The Chicago Apple User Group
speakers
Tweakers: A Lot of Sound in a Little Package
02/08/2009 08:29 PM
a review by Tom Piper
Whenever I travel, at least three iPods and an iPhone go with me for audio and visual education and entertainment. Several sets of earphones accompany me, but I would also prefer a set of speakers for my room. A delightful and colorful unit caught my attention at Macworld that were exactly what I needed.
The Tweakers Mini-Boom Speakers from Grandmax are known as Pull-n-Play because of their cute and very functional retractable connecting cords. The ad says “pocket size speakers with room-filling sound” which is a big promise. With a built-in 430mA rechargeable lithium ion battery, a frequency-tuned amplifier, and a pair of twist-and-popup 2” speakers, it does deliver crystal clear sound, even if the bass is a bit muted (a lot to expect of something so small).
I plugged it into my 8GB iPod nano at the office, and played music for six hours without depleting the Tweakers battery. It was easy to setup by pulling out the mini-USB retractable cable and plugging it into the other speaker (this is also the charger cable when a mini-to-fullsize USB adapter is plugged into it, which can be plugged into a computer or iPod charger). Then the 1/8” stereo plug was attached to my iPod (or iPhone or MacBook Pro), and a twist on the top of each speaker popped it up for a better sound chamber. Finally, a press of the on/off switch on the side of the speaker turns it on, and a separate volume wheel adds more volume in addition to your sound source. Disassembly is even easier with the retractable cables, and magnetic bases to conveniently hold them together (yes, these same magnetics could be used to attach them to any iron-based metal).
Update: See the video of how these work by appleJAC Member, Steve Mays:
All in all, these are a real attention getter, and a lot of fun to use. They meet my need for a set of travel speakers. More information can be found at www.grandmax.com where these Tweakers can be purchased for $44.95 (with a 20% discount and free shipping through Feb. 8, maybe longer). They are available in black or red to match your style.
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