Klipsch iGroove SXT iPod Speaker System
Klipsch iGroove SXT iPod Speaker System review - iGroove Blows Its Horn
August 2007 By Marshal M. RosenthalNow I really don’t care that its flat design allows for wall mounting. Or that there are inserts for iPods with the 30-pin connector and an audio input for use with the Shuffle or other audio sources. Or even that there’s a video out for watching videos from iPods equipped to do the same. What I want is to keep hearing the impressive sound this 4 lb. baby has going for it.
Which comes courtesy of Klipsch’s Horn technology. Read the specs, it sounds more like a micro stereo system: dual 3/4-inch polymer dome tweeters coupled to custom designed Horns and dual 2.5” long-throw woofers. Among the results are a wider “soundfield” as well as the quality of bass reproduction (placement also affects the sound, depending upon whether used in an open space or closer to a wall or corner).
To be fair, you can get higher resolution audio into your iPod (EMI just agreed to a deal with iTunes to double the bit-rate of their catalog offerings for example). Ripping at a high bit-rate or purchasing lossless files can greatly enhance the sound quality, but at the expense of hard drive space. It’s hard to beat The Beach Boys at harmonizing, so I ripped a few MP3 tracks from “The Warmth Of The Sun” at a high bit-rate and frankly it sounded great coming out of the Klipsch because it doesn’t just have deep bass but a solid mid and high-range that’s really important to fragile harmonies that shouldn’t be mushed up. And just to push it, I attached the stereo outs from my DVD player to the audio input and listened to Elvis Costello’s Live - A Case For Song (filmed at the BBC in London in 1997). This really shows what the Klipsch can do - it’s a robust and clear sound as good as any micro-stereo system you could ask for. And because these are real speakers working, even cranked up they hold their audio without hissing back at you.
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