Review: Philips Fidelio DS8550

I always like Philips products. So when I decided to buy a Bluetooth speaker, this product became my choice.

Philips Fidelio DS8550 is a speaker with Bluetooth connection. It means, we can wirelessly transfer our music from any iPhone, iPad, Android devices or any other products with Bluetooth connection. Though Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR or newer is probably needed for better sound quality. In my test, this speaker produces good sound quality, loud enough for a medium-sized living room. Sound quality in wireless mode is as good as when my iPhone is directly attached to this unit’s 30-pin dock. Couldn’t hear a noticeable drop in quality.

At the back side, we can see a charging plug and aux input. There’s a place for our hand to lift this unit easily. Good design. The built-in battery is good enough for playing music at least 2 hours (I haven’t tried longer than that).

The 30-pin dock is designed for either iPhone or iPad. We also get a bonus of iPad stand together with this unit. It comes with a remote, which might be unneeded if we choose to use it with its Bluetooth connection. I do seriously hope the remote has backlit buttons though. I usually need to use the remote at night so I don’t have to get up and walk, but I can’t see the buttons.

With its good functionality and sound quality, this product does have one major weakness. When we use its dock with iPhone/iPad/iPod attached, we always have to readjust the volume EVERY TIME. Sometimes the volume still remembers our last setting, but randomly it will go to either half volume or full volume. Sometimes I plugged an iPhone at night and it automatically plays random songs from my iPhone at maximum volume. Not good for our heart, not good for the neighbors.

I kept the speaker charged all the time, so power shouldn’t be an issue. I think it’s just a bug in their firmware.

If we can ignore this volume setting bug, this unit is very decent. The sound is clear, even in low volume; the size is ideal for a bed-side table; and the Bluetooth sound quality is good. There is a Fidelio app that can be downloaded from AppStore. An added value, I guess. I personally don’t see the need to use the app.