Treat your friends and loved ones to some great quality audio with these speaker systems this holiday season. These boom boxes will bring out the best in your favourite tunes and Christmas jingles, and are a leg-up over puny laptop speakers that often lack punch and musical detail.
Bowers & Wilkins Zepplin Air
This gorgeous audio dock from audiophile specialist B&W sports a signature design and promises punchy tunes packed with oomph. You can be assured of room-filling sound and strong vocals that will rise above accompanying music, whether you’re listening to jazz crooner Norah Jones or pop rock band Maroon 5. The speaker also supports Apple’s AirPlay technology that lets you play tunes from an iPhone or iPod over a wireless network. A front dock connector is also on hand for folks who wish to hook up their Apple devices directly to the speaker.
Bose SoundDock 10
Some folks may not take too well to its chunky looks, but the SoundDock 10 delivers the audio goodness that matches the flair of the Zeppelin Air. You can expect the same audiophile qualities that are usually associated with a Bose speaker system: tight bass and pristine vocals that maintain their composure even when pushed to the max. To ensure better stereo separation — the bugbear of compact audio docks — the SoundDock 10′s drivers are projected outwards at an angle to amplify the subtleties unique to each stereo channel.
Jawbone Jambox
Don’t be fooled by the size of this tiny boom box. The Jawbone Jambox is one fiery speaker that sounds bigger than it looks. Besides belting out an astonishing amount of bass from its compact enclosure, it also manages to maintain its cool at high volumes. Vocals aren’t too bad either – you can expect clear renditions that remain distinct amidst a busy sound stage in rock numbers from Radiohead. Tunes can be pumped through the speaker via a headphone jack, wirelessly over a Bluetooth connection or Apple AirPlay. While this chilli padi of a speaker won’t replace bigger sound docks and desktop speakers, it offers one of the best portable audio experiences available.
Focal Bird 2.1
Audio purists will feel right at home with the Focal Bird from French audiophile company Focal. The system comprises two satellite speakers and a power amplifier that doubles as a subwoofer. The Focal Bird 2.1 supports multiple audio sources with its array of analogue and digital connectors, and includes a wireless transmitter that lets you “stream” your tunes from an iPhone to the speaker system. The advantage of a 2.1 system is room-filling sound, as well as a strong stereo image that’s almost non-existent on a sound bar or dock.
