KlipschiGroove SXT review

The iGroove SXT is an iPod speaker dock from Klipsch. The company is better known for its range of high-end home cinema speakers. We therefore had high expectations for the iGroove’s audio quality, but were left with decidedly mixed feelings.

Despite its name, the iGroove’s appearance is inoffensively bland rather than daringly stylish. It does feel well-made and sturdy. It needs mains power so it’s not ideally suited for portable use. At 120x305x117mm it can be easily moved from room-to-room. A small remote is included, but it can’t navigate through the iPod’s menus and the buttons feel very stiff and unresponsive.

Your iPod connects to the iGroove through its dock connector which both recharges its battery and carries the audio signal. For a snug fit that doesn’t put any undue strain on the dock connector, a number of plastic adaptors are included. For certain newer models, such as the latest iPod Nano, you’ll have to use the adaptor included with the player itself. There’s an auxiliary 3.5mm stereo input so you can connect other MP3 players and audio sources. There’s also an S-video port so any video files stored on your iPod can be viewed on a TV, turning the iGroove into a rather large and expensive video output adaptor.

We don’t expect perfect audio quality from iPod speaker docks since some compromises have to be made to make a compact, all-in-one speaker system. Nevertheless, given the iGroove’s high price we expected better sounding tunes. Jazz and blues sounded detailed and rich, and we were also pleased by the clear sounding vocals and instruments in most pop tracks. Rock and R&B music was less impressive due to the boomy and unfocussed bass as well as the overpoweringly bright and harsh high end.

The iGroove’s flaws would be easier to accept if it was priced well under £100. At £130 though, it’s rather overpriced. Frankly we’ve found it very hard over the years to find a simple speaker dock we like, we’d much rather have a quality set of stereo speakers and an iPod power adaptor – which will cost significantly less too.