Review: Sonic Gear i-Steroid valve speakers

The latest device to prove that the iPod accessory market is still going strong is Sonic Gear's i-Steroid.

This unusual-looking speaker system also boasts some unusual technology.

The i-Steroid is, in fact, a valve amplifier and satellite system that does away with components such as solid-state transistors and integrated circuit chips in favour of a much simpler system.

The main selling point for valve amplifiers is their ability to project a more natural sound; the valve technology enables them to warm up the harsh edges of compressed digital audio.

However, valve amplifiers are traditionally very expensive and reserved for only the most audio-hardy of music fans, so at £160 we were interested to see just how it performs.

Getting it going is no different than setting up any other 2.1 speaker system; attach the two satellites to the main subwoofer unit, plug in the audio source (in this case an iPod into the line-in socket and switch it on.

The only disparity is waiting for the i-Steroid to warm up (for about 10 minutes) before cranking up your latest tracks.

Once music flooded the mini-satellites, we were very impressed. Pushing the i-Steroid to its volume limit didn't result in the expected crunch of noise and the bass response came across smooth and rounded rather than punchy and flat.

A simple remote control is supplied for adjusting bass and volume levels but the separate i-Steroid Cradle U100 (included in the package) can be attached to add features such as battery charging, full iPod control and both audio and video outputs.

The U100 isn't compatible with the iPod Shuffle, though.

There's no denying this iPod speaker system provides enthusiast-style audio quality, but whether people will shell out £160 when a £2 cable can connect it to a big home stereo is another matter.

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