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GUNN Audio X-22 Sound Tower review: Gunn Audio X-22 Sound Tower

It's all kinds of unrefined, but if all you want to do is turn it up loud and fill a room with sound on a tight budget, the X-22 is for you.

Seamus Byrne Editor, Australia & Asia
Seamus Byrne is CNET's Editor for Australia and Asia. At other times he'll be found messing with apps, watching TV, building LEGO, and rolling dice. Preferably all at the same time.
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Seamus Byrne
2 min read

Audiophiles, walk away. boombox lovers who just want high volume for low cash, keep reading.

5.5

GUNN Audio X-22 Sound Tower

The Good

Solid high volume performance. Bang for buck.

The Bad

Poor low to mid volume performance. Low quality cabinet.

The Bottom Line

An unrefined product, but when turned up it fills a room at a great price.

Design

Unpacking the 1-metre tall 18kg unit, you can quickly see you've picked up a budget system. The finish is a simple, unrefined black box that is pretty rough around the edges. The on-board screen is a basic affair, but it'll get the job done. This is a docking music box after all, so you can run most of your music straight from your iDevice.

The X-22 Sound Tower.(Credit: Gunn Audio)

Features

The Gunn X-22 can dock any 30-pin iPad, iPod and iPhone, as well as offering auxiliary and RCA input, along with built-in FM radio. The X-22 runs a seven-speaker system inside the black box, one 8-inch sub, four 3.5-inch mid-range drivers and two tweeters. These are positioned to spread the audio and really fill a room.

The included IR remote is basic, but lets you run all the controls you need, including direct music navigation and control of your iDevice.

Performance

The tower's sound profile changes dramatically as you shift through the volume. At low volume, there is very little top end and a muddy middle, putting it well out of consideration for any use when you want some subtle background music.

But as you dial up the volume, the sound comes together and balances out quite nicely. Suddenly, the X-22 is using its size to push air like it means it, and it achieves a profile on par with many more expensive systems. It's only at a volume that truly fills a room, but if turning things up loud is what you're wanting to do, and do it on the cheap, the X-22 is worth a look.

Conclusion

We see less features on the X-22 than on its stable-mate, the iWall, but maybe that is for the better. This is a budget system that delivers big sound at a small price. Keep it simple, keep it cheap, and buyers who are willing to look past the rough edges and lack of subtlety should get exactly what they want out of it.