Product Reviews

iPod speaker docks are 10 a penny these days but Griffin's Evolve is different. Its speakers are completely wireless, which means that they can be placed anywhere within 150ft of the docking station. The speakers measure 140 x 140 x 140mm and each contains an RF module, rechargeable lithium ion battery and 12W amplifier. The battery has a stated life of 10 hours listening at a 'normal listening volume' on a full charge.

The docking unit hosts a Universal Dock, flanked by a couple of RF antennae and the charging stations for the speakers. Apart from an iPod, audio can be fed from any device with RCA output sockets. And audio can be pushed out from the iPod over the same kind of connector, though that seems a bit of a waste when you have two wireless speakers to hand.

There are also composite and S-video outputs for displaying video and still images from your iPod on a TV.

The remote control enables you to change the volume, step forward and backward, shuffle, repeat and change the equalisation setting. There's no visual display on the remote

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though, while changing the EQ had no audible effect.

We were impressed with the build quality of the Evolve - and setting up is simplicity itself. From opening the box to listening to music from an iPod took less than five minutes. It comes with adaptors for most dockable iPods, but there are no additional cables for connecting it to a TV or adding another audio input.

Thanks to the charging station, concerns over battery life are largely redundant, while the ability to switch between mono and stereo makes placing speakers in different rooms feasible. The controls are basic though, and the remote control isn't that good: it feels cheap compared to the rest of the unit and the buttons click annoyingly.

Audio quality is average - it lacks presence and could be crisper. Bass is a little muddy and the mid-range and treble frequencies are noticeably soft. It's definitely not the best choice if audio quality is top of your list of priorities.

Griffin has clearly thought about how wireless speakers are likely to be used. In addition to the option to switch to mono, the base unit can transmit audio to multiple pairs of speakers.

When you put a speaker on the charging pod it is paired with the base unit and defined as being either left or right.

If you place two or more pairs on the base unit sequentially, each set of speakers is paired. If preferred, you can then put each pair in a different room and have the same music broadcast to each pairing.

If avoiding wires and being able to move speakers around easily is an important consideration, the Evolve is an excellent choice, if a little expensive.