Looking for a stylish, compact speaker system for your Apple iPod? boynq has designed an eloquent and compact speaker system that can accommodate any of the Apple iPods on the market. Most curious is the fact that this speaker system also accommodates the different tastes of both men and women.
boynq is a company that I personally have never heard until one of their products landed in my lap. The interesting bit about the company is even though their office is based in the Netherlands; their manufacturing facility is in actually in China which would allow the use of skilled production and quality management for their final product designs.
This brings us to their latest design for iPod speaker systems; the Sabre. bonyq’s designs are quite unique not only in their naming of the product but also their marketing as they have the Pour Homme version as well as the Pour Femme which are coloured black and pink respectively. Luckily I got the Pour Homme version for this review ad pink is just not a colour that looks good on me.
Packaging
A well thought out design went into creating the packaging for the Sabre. It is visually appealing on a consumer level as well as providing all the necessary information needed to understand what the product features are and how they can benefit the end user.
One aspect of the packaging I like is that they show the product without having to open up the product. They use the concept similar to that of bubble packaging for toys so you get to actually see the product and not just photos of it.
It also highlights some of the features that the Sabre has over other iPod speaker systems and the video capabilities that the Sabre has as well as blocking high frequency interference from such devices as mobile phones. If you are like me, you really do not like it when you’re speakers start making a high-pitched noise when you are receiving either an incoming call or a text message.
Contents
Inside of the packaging of the boynq you will be greeted by the following assortment of pieces:
- boynq iPod Speaker System
- Inserts for the different iPod models
- 3.5mm stereo line in cable
- Line out cable (left/right and video RCA)
- S-Video cable
- 18V DC power adapter
- Optimization Card
- Manual
Moving right along…
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Features and Specifications
The Sabre has a pretty standard set of performance specs with two 10 watt RMS speakers and the ability to produce from 20 Hz to 20 KHz of frequencies. Most iPod docks that I’ve played with like the ExtremeMac Luna don’t produce low frequencies cleanly at higher volumes, so it will be interesting to see if the Sabre can do a bit better. Or rather, can it sound as good as it looks.
First Impressions
A bit of thought went into designing the Sabre. It offers a unique shape that is sleek and eloquent in either the silver and black (Pour Homme) or the white and pink (Pour Femme) colour concept.
The design of the side speakers remind me of a hair dryer, with the wire mesh that they place in front of them. Even though the speakers are on either side of the unit (similar to a bass tube) they are angled ever so slightly towards the front. Though I do not believe this will have much effect in the way sound is produced.
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Plugins and iPod Compatibility
The back side of the Sabre offers a robust set of connections that everyone will probably find a use for. There is the dock connector pass-thru that lets you use the iPod cable to connect the Sabre to your computer, a line-in and a line-out port which would allow those who do not have iPod to patch their MP3 player into the Sabre via the stereo line-in cable and the S-Video port which allows you to pass the video from an iPod into a TV via the supplied S-Video to composite cable.
The Sabre offers all the inserts for the iPods that Apple has created so that they will work without ruining the look of the unit. At the time of writing this I am not sure if it would support the new Apple iTouch.
Taking the Sabre Out for a Spin
After finding my Apple iPod Nano (2nd Generation) and inserting the correct insert (they are labeled on the back), I slide the Nano into its spot and turned on the power. Right away the Sabre began recharging my iPod which is nice to see but it was time to play some music and see how the Sabre does as a speaker system.
Right off the bat I noticed that there was not much of a low frequency sound (as in the bass was pretty non-existent) but then I though perhaps it could be one of my songs I was playing. So I played a couple of different songs (Walk by Pantera, Don’t Stop The Music by Rhianna, Darling Nikki by the Foo Fighers and My Front Porch Looking In by Lonestar) and noticed it was not the songs but the actual Sabre that does not seem to do a good job at producing the lower frequencies. In other words the music sounds a bit hallow.
Now I noticed that the Sabre does have some power behind it. I only had it up to 1/4 of the full volume and I just would not take it any higher because it was far too loud at that setting. I am afraid to turn it up to even half way!
The bass and treble controls on either side of the Sabre did not provide much of an adjustment to the sound quality. Even using the various ‘pre-sets’ that the factory recommends via the card they include did not help create a better reproduction of the music I was playing.
One of the features that boynq Sabre has is the shielding against high-frequency interference from devices such as cell phones. Well I put it to the test and sent a few text messages to friends. I left the phone near the Sabre to see if the shielding worked. Well, no such luck. Although you could say that the interference was a little less pronounced, it was still audible, but I guess its nice to know when you’re getting a call while rocking out.
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Final Thoughts
With the size of the two speakers on either end, you would assume that the lower frequencies would be pretty good. In fact it seems to be quite the opposite. The sound can be a bit ‘hollow’ sounding and using the Bass, Treble knobs it doesn’t make much of a difference. Music that does not have much bass in it to begin with sounds pretty good but the moment you need bass in the song, it just does not perform.
Because of the easy to manage size, I would recommend boynq add a battery compartment to allow it to be transported more easily and used in other places where party people aren’t or where it would not be necessary to crank up the volume. The connections on the back side do not hinder the look of the unit in anyway while keeping things neat and tidy.
With a price of over $100, I find it difficult to recommend this for someone who is looking to have that stereo system replacement system. This is where the ExtremeMac Luna seems to shine. However, the Sabre does have the ability to be a dock and charger replacement for your iPod so again, in places where you need to consolidate for space, it does fairly well in this respect. It also acts as a video dock as well. However, what I was most disappointed with was that the featured interference shielding for cell phones didn’t seem to do a whole lot to stop…interference. As a major feature of the product, it really fell flat here.
Pros
- Video Out
- Ability to charge iPod
- Ability to use as pass-thru to computer
- Small compact design
Cons
- Poor reproduction of lower frequencies
- Cell Phones still produce interference in the speakers
- Price
Overall Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
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