It's coming up to Christmas, so we expect to be inundated with iPod and iPhone docks at this time of year, but few catch the eye, or ear, of the Pocket-lint team as much as the iTeufel Radio v2.

German manufacturer and online retailer Teufel specialises in audio, and we've long been fans of its home cinema speaker ranges. Often, the company's systems give excellent performance for a highly attractive price tag, and include some highly competitive THX-certified set-ups.

However, last year it branched out into the world of iPod speaker docks, with the iTeufel Radio, lending the company's undoubted audio know-how to a more mass market product. The only problem was that, aesthetically, with its black fascia and wooden surround, it was as blokey as a pie, a pint and a fight.

The latest edition, the iTeufel Radio v2, addresses this issue with several new colour schemes, and chucks refined audio quality, a new bass adjustment switch and an improved LED screen in, to boot.

It now comes in "Matt Black", "Gloss White" and "Powder Pink", as well as the original retro wood finish. And the audio has been tweaked internally in order to give a better defined performance. The bass response switch has been added due to customer requests, and allows you to twiddle away until you find the best low frequency response for your room.

But, thankfully, it retains that Teufel big, bold and beefy sound. Indeed, from our, albeit brief, demonstration, the Radio v2 has enough oomph to scare a Tiger. Even with the inbuilt FM radio.

That'll be thanks, in part, to the two 7.5W stereo satellites, but mainly the 35W downfiring subwoofer, which coughs as pleasingly and hearteningly as a convincing Father Christmas.

We're also impressed with the finish of the dock (in all colour schemes). And it's a solidly built device that you wouldn't want to drop on your toe, that's for sure.

It's possibly too large to fit on a bedside table, but would be ideal as a spare room, kitchen or, even, living room sound system, and considering that many of its rivals in this category can set you back several hundreds of pounds, the iTeufel Radio v2's price tag of £179 seems more than reasonable. There's that trademark company value again.

The only catch, if indeed it can be called such, is that it is exclusively available on www.teufelaudio.com, and shipped by post, so you'll need to make sure that you order in plenty of time if your expect it to be a Christmas present.

But, as a side bonus, Teufel offers an 8-week return period for all of its products, so if you're not happy with it for any reason, you can send it back for a complete refund.

Do you have one of the first generation iTeufel Radios? Let us know what you think in the comments below...