With the D FINE EVO, DOCKIN offers a new version of its popular Bluetooth speaker. This should score with app support and a good sound.
For me, the most exciting thing is the replaceable battery! The DOCKIN D FINE EVO is one of the few Bluetooth speakers that has a user-replaceable battery.
As a result, the speaker has a theoretically almost “unlimited” life expectancy, in contrast to the completely glued models that you otherwise get.
But the question arises, is the DOCKIN D FINE EVO also a good Bluetooth speaker apart from the replaceable battery?
Let’s find out in the test!
At this point many thanks to DOCKIN for lending the D FINE EVO for this test.
Testing the DOCKIN D FINE EVO
DOCKIN relies on a very “blocky” design for the D FINE EVO. The speaker is comparatively large at 285 x 100 x 103mm. Although this is clearly still portable, it is already of a size where it could also make sense as a “stationary” system.
The speaker is initially made of black plastic, but has a metal speaker cover on the front and back.
The sides, in turn, are covered with a rubber cover. There is a small flap in the rubber cover on the right side. Below this is an AUX input, as well as a USB C input and USB C output.
On the top we have the four control buttons.
In terms of quality, the speaker seems good so far, although not absolutely perfect.
With replaceable battery
On the underside of the DOCKIN D FINE EVO you will find a small flap which is secured with four normal Phillips screws.
The battery of the Bluetooth speaker is under this flap. Here is a simple battery pack made from 3x 18650 cells. Due to the form factor of the pack, etc., you have to have a special battery or make something yourself, but in principle the battery is replaceable!
This is a huge benefit as I estimate that 90% of all Bluetooth speakers will eventually end up in the trash due to battery life.
That doesn’t have to be the case with the DOCKIN D FINE EVO.
With app support
DOCKIN offers an app for the D FINE EVO. Unfortunately, the app didn’t really want to connect to the speaker on my Google Pixel. However, it worked fine with my iPhone.
In the app you can control the speaker and, more importantly, set an EQ and thus adjust the sound of the speaker a good deal to your liking.
Klang
Let’s get to the sound of the DOCKIN D FINE EVO. In principle, we have a 2-way speaker here, which means we have separate tweeters and woofers. In fact, we have two tweeters and two woofers.
Unfortunately, I no longer have the “old” D FINE in the office and the test was a few days ago, but I think that the D FINE EVO has improved somewhat in terms of sound. Especially with the bass, because this is quite good and also quite powerful, while the old D FINE sounded a bit more “neutral” / flat. But my memory can also be wrong here.
But let’s start at the beginning, with the heights of the D FINE EVO. The highs of the D FINE EVO are absolutely great! These are wonderfully clear and clean, with a nice brilliance, but not too much sharpness either. The highs are “on point” for my taste.
The D FINE EVO weakens a little in the Mitten. Vocals are good and full so far, but here and there, especially in the lower mids, I think I hear a little “hole”. Not dramatic, but not perfect either.
Basically, the D FINE EVO is not a Bass-Bomber. If you are looking for maximum bass, you either have to turn it up a bit via the app (which is only possible to a limited extent) or buy another speaker. The speaker has a good bass, which sounds very round and appropriate. It’s powerful enough that music is fun, but not so over the top that it’s unnatural. The bass has good precision. Perhaps the bass volume could be a little better, but that’s criticism on a very high level.
The bottom line is that the D FINE EVO has a very round sound that does not go to extremes or distort the sound in general, as Bluetooth speakers tend to doas long as you don’t play around with the EQ and sound modes too much!
For example, the bass boost in the app is rather sad. This simply tries to force more bass than the DOCKIN D FINE EVO can deliver. Interestingly, the Bass Boost EQ Preset is 100x better than the regular Bass Boost, for whatever reason. If you want more bass, use the EQ preset with the Bass Boost and not the Bass Boost switch. (However, the loudspeaker also tends to overdrive here)
Nevertheless, the D FINE EVO is by nature more of a balanced loudspeaker and not a bass monster, even if a bit more bass can be “forced” using the EQ.
Conclusion
The DOCKIN D FINE EVO is certainly not an absolute miracle loudspeaker, but it stands out from the competition in a few exciting points.
The most important point for me is the replaceable battery. This effectively gives the speaker an “unlimited” lifespan. Normal Bluetooth speakers, mostly glued to the limit, last maybe 3-5 years, after that they are garbage.
In terms of sound, the D FINE EVO makes a good impression! It delivers a balanced sound with good highs and a solid bass.
If you’re looking for a party / effect speaker that just throws fat bass, then you’ve come to the wrong place, even with EQ adjustments, the EVO isn’t a bass monster. This delivers good bass, but is generally quite mature-sounding.
And I think this fits the conclusion quite well. Are you looking for a mature and durable Bluetooth speaker then the DOCKIN D FINE EVO is a strong choice for you! The price of around €140 at the time of the test is also appropriate, even if it is certainly not a bargain.