Price: £220
Website: www.onkyo.co.uk
Size: WxHxD: 20x10x35cm
Weight: 5.3kg
Connections: Three line inputs, two outputs, sub out, digital optical out stereo speaker spring clips
Plus points:
The new mini system champion with clever iPod control option. Looks good and sounds better
Minus points:
Some fiddly controls, spring clip speaker connections, protruding heatsinks defy 'compact' nature
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Onkyo is gradually raising its UK profile with a number of cleverly designed, good value products to rival the establishment on these shores. In its native Japan, the story is quite different, however, where Onkyo sells far more units than Denon, for example, and is very popular with the buying public. Onkyo also has its more upmarket offshoot, Integra Research, which produces some very fine AV product that knocks on the high-end door. At the other end of the wider product portfolio are its micro receiver systems. These are incredibly popular in Japan and the new DAB-enabled CR-505 is now beginning to make waves on our soil.
Not only does the new micro pack in a competent CD player, 25-watt amplifier (into four ohms) and AM/FM functionality, it also boasts a DAB tuner. Its CD player section uses the respected Wolfson DACs and allows you to record its output from the digital optical connection. The integrated amplifier boasts Onkyo's proprietary WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), which is said to offer a wide bandwidth output with low noise and high dynamic output. You can connect a further three sources to its inputs or add another two devices in the output chain.
Radio fans will delight in the AM/FM tuner section that sports 40 presets, RDS and auto scanning, plus of course the DAB section which offers up to 59 presets. Further features include an aluminium front panel, fascia-mounted headphone jack and a fully functioning remote control. Perhaps one of the most exciting possibilities with this system, however, is the DS-A1 remote iPod dock, which allows the connection and control of an iPod through the remote handset. This optional device will set you back around £60 and plugs into the phono inputs of the amp, allowing your iPod's content to be enjoyed through a more 'hi-fi' system than those awkward little earbuds it came with.
Once the dock is switched to match the input it is connected to you can control basic functions of the iPod and even view JPEG images if you connect its S-video output to a suitable display. The dock will also charge the iPod and seems to be a genuine 'fit and forget' ancillary. Navigating iPod content from Onkyo's excellent remote quickly becomes as familiar as Apple's intuitive control interface and quickly makes getting up to change CDs seem like a chore.
It's a good job the remote is so well laid out, as the aluminium fascia is quite crowded. While the main buttons are big enough, the crucial input select is too small and the tone controls inhibit all but the thinnest fingers. These gripes are shadowed however, by a large, bright and clear display that also makes operation from a distance with the remote simple.
The back panel is equally busy with a good complement of connections around the protruding heatsinks. We'd love to see conventional binding posts on these products in the future (assuming it can be done without bumping up the price) instead of the spring clips that are so commonplace.
There is a speaker option with the package (untested, but you can see what it looks like by clicking on the pic above) that's available for a supplement although there are certainly many suitable budget options available that will probably flatter the electronics more appropriately. We tested the system with a speaker costing twice the price (PMC's DB1+) that demonstrated the quality of the output across all mediums, which is something budget speakers can sometimes disguise.
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| Onkyo's DS-A1 Remote Interactive Dock gives an extra dimension to your 'pod
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Performance
Unless you've been in a cave since the turn of the century, you'll be able to appreciate Denon's dominance in the mini-system market. Its legendary DM-31 (now called DM-33) system has consistently been the one to beat.
Well, we think there's a new champion. The Onkyo sound is detailed, full bodied and well balanced and its wealth of features and internal technology makes it incredible value. It only ever loses its composure when pushed to its limits at the frequency extremes but this is an unlikely scenario for the kind of person it's most likely aimed at.
What's also striking is the performance from the iPod when used with the DS-A1 dock. Not only does it put all-in-one iPod docks to shame, but it opens up the player in a way you could never appreciate with headphones. Soundstages begin to open out and musical layers become much easier to define. When put in context, CD, DAB and FM performance is really excellent with no obvious foibles, and when you consider the price tag, it's hard to grumble about anything really.
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Onkyo's new CD/DAB receiver offers everything you could want or at least expect from such a small box. Sound quality is of a good standard for this type of product and the DS-A1 remote iPod dock makes perfect sense for the extra £60. For little money, this system has it all covered - MP3, CD, FM and DAB plus it'll bring your iPod to life like magic.
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