Definitive Technology Sound Cylinder Preview: Give your iPad a Portable Bluetooth Speaker

This year at CES, Definitive Technology showed off a new portable Bluetooth speaker, the Sound Cylinder. As the name implies, it is a cylindrical shape, and sports a 43mm woofer on one end  for bass, and power/volume controls on the other. On the front of the unit are two 32mm mid/high frequency drivers and on the back is a USB port for charging, adjustable kickstand, and 3.5mm audio input jack. On a full charge the battery can last for up to 10 hours (depending on system volume). The body is made out of injection-molded Magnesium alloy and has a quality look and feel to it. Our favorite feature is the innovative clip and kickstand system. The clip and kickstand are adjustable so it can fit any modern phone or tablet, and hold it in portrait or landscape orientation at different angles. The Sound Cylinder and clip can also be used to attach to the top of a computer monitor, just like a webcam, or (as in the photo below) it can set alone on a counter by flipping the unit upside down and using the clip as a stand. The unit is slated to ship later this month and will be available on-line and in specialty stores with an asking price of $199. The Sound Cylinder is definitely the most innovative and best looking ultra-portable speaker we have seen lately.

Definitive Technology Sound Cylinder

Subjective listening tests

We were able to have a private demo of the Sound Cylinder at Definitive Technology’s suite outside the main convention center.  They were playing a clip from Toy Story 2 and a live concert recording of Adele. We were most impressed by the stereo separation of the Sound Cylinder, in large part thanks to some clever DSP. It seemed to go loud enough for use in a quiet area, but I am not so sure about its ability to overcome a lot of environmental noise. Don't expect bone crushing bass from such a small unit, but Definitive Technology says that it will play a full octave lower than any of the competition.

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Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.