The Jensen Banshee JiSS-550 Docking Speaker Station for iPod sports several desirable features and sounds better than most iPod speaker systems in its price range (under $100 on the street). It's a two-piece system (three-piece if you count the wireless remote) with the iPod dock in a separate cup as shown:

While its specifications aren't spectacular, its 25W amplifier and five small speakers provide surprisingly rich and satisfying sound at most frequencies. High and mid-range response is clear and sparkling. and bass response is far better than you'd expect from a system with such small speakers, even if there are five of 'em.

Desirable features include S-Video and RCA Video line out jacks, a 1/8-inch auxiliary jack for connecting an alternative audio source (such as a Mac or PC), and a jack for an optional subwoofer (not tested), plus a complete set of cables -- an RCA video cable, an S-video cable, and a 1/8-inch to 1/8-inch stereo aux cable. The wireless IR remote isn't flashy but has all of the essentials -- power on/off, play/pause, fast forward/next, rewind/previous, and volume up/down. And I appreciated that the two AAA batteries for the remote were included. Last but not least, you get 5 dock adapters which work with all but the current generation of iPods. For what it's worth, my iPod Classic fit into one of the included adapters even though it's not officially supported.

Last year I reviewed this system's baby brother (or sister), the Jensen Banshee JiSS-330 Docking Speaker Station for iPod. Several readers added comments to that review stating how much they liked these speakers. You can read that review and reader comments here.

In that review I complained that:

The spec sheet claims the JiSS-330 provides "revolutionary surround sound with unmatched volume and precision." I beg to differ with the surround sound part -- I never felt I was listening to surround sound. But the rest of it --the "unmatched volume and precision" part -- I have to agree with. You can crank the volume on this puppy all the way to 11 without introducing a speck of distortion. Its ported design (you can see the bass port on the right in the picture above) gives it much better bass response than you'd expect while its three speakers deliver crisp and well defined mids and highs. In a nutshell, it sounds much better than you'd expect from a unit so small.

After that review ran I was contacted by a spokesperson for Jensen Banshee who informed me that there was a misprint on the spec sheet and that the JiSS-330 DID NOT actually offer surround sound. But the JiSS-550, which he offered to send me (and which I'm reviewing here) DID have surround sound.

So now that I have a system that is supposed to have surround sound I have to say my previous comments are still spot on. I never thought there was much (if any) surround sound effect, but I still agree about the volume and precision, both of which are even truer for this model than the JiSS-330 (which only has three speakers).

One other thing I found puzzling was the suggested system placement.

As you can see, the manual clearly advises that you place the speakers at an angle on the left or right side, approximately 1 to 6 feet from your head. They didn't sound bad that way but I found the stereo effect much better if I moved the speaker system directly in front of me, like this:

If I had my druthers, I'd rather listen to two separate speaker enclosures positioned on either side of my display. With two speakers I really notice the stereo imaging in most recordings. That said, the JiSS-550 does a reasonable job of creating a stereo sound field from a single enclosure.

One other (admittedly minor) complaint: The wall-wart (power supply) for this system is huge and is part of the AC plug. If I didn't have a PowerSquid outlet multiplier instead of a power strip I'm not sure I would have been able to plug it in. Advice to vendors: If your power supply is big, put it in the middle of the cable rather than at the AC plug end.

The Bottom Line

The Jensen Banshee JiSS-550 Docking Speaker Station for iPod is one of the best sounding speaker systems available for less than $100. It offers great sound at all frequencies, surprising bass response, excellent clarity even at high listening levels, and several thoughtful extras. Unless you absolutely have to have a true stereo system, with separate left and right speakers, this system is a solid choice.