SoundCast’s iCast wireless dock
SoundCast is a US company that has just started selling its products here in the UK. It specialises in wireless products for the iPod, and its product range revolves around its iCast wireless dock. The basic iCast package costs 163 and consists of the iCast dock and a separate receiver. The dock sends your music via wireless to the receiver, which can be connected to an amplifier anywhere within 350 feet.
You can also buy the SpeakerCast package for 299, which consists of the iCast dock along with a compact 50W speaker system that you can easily move from room to room. Finally, there’s the OutCast a tough, all-weather speaker system designed for outdoor use when you’re having a party or BBQ.
The OutCast system includes the iCast dock once more, so you can keep your iPod safe indoors while it transmits music to the OutCast speakers in your garden. The OutCast provides a hefty 100W output, and includes a sub-woofer and four high-frequency speakers arranged in a circle to provide ‘omn-directional’ sound output. Priced at 499, the OutCast is made of water-resistant plastic so you can leave it out in the garden all through the dodgy British summer.
The Outdoor Wireless Speaker from Firebox
If 499 for the OutCast is a little bit beyond your budget we’ve found a more affordable option that might do the trick at BBQ time. The Outdoor Wireless Speaker from Firebox costs just 99.95 and consists of a wireless transmitter unit that you can connect to your iPod indoors – or any other music system for that matter – and then beam your music to the speakers outside. They’re speaker unit isn’t as ruggedly designed as the OutCast so you’ll probably need to keep it indoors when it’s not being used, but it’s neatly designed and easy to drag into the garden when the sun finally comes out.
Terratec’s Noxon internet radio
The latest version of Terratec’s Noxon internet radio is absolutely packed with features that enable you to use it with both your Mac and your iPod. Like the other models in the Noxon range, the Noxon iRadio For iPod allows you to play hundreds of Internet radio broadcasts. The little LCD display allows you to browse radio stations by genre or even country of origin, and you can create your own presets to save your favourite stations. It’s got an FM tuner built into it as well, for listening to ordinary radio broadcasts.
The ‘universal’ dock unit works with most iPod models, allowing you to charge the iPod and to play your music through the Noxon’s internal speaker. It also has both an Ethernet interface and wireless connectivity so that you can stream music from your Mac’s hard onto the iRadio as well. Tucked around the back there’s a USB port that lets you play music stored on a memory stick or external hard disk, along with a headphone socket and Line Out so that you can connect it to a more powerful speaker system if you want to. The iRadio costs 239.99.
Gear4 Street Party III
Gear4 is offering the new Duo system. The Duo is a two-part speaker system that consists of a bass subwoofer and a separate set of flat-panel stereo speakers. When you’re at home, the flat-panel speakers clip onto the front of the subwoofer to provide a powerful 38W of beefy sound. When you’re ready to go traveling you just unclip the slimline front panel and use it on its own as a portable speaker system. The Duo costs 149.99.
After the rather pricey Duo speakers that Gear4 released last month, they’ve now come up with a more affordable option in the form of the Street Party III. This latest addition to the popular Street Party range is slim and light, but constructed with a tough metal grill to protect it when you’re travelling. It runs off mains or four AA batteries, and costs just 29.99.
Orbitsound’s T12 Soundbar
One problem with the many compact all-in-one speaker systems for the iPod is that you don’t get much separation between the ‘left’ and ‘right’ audio channels. Orbitsound’s T12 Soundbar aims to solve this problem by creating ‘spatial stereo’ that really sounds as though you’ve got two completely separate stereo speakers in the room. Priced at around 375, the T12 includes an iPod dock, and is also accompanied by a powerful subwoofer.
Klipsch iGroove SXT
If you’re looking for a portable speaker system that has a little more power behind it, you could check out the iGroove SXT from the HiFi specialists at Klipsch.
The iGroove has special ‘horn-loaded tweeters’, which use a special technology that Klipsch developed for its full-size speaker systems. The company claims that this ‘horn’ technology produces lifelike sound, and higher volume using less power than conventional speakers – which is obviously handy for portable speakers.
The iGroove also includes a remote control and alarm clock features, as well as a separate audio connector for use with other types of MP3 player or CD player. It costs 99.99.
Sony’s Giga-Juke
Sonos’ ZonePlayer has had the market for ‘multi-room’ music systems pretty much to itself for the last couple of years, but now Sony is getting in on the act with its new Giga-Juke system. However, the Giga-Juke actually outdoes its Sonos rival, as it also includes a built-in CD and ripping features, along with its own internal hard disk for storing your music collection.
The Giga-Juke NAS-SC55PKE main unit includes a CD player and 80GB hard disk, which allows you to ‘rip’ your CDs and store them as MP3 files straight onto the hard disk without even having to use your Mac. The system also includes a set of 100W stereo speakers, and a wireless ‘client’ receiver that you can use to beam your music to any room in your house. You can also buy additional receivers, allowing you to beam music to five rooms in total, and each receiver has its own built-in speakers so you don’t need to buy any additional speaker systems.
There’s also a more basic ‘one-room’ model called the NAS-E35HD, which just includes the main unit and speakers. Both models also include an iPod dock and radio tuner. Sony has not released pricing yet, so we don’t yet know if they’ll manage to undercut the rather expensive Sonos models.
Genius Tempo 800 speaker system
Genius isn’t that well known in the Mac market, as most of its widgets are primarily aimed at the PC-owning games brigade. However, it’s got some nice iPod accessories, including the new Tempo 800 speaker system. The Tempo 800 is a set of portable speakers with a built-in iPod dock. It’s a medium-power system, with 20W output, but it uses a system called DRD 3D to enhance the bass output and create a kind of virtual surround sound effect. It’s quite reasonably priced, at 59.99 and Genius is also working on a Bluetooth version, although this hasn’t been released yet.
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