Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock

The Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock and alarm clock is small and cute, but it also produces a surprising amount of good quality sound. Although it is compatible with a wide variety of Apple iPods and with the iPhone, has an auxiliary connection and can receive FM signals, it doesn't offer complete iPod menu control.

The Cygnett GrooveTime II is a petite white block with an iPod connector on top, 2W speakers on the left and right side, a clock on the front and a power connection at the back next to the AUX port. The digital display can be dimmed so it's not distracting at night.

When setting the time on the clock, it's best to use the buttons on the Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock itself. The remote control's keys are often unresponsive (you also can't scroll through numbers by holding down a button). It also can't control iPod menu functions like changing the album or artist, restricting users to skipping tracks and play/pausing.

Once you've set the Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock up, you're able to enjoy its surprisingly good audio quality.

We found that the mid-range notes from instruments like the piano came out smoothly, but the speakers often struggled to hit high treble notes without suffering from distortion. This was particularly apparent in electronic tracks like "Ice Cream" by the New Young Pony Club. Low notes sound good given the speakers' size, but it doesn't match the performance of the similarly priced Amethyst iPig iPod Buddy. The Cygnett GrooveTime II also has a bass booster that lets you pick the level of bass being played, but turning this up reduces frequency distinction.

The Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock also works as an FM radio, and the auto tuner can assign presets to the stations it picks up. Although there are no individually numbered preset buttons, hitting the skip track buttons will shift between various stations. We found that the antenna was able to pick up FM signals quite well, but the external antenna detracts from the overall look.

The Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock is compatible with the Apple iPhone 3G, the Apple iPhone, the iPod touch (second generation), the Apple iPod nano (fourth generation), the Apple iPod touch, the Apple iPod classic, the Apple iPod nano (third generation), the Apple iPod (updated fifth generation), the Apple iPod nano (second generation) and any other iPod with a standard dock connector.

If you're after an iPod dock with a small form factor and big sound, the Cygnett GrooveTime II iPod dock provides plenty of features in a cute package. Just make sure you're happy with the limited menu control.