GadgetGuy.com.au

• iPods and AV Players
• Portable Speakers
• Digital Radio

Revo Ikon

Alex Kidman, 05/03/2010

Tags: Alex Kidman, iPhone speaker, iPod dock, iPod speaker, Revo

Features

Apart from iPod music playback via a dock that slides out from the front, the Ikon also offers inbuilt support for DAB+, Internet radio, last.fm and home streaming via Ethernet. The credit card-sized remote is surprisingly bereft of controls given everything the Ikon can manage. That's largely because it also sports a 3.5 inch (9cm) touchscreen that uses simple icons for menu selection. Stick an iPod Touch or iPhone underneath it, and you're looking at a lot of stroke-able screen real estate. The screen itself is good for displaying DAB+ content where radio broadcasters can be bothered presenting any, but on the iPod side it's a rather bland, mostly monochrome affair.

Performance

You can't get something for nothing. The Ikon's functional ability comes at something of a cost, and that's an aesthetic one. The Ikon is slightly striking in appearance, but it's also undeniably of fairly ho-hum plastic construction. Beyond aesthetics, this had an effect on audio quality at louder levels, where distortion became very noticeable.

If you're planning on using the Ikon as a desk-based dock at moderate volume this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but those planning on filling a room with high and heavy tones may find the abrasiveness too much to bear.

Conclusion

If you want a dock that does more than just play back iPod music and you don't particularly want your music blisteringly loud, the Ikon's a solid option. Those who want more bump to their bass should look elsewhere, however.

Get GadgetGuy.com.au content delivered right to your inbox, on the day we write it! It's quick, it's fresh, it's easy to subscribe, and you'll never miss a thing!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner