XtremeMac Tango Studio

It's important to put the XtremeMac Tango Studio in its proper place in the iPod-speaker food chain. At $60, the Tango definitely falls into the budget class. You can find iPod speakers for a bit less, but $60 is affordable--and if you look at the Tango Studio in this context, it's reasonably good. However, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing to write home about.

What you're getting is a compact, understated speaker that has a built-in FM radio, a retractable iPod dock, an auxiliary line-in jack for connecting other audio gear, and a wireless remote that controls your iPod's basic functions (volume, track advance/skip back).

The Tango Studio has a couple of nice design features. We liked that the iPod dock is retractable. This feature lets you can tuck away the dock when you're done listening to the speaker. We also dug the blue LED light that sits in the middle of the speaker and shows through the speaker grill. It displays all pertinent information, including volume levels, radio station numbers, and what source you're on (iPod, radio, or Aux).

The unit measures 6.5 inches tall by 11.5 inches wide by 3.875 inches deep and weighs a little more than 3 pounds. While it's small, this model doesn't have a bay for batteries and it isn't designed to be portable. But it can obviously be moved from room to room very easily. Also, like other iPod speaker systems, it charges your iPod when it's docked. (The Tango Studio is compatible with the latest generation of iPods and iPhones, though you should put your iPhone in Airplane mode to avoid the buzzing associated with radio frequency interference.)