iLuv iSP245 Mo'Beats Speaker Stand

There are plenty of Bluetooth speaker?options out there?some are spectacular, while some are pretty uninspiring. The iLuv iSP245 Mo'Beats ($99.99 direct) sits somewhere in the middle, delivering sound quality that suffers from heavy distortion at max volume, which itself isn't all that loud. Its saving grace is its sleek design, which also functions as a stand to prop up pretty much any tablet in both landscape and portrait orientations. It's best to think of the Mo'Beats as a miniature TV or movie viewing setup than a dedicated music playback speaker.?

Design
The iLuv Mo'Beats resembles a skinny aluminum barrel, measuring about 1.75 inches in diameter and 9.31 inches in length, with a small lip on the front for propping devices up. At 1.09-pounds, the Mo'Beats is not quite as portable as options like the Logitech UE Mobile Boombox ?or the Jawbone Jambox , but its solid aluminum frame and stand function make up for the added weight.

There are circular speaker grilles at either end of the barrel, while a black plastic protrusion on the back houses the On/Off switch, 3.5mm Aux jack, mini USB port, and a slide-out stabilizing bar for heavier and taller devices. The recess in the lip is about half an inch wide, making it suitable for even overly thick tablets, while embedded rubber pads help keep devices in place. There are no volume or playback controls, as everything is handled on the device. There is also no speakerphone like on the UE Mobile Boombox or Jambox.

Pairing the speaker with a Bluetooth device is simple enough; just flip the switch from Off to On and select the Mo'Beats on your device. The Mo'Beats can only pair with one device at a time, which is less useful than the Mobile Boombox, which can pair with up to eight devices at a time.

Performance
To put it bluntly, the iLuv Mo'Beats is not the speaker you want if high-quality audio is your biggest concern. It's louder, clearer, and has better stereo separation than the built-in speakers on most tablets, but that's really not saying much. Compared with alternatives like the Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, the Mo'Beats sounds pretty tepid. Not only does it distort heavily at high volumes, the volume itself isn't even all that loud. Bass is seriously lacking, and songs with heavy bass, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," suffer from unbearably crunched and distorted sound.

On more balanced tracks that don't go overboard with bass, and at moderate volumes, the Mo'Beats does a decent job, but still ends up sounding a bit too thin and treble-heavy for my taste. The vocals and guitar strumming on a track like "Babel" by Mumford & Sons sound a bit too harsh, while the cymbal crashes of the drums overpower the mix. Playing the same track back on the UE Mobile Boombox reveals just how much warmth is lost with the Mo'Beats.

It's not a dock, but its stand makes it a good option for a desktop mini home theater. For movie watching purposes, the speakers on the Mo'Beats actually do a respectable job. That same treble-heavy sound makes voices sound loud and clear. A trailer for The Avengers sounded exciting, with easy-to-hear dialogue and loud explosions that really popped. At the end, however, the score highlights lower register string instruments and percussion that became crunched and distorted at high volumes. If money is no object, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme ($499.95 direct) delivers powerful and high-quality audio, and it can also dock iPads in both vertical and horizontal orientations.

The iLuv iSP245 Mo'Beats isn't the best speaker for audio enthusiasts?not by a long shot. What it does offer is a useful stand that can boost the volume of your tablet, and its speakers do a good job for dialogue and background sounds in movies. The Logitech UE Mobile Boombox is still the Bluetooth speaker you want to get in this price range, but for those looking for an all-in-one stand and speaker solution, the Mo'Beats is, at least, a slick and well-built option.

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