14 DAY TRIAL // I guess everybody already knows that whether I was to ask what the best-known piece of music tech gear in the world is, iPod" would likely be the first answer. Now, iPod does not only have a life of its own but has also created and strongly developed a series of collateral fields which take care of various niche sub-fields.
The iPod docks is one and in my opinion, it's also one that has had the greatest improvements, from the usual ?travel speakers" to highly sophisticated docking stations and so on. Lots of companies try their best into gaining as much share of the market as possible and few of them have really put some great gear, whether you like or not the iPod.
I am definitely no fan of the iPod and its world but I have to admit that among the so many things inspired by it and developed for it, I have found some quite amazing gear. What if you could have a mobile, portable and autonomous piece of gear for your iPod that could actually blast a strong sound across 150 feet of space? It's the actual case of the ION iPA03 docking station... if I am allowed to call it a proper docking station.
The iPA03 looks and feels like a true guitar or keyboard combo: sturdy build, metal grille in front of the 2-way speaker system, bin casters, 2-wheel hauling system and slant front-panel. Even more, following the contemporary trends in guitar combo-industry, it has an extensible handle for easy carriage and moving around.
What's so cool are the microphone input and the secondary channel input (usable with a guitar or other instrument i.e. Keyboard). Needless to say that the second channel can as well accommodate a microphone as well so the karaoke-choir is on the go!
The actual iPod dock is placed in the upper part of the strong aluminum case for easy access and visibility and the whole system is powered by a rechargeable battery about which ION says it will last for 6 hours of operation.
Now, the almost $300 looks a bit too much for such a device and just for the fact that it is portable (as portable as a guitar combo can be) and can run with 2 mics I don't know how much of a hit it will be. Nevertheless, since I am a rock guitarist and I like loud stuff, I daresay it's very cool! And unless you have issues with loud sound, I recommend you think it's cool too, ha-ha-ha! Rock on!