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April 1, 2009 3:01 PM PDT

Top 10 portable speakers

by Jasmine France
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(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

You want to take your tunes on the road, but headphones don't always cut it, and even the smallest home speakers and receivers/amplifiers aren't portable. Technology has come to the rescue with a new breed of portable speakers that sound a lot better than the tinny models you might remember from the Walkman days. These useful devices are the hot ticket for travelers, dorm rooms, the beach, or the office; they plug into iPods, MP3 players, and laptops' headphone jacks, with sound that can easily fill a small to medium-size room.

It's also true that you can get much better sound with a decent set of headphones, which are even more portable and have deeper bass, superior treble detail, and better stereo imaging. But headphones are best appreciated alone. Portable speakers are ideal for social settings where you want to share your tunes with a few others or when you're milling around your hotel room getting ready for a night out on the town. Below you'll find the Top 10 contenders that have been reviewed by CNET. Some are perfect for frequent travelers, while others are best suited for the office or trips to the beach, and all of them have the option of being powered from built-in or replaceable batteries.

For more than five years, Jasmine France has covered a variety of tech products for CNET--from scanners to keyboards to GPS devices--but she's happiest where she is now: sitting atop a pile of MP3 players, "testing" every music service known to man, and jamming a variety of earbuds in every shape and color into her absurdly small ears. E-mail Jasmine.
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by mathteacher909 April 1, 2009 11:31 PM PDT
Hard to believe that the JBL Ontour doesn't rate in the top 10, given how well Cnet liked it when it was first reviewed. I own one and couldn't be happier. It feels solidly built, and as long as you realize that it is a portable speaker, not a home stereo system, it gives great sound.

Perhaps the reason it wasn't included is that it isn't widely available any longer, but when I was searching for something portable, I remember it getting much better reviews than the clam shell LG thing.
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by denyse arneaud April 2, 2009 5:00 AM PDT
the information is graet here for all of the latest
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by Mosephus April 2, 2009 11:21 AM PDT
No Sonic Impact? Those guys make great portable speakers at a great price point.
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by siedpe13 April 2, 2009 7:19 PM PDT
i have old Walkman speakers and they're still running strong
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by jj2me April 3, 2009 2:41 PM PDT
Tip: Set iMainGo's power switch to "ALM" (alarm) and you only have to turn on/off the MP3 player. The iMainGo is now auto-on/auto-off in sync with the MP3 player's audio output.

Sorta makes up for that battery compartment problem you mention.
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by Danisidhe June 15, 2009 10:55 AM PDT
Any chance of a list of speakers that suit everyone without so many iPod specific ones? I know it's the number one seller but iPod accessories are EVERYWHERE and hardly difficult to find - those of us who made their DAP choice on different criteria need a little more help LOL!
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by caponsacchi December 16, 2009 1:34 PM PST
I've tried them all. Had Logitechs and Altecs that lasted less than a month. JBLs always erratic. The pictured one I sent back--too big for the tiny sound. The best I've found are Cyber Acoustics iRhythms and Athena iVoice. The former is good for toting anywhere and has easy-to-read and remove adapters. Works with batteries or AC. The Athena can put a concert pipe organ in your living room and plays and charges everything without the need for adapters (I use it with five different iPods).
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by ballen1230 January 1, 2010 9:22 PM PST
I am really surprised that the Livespeakr by Digital Group Audio is not up on this list. I am pretty sure they have been around since early 2009, I purchased my first one in May. Since then I have bought four more as gifts for friends and family. As far as portable speaker solutions go, Livespeakr is absolutely head and shoulders above all of the competition. I originally owned an iMainGo (#1 on this list of portable speakers) and the sound quality of Livespeakr puts it to shame. And that's just the beginning... My new favorite portable speaker system also has a rechargeable battery that lasts all day when playing... it's shielded from interference so I don't hear that annoying popping static... It's also the only portable system I've seen that works with both portrait and landscape mode, the speakers expand and contract when you rotate the cradle.

I just felt like I had to say something! This was a "best portable speaker system" article and I feel like the absolute best all around portable speaker wasn't even included! Hopefully next time around the journalists do a little better research!
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