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In-Depth Review
iPig (a.k.a. Digital Active Loudspeaker for iPods)
Sunday, March 8th, 2009 at 10:14 AM - by Bob LeVitus
It would be tempting to write off the Speakal iPig, a docking speaker for iPods that looks like a little pig, as goofy, silly, or a bad joke. It would also be a mistake -- the iPig is a robust little iPod speaker system with surprisingly good audio quality, a full-featured infrared remote control, and several other features you wouldn't expect from such a dorky looking device.
We received ours shortly before Christmas, but after a quick glance I stuck the box in the pile of items "to be reviewed, perhaps, someday." I made the mistake of judging a book by its cover and assumed it was just another goofy, overpriced, mediocre iPod speaker. But it's my job to test this stuff so a few weeks ago I diligently set it up in my office and vowed to test it thoroughly over the coming weeks.
I did and was pleasantly surprised by almost everything about iPig. It turns out iPig has quite a decent 25W amplifier driving five speakers -- a downward-firiring 4-inch subwoofer, plus a pair of midrange drivers and a pair of tweeters. Coupled with separate bass and treble controls the result is that a speaker that sounds pretty darn good at all listening levels and its unique shape and speaker placement provide 360 degree distribution that sounds pretty good from any angle. And, you can crank this little piggy up nice and loud without distortion.
As you see, the iPig is available in four shiny colors: White, black, pink, and yellow.
The full-featured infrared remote was a pleasant surprise, with volume and tone controls, plus more iPod controls than most remotes offer including play/pause, next/previous track, and basic menu navigation commands.
Another nice touch is that the pig's ears double as soft-touch volume controls -- just touch the right ear to increase or the left ear to decrease volume. And the green light in the iPig's mouth blinks when you adjust the volume or send any command from the remote.
iPig is compatible with pretty much any iPod with a dock connector and comes with 6 dock inserts. There's also 3.5mm cable so you can connect non-iPod audio devices to the Aux input jack on the Pig's backside.
I only have a couple of little nits to pick with iPig. One is that while the remote is surprisingly full-featured it doesn't offer fast-forward or rewind to compliment the next and previous track controls. And it's not really designed to work with an iPhone. Even in Airplane mode you'll hear occasional interference. Plus, its remote menu navigation controls don't work if the phone is locked or sleeping. Finally, iPig seems just a tad pricey at $129.99.
The Bottom Line
If you need a small, cute iPod charging speaker system and don't mind its premium price, iPig is a good choice.
Just The Facts
Pros:
Sounds better than you'd expect, full-featured remote, 360 degree sound.
Cons:
No fast forward or rewind, mediocre iPhone support, expensive.
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