Musky DY-21L Bluetooth Speaker Review

Rating: 3/5

What I Like:

Sound is overall decent, with a good mix of highs and a little bit of bass
Appearance is pretty nice
Built-in battery is easily rechargeable
Loud volume without serious distortion

What I Don’t Like:

Not 2.1 channels as it doesn’t have a separate subwoofer
Build quality feels very cheap
Start up and connection noise is awful and loud
Always restarts at volume 19
Unable to show the clock at the same time as playing music
Have to cycle through all modes just to see the time

Summary: The Musky DY-21L has quite a bit going for it in terms of sound quality. While the bass isn’t extremely heavy, the sound quality is overall decent with an ‘open’ feel to it. It has clear high tones and good mid-lows. Unfortunately some of the functionality of the speaker makes it difficult and frustrating to use.

Author’s Note: My speaker was branded “Aedilys” but it’s the same thing.

Where to Buy

Musky DY-21L:
Amazon U.S.A. | Amazon Canada | Gearbest
Price at time of review: $29.99

Build Quality & Appearance

On first glance, the DY-21L looks pretty nice but upon closer inspection this speaker is very cheap. Everything is plastic and the speaker is quite light weight. The power switch feels very poorly made and the back plastic is not painted to look like metal, so it does not match the rest of the speakers. Thankfully, the top buttons feel OK so once it’s turned on the speaker isn’t too bad to handle, but the cheapness is evident if the speaker is picked up, turned or pushed.

Audio Quality

If you want small speaker with good audio quality and nothing else, this speaker will do fine. For the most part, the sound is rich and balanced. It doesn’t have much in the way of low bass, but what it lacks there it makes up for in clarity and volume. The speaker can get quite loud without distortion, loud enough to fill a small room but keep in mind that the farther you get from the speaker, the worse it will sound. If you’re sensitive to ‘sparkle’ in the treble the speaker has quite a lot of it. In order to simulate 3D surround (or whatever the ‘feature’ is advertised as) the speaker tends to push the high tones a little bit far and causes some fuzzy clipping. It’s noticeable in almost every situation – especially with high female vocals. It doesn’t usually bother me due to the genre of music I primarily listen to (metal), but in quieter situations with lots of treble the clipping is noticeable. I wouldn’t suggest this speaker to an audiophile or someone who wants lots of bass, but the average user will like the sound just fine.

Battery Life

Battery life with this speaker is pretty good – around the advertised 8 hours. No problems here.

Usability

The 21L features an FM radio, Micro SD card reader, and clock function, but unfortunately these functions are quite poorly integrated. The most infuriating is that it is impossible to view the clock at the same time music is playing. The clock is an entirely different function and to get to it requires cycling through all the functions. Those who want to use this speaker as a clock too will be thoroughly disappointed. The radio works fine, best with a Line cable plugged in as the antenna. I didn’t try the micro SD card function.

Connectivity & Signal

The speaker starts up and connects with a loud, annoying tone and since the volume resets to 19 / 30 when the power is cycled it’s always extremely loud. I couldn’t power this thing on without waking my parents, and they live 3 blocks away! The signal is otherwise good, though. There’s also a loud buzz whenever Bluetooth is connected, disconnected or the music plays/pauses. It really highlights the cheapness of the chipset used in this speaker.

Conclusion

Those who buy the DY-21L just for its Bluetooth music playback will be happy enough as it sounds alright, but the other features are poorly integrated at best. Its cheap build and other quirks bring its score down. While I wouldn’t immediately rule this speaker out if I was to buy it again, I’d definitely take a look at other speakers in the price range and compare before settling.