Choosing Speakers for your iPod, iPhone, and iPad

Want to listen out loud to music from your Apple portable devices? There are a plethora of powered speaker systems offering a variety of different form factors and connection options. What are you looking for? Extreme portability? Superior sound quality? Docking? Wireless connectivity? Not sure? Consider where and how you will be using your speaker system.

As you shop, you’ll see that we have five categories of speakers – high-fidelity, wireless, tabletop, clock radios, and portable. We’ve got a few suggestions below about which the types might suit certain listening locations and habits.

At home

iPod® speaker systems tend to be quite compact, making them a comfortable fit for just about any space. However, there are a few design features that may make certain models better suited for some rooms.

Home office

Whether you're putting in extra hours to prepare for a big presentation or trying to rebalance your 401k, time spent in the home office can sometimes be a drag. An iPod speaker system can do a lot to liven things up. Most tabletop systems can fit comfortably in an office – on your desktop, bookcase, or filing cabinet. Some systems include two small stereo speakers that flank your computer screen, making them a great option for your desktop. A few also include a separate subwoofer giving you fuller bass, plus that extra dose of energy you may need to make it through last quarter's earnings report.

Keep yourself motivated with great-sounding music. Pictured: PSB Alpha PS1 (left), Bose® SoundLink® Air digital music system (right).

If you care about sound quality, you should also consider a high-fidelity iPod speaker system. These systems are still compact enough to fit on a desk or side table, but offer fuller, clearer sound. While some of the smaller speakers are best for "near field" listening, high-fidelity speaker systems can fill a whole room with sound.

Bedroom

With an iPod clock radio, you can play some soothing music as you're falling asleep and wake up to your favorite song or radio station. Listen to the news or a podcast while you get dressed. Some models also let you tune in and wake up to Internet Radio stations once you download the necessary app. [Shop iPod clock and table radios]

Start your day on a good note. Pictured: Polk Audio I-Sonic Digital Audio System (left), Bose® SoundDock® Series II digital music system (right).

Kitchen

Many wireless iPod speakers can work well in the kitchen. In addition to their small size, many feature rechargeable batteries. They won't use the power outlet you need for your stand mixer, and they can be easily moved out of the way. Water-resistant models will withstand a splash with no problem.

Smaller tabletop iPod speaker systems are also an option. A few iPod speakers can be mounted underneath kitchen cabinets, making them an especially handy option – play music from your iPad®, while displaying recipes in an easy-to-see yet out-of-the-way location.

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Add a little spice to your kitchen - a compact, out-of-the-way iPod speaker system can fit into tight kitchen spaces. Pictured: Klipsch® Gallery G-17 Air (left), Audiovox IPD-HDSS (right).

Deck or patio

Portable iPod speakers are a great option for occasional outdoor listening – during dinner on the patio, or while you’re weeding the flower bed. A few iPod speakers are more rugged and weather-resistant, making them a better option if you’d like to listen poolside or get in the groove while you wash your car.

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[See Russound’s weather-resistant iPod speaker]

Take your tunes to the great outdoors. Pictured: Beacon Audio Phoenix (left), NAD VISO 1 Wireless Digital Music System (right).

On the go

Power and playback time

Some portable iPod speakers include built-in rechargeable batteries, while others work with regular batteries. A few models are even solar powered for easy recharging at your next family picnic, beach trip, or other daytime adventure. Once portable iPod speakers are fully charged or have fresh batteries, most models will provide between five and ten hours of playback time.

Bose® SoundLink® Bluetooth® Mobile speaker II – Leather Edition

Size and weight

Portable iPod speakers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some are truly tiny and weigh a pound or less – easy to toss in a purse or backpack for impromptu music on the go. Others are larger and more ruggedly built, and may weigh up to ten pounds or more. These models will generally be able to play your music over a larger area, and will often provide better sound quality and more bass than smaller models.

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The tiny iHome iHM79 (left) are ultra-travel-friendly, as is Eton’s sunshine-powered Rukus Solar (middle). To fill a larger area with sound, a larger speaker, such as Yamaha’s grab-and-go PDX-B11 (right), would be a good option.

Exceptional sound, tiny footprint

Is sound quality is important to you? Do you save your music files in a high-resolution format? Then you should consider a high-fidelity iPod speaker system. These systems are a great way to add audiophile performance to a small apartment, or any place where space is an issue. Hi-fi models still offer the same conveniences as other iPod speakers – compact size, a variety of connection options, and a few are even portable. Below, we’ve described the types of build and design features that set hi-fi systems apart.

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For small rooms, a hi-fi iPod speaker system may be a better option than a component system. It's the modern equivalent of a high-quality shelf system, only it’s even smaller and easier to take with you when you move. Marantz Consolette pictured.

Smart cabinet design

Small speaker systems are easy to fit into almost any room, but it takes a clever design to make one that produces full, spacious, and engaging sound. Hi-fi iPod systems take advantage of every inch of space inside their speaker cabinets, effectively fitting big-speaker sound in a much smaller package.

Some systems use specially designed bass ports for better low-end response. Others use passive radiators to reinforce the bass. These drivers aren’t powered by the system’s amplifier. Instead, they move in response to changes in air pressure caused by the main woofer.

Many hi-fi iPod speakers use smart technologies to fit big sound in a small space. Sony RDP-X500IP pictured, from the outside (left) and an inside look at speaker drivers (right)

Well-constructed speakers

Achieving defined, precise sound can be difficult for compact speaker systems. Some hi-fi iPod systems overcome that challenge by using separate drivers to play different frequency ranges. For example, some include separate tweeters for crisp highs, plus separate woofers for better mids and mid-bass. Also, although some systems may appear to have all their speakers housed in one cabinet, they actually have internal dividers to prevent acoustic cross-interference.

The Focal XS 2.1 (left) includes a separate subwoofer for fuller bass. And although the NAD VISO (right) looks like a single cabinet, its left and right speakers are housed in separate cabinets for clearer stereo sound.

Samsung’s DA-E750 boasts a vacuum tube preamp and class D digital amplifier for rich, warm sound.

Quality amplification

Many hi-fi iPod speakers include separate amplification for each driver, ensuring clearer, cleaner power and audio signals. A few models go a step further – such as bi-amping the built-in speakers, or employing high-quality class D digital amplifiers.

Circuitry that improves the sound of your music

Compressed music files like MP3 and AAC are undeniably convenient, but they lack the warmth and detail of the original recording. Some hi-fi iPod systems feature sophisticated circuitry that can improve the sound of your digital music files. Look for digital signal processing that restores some of the richness and clarity that compression takes away. Or choose a model that can bypass your iPod’s relatively low-quality DAC (digital-to-analog converter), and instead send audio signals to its own built-in high-quality DAC for more accurate, full-bodied sound.

Connection options

How to connect a speaker to your Apple portable device

Go Wireless

Apple’s proprietary AirPlay technology makes it a snap to listen to music stored on your device, as well as music streamed from compatible apps like Pandora® and MOG. Just make sure both the speakers and your device are on the same Wi-Fi® network. See our Intro to Airplay for more info.

[Shop for AirPlay-capable iPod speakers]

Speakers with Apple AirPlay let you easily stream music from your iDevice. The Bose® SoundLink® Air digital music system demonstrates this feature above.

Many wireless iPod speakers use Bluetooth® technology to allow you to listen to any audio being played by your iDevice. Some Bluetooth-capable models also feature “talk” buttons, so that you can use it as a high-quality speakerphone system.

[Shop for Bluetooth-capable iPod speakers]

Dock It

Many iPod speaker systems include dock connectors that can accommodate your iPhone® or docking iPod. Some even give you enough room to dock your iPad. Note that you may need to purchase an adapter to connect newer Apple devices with a Lightning® connector to iPod speakers that use the older 30-pin connector.

All docking iPod speakers accommodate an iPod or iPhone vertically, as the Polk Audio I-Sonic does (left). A few speakers can also accommodate iPads. Some of these allow for horizontal orientation, such as JBL’s OnBeat Xtreme (right) making them a great choice for watching movies and videos.

Audioengine A2 powered desktop speaker system

Use the headphone jack

Although it may not seem as high-tech as the other connection routes, using your device’s headphone jack opens up some additional options, such as hi-fi desktop speakers. These speakers offer true stereo separation for better imaging — placing the speakers a few feet apart creates the illusion that the band you're listening to is playing right in front of you.

A number of portable and tabletop iPod speakers can also connect via the headphone jack. Note that you’ll likely need to provide your own stereo minijack cable to connect your device.

Next Steps

Start shopping for high-fidelity, wireless, tabletop, clock radio, and portable iPod speaker systems. Check out our iPod speaker product reviews and videos.