Bose

The original SoundDock was a big seller for Bose and they're hoping that will carry over for their newest iPod sound system. It clocks in at a relatively hefty $599, but Bose is swearing up and down that it sounds great. It has two "twiddlers," which they claim produce a mixture of high and mid sounds. The low-end is provided by a rear-facing woofer.

Ever since it was released, the original Bose SoundDock seemed to be the 'go-to' iPod dock for anyone looking for decent sound. Kinda like how their Wave radio became the reference system for all clock radios, most docks were compared to — and fell short of — the SoundDock. Even the portable version was popular. However, there were some issues.

Bose is up to its old tricks. The company first pulled the faux speaker cabinet caper on audio journalists back in the late 1980's when it introduced the Acoustimass system.