Selecting Speakers For Your iPod
by: Nick Segrue
More and more people are purchasing a set of speakers for their iPods,
some to replace their current home audio set ups in order to get rid of
the cd collections that take up so much room, some to have a portable
audio source for when they are away on holiday, some just for having
some iPod speakers because everyone else is buying them! One of the
problems we come across the most is people being faced with a huge
selection of choices and feeling bewildered about what to buy. What I
am aim to do is make your choice that little bit easier.
We can break down the different sets of speakers into the following categories:
Portable and powered by batteries.
Portable and powered by mains adapter.
Home Set up powered by mains adapter.
For those of you looking for a portable set that is powered by
batteries there are a variety of excellent options at varying prices.
Personally I am of the belief that whatever amount of money you are
spending it is important that sound quality is pretty good as what use
is a light speaker set that has crackily sound! If you are looking to
spend under £50 then we highly rate both the Logic 3 i-Station 7 and
the Monster iSpeaker. Both of these are very light to carry, are of a
size very conveninet for putting ina backpack or suitcase and run for a
good amount of time on batteries, sound from both is exceptional for
this pricepoint with great clarity.
If you are looking to spend a little more then a lot of options
open up in the £50 to £150 bracket. If lightweight is your number one
problem then you will not go far wrong with the JBL On Tour, this is an
incredibly lightweight unit that what it lacks in bass it makes up for
in the sound clarity department. If you would prefer better sound
quality then a step up to an Altec Lansing IM5 or Logitech MM50, Saitek
A250 and for iPod Nano Owners the XtremeMac MicroBlast. All of these
provide excellent sound alongside good looks and a highly portable
structure. Once your budget is going over £150 you are in to the realms
of a great portable system in the Altec Lansing IM7, thumping bass,
crystal clear treble and a great portable structure, definetly the
daddy of portable iPod Docking Stations and Speaker units.
If you would like something that can be considered portable but
don't mind having to use a mains charger then there are a couple of
good options available. One of our favourites is the Macally IceTune,
this is indeed one of our top 5 iPod accessories altogether, when
stacked up it looks like a coke can and has two separate speakers that
can be removed and pointed to send sounds in different directions, the
sound quality is excelletn for only £39.99 and it is very much portable
but does require mains power. The JBL On Stage is another wonderful
compact and lightweight unit that can be plugged into the mains for
power and will charge your iPod while you listen to it, very high
quality sound, lacks bass a littel but you are compromising bass to
have such a small portable unit, clarity of sound and loudness are both
very impressive. Another excellent unit in this bracket is the Logic 3
iStation 8, newly released and keeping up the fabulous reputation of
the iStation 7 this really is worth the money, great combinations of
bass and treble and very much a portable size and weight.
For the home set up there are a variety of options and in honesty
the best value speakers in our opinion come at this price point. For
just £59.99 you can have a pair of JBL Creature II's, these are surely
one of the greatest home electronics products to ever hit the market,
the bass is phenomenal and the clarity is superb, vocals sound great
for many types of music, they also look very appealing and are bound to
interest visitors who glaze their eyes upon them! Also in the JBL range
are the Encounters, these expand on the Creature philosophy of an alien
themed set of speakers and have even stronger bass, they are quite
simply phenomenal! At this price point we also have the Harmon Kardon
Soundsticks, for a long time these have been my individual favourite
speakers, they are see through so you can have a look at what is going
on inside and provide possibly the clearest vocals you will hear from
iPod focused speakers they are simply outstanding, perhaps not as
strong bass as the Encounters but still more than enough for most
pallettes. For anyone considering a home iPod set up I strongly suggest
a very close look at the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks they are oustanding
and will fit in to 99% of home settings in the living room, dining
room, kitchen etc!
Hopefully this guide has been of some use to you choosing your
speakers, firstly establish which of the three categories your
requirements for speakers come into and then you can use the above
advice to direct you to some great units, we wish you the best of luck
in your choice!
About The Author
Nick Segrue is the Managing Director and Founder of http://www.mp3additions.co.uk
MP3 Additions is one of the UK's fastest growing online retailers of
iPod Accessories and strives to supply only the highest quality
products that will always enhance your iPod experience. All products
are thoroughly tested before being offered for sale and the staff at
MP3 Additions are happy to advise you on any products you are
interested in or catch your attention.
Article provided Articlecity.com
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