Kensington SX2000 - iPod Speakers

It's not hard, these days, for a company to bring out a pair of speakers and stick an iPod dock on it. You can get these quite cheap but they're still pretty pointless, mainly because you use ANY speakers with an aux input, but people think that they NEED the 'Made for iPod' symbol.

When I first saw this iPod speaker, I thought that it was a huge screen, but I realised how stupidly pointless that would be, given that they were released for 1st and 2nd gen iPod and long before the 3rd. It was on research I realised that the big, vertical, almost 'wall of sound' design was actually the speaker itself. Kensington boasts that the "NXT SurfaceSound® bi-directional loudspeaker technology delivers remarkable sound from both the front and back of the speaker unit." Hence the huge-two sided design.

The sound quality is really fantastic, and the design is quite simple with only a power button and volume controls. The speakers deliver really clear sound, and the bass quality is done so well. The design, though an aesthetic-orgasm, is still a bit odd, the bass is delivered mainly from the back and if it's in the corner of a room or too near to a wall it reverberates and would quickly wake up the old couple next door.

Be warned however, when I first got it I started off with a 2nd Gen iPod Nano, which is the product it was designed for. After a few months I had to buy a new iPod mainly because it doesn't have a remote, as a result changing songs needs me to press the button, putting weight on it and forcing it backwards whilst in the dock had bent the contacts of the port, and now I couldn't use the cable to connect it to my computer and there's no USB connection using the dock. BUT, don't be put off, now (with my 3rd gen Nano) I have it plugged into the speakers through the aux port in the back using a simple cable (which you can get really cheap) and resting on the gap where the dock is quite happily. Sound quality and all is still great even through this method and it's actually easier to use now that the cable will extend to where I'm sitting, so I would recommend not bothering with the dock. Whether the same problem would occur with 3rd gen or not is dubious (though it probably would).

Overall the speakers deliver a fantastic sound and look fantastic, which is (let's be honest) the most important thing in this. It offers an amazing way to play your iPod and would be good at a party as well. But, when you consider that the dock is as good as useless (assuming it's a common problem), you might want to consider buying cheaper aux speakers, a better quality design (like a backboard at the dock) or ones with remote control.

Love and Speakers,
Mat