The ZK350 is the third installment of Zune Docks by kicker. The ZK350 hits a sweet spot somewhere in between blending portability with bass. In order to make it even more portable there is an optional battery add-on that will keep your beats playing for a few hours away untethered from the wall.
Design and Build Quality
The unit itself is rugged just like the rest of the ZK family- hard black plastic with metal grill screen. The buttons are minimal with just a center click rotary knob on the front. The display is very minimal with LED lights indicating volume levels and modes. This minimal approach is kool since it keeps the unit cost down and really you don’t need any more info to display. The Zune’s screen takes care of most of it.
There is a handle on the back that is deep allowing you to comfortably grab the dock and move it. At the same time it’s stealthy
and doesn’t look like it has a handle. One of the other nice things about this dock is they did away with the plate inserts for every different model of Zune. Instead they added an infinitely adjustable back plate so that any Zune will fit without having to find the box or wherever you put those pesky dock inserts. The more important thing is it is more secure than the inserts- important because it has been known to rattle the Zune right out of the ZK500 dock.
Remote
Underneath the front center of the player there is a magnet that stores the remote when you are not using it- kudos to Kicker
for this clever feature. Since there is a magnet on the back of the remote you can also attach the remote to the front metal grill with
minimal coverage of the speakers.
The remote has been improved from previous docks. The layout on the past remotes was confusing and was sometime hard to tell which side was up. The one for the ZK350 has a much better layout with properly configured directional buttons and clearly marked volume buttons. Some of the remote’s functions will be limited with the Zune HD since it is a touch device and directional controls are not even
sound Quality
The dock features two 1/2″ tweeters and two 4” subwoofers matched with a passive 4.5” square subwoofer on the back. The
sound does a fantastic job at reproducing crisp highs and warm clean lows. Adversely to studio monitors, the ZK350 does a good job of filling a room with omnidirectional sound. It sounds good at most points off axis.
The ZK350’s low end is noticeably weaker than the ZK500 as expected with smaller woofers; it certainly does miss that really
low wall rattling bass. However it does extend low enough and will still beat out most other docks that are similarly sized.
Simple EQ are available for treble and bass with 5+- levels of adjustment. It’s nice and balanced as it is, but occasionally tune
down the bass at night to be considerate to the neighbors.
Inputs and Outputs
If you keep your ZK350 mostly at a desk, the headphone outputs on the front might come in handy. Similarly if your dock resides near your AV gear there are fixed audio and video outs via RCA jacks on the back. For fans of the radio an antenna connection is on the back so that you don’t have to plug headphones into the headphone jack for an antenna.
Accessories
The ZK350 has a few add on accessories to make it even more portable, away from a power outlet with the battery add-on or
on the road with the 12 volt adapter.
Battery
The battery MSRPs for $100 but can be found for much less on Amazon. Depending on how and where you use the ZK350 will
depend on if this price tag is worth it to you. It is after all about half the price of the unit itself. It is well worth it since you are able to
move the dock to different rooms depending on what you’re doing: living room, office, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom- it pretty much
follows you around the house. Having this ease of portability, you get a lot more play time with the dock.
The battery is rated between 2-5 hours depending on how loud you play it.
One annoyance you can have with the battery is that the LED never shuts off, even when unplugged from the wall and from the
dock itself. Kicker says the battery drain is minimal and its agreeable, but there still is some battery drain and the visual annoyance of
a blue LED in a dark room.
One other note on the battery is that it is installed on the dock with screws. So you cannot easily swap out the battery on the fly. Not a big deal, it blends nicely with the dock and doesn’t add a substantial amount of weight.
12 Volt Auto Adapter
It would make the ZK350 an awesome companion on a camping or tailgating trip. This adapter plugs into your cigarette lighter in
your car and will work for all of the Kicker speaker docks.
Conclusion
Of all the Zune docks on the market so far this one could definitelybe your personal favorite since it combines great sound with
portability. The ZK500 certainly does hit harder and louder, but for an 1100 square foot apartment, the ZK350 is way more than enough. You might lean more towards the ZK500 if you were using it outside or didn’t have neighbors to upset. Either way the ZK350 is a great option in the ZKick series of Zune docks.
The ZK350 MSRPs for $200 but can be found for about $150 on Amazon. If you are interested in a bit more thump without the battery option, the ZK500 is $20 more.
