TDK I\'maspeaker CD Wallet

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Jeffrey Friedman

November 17, 2003

Portable cassette players used to come in two main flavors: the basic walkman, with ear buds or headphones, and models with built-in speakers for more “social” uses. The speakers weren’t ever very good, but then the quality of the cassette recordings wasn’t great either. Portable CD players provide a much better music quality through headphones, but I have not seen the option for an internal speaker on any of the small portables. Cheap speakers, both battery powered and unpowered, are available, but the ones I’ve seen are clunky and not terribly easy to carry compactly. So when TDK announced its I'maspeaker (get it?) built into a case for CDs and CD players, I was interested. I bought the smaller model, a mono speaker in a case somewhat larger and a good deal thicker than a CD jewel case, rather than the stereo two-jewel-case sized one. It is labeled as the “TDK Out-Loud” (perhaps a rethinking of the clunky name).

The unit resembles a small Case Logic CD carrier. It has sleeves for a dozen CDs and a mesh pocket, which can hold a slim CD player (but not my Radio Shack 42 6014, which is too thick to fit in the case along with CDs though it just makes it if the CD sleeves are left empty). The flat speaker, powered by two AA batteries, has an on/off switch, volume levels being controlled by the audio player which you attach it to with its stereo 1/8” plug. You can obviously also connect an mp3 player, cassette player, or other device with a 1/8” jack, to the Iamaspeaker.



This is not a hifi speaker, but it does give a pretty respectable sound. I listen mostly to classical music and opera, the speaker is better on voices than instruments, but quite listenable on both, certainly much better than any of the unpowered speakers from Coby and other such Chinese brands. It is not quite as good as the much larger Sony SRS-57 set I use on my computer, and certainly not to be confused with high-end audio! But it is the easiest such device to carry around that I have tried. I recently traveled with it to Europe, and it was no extra burden to have along.
 

Price: $24.99

Pros: 
Small, flat speaker provides portable sound
Good price

Cons: 
Okay but not hifi sound
Tight fit for all but the slimmest CD players, if you use it to carry a player as well as CDs