iPod Speakers: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentILounge.com boasts excellent reviews that are detailed, balanced and illustrated with lots of photos. Editors review practically every iPod speaker on the market, but there is little variation in ratings -- nearly every speaker gets a Recommended label, along with a letter grade reminiscent of a school report card specifying how strongly it's recommended. The site's navigation has been improved, making it easier to view the most recent reviews and highest-rated speakers at a glance. Filtering the reviews by a grade of A-minus or better and reviews since 2010 yields a number of speakers that stand out with high marks, with some models earning recommendations in more than one category.

Our AssessmentPCMag.com tests and rates iPod speakers, and the best models receive an Editors' Choice award. Reviews are detailed, and some include comparisons with other top iPod speakers, although you'll have to sort through PC speaker reviews to get to them. Editors at PCMag also have some of the most critical reviews, and there is enough variation in ratings to identify those speakers that really stand out. Of the highly rated speakers, only a few score Editor's Choice awards.

Our AssessmentMacworld has a decent number of recent iPod speaker reviews, with enough diversity in the ratings to pick several clear favorites. Six models were rated with 4.5 or 5 mice out of a possible 5, and one ultra-portable model stood out from similar speaker systems with a 4-mouse rating. The reviews themselves are very detailed and based on hands-on testing, although the site's navigation doesn't make it easy to see which speakers receive the highest ratings at a glance.

Our AssessmentTrustedReviews.com has some of the most detailed speaker tests we've seen, on par with those at iLounge.com. Each speaker dock is rated on a 10-point scale, and the best models earn a Recommended label. Although many models ranked well, only one receives a perfect 10 rating – the Arcam rCube.

Our AssessmentAppleTell.com, an Apple enthusiast site, reviews iPod speakers on occasion. The reviews are relatively lengthy, and each speaker is rated on a 5-point scale. The biggest downside is that you'll have to sort through pages of accessory reviews to find individual speaker reviews. Interestingly, the Julius Dance Machine docking station, a monkey-shaped dock and speaker set, gets the highest rating among recently reviewed iPod speakers.

Our AssessmentIt's no surprise that Apple, the company that produces iPods and iPhones, also sells a number of iPod speaker docks through its online Apple Store. The Apple Store allows users to write a review -- most are very brief -- and assign each item a star rating. The site also stores questions and answers about each speaker dock; you can browse through previous questions and answers, which often involve speaker comparisons, iPod compatibility or how well certain features work, or make your own query.

Our AssessmentWhat Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision has pretty brief reviews, although each iPod speaker receives a rating on a 5-point scale, and a short list of "for" and "against" characteristics. With more than 35 dock-and-speaker combos receiving a 5-star rating, even though some received complaints that the interface was difficult to use and that the remote was worthless, it was difficult to distinguish between the best models. However, this source is still useful for a quick look at star ratings and its for/against list, and the What Hi-Fi? yearly awards give us a better idea of which iPod speakers really stand out. Some of the speakers reviewed are not available in the U.S., but editors review several popular speakers available here.

Our AssessmentThis short review lists one "Product of the Year" and two Best Buys. Each review contains a short list of "For" and "Against" characteristics, and a fairly detailed analysis of each speaker system's features and how they performed. There's no mention of comparative testing, but the reviewers do discuss if or when each speaker system might fall a little short of the competition. Two of the speakers listed here are also current favorites in the What Hi-Fi? 2011 awards.

Our AssessmentThe Australian edition of PC World doesn't review many iPod speakers, but the reviews it does post give a detailed discussion of each product's features and performance. Each review also comes with a short "Bottom Line" sidebar that sums up the review's most salient points, and lets users vote on whether or not they'd buy the product in question. Two of the three speaker systems listed in this roundup of top-rated equipment also earn an Editor's Choice award.

Our AssessmentWalmart.com is hit or miss for user reviews of iPod docks. Only two music docks and two combination speaker/alarm docks stand out, each with well over 30 reviews. The music docks both receive a near-perfect rating, while the alarm docks, although better rated than the others of their kind, receive only 4 stars out of 5. Reviews are usually quite brief, with a sentence or two of comments, separate ratings for value and whether the product meets expectations, and a percentage of how many buyers would recommend the item in question to a friend.

Our AssessmentA group of Good Housekeeping testers evaluate several iPod speakers in various price ranges, but each speaker receives only a brief overview. We also aren't privy to any testing details, so even though the first speaker listed is the test winner, we don't know how it compares with the other speakers.

Our AssessmentBeatweek Magazine, formerly iProng, has solid reviews of iPod/iPhone products and accessories, based on relevant testing and complete with a 5-point rating system. A number of iPod speakers are reviewed, but the reviews themselves are shorter than those sources we rate higher. Another downside: You'll have to scroll through multiple pages to find the most recent speaker reviews and the site is frequently unresponsive.

Our AssessmentI4U.com focuses more on computers and accessories than on iPod speakers, but you can find a speaker review here and there. Review quality is hit or miss; sometimes you get a well-written, lengthy review that documents the tester's hands-on experience and impressions. Sometimes you get a short, mystifying paragraph that doesn't tell you anything you wouldn't find on the product's spec sheet. A few models receive 8.5 or more points on the 10-point rating scale.

Our AssessmentThis audio-video website offers hands-on testing for a small selection of iPod speaker systems, but doesn't directly compare the sound docks to each another. The individual reviews are generally detailed, with clear disclosure of subjective impressions, how testing was conducted, and commentary on what purpose each speaker system is best suited to. However, only some models received performance and value ratings. Of these, just one recent review stood out with a 4 out of 5, or better, rating in both categories: the Microlab MD332.

Our AssessmentBarry Sonnenfeld tests an unspecified number of iPod speakers and names four of his favorites. The iPod speakers aren't rated, but each one is recommended for a specific reason: great sound quality, a sleek design, portability or a budget-friendly price. Analysis is brief, and few downsides are noted.