[XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] stan.s:
MS430 Review: no stereo imaging

These are dropping in price, under $35 on Amazon.

This review is from: Sony Ericsson MS430 Portable Media Speaker Stand for XperiaTM PLAY, XperiaTM arc, iPhone 4, Blackberry, HTC, Samsung and Other Mobile Phones (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Just got this today 5/2011. I've coveted this since I saw it in a youtube demo. It wasn't available in the US for a while. Please note, in SE's own literature -- NOWHERE DOES IT SAY STEREO. That's because each end of the unit has a single function, one side is just for enhanced bass and the other side is for every other frequency. So while it plugs into a stereo jack, it combines both Left and Right into a single speaker, and has no Stereo Imagining. This is sort of disappointing at first and may be a problem with watching a movie or video where stereo imaging is important to how you remember the sound track or directing your eye to a point on the screen, but the way the unit is designed and if you put it on a hard surface the sound field seems to come from the phone's screen while watching video.

Besides that disappointment, it is a Pretty Good Speaker System you can put into your pocket or dump into your bag as it weighs only 103gr (3.6oz) with batteries. The brushed metal tube isn't going to be crushed, there are no protrusions, and it supports your device in horizontal mode. Since I have a SE phone, my controls for volume are on the top (right side). Besides trademarks and logos, there are only three other markings on the unit, a set of two dots, and a line. One dot is on the pullout and twist side with the 3.5mm plug is hidden and another dot and the line are on the long tube side. Aligning the dot to the line is position to gain access to the battery pack. The plug which stores in the bass port, is safely out of the way when changing batteries. 3 AAA Duracells were in the package, attached to the paper frame that displays the unit within the box.

With it's own battery power, it can get moderately loud, but the sound-field drops off fairly quickly and by 15 feet lyrics are not distinguishable. The unit does a good job of directing the bass to the bass port and cutting off the bass at the other speaker. You can get a bit more definition in the sound by turning the unit around (my phone is an inch longer than the unit when connected) putting the music speaker behind the phone, turning it around makes the phone act a wall, directing a bit more of the sound toward you. You can feel the music's vibration if you hold the tube in your hand but it dampens as it gets further from the speaker. The angle of the phone resting against the unit has an effect on the sound field. The twist portion that you connect to your device has ratcheting, but the 3.5mm plug turns fairly easily in your phone particularly if you need to touch the unit's screen/buttons to control or select music. Depending on the friction between the edge of your phone and the surface it's on may cause the phone to rest at the lowest position against the tube vs a steeper angle. It's best to use the ratcheted end to twist the unit into the position you want. I wish this would be stiffer, but the fault lies inside your device, and the internal clip loosens with use. The viewing angle with the lowest position is pretty good but not ergonomic unless you're viewing from a couple feet away.

My phone has PowerAmp for Android on it, and with the equalizer you can push the sound into the area of distortion particularly with the Tone dials. Frankly afaik, the Phone Speaker setting seems most suited for it. This Preamp setting boosts an extended mid-range of the sound spectrum while leaving the lowest bass and highest treble alone.

Listening at 80% volume or higher without equalizer or preamp to a Flac dance track (Girl Talk), it's not as full sounding as on a full stereo setup. Listening to U2's Joshua Tree sounds fine as does Katy Perry "Not Like the Movies", but Green Day's "At The Library", vocals sound a bit tinny and not a pleasant, though the drums are sharp; the cymbals are a bit clipped; the guitars are okay. Art Blakey's "Moanin'" listens well on this low volume device, and I could not pick out any clipping in the horns. Amy Winehouse singing "Me and Mr. Jones" was a problem, her voice was slightly distorted at louder volumes, and the full background instrumentation was clipped at lower volumes.

These are definably PERSONAL speakers and not suitable for a 'party' but could be shared with a few others if you were speaker calling or wanted to view a video with someone else. But if you're in your dorm room, office desk (could be too loud for a cubicle, I think) hotel room, these could be useful for ambient music without headphones.

If I could have made any changes, I think a thin flat side on the tube so it wouldn't roll would have been an improvement (but not esthetically), and maybe some sort of lever to give more angles that are stiffer since touching the screen or buttons causes the unit to go to it's most reclined position. Also, a spot to cut it off instantly would be nice, I just got a phone call, and had trouble turning off the music. A battery indicator would be a fine addition as well as an external power source.