Speaker

Remember George? The iPod-friendly tabletop radio from audio start-up Chestnut Hill Sound garnered mostly positive reviews when it debuted earlier this year, thanks largely to its unique wireless remote control, but the $550 sticker price limited its appeal. Well, as of today, it's a decidedly better deal. Chestnut Hill has lowered the price to $500 and will bundle in the outboard remote charging stand--pretty much a must-have accessory--at no extra cost for units sold through the end of the year. To date, the charging stand cost an extra $50 as well, so the net savings on the new deal … Read more

How can you resist a beer cooler with an integrated speaker system for under $50? Admit it, it's impossible. We put the Burton Lil' Buddy speaker cooler through rigorous beer testing--overclocking it well past its rated capacity of 12-beers to an outstanding 16 (12 cans, 4 bottles). Want to see what your new best friend looks like up-close? Take a look at our Lil' Buddy slideshow.

Regardless of what you think of its MP3 players, Creative has definitely lived up to its name when it comes to portable speakers. While others flail about with some decidedly atrocious attempts, Creative has come up with some sleek and compact designs that don't look like the rushed afterthought that so many others do.

The latest example is its "Travelsound i50," which is actually designed for one of its competitors, the 2G iPod Shuffle. The $69 speaker has a brushed-metal finish that can be charged, along with the player itself, through its built-in USB "mini-terminal."… Read more

After some frighteningly ugly false starts, it's a relief to see that electronics manufacturers are starting to come up with plug-in speakers that don't look like laboratory mistakes. The latest success, at least from an aesthetic perspective, tries to mimic the acoustic principles of full-blown speakers on a diminutive scale.

Like the "PodXtreme" featured awhile back, the "X-Mini Pocket Accordion" from XMI literally compresses a built-in bass into a Lilliputian form that Mobile Magazine describes as a little bigger than a golf ball. But unlike its predecessor, the X-Mini actually looks like a finished … Read more

Now that Logitech's excellent Z-5500 Digital 5.1 speaker system has been around for a few years, it's available for considerably less than its original $400 asking price. But desktop owners looking for another option now have an even more affordable alternative in the form of the company's just-announced G51 surround-sound system. The all-analog 5.1 speaker system features stereo and 6-channel inputs, the latter matching the outputs found on nearly all surround-capable PC sound cards. The G51 features two matrixing modes--one for games and one for music--that can synthesize a 5.1 surround track from a … Read more

Thin is in. You know it, right? Gear4 knows it, and in response it has released a speaker dock with dimensions that are usually reserved for supermodels--the StreetParty Size 0. It's so thin, in fact, it even gives that Flat Stanley bloke a run for his two-dimensional money. It clocks in at just 17mm (0.7-inches) thick and the iPod docking area cleverly folds away into the body of the system itself.

OK, so our tests prove it's no 300W Marshall valve amp but it'll help you party in the street, with the added bonus that looks … Read more

Optimus Prime it's not, but the latest Jabra headset does something of a Transformer act of its own. The BT8030 model at first looks like a conventional set of headphones until it changes into a pair of laptop speakers or even a conference phone when connected via Bluetooth.

And if a call comes in while music is playing, the headset will automatically pause the MP3 file so you can answer it, according to Fareastgizmos. The multi-tasking gadget is kind of the big brother of the BT8010 earphone combo we saw earlier this year.

There's been no word yet, … Read more

There have been some decidedly ugly speakers created for portable devices, particularly by phone makers as they continue to evolve their handsets into music devices. But the winning form for speakers in all portable categories may eventually come from within their ranks: the clamshell.

Not unlike the hinged design seen in a pair of LG speakers made for Verizon recently, a version for MP3 players offered by the MoMA Store folds up neatly into what looks remarkably like--big surprise--a clamshell phone. The $28 speakers connect to the media player with a standard 3.5mm stereo plug, according to GeekAlerts, but … Read more

We acknowledge having certain phobias here at Crave, one of them involving freakish-looking speakers. But to date, most of our fears have involved those that resemble floating eyeballs or sea monsters.

The "Megafoot," on the other hand, is terrifying simply because of its sheer size. This behemoth is a whopping four feet wide with eight drivers powered by an amplifier housed directly in the stand, according to Audio Junkies. The image here is only a rendering, but the RSC500 model may be available by year's end at an estimated price of $1,200, though the cost could … Read more