They say good things come in small packages and the Rock-It Portable Vibration Speaker System is no exception. However, with its surprisingly generated vibrating “pod” it is not without its drawbacks.
The idea behind the Rock-It portable vibration speaker system is that it sends strong vibrations through a small speaker that is attached to an object and is amplified by that object. Basically, you connect the Rock-It to a device like an MP3 player, iPhone, smartphone, or any other media player and the Rock-It acts as an external speaker. I connected the Rock-It to my HTC Evo.However, the interesting thing about the Rock-It is that you attach it to an object such a tissue box, picture frame, jar, or even a book. And the pod, as the company calls it, sends out strong vibrations to the object and amplifies the sound causing the volume to be louder.
The Rock-It did a very good job turning ordinary objects into a speaker however, the tone was a little flat but overall a decent sound. Keep in mind though this is not gonna give your media player a Digital Dolby type sound. It is what it is. It is an external add-on speaker system. But the cool thing about it is that you can choose what you want your speaker to be.
However, choosing the right object makes a difference in sound quality. I found the best objects being a hollow cardboard box such as tissue box, cereal box. I even tried it on a box of Jif To Go. It had a nice sound and it’s great for dipping…..
I tried it on other household items but got a lot of varying sounds from different things. The sounds ranged from shallow to muffled to low and high tone. When I got the Rock-It and saw and heard what it did I went crazy and tried it on many things. I tried it on a wall picture, a metal can, a glass jar, several cups, my refrigerator and even on the side of my daughter’s cheek. Don’t worry, it was her idea. Doesn’t work anyways…..
The Rock-It is attached by a little sticky pad on the bottom of the pod. It has a nice low tack to it but still can hold firm. The sticky pad did accumulate some debris as you can probably see in one of the pictures but I just took a dab of water on it and wiped it as clean as good as I could and let it dry and it was good as new. Just don’t get the pod wet if you try this. It could short it out.
The Rock-It is a nice portable speaker system that you can carry around with you since it is pretty much self-contained and it is not that bulky at all.
It is operated by two AAA batteries and has a power switch that you just slide to turn on and off. It would have been nice to have an adapter to plug into a wall socket as well.
It comes with an extension connector for your media player device as well as a USB connector to plug into a computer’s USB port or a USB plug adapter in case you don’t have batteries.
The Rock-It also comes with a few extra sticky pads in case the other ones get too dirty and over used.
As fun as the Rock-It is to use it is just as much fun to see what ordinary object one can use it on. As an external speaker system the sound was decent depending on what object you attached it to.
This is a handy little speaker system that you can take with you on a trip or just keep with you. And if you have limited space like in a dorm room or office cubicle and you want decent sound but don’t need to crank up the volume super high then this is a good external speaker to have. I think the average person will be happy with this system but audiophiles may be a little nit-picky. Just don’t stick it to your cubicle wall. It could turn your cubicle into a self-contained speaker and I think Enrique Iglesias’ I Like It on your iPod is getting played out….
Product Information
Price: | $29.99 |
Manufacturer: | Origaudio |
Retailer: | Pyramid Distribution |
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I like the idea of these ‘small to carry, big in use’ gadgets’. Thanks!
I have a sudden vision of using something like this to make a talking jack-o-lantern or turning a window into a speaker for Halloween. What fun!
@Mark
Mark, this would be a nice addition to adding audio to a Halloween display. Just have a pre-made audio loop with some Halloween goodies on it and attach it to pumpkin or a cardboard display. Maybe use for Christmas display too. The great thing about it is that it’s portable and can be easily hidden away. Good idea.
Neat looking gadget. What happens when you stick it on your forehead? 🙂
@Ken S Headache 😉
When, oh when, will one of these “small is big” vibrating speaker systems offer STEREO sound??? I’m still waiting! Until then, the best-sounding micro speaker I’ve found is still the iMainGo2 mp3 player case with built-in ported speakers and amp. It sounds fantastic and only costs $50!!! And it protects your mp3 player…
Any idea if this would work for use in the car? I have a “new” (-to-me) 2002 Yukon, and much newer iPad, and would love to listen to my downloads, music, etc. while driving…as well as allow my kids a greater breadth of music choices. What do you think?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Jen
I don’t think these would be all that great in a car because of highway noise. I think the highway noise would over-power the speaker system. However, it doesn’t hurt to try just make sure you don’t try sticking them to anything while you are driving. Eyes on the road. 🙂
Just wondering where i would be able to purchase this? as linking website does not seem to stock it?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Kiarashaye
you can try Amazon.com. I checked and saw that they have some for sale.
I plan to buy this gadget, but first I would like to know, if it for my purpose fits: I have a very disturbing neighbor, he is living right above me. He is actually very noisy all the day, and mornings I always wake up, like they do. I have asked them to be more discreet, but they just told me: they won’t and beacuse I am not living above them, I can’t do a thing (like being noisy etc.).
I want to show them, how nerve-racking this is, but I don’t want any other neighbors affected. I want to use Rock-IT on the ceiling of my room, and let them hear some music or some other noise. But I am not sure, if they would hear anything, or if the other neighbors would not be affected. Could someone please test it for me on a wall? It doesn’t need to be the ceiling, it can be a lateral wall also, but it needs to be concrete or something like that. I would be very grateful for that!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Nuriko
I have tried these on a wall. Don’t ask me why but unfortunately they will not give you the results you want. These speakers don’t have the kick that you want or need. The speakers are more effective on things like a tissue box or even on a picture frame but to give you a bass bumpin’ feel it just won’t do it. So projecting to to your neighbor may need something more effective. These are just personal speakers. Hope you can find something to help your situation.
Hallo Raul!
thank you very much for the test! I had a little hope, because I was thinking about the house, like it would be a very big box.
But now for this purpose I won’t buy it, you have spared me 10.000 HUF, thanks a lot! 🙂