Posts Tagged iPod speaker
Sounds Good: iMainGo2 Speaker Case
If you believe good things come in small packages, the iMainGo2 speaker case for the iPhone and portable music players proves the point.
Portable Sound Laboratories did a superb job designing a great-sounding and reasonably-priced speaker system that works with Apple’s iPhone, all iPods and Microsoft’s Zune (second generation and later). It’s ideal for taking on the road and playing your favorite tunes in a hotel room, on the beach or at the campsite.
The small speakers are built into a padded case and setup is simple.
For my iPod Touch, I just plugged in the audio cable, strapped it into the case, turned on the built-in amplifier, zipped the case shut and enjoyed the music.
The iMainGo2 is powered by four AAA batteries. Be careful when installing the batteries. If they’re not installed properly, it can cause all kinds of havoc such as distorted sound or even battery overheating or rupture.
A plastic screen on the front of the iMainGo2 allows use of the touch controls for choosing music, skipping tracks and adjusting the volume.
Another nice feature is an alarm switch. If your iPod includes a wake-up alarm, the case switches to a battery-saving mode until the alarm activates with music or video.
Of course, none of this really matters if it doesn’t sound good. And the iMainGo2 does not disappoint.
The small, titanium speakers deliver a rich sound that can easily fill an average room. The bass response is impressive and there’s no tinny sound common in smaller speakers. The iMainGo2 allows for comfortable listening for hours. And you won’t have to make frequent battery changes. A set of batteries will last up to 30 hours.
Side by side with other portable speakers I reviewed earlier, the X-mini Capsule and Max II models, the sound of the iMainGo2 wasn’t quite as bright on high-end frequencies. But the iMainGo’s sound was still clear and not muddy. (My colleague, Tim, also reviewed the iHome IM7 travel speaker.)
Many MP3 players include equalizers that can adjust the bass and treble response to your own preferences.
The retail price of the iMainGo2, $39.95, is a pleasant surprise. I could easily see a portable speaker set that sounds this good costing more. It’s available from Amazon and other retailers.
Besides being ideal for iPhones, iPods and most Zunes, these portable speakers will also work with many other cell phones and could even be connected to a laptop or portable gaming system.
The iMainGo2 does add some bulk to sleek iPhones and iPods. It’s about the size of a paperback book. In a way, the size reminds me of a portable transistor radio I listened to as a kid in the ’60s. I know, I’m dating myself.
But a transistor set listening to AM radio never came close to sounding as good as an MP3 player and the iMainGo2. That’s progress.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on April 19th, 2010
Cy*Fi iPod Speaker: Wireless That Works
Whenever I hear the words “wireless” and “speaker” together, two bad visions come to mind. One is the set of Advent wireless stereo speakers in my daughter’s playroom: if you even look at them funny, they lose the signal and sound like crap. The other vision is a party I was at a few years ago where the host spent half the night moving around a set of those all-weather wireless speakers like you see in the Skymall catalog because the sound kept cutting out or getting distorted.
Fortunately this cy*fi speaker is a different story: it promises “CD-quality” sound while broadcasting tunes from your iPod and my skepticism was dashed as soon as I fired it up. When I compared the sound on this nifty 4-ounce device to a couple heavier ones that plug in, the cy*fi actually sounded better, even when the transmitter was on the other side of the room or I was moving around the room with my iPod.
Now some would say that for a $200 list price ($180 for the Bluetooth version), it damn well better sound good, but cool technology that does what it’s supposed to comes at a price. They get this down to 4 ounces with a sci-fi-looking plastic housing (get it, “cy fi”?), plus a small built-in rechargeable battery. The speaker battery, which outlasted the music player itself, charges up when plugged into a docking station. The transmitter attaches to your non-Shuffle iPod—or in the case of the Bluetooth version your phone or other device.
Two included attachments are meant to let you take this with you on the move. One is for attaching the device to your bike, the other to the strap of a backpack or other bag. I tried this one bike ride and got a lot of funny/annoyed looks, and I wouldn’t make it a habit, but if you insist on having music while you cycle it is far safer than wearing earbuds. You can still hear the ambulance bearing down on you or the other cyclist shouting “on your left!”
The annoyances with this are minor ones. The device and transmitter keep flashing while in use, which kind of destroys the mood in a dark bedroom if you know what I mean. The buttons allow you to change the volume and track on the speaker, but they’re kind of hard to push and they disable the volume control on your player. The proprietary charging dock is a hurdle for travelers who want to pack light. As with most electronics manufacturers shipping container loads from China, the device comes in an unrecyclable plastic blister pack that requires care to keep from slicing a finger.
All in all though, this would make for a great travel speaker. I loved being able to place it anywhere in a room, accessing all my playlists and getting great sound. Plus it’s weather resistant enough that you don’t have to worry about moisture. It is light and compact enough to squeeze into any bag, though hopefully in version #2 they’ll streamline the bulky charging dock.
The cy*fi wireless speaker comes in three color combinations. It’s not widely available at retail yet, so get it direct at the mycyfi.com site.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on May 27th, 2009
