I’m not sure about you dear reader, but I’ve been listening to the Apple iPod in one form or another for quite a long time and I have enjoyed the product line greatly throughout my extended travels. There is really nothing else to do but listen to a good audio book, soundtrack or watch a few movies from cramped planes and taxis to hotel rooms. I spend a lot of time writing, programming and just hacking the night fantastic when my body is at rest at my workstation, or at a hotel and even though I love to listen to something in the background earbuds get tiring after wearing them for over a few hours in a row. Also being tethered I have to pay attention to not get up and walk around without thinking to unplug myself from my iPhone. I wear earbuds that wrap themselves around my ears so it isn’t as simple as popping them out and I’ve been in plenty of ear versus cord wars when I haven’t been paying attention.

There is no doubt that the Apple iPhone 3G has excellent built-in audio output for what it is. I can happily play my iPod App while hacking away at the keyboard as it lays on my workstation however in this bare bones state it leaves much to be desired.I can’t really see what’s playing due to the iPhone being on its back or change the volume requires me to hold the iPhone else it slips away from me and spilling a beverage on the workstation only allows for a second or two of ninja-fu to pull the iPhone away from being drenched.

Enter DLO Portable Speakers for iPhone. They weren’t kidding about the portable part either but more on that later.At first glance it just looks like a set of speakers that you plug into your iPhone to get your groove on. However after opening the box you will be greeted with a super simple 4 step guide on how to set this system up in a matter of seconds.

This system offers a few benefits that I didn’t realize until I cracked it open.

It optionally takes 4 x AAA batteries for the amplifier if you don’t want to plug in the included AC adapter.

It comes with a non-slip iPhone stand that supports your iPhone in both portrait and landscape positions.

There is a simple on/off switch and it plugs into your iPhone stereo plug.

Finally topped off with two stereo speakers rated at 0.6W RMS in the frequency range of 150Hz – 20kHz with 8 Ohm impedance.

The speakers have L for left and R for right indicators for sound orientation and plug into the back of the digital amplifier.

It only takes 10 seconds tops to quickly assemble the whole sound system and have your iPhone audio/visual apps enveloping you in its deep rich sound.

After assembling the unit I found that I could reliably and comfortably rest my iPhone in either portrait or landscape positions.

Both positions are angled to be easily viewed and controlled by the user without having to worry to move the unit. The bottom of the amplifier base is “soft grippy rubber” which allows you to put pressure to touch the screen without the whole system moving around your desk. The freedom of the independent speakers allows you to position the powerful stereo speakers in any direction so that you can isolate the sound to your ears alone or share with friends around you.

The power button is easily accessible even though it doesn’t look like it at first. Check out the top view (below) to see how it is easily within fingers reach.

My thoughts after using these for a few weeks

• I like to keep this system on my desk while at work and it looks great as it is all black and subtle to my surrounds to where it doesn’t call unwanted attention. From any angle the DLO Speakers look really solid.
• They work great when listening to Pandora, iTunes, Youtube, iPod and of course my iPhone.
• They are really easy to maintain – the battery life is pretty good. In fact I have yet to run out of battery life and haven’t heard the power die off using it on battery power after using them for a full day. Heck my iPhone battery runs out before this speaker system does!

These really are portable (this is the part I said I’d get back to). The DLO speakers are made for portability, the amplifier base has fittings to hold the speakers. So when you want to go on the move, you just roll up the cables, and pop the speakers into the amplifier – done! The heaviest thing about this system are the batteries inside. The soft rubber edges of the amplifier base are made to softly lock in the speakers and the center allows for the cables to be rolled up inside. Unfortunately the stand doesn’t fit anywhere or anything but is easy enough to pop on and pop off and carry alongside in a pinch.

Improvements?

As good as these speakers are there are a few improvements I would suggest:

Travel case: I carry mine in a big freezer ziploc bag when I travel or take it home. It’d be great to have a nylon or canvas case that has a handle on it to keep it all together without tangling all the wires.

Quick Mute Button: If the boss is trying to talk to me or I need to pickup the phone there is no real easy way to quickly mute the system. I’m thinking I could add a tiny momentary toggle to flip-flop the sound.

Battery Indicator: As long as the battery has lasted on this I am sure that the batteries will eventually stop providing power to the unit. I’m impressed with the longevity of the batteries so far … but the “when” part is driving me crazy! It’d be great to have some type of Apple-esque battery indicator or even some type of “you’ve got about an hour left” light.

Independent Stereo Plug Jack: The current configuration is that the amplifier has the stereo plug that connects to the iPhone hardwired to the amplifier. It is made easy to wrap around the base but it is not removable to allow a longer cable to be put in or used to plug into another axillary device which means I have to carry another cable with me for when I want to connect my iPhone to my vehicle.

Stand with Charging Access: The DLO speakers don’t come with a charge unit for your iPhone, still I thought I’d try & see if I could use these DLO speakers with my Apple charger & a Griffin one I have. Check out these pics below – you’ll see both charging plugs had issues in portrait position. Albeit both are indifferent in landscape position but the devil is in the details.

Lastly it’d be great for some type of independent volume control but now I just sound hyper-critical. I think that keeping things as simple as possible not only keep the price down but also guarantees for less things to go wrong in the long run and I’m willing to accept this for what it is.

Summary

These speakers worked great with all the stereo apps I could find in the iTunes store, however I did notice some strange behavior with the Megaphone and Ocarina apps – these two apps rely on the microphone input to work. It was after this I took a look at the plug on the DLO speakers, and noticed it has a different configuration than the standard iPhone plugs. I suspect this is causing the iPhone to think a microphone is being plugged in. We’ll have a chat to DLO and get back to you about this. Take a look at the pic below to see what I mean.

I must say, I now take these speakers with me everywhere because they TRULY are portable and have yet to disappoint. They provide a steady rich sound for all types of music from heavy bass-filled music to brassy instruments without any noticeable distortion. I’ve pumped my iPhone so loud in our work area that people from all around have come to find out how I get my iPod/iPhone to play so loud, crisp and clear and they really can’t believe their ears or eyes when they see it coming out of this tiny portable package!

You can pick up a set of DLO Portable Speakers from Amazon.com.

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