Griffin Evolve review

This set of wireless speakers from Griffin is one of the coolest audio products we've seen for some time.

Each 140x140x140mm speaker has an internal battery that is charged when they are placed on the base unit. This means you can carry them around while they're playing and position each speaker anywhere you want, without being followed by a tangled trail of wires.

Like the XFones set reviewed opposite, these speakers use radio frequency (RF) communication and their range is huge. We had to walk out of our 20m labs and up a flight of stairs before the sound even started to cut out. The batteries lasted for a full 12 hours before they had to be recharged.

The base unit houses the controls and a dock, which will take even the latest iPods. Evolve is sold primarily as an iPod accessory, but has very little in common with the mediocre design and poor sound quality typical of many iPod docks. A remote control allows you to control volume and track-skipping on your iPod.

You can also use Evolve to connect your iPod to a larger screen for video playback through either composite video or S-video. There are stereo RCA outputs so you can connect additional speakers to the system, and multiple Evolve wireless speaker units can be associated with the same base unit.

There's no risk of getting the speakers mixed up when you return them to the base station, either, as they detect which side you've put them down on, and switch their output from left to right to match whichever side you last placed them on. In Mono mode, the speakers both play the left and right channels, so each can be used as a standalone unit.

The speakers are loud for their size and sound good, although their bass doesn't compare to sets with a separate subwoofer. The mid-range was a little fuzzy, making them better suited to dance, pop and rock music than delicate classical themes. Unrestricted by cables, they're easy to position for optimal sound quality anywhere in the room.

We've seen wireless speaker sets before, but none has impressed us as much as this one and none has been quite so much fun to use. It's expensive, but with its brilliant design, long battery life and good sound quality, Griffin's Evolve speaker system wins a Most Wanted award.