Klipsch shrinks iPod shelf speakers

Klipsch has recently unveiled the iGroove SXT, its smallest-ever iPod speaker dock. The home theater designer hopes to bring the sound quality of the iGroove HG and larger bookshelf speakers into a more compact form without sacrificing quality. The SXT has the same true stereo speaker arrangement as its larger cousin and also shares dual 2.5-inch, long-throw woofers for the company's historically strong bass; its 3/4-inch tweeters are also the only in the class to use horns to better reproduce upper ranges without requiring more power.

A dock on the new iGroove charges and plays any iPod that will work with a Universal Dock adapter and is complented by a minijack input that can accommodate the iPod shuffle or any other player without Apple's proprietary connector. Fifth-generation iPods can also play their video through an S-video output. And since the entire system weighs four pounds, Klipsch says, it can be wall-mounted for particularly tight areas.

The iGroove SXT is due to ship as soon as early May and will be priced well below earlier models, selling for $170 online and in stores.