Tannoy i30 iPod speaker dock review

Can a buttonless iPod speaker impress?

3 October 2007 13:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Professional speaker maker Tannoy has launched what it claims is an "impressive iPod speaker system", but is it telling the truth? We get listening to find out.

Sleek, gloss, black and minimalist in design, the Tannoy i30 iPod speaker dock doesn't profess to being able to wake you, make you a cup of tea of anything else like that.

All it promises to do is allow you to listen to your music and listen to it well.

Luckily for Tannoy, it does just that, otherwise this one trick pony would be heading for the bin.

Getting back on track, and the system is simple in its offering. You get a tube shaped unit, a dock to plonk your iPod, complete with five supplied common docking wells, to cover mini, nano, nano 2G, 5G, U2 with video, 5G with video, and a couple of ports at the back for the power, a USB cable, a video cable and a 3.5mm plug in case you want to connect something else. There are also two screw sockets for wall-mounting.

There are no buttons on the device whatsoever, not even a power switch and everything is controlled via the included creditcard-sized remote control.

It is a tiny bit worrying if you lose the remote as you end up with a heavy paperweight, but it certainly gives you a clutter-free experience.

That remote gives you control over the power, the volume and the usual array of skip, pause and play functions.

As for performance, it's as Tannoy claim - impressive. For the fan boys out there the i30 includes a sophisticated Digital Sound Processor for optimised audio quality and, in addition, is fitted with Tannoy's patented Inductive Coupling Technology (ICT) drive units - this system offers superior vocal articulation, music fidelity, high power output with minimum distortion and has been created to give the user the ultimate in sound reproduction.

For the rest of us, it means it sounds pretty darn good with everything we played on it, from Dave Matthews to Holst to Girls Aloud (yes, we do it for you) sounding great.

Verdict

As iPod speaker docks go, this has got to be one of the best sounding we've heard this year.

That coupled with a very smart looking minimalist design, it's British as well, means this should appeal to the style conscious.

The only catch - just don't lose that remote.

Top marks.

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Tannoy
Price as reviewed: £249
The good: Design, sound
The bad: Lose the remote and you're in trouble
Quick verdict: As iPod speaker docks go, this has got to be one of the best sounding we've heard this year
Score
Winner