DLO HomeDock for Zune

The accessory experts at DLO have released the first ever 3rd party speakerless Zune Dock and we managed to get our hands all over it for this review. As soon as we plugged it in a cool icy blue light turned on. The light is for appearance only unless you need a little bit of a night light in your room. If the Zune is removed from the dock it will automatically turn off the light.




The kit comes with a quality set of AV cables and also a female mini AV cable. We're hoping to figure out what the mini one is for before the review is over. There is also a power cord but no USB cable included in the kit.



The purpose of the dock is to

A. Charge the Zune
B. Play music on your home stereo
C. Watch Zune videos on your television
D. Connect to a computer and sync the Zune
E. Do it all remotely

If you guessed all the above you're are right! On the rear of the dock are A/V out jacks, a power jack, and a USB port.

The stand that supports the Zune is adjustable, this will come in handy for flash Zune owners that need a smaller gap. There is also a secret reason for the slider we'll reveal at the end.



Rubber pads are on the bottom to prevent scratching.



We've quickly come to the conclusion that the unit looks good with a home entertainment system, while the official 1st party Zune Dock is round and looks better on a computer desk.



The remote is one thing that sets the unit apart. Notice all the extra buttons like brightness, shuffle, and mute. This is the Cadillac of all Zune remotes. It also has twice the range the of the speaker dock remotes we have tested, about 22 feet to be exact.



Now for the secret bonus: Dock with a case on! (case not included with dock) This will only work if you are willing to grab a razor blade and make the opening on the bottom of the case a bit wider. And thank goodness for the slider, you can slide it to match your case thickness. All the other docks and speakerdocks have a recessed area that prevent the use of a case.


In conclusion the audio and video looked and sounded great, but we expected that. We liked the blue light, square shape, Cadillac remote, and docking with the case on. We didn't like not getting a USB cable. Overall the product is solid and it's good to see DLO's commitment to Zune by delivering quality good looking gear. Current MSRP for the HomeDock is $99.95.




UPDATE: Finally figured out the mini female AV cable! We grabbed some powered computer speakers and plugged them into the female end and bingo, we made a little speaker dock.