Kensington SX2000

Kensington has firmly cornered the market for speaker docks that resemble cartoon dialogue bubbles. The design is certainly unique, comprised of a dock and buttons at one end, and a large, flat-paneled NXT speaker jutting out on the other. The Kensington gets docked 0.5 stars for being the only stationary set in the roundup that doesn’t come with its own remote, not too surprising when one considers that the SX2000’s main selling point seems to be its low price. At $159, this model is priced a lot closer to portable models.

The sound quality isn’t bad for a single flat panel, but it hardly competes with the richness offered up on the Klipsch iGroove and Bose SoundDock, especially when pushed to high volumes. The audio output became tinny when dealing with bass-heavy songs like The Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc.” A noticeable hiss is also detectable at low volumes. For those looking for an extremely original (if polarizing) design at almost half the price of many of its competitors, the SX2000 isn’t a bad way to go.

Other iPod Speakers
Altec Lansing iM5
Bose SoundDock
Klipsch iGroove
Logitech mm50
Sonic Impact iFusion