Intempo IFI-01 iPod speaker tower
Having recently reviewed a couple of the tallest iPod speakers out there in the Regen Reverb solar powered iPod speaker and the Philip Starck’s Zikmu iPod speakers, I felt compelled to review the Intempo IFI-01 iPod speaker.
In some circles the IFI-01 is known as a tower, which is an understandable description of a device that measures 1090mm.
This latest design from Intempo is another example of designers taking iPod speakers off the book shelf and making them a piece of furniture in their own right, which I applaud. When got right, some of these speaker docks like those mentioned above are a triumph of design and much better looking than a lot of the tat sitting around my house.
Looks wise I think the IFI-01 is best described as Petronas towers-esque with a hint of oil barrel chic – and it works. As a design I think most people would be happy with this technological tower sitting in their living room.
The central ‘barrel’ houses the generously powered 30watt subwoofer and the iPod dock. The dock, thanks to a few handy adapters will accommodate all iPods apart from the Shuffle I think and will also charge your favourite Apple device (apart from the 2nd gen iPod Touch or 4th gen iPod Nano).
A nice touch is that the IFI-01 has USB connectivity which lets you charge the speaker via USB (why I have no idea), but more importantly it allows you to sync your iPod or iPhone. It still surprises me that there aren’t more speakers around that let you do this, so a little round of applause for Intempo on that one.
The two tube silver tubes house the 2 x 2″ midrange drivers and 2 x 1″ tweeters that complete the IFI-01’s speaker ensemble. Both of these towers/tubes are movable; well twistable would be more accurate, so that you can direct the sound around the room the way you want it. This doesn’t really provide you with the faux surround sound the makers would have you believe, but its a nice option to have.
Altogether the IFI-01 provides 90watts of power, which is a good bit of welly and definitely enough to get your party started. The sound clarity is decent and rich, but not quite as defined as the Bose SoundDock or Zeppelin Mini produce, but this is understandable as both of these speakers are £50 to £100 more than the Intempo speaker and the Intempo compares well to other speaker docks in the £150-£200 range.
My verdict – Lacking a little sound finesse, but much better looking than other speakers in its price range and a lot of volume for your money. If your looking for an iPod speaker that makes a statement in your room and the Philip Starck Zikmu speakers are out of your price range, this is a good bet.
Price: £199 at Amazon
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