Twisted System – Portable Speakers

First things first: the twisted part in the title refers to the fact that the speakers can either face forward or face up depending on how you want to listen to them. You twist them to change the angle. Up to fill a room, on an angle for a more individual direct sound.
Like many similar speaker sets, there is a main speaker, which houses the amp and controls, and a satellite speaker that connects via the supplied 3.5mm jack cable. The unit is powered either by USB - which is handy if you are wanting to use them connected to a laptop (a mini USB to standard USB cable is supplied) - or 3 AAA size batteries which fit into the bottom of the main speaker for any other type of use. Whilst you can use rechargeable batteries, plugging the USB in won’t charge them. The second speaker has a dummy battery compartment, which would be good for carrying spares. There is an on/off switch on the bottom of the main speaker. An 8 bar LED indicator on the side lets you know how much charge there is left in the batteries and a volume control, for well, controlling the volume!. A 3.5mm jack cable also comes with the speakers so you can connect them to you iPod or computer.
The first thing I noticed when I removed them from the box was how small they are, only 7cm square. Each speaker fits comfortably into your hand so they wouldn’t take up to much room in your bag or case if you travel.
But of course the main question everyone is asking is: “How do they sound?” and my short answer is, surprisingly good. Small speakers essentially sound small, and moulded plastic boxes don’t do much to help. After I realized that the batteries go in the other speaker, I powered them up, plugged them into my iPod and played some music. The sound was sharp and clear without being tinny. There is a great stereo image by which I mean the music sounds like it is coming from the centre of the speakers rather than from each speaker individually. There is not a lot of real bottom end, but that is to be expected from speakers this small; putting them on a decent surface such as a wooden table does make a difference though. You can turn them up quite loud and there is little to no distortion from them, they managed to fill an average sized room well, and at full volume you will have to shout.
Next I broke out the audio podcasts and found that this was a real strength. The sound is very clear and certainly audible at low volume. Voices can be heard well even on the other side of the room. I have the first generation model iPod, which has no in-built speaker and I found that plugging in just 1 of these gave me the ability to watch (and hear) videos without feeling much encumbrance from the speaker itself.
All in all, I have found them quite handy in the couple of weeks I have had them at home and wouldn’t hesitate to throw them in my bag next time I travel. They would be useful for camping, in a hotel room or if you just want listen to something without your iPod headphones.
I feel they are really more suited to spoken word than music, but that is not to say they don’t do a good job with music, I have certainly heard a lot worse. Good if you just want to hear some tunes and small enough that they won’t take up too much room in your gear bag. Hi-fidelity is not always necessary when you are travelling.