Edifier IF600 Breathe

Edifier Breathe iF600

Any iPod/iPhone speaker dock that costs more than $300 should offer laudable audio performance. No excuses. Extra features are nice, but if the speakers distort, they hardly matter. Thankfully, the Edifier Breathe iF600 ($349.95 list) makes up for its lack of extra features with an eye-catching design and quality, powerful audio output. You may be tempted to try to get more for your money with feature-heavy docks in this price range, but you're better off either spending more money on say, the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air ($599.95, 4 stars), which combines top-notch audio with extra features like wireless streaming, or staying in this price range and focusing on audio quality. If you choose the latter approach, the Edifier Breathe is worth a listen. Measuring 10.1 by 16.5 by 9.6 inches (HWD), the Edifier is clad in black speaker grille cloth across its entire front face. In that way, it's similar to the Zeppelin Air, but smaller, and shaped less like a Zeppelin and more like Darth Vader's helmet. The lower trim of the front panel is raised in a sort of cutaway wave-shaped line, revealing the lower panel that houses the 30-watt down-firing subwoofer.