Here are some reliable speaker dock that still allow you to dock your iPad and immediately play your music:

Sony RDPXF300IPN Lightning iPad Dock

The Sony RDPXF300IPN Lightning iPad Dock is the best sounding speaker dock I’ve tested. The two speakers output 20 watts each, and have a rich and bright sound. In fact, this dock sounds better than the Bose SoundDock Series III (which also lacks bluetooth connectivity and a remote control).

This dock has an internal lithium-ion battery so it can be used as a portable player, it also features a radio and a remote control.

The Sony RDPXF300IPN Lightning iPad Dock is available from Amazon for about $300.

iHome iDL48BC Dual Charging Portable Rechargeable Speaker

The iHome iDL48BC speaker dock is a good budget choice for a speaker dock. It delivers resasonably good sound, but it lacks some of the clarity and bass of the Sony RDPXF300IPN.

The iHome iDL48BC is available from Amazon for about $80.

The post The Best iPad Speaker Docks Of 2017 appeared first on Reactual.

I enjoyed every minute I spent with the RTi A1. The speaker’s greatest strengths — the natural and detailed midrange, the excellent bass extension — are unheard of at this size and price, and its minor deviations from neutrality have been so carefully thought out and balanced that I wanted to mine my entire record collection, playing more and more different types of music.

A total of 32 reviewers on Amazon rated them an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars.

The RTi A1 speakers from Polk Audio are available from Amazon for about $255.

Another excellent speaker brand is Bower and Wilkins. If your bookshelf speaker budget is around the $500 range, you might want to check out the Bower and Wilkins multimedia speakers.

The post The Best Bookshelf Speakers Under $300: RTi A1 By Polk appeared first on Reactual.

The DeVialet Silver Phantom is the ultimate compact wireless hi-fi system, delivering incredible power with no sacrifice of sonic clarity even at the highest volumes.

The Details

The best to be found in a compact wireless hi-fit system in 2016 is the DeVialet Silver Phantom. DeVialet claims that the Phantom (with the Silver Phantom being the upgraded, even more powerful version) was designed over a period of 10 years, taking 40 engineers, 88 patents, and $30 million to bring to fruition.

The Silver Phantom is spherical (actually, oblong) in shape and white with silver dome drivers. The 26-pound music machine is lovely to the eye. The only control on the unit is a white “Reset” button that’s hard to find (to preserve aesthetic appeal). Everything else is controlled remotely via your Android or iOS device. The Phantom’s heat sink, blended seamlessly into its backside, reminds me of fins on some elegant fish.

The Silver Phantom supports many file formats including AMP3, aptX (which isn’t available on iPhone), AAC, AMP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and OGG Vorbis. The music machine streams them with all lossless quality kept perfectly intact. For those who prefer wired connections, a flap at the back of the unit lifts to show Ethernet and TOSLINK ports.

DeVialet engineers explain that the Silver Phantom’s structure accommodates the two proprietary “Heart Beat Implosion” aluminum bass drivers (woofers) placed across from each other underneath a pair of thin aluminum domes. The diaphragms of these woofers (which have a 26mm peak-to-peak stroke), just like those of the coaxial midrange and tweeter drivers ensconced at a 90-degree angle to them, are flush with a spherical superstructure. In terms of acoustical physics, their being so situated focuses sound waves toward the Phantom’s center (which is vacuum sealed so as not to fissure or crack due to sonic onslaught).

This concept (which DeVialet calls its  proprietary ACE or “Active Cospherical Engine” loudspeaker technology) is inspired by the work of famed Princeton, NJ acoustical engineer Dr. Harry Ferdinand Olsen of RCA Labs. In experiments he conducted in the 1930s, Olsen concluded beyond the shadow of a doubt that a spherical speaker cabinet is the most efficient, the best at maintaining the fullness of the signal’s original sound quality. The closer that acoustical engineers can come to creating a single point in space out of which music emanates, the closer to “pure lossless” the music is.

The sheer sonic power of the Silver Phantom is quite simply astounding. At maximum volume, it produces 3000 watts of power to generate a jaw-dropping 105dB. Furthermore, as you increase the volume the Phantom’s sound becomes even cleaner. (Any extraneous sounds like humming or clacking that you hear are coming from the surface that the unit’s sitting on or is close by to, or may be the result of a low-quality recording.) Strong bass and outstanding clarity are always there at any volume level, but once you turn it up enough to really let those woofers run wild the audio experience deepens, whether you’re listening to R&B or a symphony orchestra, or even solo classical guitar.

But even at extreme volume, the Phantom never distorts or gets out of phase. The sound is always complex but balanced, one might even say “silky”, with excellent separation between highs and lows.

The Phantom’s components and outer shell are protected from their own heat and energy (and from outside impacts such as drops) with braided sheets of Kevlar acoustic insulation, which at once cool the the circuit boards and keep the unit so strong as to be literally bulletproof. Durability is no issue.

If there’s a flaw with the Silver Phantom, it’s that DOESN’T yield stereo surround sound. You would need multiple Phantoms to achieve that (or a close approximation). DeVialet engineers have made it possible to chain together up to 24 of them. (Oh, and one more flaw: the visually obtrusive, bright-greenish-yellow power cord! Who thought that up, anyway?)

The post The Best Compact Wireless Hi-Fi Speaker System of 2016 appeared first on Reactual.

The BeoSound 35, made by Bang & Olufsen, is a wireless hi-fi “super soundbar” that stands as an unbeatable “all-in-one integrated music system”.

The Details

Renowned Danish audio products engineers and designers Bang & Olufsen (B&O) have come up with a soundbar that’s not a mere soundbar in the usual sense but something far beyond that, aesthetically and sonically. It’s the pentagonal BeoSound 35, a wireless “all-in-one integrated music system” that I find formidably good among mounted or standing audio systems of this kind.

The BeoSound 35 can deliver clear and powerful sound for 24-bit/192 kHz high resolution audio. Other supported formats include MP3, AAC, AIFF, ALAC playback, FLAC, WA, and WMA (but not WMA lossless). What’s more, support for streaming services including Spotify Connect and the Deezer app is integrated right into the system. Likewise, so is support for AirPlay, BLNA, Google Cast, and TuneIn. There’s connectivity for Bluetooth 4.0 alongside “old school” hard-wired inputs. The company has, characteristically, made sure that it’s simplicity itself to pair up the BeoSound 35 with other B&O audio equipment if you want multi-room audio. According to B&O, all of this makes it a true “all-in-one integrated music system”, and I have to concur.

The unit has an OLED display built in, along with on-board touch controls. You control the volume with a finger swipe.

Behind the face cover, you find a pair of forward-facing 4″ woofers and a pair of 0.75″ tweeters which are angled at 90 degrees to the woofers, each pair driven by an 80-watt Class-D amplifier. The unit’s frequency range is from 45 Hz to 22 kHz.

The BeoSound 35’s aluminum outer shell and elongated pentagonal shape are a seamless blend of optimal function and form. The aluminum simultaneously helps with durability and heat dispersion. The pentagonal shape is much more aesthetically pleasing than the usual “rectangular box” shape of mounted wireless hi-fi speakers, but it also provides additional sound quality. That is, with the unit’s bigger loudspeaker at its center and the smaller tweeters on the ends you experience a well-balanced, 180-degree, room-filling sound without the annoyance or disappointment of hot spots or dead zones.

It has been thoroughly demonstrated that the BeoSound 35 can utterly cascade a room with crisp, high quality audio which doesn’t allow Beats-like bass dominance or distortion — whether you mount the system on the wall or set it up on a table with the included aluminum stand.

At the time of this writing, the BeoSound 35 has only had demo models heard. B&O are putting it on the market in April, 2016.

The post The Best Mounted Wireless Hi-Fi System of 2016 appeared first on Reactual.

The Details

Designed by renowned audio tech engineer Andrew Jones, the Pioneer SP-EBS73-LR “bookshelf” speakers can be used as stereo front-liners or as surround sound generators. Two concentric, 1″ mid-tweeter arrays provide clarity beyond the peers of these speakers, but the 5.25″ woofers also give you expressive, richly detailed bass, which is not always the case when you’ve got a lot of power in the treble.

Placed strategically, the SP-EBS73-LR speakers provide an outstanding surround sound experience because of their three-way design. The tweeters and woofers are paired up with 4″ midrange drivers. This unique driver configuration comprises Pioneer’s CST (Coherent Source Transducer) Concentric Driver. The build quality is regarded as superb, enhancing the resonance of the speakers. (They are 7.4″ wide by 15.7″ tall by 9.7″ deep, with gracefully curved sides.) To have surround sound, it’s recommended that the speakers be placed on stands about a foot out from the wall to allow their rear bass port, which gets down to 50Hz, to breathe and to allow the sounds to have more reflective space.

If you like music that’s heavier than classical/orchestral, jazz trio, New Age, etc., then you’ll want to invest in HD Tracks to listen to pop, heavy metal, blues, etc. These speakers are so high fidelity that they have a slight “treble forwardness” quality that reveals the tiniest flaw of lower quality tracks, especially with rock music and it sub-genres because there’s so much loudness.

The SP-EBS73-LR speakers can be used alone as your stereo output, or they can be part of a multichannel system as flankers for Pioneer’s Elite SP-EC73 center-channel speaker.

The SP-EBS73-LR speakers also come equipped with Dolby Atmos technology, which has been designed to accurately pinpoint the precise location of an audio object within a 3-D audio space and thus give you a far more realistic audio experience while you’re watching Atmos-coded Blu-ray movie or concert discs. The Atmos driver in these Pioneers is in the top and flush-mounted in a 20 degree, angled baffle. But, for now, Atmos coded movie discs are limited.

The best feature of the Pioneer SP-EBS73-LR speakers is simply the surround sound that you can buy without having to empty your bank account or go into debt. Retailing at US $700 to $750, it seems well nigh impossible to find a better surround sound system in this price range according to all available reviews.

Another Option

Another surround sound option, which costs several hundred dollars more than the SP-EBS73-LR speakers, is the Audio MASS System (5.1). Made up of a horizontally-aligned MASS Centre speaker, four MASS 10 satellites, and the MASS W200 active subwoofer, this system is praised by listeners for delivering power and sonic detail that’s exceedingly hard to match. The satellite speakers are so compact, standing on slender posts, that they can easily be placed so as to be nearly invisible, but they’re also designed with a futuristic or otherworldly beauty. The other two, larger components have the same eye-appealing quality. I should point out that you can find the 5.0 system for about the same price as the Pioneer speakers.

The post The Best Surround Sound Speakers appeared first on Reactual.

• The Best No-Frills iPhone/iPad Dock: Twelve South HiRise Deluxe ($55)
• The Best Apple iPhone/iPad Dock with Speakers: Bose SoundDock Series III ($250)
• The Best iPhone/iPad Dock Clock Radio: iHome iDL46 Lightning Dock Clock Radio ($90)

The Best No-Frills iPhone/iPad Dock: Twelve South HiRise Deluxe

Pros: Elegant design, doesn’t block microphone or speakers, adjusts to fit most cases

Cons: Not compatible with Apple 2-meter Lightning cable

Twelve South’s HiRise Deluxe streamlined pedestal docking station complements the elegant simplicity of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The metal stand, although not heavy, is sturdy and stable. It’s available in three finishes – gold, black, and silver – to match your devices. In addition to charging, the pedestal elevates your device for hands-free use, which is perfect for those who want to Skype, FaceTime, or simply prop up the device to more easily read a recipe. The design also doesn’t block the device’s microphone or speaker, allowing for un-muffled calls and clear audio.

Perhaps one of HiRise Deluxe’s best features is its machined-finish rear-support dial, which moves the rear-support beam back and forth, allowing users to create the perfect fit for each device from iPhones and iPads to Apple TV remotes and other Lightning-compatible products, such as SteelSeries’ Nimbus gaming controller. The adjustable rear support beam also allows for the docking station to be used with most device cases.

The HiRise Deluxe is available from Amazon for about $55.

The Best iPad/iPhone Docks with a Speaker: Bose SoundDock Series III

Pros: Excellent sound quality, AUX input for non-iOS devices

Cons: No Bluetooth

With high-quality products like the SoundDock Series III, it’s no wonder that Bose won PC Magazine’s 2015 Readers’ Choice Award for speaker docks for the third year in a row. In addition to charging an iPhone or iPod, the SoundDock Series III packs superior sound in a small, streamlined package. The relatively small unit (approximately 7 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep) doesn’t take up too much space, and can easily fit on a table, countertop, or shelf. However, similar to other Bose products, the SoundDock Series III uses a proprietary acoustic design and digital signal processing to produce clear, loud, and rich sound despite its small footprint.

The SoundDock Series III also comes with a remote, allowing the user to turn the system on and off, adjust the volume, and navigate playlists from anywhere in the room. Although the system was designed for the Lightning iPhone and iPod models, it offers an auxiliary input in the back to connect to other non-iOS mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The SoundDock Series III is available from Amazon for about $250.

The Best iPhone/iPad Dock with a Clock Radio: iHome iDL46 Lightning Dock Clock Radio

Pros:  Sturdy, easy user interface, good sound, can charge two devices at once 

Cons: Display too bright at night, bulky

Although the need for a bedside clock radio has waned over the past few years in favor of simply using a smartphone, many people still prefer the classic look and functionality of a bedside clock docking station. In that regard, the iHome iDL46 docking station does it all, including charging up to two Lightning devices at the same time, an FM radio with six preset stations, and an alarm clock with programmable snooze and nap times, gradual wake and sleep features, and dual weekday/weekend alarm settings.

In addition, the device is equipped with a backup battery, ensuring the clock and alarm will continue to function in a power outage. However, at over 9 inches long and 6 inches deep, many users may feel that this unit is somewhat bulky for a bedside table.  Additionally, it was noted in other reviews that the display was too bright at night, even on the lowest setting.

The iHome iDL46 is available from Amazon for about $90.

The post The Best iPhone and iPad Docks of 2016 appeared first on Reactual.

Professional reviewers like the SP-BS22-LRs. Neil Gader, in his review for The Absolute Sound magazine, had this to say, “The BS22 has an honest tonal signature that doesn’t pander to the “let’s move ’em” sensibilities of big-box-store salesmen. It is remarkably free of sonic hype.” He continued, “However, the essence of the BS22’s performance is found in the quality of its midrange. Jones has fashioned a smooth, tonally ripe midband with just enough heft and weight behind vocal and instrumental images to provide reasonable dynamic and harmonic scale. The treble is surprisingly open, which lends overtones a fullness and dimensionality that are often lacking in blue-plate loudspeakers.” He concluded his review with, “The BS22 is simply one of the great buys out there, without reservation.”

A step up from these speakers would be the PSB Alpha PS1, which cost around $300.

The post The Best Bookshelf Speakers Under $200 appeared first on Reactual.

Soundcast OutCast ($849)

Top Review Sources:

• TestFreaks: 9/10 “The OutCast is just simply an amazing product that you’ve got to see and hear to believe”
• Gear Patrol: “The Outcast was the best outdoor wireless speaker solution we’ve ever encountered”
• Home Entertainment Magazine: “Its price tag accurately reflects its performance”

You’ll have a good idea of what you are getting yourself into upon receiving the large and heavy Soundcast OutCast box. Inside you’ll find the OutCast speaker itself—an 11-inch cylinder standing over two feet high and weighing close to 26 pounds—and the iCast transmitter, which wirelessly broadcasts music from an iPod or other device. The OutCast has a row of buttons on its top for volume, play, pause, seek, and its blue external mood light. While all these buttons are enabled when an iPod is hooked up, if you want to use another MP3 player, computer, or television, only the volume and light functions will work.

The OutCast is powered either by the included AC adapter or 10-hour rechargeable battery pack. The iCast transmitter accepts an iPod via its top-loading dock, and it also accepts any audio device with a 3.5mm output. The iCast broadcasts in 2.4 GHz, has a stated range of up to 350 feet, and runs on AC power. You can also plug a 3.5mm source directly into the OutCast itself. The high price tag is backed up by sound quality and quantity that blows away most reviewers. The OutCast consistently delivers strong bass and sharp treble. It is built to withstand any bad weather that may suddenly descend upon your outdoor gathering.

The OutCast is available from Amazon.

Brookstone Wireless Outdoor Speaker ($150)

Top Review Sources:

• Amazon: 4.0/5.0 (50+ reviews)
• Epinions: 4.0/5.0 (4 reviews)
• ExpertReviews.co.uk: 3.0/5.0 “The bass is incredibly strong”

Consider the Brookstone Wireless Outdoor Speaker if you need a compact, well-built speaker than is easy to move and can connect to a variety of devices. The Brookstone Wireless Outdoor Speaker receives positive reviews for its sound reproduction, though there are some complaints that the treble can’t keep up with the bass at high volumes. The unit is weather-resistant and can receive signals from its wireless dock up to 150 feet away. The wireless dock will connect to any MP3 player or stereo system. The dock can be powered either by the included AC adapter or by six AA batteries. The speaker runs from either AC power or eight D batteries. On-speaker controls include volume, bass boost, and blue ambient light switch. The Brookstone Wireless Outdoor Speaker operates on the 900MHz band.

Purchase the Brookstone Wireless Outdoor Speaker from Amazon.

Jawbone JAMBOX ($180)

Top Review Sources:

• Pocket Lint: 4 out of 5 stars
• Amazon: 4 out of 5 stars (120+ user reviews)
• Trusted Reviews: 7 out of 10

Audiovox Acoustic Research AW825 ($90)

Top Review Sources:

• Zimbio: “a great product for extending the party outside”
• Amazon: 4 out of 5 stars (100+ user reviews)
• Green Home Best Buy: 4 out of 5 stars

The Audiovox Acoustic’s main attraction is that it doesn’t look like a speaker. With its design, it is a more natural choice for one’s garden than other speakers, and does not stand out of place. While the sound quality is reportedly adequate, it is not going to match that of a $600 or $700 speaker system. The Audiovox’s range, at approximately 100 to 150ft, is impressive and suggests a product with a quality build. This is reiterated by its durability; both waterproof and solid, this speaker is more than able to survive the weather of the outdoors. While there are few expert reviews of this speaker, the numerous user reviews are all incredibly enthusiastic, and almost entirely positive.

The Audiovox Acoustic is available from Amazon.

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