Product Reviews

Behind the minimalist matt black case and metal-trimmed speaker grille, Gear4's Duo is distinguished by its speaker grille, which detaches into an 18mm-deep portable speaker.

Built in to the grille is a retractable shelf that protects the iPod dock. It supports a wide range of iPods up to the touch, though it's not Apple-certified for the iPhone and the speaker clicks during network activity, so it's best to switch to airplane mode.

One lithium-ion battery is supplied and there's an empty compartment for another to boost playing time. You'll need a screwdriver to remove the covers, and a pair of tweezers is essential to attach the tiny plug from the battery. This fiddliness discourages users from carrying spares, which are available from Gear4.

Music continues to play when the speaker is lifted out. There was a small click, but

The metal stand on the speaker is integrated into the case and locks firmly into position. We liked the fact that the power connector and line-in port are replicated on the bass unit and the speaker. It uses a small power brick that's reasonably portable. Gear4 describes the speaker as a satellite, but it works independently of the bass unit - there's no cable to run between them when detached, and the bass only kicks in when they're docked together.

The bundled remote control has all the essential buttons for navigating and controlling an iPod. The position of the menu and enter buttons are counter-intuitive though. Too many times, we pressed the menu button on the right to select a track and went back up a level in the menu. Scrolling through a list of tracks, we came to a grinding halt after advancing two items on our iPod touch, and we quickly ditched the remote in favour of hands-on control.

Quality is adequate for casual listening, but lacks drama. It left Radiohead's Paranoid Android feeling anti-climactic, while Goldfrapp's Road to Somewhere sounded as imprecise as the song title. It's disappointing that Duo's poor separation led to a muffled sound that's only really suitable for the most casual listener. At the asking price, it's a shame that the Duo falls down on such a pivotal feature.