The iMP Gaming DLX2 Nintendo Switch 2 Charging Stand came to the rescue of my gaming clutter | Review

iMP Gaming DLX2 Nintendo Switch 2 Charging Stand review

Photo of the charging stand lit up in the dark, with its LED lighting glowing around the base.
(Image: © Future/Rosalie Newcombe)

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Just like most console covers, the iMP Gaming DLX2 Nintendo Switch 2 Charging Stand is a pretty niche accessory. Unlike the best Switch controllers or headsets, it's not going to hugely elevate your day-to-day experience with the new Ninty handheld however, the stand did help keep my setup all confined in one, easy-to-reach place. Its headset rest meant I could always find where I left my pair of cups, and the LEDs brightened up my livingroom at night, making it stand out amongst the cluttered living room unit it sat on. The DLX2 isn't the biggest must-have Switch 2 add-on out there, but if you have a spare headset and Joy-Cons and want a place to keep them stored, the DLX2 is reasonably priced and will get the job done.

Pros

  • +

    Easy to assemble

  • +

    Reasonably priced

  • +

    Can charge two pairs of Joy-Con at once

  • +

    Compatible with Switch 2/Switch OLED/Switch

  • +

    Can charge extra Pro controllers

Cons

  • -

    Exclusive to the UK for now

  • -

    Plastic feels flimsy

  • -

    Only available in one colorway

  • -

    As niche an accessory as it gets

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Console stands have always felt a bit unnecessary. They feel even more redundant when you factor in the Nintendo Switch 2, as it comes packaged with the official Switch 2 dock, which not only keeps it nice and charged, but gives you a place to store it.

That was how I felt before I got multiple weeks of experience with the iMP Gaming DLX2 Multi-Function Charger Stand. I still see them as niche Switch 2 accessories that only a few people (like those with kids or hoarding attributes like me) will find much use for, but I now understand why these pop up when searching for the best add-ons to any Ninty setup. Having the £34.99 (Amazon UK) device as a fixture of my livingroom allowed me to keep better track of not just my Switch 2 gubbins like any headsets or spare controllers, and made my main-room gaming setup feel more unified. Something I sorely needed as an individual whose house is full to the brim with Nintendo tech.

Design

Close up photo of the right Switch 2 Joy-Con sitting in the base of a charging stand.

(Image credit: Future/Rosalie Newcombe)

The DLX2 Multi-Function Charger Stand from iMP Gaming isn't the nicest Switch 2 accessory to look at, but looks can be deceiving.

Without the dock and other accessories attached, it's essentially just a plain black plastic, rectangular board with a large plastic stick sitting out from it. At least it's not entirely devoid of color, as both the adapter (which connects to the dock to keep it in place) and the game storage tray are draped out in that classic neon red that you find on the Switch family of gaming handhelds, including on the left Joy-Con of the Switch 2.

That being said, it's not the kind of accessory you'd sit and gawk at. At least, not until you've got it equipped with all your various Switch 2 gubbins. Once the dock is attached, you've popped one of the best Nintendo Switch headsets, like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless, hanging on the rest that pokes out from the left-hand side. Once it's filled up with accessories, the DLX2 gives off that professional flair, as it transforms the area where you'd just have your Switch 2 dock and controllers spewed around it into a neat and tidy command center.

It looks better once the LED lighting is switched on, especially in low-light scenarios. But I'll dive into that a bit later.

Features

I was pretty surprised when I pulled the DLX2 out of the box for the first time. I was expecting a lot more pieces to the puzzle, and had set aside a grueling evening putting all the various bits of the plastic gadget together. Instead, there were just three separate parts to put together, and that was that.

The base, headrest, and adapter all came seperately but they fit together like a super easy jigsaw puzzle. Once together, I was left to slide the Switch 2 dock onto the top of the stand and ensure the two USB ports of the red adapter were inserted into its sides. It's this connection that not only powers the entire stand, including its LED lighting and ability to charge additional Joy-Cons, but also prevents the dock from moving around on the base.

The neat thing about this adapter is that its height is adjustable, so that it can be used alongside the original Switch and Switch OLED dock. I really like this addition, as it means that any parent who bought this for their kid can grab it now and still make use of it when they're ready to bestow the new shiny Switch 2 upon their nerdy offspring. Nothing makes me happier than an accessory that's backwards compatible, especially as it pushes the pretty reasonable £34.99 MSRP of the stand even further.

Photo of the Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro headset sitting on the headset rest of the charging stand.

(Image credit: Future/Rosalie Newcombe)

Other than keeping your dock nice and secure, the DLX2 has four slots to charge two sets of Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers. Regrettably, I don't yet own an additional pair to fully make the most of this feature. That being said, I did pop my original set into the slots, and they easily attached without issue.

The same can be said for any gaming headset I had at hand. The large black stick poking out from the base, which you can see in the images in this review, is designed for resting a headset of your choosing. It doesn't charge your headset, as it's just a bit of plastic, and honestly that was to be expected given the price, but the rest is a nice extra regardless. As the resident headset nerd of the GamesRadar+ team, I'm usually always drowning in cups to review, but having this rest meant I could keep better tabs of the pair I was currently writing about.

Talking of keeping accessories stored away, the stand also comes equipped with a game storage tray which pops out from the right-hand side. Additionally, there are two USB ports on the left side, and two USB cables on the back that can charge additional controllers. As attaching the Switch 2 takes away two ports, it's nice that iMP Gaming cleverly thought to still provide these.

The last remaining feature of the DLX2 is its LED lighting. The lighting travels throughout the outer edge and top of the base. The headset rest also features a translucent plastic edge, which catches the lighting and below, acting like a beacon so you can easily find your headset if you're in a low-lit room. A switch on the stand allows you to turn on and off the lighting, or toggle through a series of static colors and lighting effects.

Performance

The iMP Gaming DLX2 Charging Stand became a fixture in the livingroom unit, which sits below my TV, when I first set it up just before the holiday break. Finding the space for it was a bit of a struggle initially, as this thing takes up a bit more space than the regular Switch 2 dock.

I also have the misfortune of having my TV mounted a bit too high for what the HDMI cable with the Switch 2 can handle. So throughout using it, there was a bit of tug felt on the stand, but that's an issue with how I've set up my main room, rather than anything to do with the device itself. When it was all hooked up and ready to go, I really appreciated having the DLX2 in my life.

As a gaming tech nerd and collector, there are accessories and Nintendo bits and bobs crammed into every available crevice of my home. It's gotten unruly, so it was nice to instead have a proper place to store a headset when I wasn't using it. The stand isn't the most sturdy of headset rests I've used in the past, but during the little over two weeks I had the Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro resting on top of it, never once did it fall off or receive any unwanted damage. Which was a relief as someone who often tests pairs of cups that are far more pricier than this stand.

Photo of a red tray pulled out with a plethora of Switch and Switch 2 games sat inside of it.

(Image credit: Future/Rosalie Newcombe)

While I appreciate its existence as part of DLX2, I ended up not finding much use out of the game storage tray. If I were a kid in a more compact room, I could imagine it'd be pretty neat to have that hidden tray and a plethora of games stored upon it.

As an adult with my own living room, I found it much easier to have my Pokemon Legends Z-A and Donkey Kong Bananza cartridges stuffed in my Hori Gengar and Mimikyu Vault case instead. Having them nearby, rather than across the room, meant I could peruse them at my liking and settle my anxiety of knowing where they were at all times. Whether you'd prefer to have them part of the stand or a case, or right in their boxes when not being played, will be more of a personal preference.

I found this to be the exact same case with the two USB-C cables that you can unravel from the back. They're very fiddly to get out of the thing, and despite the large amount of attention I gave my Switch 2 over the holiday break, there was never an instance where I felt I had to use them.

As an RGB defender, I really like the LED lighting that's part of the stand. Does it look a bit tacky? Absolutely, but I'm a fan of tacky. I don't like having the 'big light' on in my main room, so it was nice to look down from the TV and see the stand glowing and highlighting my fancy Switch 2 at all times. For those who hate that trademark gamer look, you can turn the LEDs off. For me, these were on pretty much 24/7.

Should you buy the iMP Gaming DLX2 Charging Stand for the Nintendo Switch 2?

Photo of the Switch 2 dock sitting in a black charging stand, with yellow LED lights glowing around it.

(Image credit: Future/Rosalie Newcombe)

First and foremost, if you're in the US you won't be able to grab the iMP Gaming DLX2 Multi-Function Charger Stand for your Nintendo Switch 2. Like I briefly mentioned at the start of this review, other third-party brands like JSAUX have similarly designed stands in the making, but hopefully one day this will pop up across US retailers.

If and when it does make its way across the pond, or you spot a similar-looking alternative at US retailers, I definitely encourage you to grab one if you want to clean up your setup. Or, even if you have a child and want them to keep all their Switch 2 accessories together in one easy-to-find spot.

The stand is as niche as Switch 2 accessories can get, and it's not a requirement in any way to have the best time playing the recently released Animal Crossing New Horizons Switch 2 update, or cracking open some more Mario Kart World. It's entirely valid to keep that spare £34.99 and put it towards upcoming games instead. However, if you're fed up with struggling to find where you placed your headset and like the idea of everything being in one confined place, adding a stand like the DLX2 to your setup is a good way to go about it.

How I tested the iMP Gaming DLX2 Charging Stand for the Nintendo Switch 2

I set up the DLX2 Charging Stand shortly before the holiday break, and added my Switch 2, a gaming headset, and a series of games to its game storage tray. For little over two weeks, the stand acted as the epicenter of my Nintendo gaming setup, whether I was placing it in docked or handheld mode.

For more information on how we test Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, please read our full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.


If it's accessories you're after, our team has also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases, the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards.

Rosalie Newcombe
Hardware Editor

Ever since I first held a NES controller in my hand I've been obsessed with gaming, and the hardware it runs on. I could hook up a NES and SNES to a telly, without instructions, before I could walk. Even now, nothing is more exciting then taking a console, or handheld, out the box for the first time and setting it up. This obsession transformed into a love of games and game music, which lead to my music degree and dream of becoming the Scottish Nobuo Uematsu. After sharing my love of games through music, I began to share my love through words on sites like TechRadar and iMore. This lead to becoming a Hardware staff writer for PCGamesN, and later the Senior Tech Writer for Dexerto, covering all things Steam Deck, PlayStation and Nintendo. With that experience, I was able to level up as Hardware Editor for GamesRadar+, where I'm still just as Nintendo, PlayStation and gaming tech obsessed as ever.

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