ipod speakers

In December, when I asked readers of The Audiophiliac to "Show us yours--your hi-fi that is," I didn't know what sort of response I'd get. But it turned out to be a broad and deep one. JPEGs of heavyweight hi-fis flooded my in-box--from huge home theaters to desktop audio setups. There's some sweet gear here, so click to the slideshow to check out the systems.

Onkyo's new "iOnly" family of iPod speakers has three models, iOnly Play (ABX-100), iOnly Stream (ABX-N300), and iOnly Bass (SBX-300).

I have the SBX-300 in for review, and it sounds pretty nice. The look is basic, but the black cloth speaker grilles, brushed-aluminum base and carry handle, and the retractable dock give the SBX-300 a nice sense of style. An LED display peeks through the upper right hand side of the grille and indicates volume and bass boost level. The Active Bass Control Circuit boost is available in two steps, via the small remote control. Power is … Read more

Arcam has a reputation for producing meticulously engineered high-end audio products, so I was curious to try its iPod speaker, the rCube.

I've shied away from reviewing all that many iPod speakers, mostly because they don't offer the best possible sound for the money. That's my beat, finding great-sounding gear, and iPod speakers rarely qualify. Convenient, you bet, sound great, well, that's another story.

The Arcam rCube is a portable iPod dock. Fit and finish are upscale; it's a truly elegant design. The top of the cube has five touch-sensitive buttons--source select, wireless on/off, volume up and down, and standby--arrayed in front of the flip-up door that conceals the iPod dock and the speaker's carry handle. The rCube is available in a black or white finish, and I think the white one looks great. … Read more

You almost can't go wrong giving the gift of music, so take a look at our top audio picks in this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

My opinion is that one can never have too many headphones since each model offers a different sound profile, but check out these alternatives for the audiophile on your gift list.

A good place to start is obviously a portable music player like the versatile Apple iPod Touch, but I also love the Logitech Wireless Boombox for iPad.

It lets you stream music from any device with a Bluetooth connection (most current smartphones, … Read more

Apparently, the designers at Fluance think different.

Instead of plastic they made their FiSDK500 iPod speaker out of wood, and they made it sound good enough to please audiophiles. It's usually $200, but it's on sale through November 7 for just $100. (Just be sure to add the coupon code "FISDK500" when checking out.)

I usually judge iPod speakers on a different scale than regular speakers. I have to, they're handicapped in a number of ways, even the $600 models never really delver hi-fi sound quality, and the one-piece models have almost no stereo separation. … Read more

My brief exposure to the Altec Lansing's Octiv 650 iPod/iPhone speaker dock ($199) at the CNET office in New York made a strong, very positive impression. It sounded so nice, I had to try one for myself at home.

Before we go any further I have to say I'm not a big fan of iPod/iPhone speakers. The cheap ones mostly sound pretty awful, and while the best of the expensive ones are fine, they aren't worth the money. Think about it: for $600 you can buy a pair of bona-fide hi-fi speakers (from Aperion, Boston … Read more

Back in 2009, we reviewed Altec Lansing's $300 Mix iMT800, a modern iPod/iPhone dock with the look and feel of an old-school, crank-it-till-your-ears-bleed boom box. Now Altec's updated that portable speaker system with some small tweaks and is shipping the new Mix iMT810.

In our review of the previous model, we said the design of Altec Lansing's Mix iMT800 "may not appeal to everyone, but its winning combination of good performance, lots of oomph, and portability makes it one of the best iPod speaker options out there."

While we haven't tested the new … Read more

Last year we reviewed Eton's Soulra solar-powered portable iPod/iPhone speaker. Well, the company is now about to ship the Soulra's big brother, the Soulra XL.

Featuring a extra large, retractable 72 square-inch "enhanced" monocrystal solar panel, the 7-pound Soulra XL has a built-in 2000mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery. The company says it will run for five hours of continuous play (as long as it has some sun to soak up) and has eight speaker drivers and 22W output, which will fill a good-size room or patio space with sound.

Eton's taking preorders on the $… Read more

There's a growing trend in iPhone/iPod speaker docks. Instead of building in a bunch of features like an LCD display for the clock, an AM/FM radio, or fancy alarm systems, companies like Altec Lansing are bringing out simple speakers that leverage the iPhone or iPod Touch's impressive capabilities that include the ability to run custom-designed alarm apps.

Some recent examples of the trend include the "app-enhanced" iHome iA5 (not a bad little system) and the iLuv iMM190, which we have not yet reviewed. But Altec's Octiv Mini M102 is more successful than the … Read more