iMP Tech DLX2 + LED Multifunction Charge Stand

I have a lot of Nintendo Switches. This is not a humble brag—I don't need or want this many. I only have two hands, after all. Its just one of those things that happens when you write about video games and have a bunch of kids. Each of my Switches serves a specific purpose: I have my personal Switch, my review Switch, my specific-review-for-that-one-company Switch. And of course, my Switch 2, which has devalued and displaced the others. Most of them just lay around collecting dust unless I need that precise Switch, in which case I drag it out of whatever drawer it was languishing in, charge it up with my phone charger or whatever is handy, and slap it into one of the many docks around my house, most of which look something like this:

Don't judge. Your boy is busy.

Obviously, my organization and cord control could use a little help. The state of my Switches is a hot mess. So I was mighty curious to take the iMP DLX2 + LED Multi-Function Charge Stand for a test drive when I heard it was available.

The DLX2 stand isn't going to take care of every dock/cord nightmare I have in my house, but it can at the very least make me look organized on my primary television in the living room where guests can actually see my unruly rat king of cords. (Google "rat king" if you don't already know.) The value prop being offered here by iMP is primarily organization. Sure, the DLX2 stand can charge an extra controller or two over what the Switch or Switch 2 can do on its own, but the main reason for its existence is to help you deal with the mess.

Yes, my daughter chose to paint on the table where I took these pictures without laying something down first. I'm not particularly happy about it.

The first big surprise for me after unboxing the DLX2 and snapping it together—which took about 30 seconds—was that the stand doesn't have power in and of itself. The stand actually plugs into your Switch dock (and for the moment, let's assume that I'm talking about both Switch and Switch 2) and draws its power from there. There is a little sliding widget on the interior of the base with dual USB plugs that slip right into the dock of either system. The USB widget adjusts slightly up and down to compensate for both models, and once you have it plugged in the stand draws its power from there.

The Dock nestles neatly down into the stand, fitting snugly but stopping short of locking into place. Once the power situation is handled, you can start charging your various devices. If you are truly a nutjob, you could feasibly plug in four Switch Joy-Cons, four Switch 2 Joy-Cons, and two Pro Controllers for charging all at once. There are plastic docks for both types of Joy-Con, which work quite well, and two cords slide out of the back of the base for your Pro Controllers. However, the folks that wrote the instruction book for iMP Tech do not recommend doing so, as you'll be stretching the power supply beyond what Nintendo originally intended. They recommend sticking to either four Switch or four Switch 2 Joy-Cons if you are going to plug in your Pro Controllers—otherwise you might trigger "low voltage alarms or Protection Mode" on your device, which sounds bad. So, do not be a nutjob is the moral here, I guess.

There is a plastic arm that can be used to house your headset, if you are so inclined. I tend to have headsets laying around interchangeably all over the place, so my lack of a committed Switch headset makes this feature a bit vestigial for my personal use. However, the arm does light up with LED lights, as does the base, which makes the stand look fancy. You can control the color and configuration of the LED lights with a little button, which cycles through the options when you tap it. The build of the stand feels sturdy enough without feeling "premium," if that makes sense. Given the fact that it is intended to sit stationary and not really be handled all that frequently, I'm not certain that any additional heft would really benefit the situation.

There is also a little plastic tray that pops open from the side of the stand which can house up to nine Switch cartridges. I had problems getting my games into this tray, as the little molded plastic clips that are intended to snap the cartridges into place were a bit too flimsy. They tended to bend down instead of staying ridged enough to snap around the cartridges, which made me feel like they were going to break off. I had to support them from underneath with my fingers in order to get the cartridges to snap into place, and even then it was tough. So the tray isn't great.

And...that's kinda it. Stand, headset arm, controller chargers, and game tray. A solid combination of features intended to help Switch owners organize their situation. It works well enough and looks nice, but I have to wonder, is this device really for me? 

I only have two Switch 2 Joy-Cons, and though I have a zillion laying around from O.G. Switches, they all have various states of stick drift going on, and I avoid using them whenever possible. I do like the option to charge two Pro Controllers at once, but the form factor of the DLX2 takes up a lot more space that a dock, and I'm not sure the tradeoff to charge an extra controller is worth it. I have admitted a lack of organization, but most of that comes from a lack of available space; my Switch docks normally sit in tiny areas behind the various TVs and monitors to which they are attached. I typically have three to four consoles hooked up to each screen, so I'm not sure I need a stand that will take up even more precious near-TV real estate. Also, I do sometimes enjoy using corded controllers, and the USB hog DLX2 prevents me from doing so. After attaching the Switch to the base, there aren't any more USB ports to plug one in.

That said, there is definitely an audience out there for this stand; not everyone has multiple devices coming out their ears. I imagine that the appropriate consumer for the DLX2 stand is a Switch owner that is proud to show off their device in a way that draws attention to it, in a space that allows for a committed display. Someone that has extra Joy-Cons and plays with them so much that they need an extra set on standby. For me though, my devices are purely function over form, so I supposed I'm doomed to continue my life of disarray.