Hot on today's list of things we want to be given for free, is Griffin's Amplifi 2.1 speaker system for iPods. We've been playing around with this minimalistic beauty for a few days now and we love it. To start with, it looks awesome -- the buttonless form factor matches the styling of the iPod itself. It's also a solid, wood-encased system that's as weighty as the average horse's head.
Sound quality, too, is impressive for such an affordable system -- about £90. While highs and mids are balanced and nicely defined, considering the price, the bass is truly outstanding -- there's enough oomph here to blast a badger out of his sett. Some of our favourite drum 'n' bass tracks were incredibly well thrusted by the 5-inch sub woofer. While it won't worry your dedicated stand-alone sub, it wins hands-down for affordability.
A standard iPod dock connector sits in the top of the system while a 3.5mm input resides to the rear. The large central volume control is surrounded by a neon blue glow, further adding to the Amplifi's stylish aesthetic. Unfortunately, like many companies, Griffin ships one of those pitiful credit card-esque remote controls, for which it receives nul points.
The Amplifi's twin speaker drivers may lack the crystalline hi-fi sparkle of an audiophile-approved rack of separates, but we have no qualms about recommending this system to anyone who wants an affordable yet powerful all-in-one iPod setup. Look out for our review next week and pop to the next page for a look underneath the system. -Nate Lanxon
The underside of the Amplifi houses the large subwoofer and a bass reflex port. Muy impressivo.