Sound Cylinder from Definitive Technology

Let’s be honest. Built in speakers on your iPad and Macbook kinda suck. It’s not just Apple, that generally applies across the board. So if you’re going to use your iDevice for watching a movie or listening to some tunes, you’re going to want something a bit more robust.

Enter the Sound Cylinder from Definitive Technology, which we recently had the chance to test. It clamps onto the screen of your favorite portable Apple device and then connects wirelessly via Bluetooth. Just turn it on and experience the sound that finally does your retina display justice.

Immediately we were struck by the design of the Sound Cylinder, which looks like it could have easily come out of the brain of Jonathan Ive. The metallic finish and overall quality of the product make it the perfect companion for your apple devices. The controls are simple, with just power and volume, and it takes literally seconds to figure out everything that this device was made to do. It wasn’t designed to do much, but what it does, it does well.

The Sound Cylinder features :

• 2.1 sound
• Two composite midrange drivers for high-definition clarity
• Side-firing linear excursion woofer for a rich, warm sound
• Easily and securely clamps to iPad for hands-free viewing
• Up to 10 hours of battery life
• Rugged metal alloy construction
• Built-in kickstand holds iPad at the ideal angle for optimum viewing comfort

The sound is crisp and dynamic, even at higher volumes. We tested it both with a movie and music, and were left delighted by the sound delivered. Your mileage may vary depending on the size of your room, but under normal conditions, you should be pleased. While it’s made to clamp onto an iPad or Laptop, you can also utilize the speakers to wirelessly connect to your iPhone or iPod as well. Of course, it’ll work with other brand’s products, but we’re not really sure why you would own those.

Our only concerns with this product come in relation to the clamping mechanism. While necessary to make the product work, we worried about possible damaging our screens. Also depending on the screen, the clamp might block part of it. We also would have liked the ability for an adjustable kick-stand, so we could pick the angle that our iPad is held. Overall though we found the Sound Cylinder performs admirably the tasks that it is designed for.

Buy at Amazon.com for $199.00