This pocket-sized add-on includes two high-quality, adjustable condenser microphones, an internal mic pre-amp and an analog to digital converter. There’s even a stereo limiter to deaden loud sounds and a USB port to charge it up. And since it can record at volume levels up to 125 dB, it can also be used to record concerts and music without a problem.

The iM2 stereo microphone sells for $80 (USD). It’s definitely worth checking out if you like to record sounds with your iPhone.

[via Uncrate]

While this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a dock inspired by a ghetto blaster, I prefer the contemporary design of iHome’s boombox. While it mimics the lines of the classic luggable stereo, it boils them down to their bare essentials, creating a stereo that would look great in any moden decor.

Beyond its looks, the iP4 has a pair of 4″ carbon-composite woofers, and two 1″ ferro-fluid cooled tweeters, powered by a class D amp. It’s also got a 5-band graphic equalizer with an LCD screen, and an FM radio too. It also comes with a handy remote control, which magnetically attaches to the top of the boombox so you don’t lose it. True to its boombox roots, it’ll run on 6 “D” batteries if you prefer to travel fully cordless.

While I personally prefer the basic black/grey look of the standard version of the iP4, if you prefer something a bit more garish, you can also get it in hot pink. And when I say hot, I mean it.

I think if you had been walking around the streets of Harlem with one of these on your shoulders back in the 1980s, you probably would have been shot, then beaten with your pink boombox. But it’s a new millennium now, so you could give it a try now if you want. Or better yet, you might just want to keep the pink one in a teen girl’s bedroom instead.

So if you’re ready to put some boom into your dock, you can get your hands on the iHome iP4 boombox over at Urban Outfitters for $199 (USD).

There are two models, the Libratone Live and the Libratone Lounge. Thanks to Apple’s AirPlay, users can stream songs from their iTunes music libraries, on either a Mac or PC, to the stereo. This will also work on iOS devices via a Wi-Fi network. The Libratone Lounge is the larger version, while the Live is the smaller one that can be moved around.

You can choose a few different colors, from slate gray, blood orange, lime green, black, and vanilla beige to match your surroundings. The Libratone Lounge starts at $1,299 (USD) while the smaller Libratone Live sells for $699.

[via Ubergizmo]

Billed as an audiophile-grade music server, the Cantata can handled wireless or wired USB connections, thanks to an add-on called Pont Neuf. Audio is output via XLR or RCA outputs. You can basically hook this box to your computer and it can play back your tunes in awesome quality up to 192kHz/24-bit – assuming they were encoded at such a high quality. The front side of the Cantata shows off an impressive dot-matrix LED display, which gives feedback as well.

The Cantata Music Center will cost you £5,995 (~$9,660 USD). Reserved for technological audiophiles with deep pockets, it’s been made to play music off computer libraries without losing any quality. And when you’re done spending $10k on the media player, why not pick up the matching amp, for another £3,995 (~$6,437 USD).

[via Uncrate]

While digital technology is great, we all know that analog components have a certain warmth and depth of sound that is hard to replicate. This is one of the good reasons why there are some nice vacuum tube amp kits available out there, and they promise to outperform their digital counterparts while costing a fraction of the price.

All in all, this looks incredibly cool and I’d to see either a kit or a pre-assembled version of this for sale, if the sound is as good as it’s supposed to be. For now, all we have is this cool one-of-a-kind prototype.

[via Yanko Design]

The 3.5W speakers are water resistant and can be hooked up to any source, iPod, MP3 player, TV, or a computer. The source plugs into the transmitter, which in turn sends the sound to the speakers. Each of these speakers needs 6 AA batteries, and that will give you 10 hours of playtime. Thankfully, they can also be plugged in, but that defeats the purpose of them being wireless – unless you happen to have an outdoor outlet, of course.

The speakers can be put within 100 feet of the transmitter if there are obstacles such as a wall or a ceiling in the way. If there is no barrier, then the reach is about 330 feet. AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers sell for £90 (appx. $146 USD) over at Firebox. They come in either black of white,  in a design that sort of reminds me of Darth Vader and some stormtroopers.

[via GeekAlerts]

I have been in cars before with powerful subs that were loud enough to hurt my ears and make the windows bulge in the car, but this stereo system takes it to a new level. To show how much air the four subs in their enclosure displace, the guy took a phone book and crammed it into the giant port the air comes out of. Watch the video to see what happens – jump to about 2:45 for the good part.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Suffice it to say that guys won’t want to get their family jewels anywhere close to that port or they will face an air-powered rack-o-rama.

[via Fark]

Stereolizer also lets users record through the iPad’s built-in mic. Here’s a video walkthrough of the app:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

One feature that I think needs to be added is the ability to share your tapes, whether it be via twitter, Facebook or email, so users could send and receive virtual mixtapes.  And then you’ll compile a stack of tapes that chronicle your failed relationships, then you’ll record over those mixtapes with your drunken rants about how much of a bastard that ex of yours is, and then you’ll change your mind and make new mixtapes to try and win them back, all of which will inevitably be sent back to you. Awesome. Stereolizer is available from the iTunes App Store for $2 (USD).

[Stereolizer via Cool Material]

Jazwares‘ Darth Vader “CD Boombox” doesn’t really qualify as a boombox in my book, but it definitely qualifies as a CD player and most definitely qualifies as Darth Vader. Sure, the light up red LED eyes aren’t exactly something Vader had in any of the Star Wars movies, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have. The player has built-in speakers, and while it doesn’t have built-in MP3 playback, you can connect your media player and use Darth’s speakers to listen to Cantina Band. And from the looks of that antenna sticking out behind his dark helmet, I going to go out on a limb and guess Darth has an FM radio built in too.

There’s no word on when you’ll be able to buy one yet, but we do know it’ll retail for $69.99 (USD) when it eventually arrives from a galaxy far, far away.

[via Chip Chick]

Grace Digital Audio has a new micro shelf system with stereo speakers called the Grace Wi-Fi Stereo Micro System (GDI-IRMS300). The system has integrated Ethernet connectivity and supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi as well for wireless streaming. The radio has FM, AM, and HD tuners for tuning normal stations and it has the ability to stream just about anything from the web.

The system supports Pandora, Rhapsody, NPR, Sirius, and a lot more. The system can tune about 50,000 radio stations in total and it has 16W of peak power. Each speaker has a 3.5″ main and a 1″ tweeter. Other features include a dual band EQ, support for all sorts of digital file formats, and a media player that can stream tracks from your computer. The system retails for $249.99 (USD), but you can already find them over at Amazon for under $190.

At this week’s CES, JVC unveiled a cool new double-DIN car stereo with some really neat features – the KW-AVX840. The thing has a 7-inch motorized LCD on the front that supports touch input and has a proximity sensor. The face of the radio is detachable and it has integrated Bluetooth. Other features include a USB port that allows control of the iPhone or iPod connected to it and it has an external mode for playing content from your iPhone on the screen.

The receiver supports all sorts of digital files, has a 7-band EQ, and MOS-FET 50W x 4 channel output along with three sets of 4V pre-outs, and is ready to work with your steering wheel controls. It also supports dual zone and dual play features. It will ship in March for $649.95 (USD).

The RCD-N7 stereo receiver pairs with with Denon’s SC-N7 speakers, and outputs 65-watts per-channel. The system can also stream Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, and Last.fm and has a built-in iPod dock, too.

It also comes with something called Party Mode Plus, a five system, multi-zone networked management system that can be distributed around your house and controlled by Denon’s iOS app. Now that’s sweet.

You can find the RCD-N7 and SC-N7 over at Amazon for around $733 (USD).

[via CoolHunting]

Called simply “THE AUDIO,” this newfangled contraption houses all of its audio circuitry inside the central tower, and then includes a pair for super-slim satellite speakers to flank the main unit. What’s really unusual about the design of this uber-modern stereo is the control bars that stick out of the sides of the main tower.

Depending on mode, each of the metal rods controls a different feature. For instance, in radio mode, the bars control the band, station and volume. But in MP3 playback mode, the top bar controls the track, the middle bar controls the playback mode, and the bottom remains as volume. Controls are boldly displayed on a bright dot-matrix display embedded into the control tower.

THE AUDIO system has built in AM, FM and DMB/DAB tuners, as well as a 3.5mm stereo jack for connecting your media player to the back. You’ll also notice a strategically placed SD card slot at the front bottom of the control bar, so you can play back all of your digital tunes without additional hardware.

At this point, it looks like THE AUDIO is still in the prototype stage, and it’s doubtful we’ll ever see it outside of Korea. Perhaps the EarlyAdopter folks will realize they have a following around the globe and will indulge us with these in other countries. For now, you’ll just have to look and drool from afar.

I feel like the only thing you should be playing through these awful looking clown speakers is some sort of disturbing, scratchy carnival music that might be playing in the background of one of those circus horror movies.While some of you may think these puffy-cheeked, red-nosed speakers are cute, I’ve officially filed these under “evil clown” in my database. Ok, maybe not quite as evil as this clown.

Still, it’s definitely one UGLY clown. If you just have to have one of these, head on over to UXSight, and plunk down your $8.69 (USD). Just don’t blame me when it arrives and you immediately regret your purchase.

The Big Bang Speaker (a.k.a. the “Sound Bomb”) has the look of one of those ACME cartoon bombs that blew up in Wile E. Coyote’s face after the Road Runner managed to leave him spinning in the dust. It connects to your media player using a bright red 3.5mm audio cable that looks like a fuse – a nice touch.

The orb-shaped bomb has two speakers for stereo sound, and can be powered by either 4 AA batteries or via USB. While I doubt that the volume levels from this compact speaker are going to live up to the “bomb” moniker, are you really buying something like this because you’re an audiophile? Then again, the product description says it’s “acoustically designed to deliver a crisp and clear sound” – so maybe the sound doesn’t actually suck.

The Big Bang Speaker should explode onto the scene early this August. In the mean time, you can pre-order one over at I Want One of Those for £29.99 (appx. $49 USD).

The iHome iP1 features a striking industrial design with two oversize cylindrical woofer chambers, poking through a sleek smoked acrylic faceplate which also houses a pair of high frequency drivers. An iPod/iPhone combo dock protrudes from the front of the acrylic panel, and the included remote lets you control all of the basic iPod features from across the room.

But the iP1 doesn’t rest its laurels on good looks. The system gets its audio chops by packing in BonGiovi Digital Power Station (no not that Bon Jovi) processing, which iHome claims provides the iP1 with serious sound in a compact package. The iP1 is powered by a 100-watt class D amplifier, and a pair of 4″ woofers and 1″ domed tweeters — plenty of power to annoy your neighbors when you crank it up to 11.

No price or release date was announced yet, but iHome expects to ship the iP1 soon.

Flüd’s Boombox watch looks like a tiny version of the “portable” stereos of days gone by. Keeping with the retro theme, the watch features a truly old school 7-segment red LED display that looks like it came right out of the 1970s.

I only wish the tiny little speakers actually worked, so I could crank up some Grandmaster Flash and get down to some poppin’ and lockin’ any old time.

The Boombox watch is available in either a shiny silvertone or gunmetal grey design, and sells for $90 USD over on Flüd.

[via e-potpourri]

The CVT i3101 media center alarm clock is slim enough to hang next to your bed, and is especially nice if you have a narrow room without space for a table. The clock offers a bright 3.5″ blue LED display and sleek touch controls for changing channels and controlling your media player. And when your significant other walks off with your media player, you can always listen to the built-in FM radio or any tunes you’ve got saved on an SD memory card.

And if you do happen to have some table or counter space to spare, a kickstand lets you use it without wall-mounting. It looks like the clock’s Hong Kong manufacturer, CVT is also working on another version with an LCD video screen, but I haven’t found anyone retailing these yet. For now, you’ll have to settle for the version shown above, which is available from 100milligrams for $99.95 USD.

The site gives you fair warning that once these are stuck, they aren’t coming unstuck. Where you stick them affects the sound quality, of course, so you might want to do a bit of trial and error before attaching them permanently to your vintage Q*bert poster.

The SoundPads are just over 4 inches in diameter so should remain relatively discreet. They promise to “make most surfaces thump with sound.” I like the sound of that!  You can get a pair for $17.99 from ThinkGeek.

Perfect for a kitchen countertop or any other place where you don’t need a big screen, Philips DCP951/37 Docking Entertainment System moves away from the clamshell case design to a flat, one-piece design that can stand up on its own. The player features a 9-inch diagonal LCD screen and built-in stereo speakers.

A handy iPod dock/charger pops out of the side of the player, keeping it out of harm’s way until you need it. In addition to playback from DVD or iPod, there’s a built-in SD/MMC card slot if you prefer to keep your media on memory cards. It supports a wide variety of playback formats including DVD, DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW, (S)VCD, DivX & MPEG4 videos.

Since the player’s DNA comes from Philips portable DVD line, it’s also got a rechargeable battery, so you can take it on the road. You should get enough time to watch about 2.5 hours of video on a single charge.

The only real downside that I can see to this player is the displays less-than-stellar 640×220 resolution. For a 9-inch screen that’s pretty darned weak. As long as you can deal with the low display resolution, the DCP951 looks like a good fit for tight spaces and can perform double-duty as a portable.

You can find it over on Amazon for $199.99.

[via Chip Chick]