the black, circular rims around the speakers, users can remove the top transparent plastic case, take the skin out and slip a new one in.

It comes with four different skins in the box and the user can create his or her own for an individual look.

Sony and Wrappz have a site which provides this service. It provides thousands of images to select from or users can choose their own images from their computers. Users can also add text, change the image size rotation and add different colours.

The level of customisation within this site is a bit limited, though users can make the entire design themselves on their PCs and upload them to the site if they wish.

The price is stg£12.49 for the custom skin, not including postage. Alternatively, users can design their own from a template, but printing it out may prove difficult, as the sound system is much larger than A4 size.

Overall

It’s clear Sony is aiming at a younger audience with this device. At its price, I would have expected a few more features on the system itself. However, for a young person who wants an individual-looking MP3 speaker system and wants to play music loud enough to tear the house down, it certainly does the job.

The Sony RDH SK8iP costs at €200 in all Sony Centres.