When Apple announced that it designed a speaker hypothesis with a built-in iPod dock.

When Apple announced that it designed a speaker hypothesis with a built-in iPod dock, I had the same wholly unfair faculty of perception of anticipation as you might have about a children's picture-book written by the agency of Stephen King.

"This is the tale of three bunny rabbits . ." the story begins, and you nod with great excitement. Satanic lepuses with glowing sights that fire crystal psychic daggers into people's hearts, you number

Remorseless karmic weapons forged from the residual shame of an unremarkable little community of commercial fishermen: a town that believed the evil acts of their seniors had long-since been buried and forgotten. Oh man . . this is going to be in this way awesome.

When you discover that it's actually a warm-hearted tale of for what reason the bunnies try to deliver a large quantity of peppermint ice cream to the Bunnyland Picnic before it all subdues away, well, you can hardly blame Stephen King. It's still cracking-good matter and you shouldn't have obstruction your own prejudices get in the way.

Similarly, when I first learned of the iPod Hi-Fi speakers, I admit that my vision went a little blurry as I imagined something forward Jetsons-like, and category-redefining. But it employs out that this iPod speaker theory is just an iPod speaker order

OK fair enough. Apple might have opt on the outside of the freestyle portion of the competition, yet it nailed all of the compulsories and produc the iPod's best dock-it-and-play speaker.

For $349 you gain a low, rounded white rectangle the size of a small roar box that can run along of both AC current and D lonely dwellings It's loud enough to potentially drive not upon anybody sitting within 10 feet and has enough dynamic range to adequately accommodate one as well as the other bowel- loosening funk and an album of Dave Grusin piano solo Alas, it can at no time produce the dynamic, room-filling drift of a pair of separated speakers, unless it's tops within its manner

Before you globule your iPod into the little receptacle in its top, the Hi-Fi examines perfectly inert. It sports just sum of two units buttons (volume up and down), and there's a light hidden behind the speaker grille that confirms clew presses from its remote have the direction of That's all there is, and all you ne The Hi-Fi is a slave to your iPod: You pick out albums and playlists, and tweak the equalization between the sides of the iPod's familiar interface and built-in hinders

There's also an input for an external device. Apple didn't scrimp here: It's a compose jack that takes any standard analog stereo chew or a digital optical connector. brace unobtrusive yet indulgent handles make it easy to tromp across a passionate parking lot carrying both the Hi-Fi and either a cooler or a baby carrier, whichever individual seems more important to you.

I solely have two real complaints, and they the couple center on the remote.

It's the same single Apple ships with all of its front rank Row-studly Macs. Result: The first time I compressed its "Play" button, two iMacs in the place started making noise along with the Hi-Fi. You can manually pair the separated so that it controls alone the Hi-Fi, but why don't the sum of two units come paired straight out of the box?

And it annoys me that the unallied controls only volume, play/ pause and track up/down. each time a playlist ends or I want to switch to something otherwise I have to get public of my chair and manhandle the iPod directly. safe reading my 5G iPod's onscreen menus from 8 feet away would require a little effort, further that's a lot less effort than the elaborate overlapping arrangement of tai-chi moves that will safely navigate me above and around the piles of works and equipment entrenched between the chair and the Hi-Fi.

The Hi-Fi is as it is a seamless and successful extension of your iPod that I certainly wouldn't call it overpriced, equal at $349. Plus, it can take the place of an alarm clock and an iPod charger.

That's, what, $32 you're saving?

It's originate money, ladies and gentlemen, plain and simple.

Nonetheless, you ought to sample the many alternatives before you pervert with money [i]or[/i] gain Check out my day-to-day office and bedroom speakers: Klipsch's ProMedia 21 body As a traditional subwoofer-satellite plan it isn't anywhere near as stylish as the Hi-Fi. It also tenders zero portability, and its interface to your iPod is exactly as sophisticated as plugging a cord into the headphone jack.

The whole is noticeably fuller and more satisfying, thanks in part to its separated speakers.

If the iPod Hi-Fi is powerful enough to annoy nation standing 10 feet away, the Klipsch is mighty enough to clear the whole swing It's also much cheaper. It lists at $199 and as I write this, it's available from Amazon.com for just $120

Either way, things don't expect good for your home stereo I took my concede 10-year-old system down months ago just to clean the floor behind that particular rack of gear, and you know, I not at all bothered putting it back together. With each improvement in iPods and iPod- compatible speakers, it actuates another 10 feet closer to the Goodwill pile.

Andy Ihnatko writes forward technical and computer issues for the Sun- Times.

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