If you’ve been looking for a remedy for the Monday morning blues or just want to wake up every morning to the sweet sounds of your favourite band, then Sony’s ICF-C1iP Speaker Dock/Clock Radio for the iPod & iPhone is a potential solution. 

Measuring 300 x 130 x 139 mm and weighing in at 1.86kg, Sony’s speaker dock comes in white and black versions, but doesn’t have the same sleek styling that most of the company’s latest range of products does. The central iPod dock sits at the bottom of the device, just in front of the speakers and houses a backlit LCD. The text on the display is large and legible, but its placement might not be the best if you have a cluttered night stand or desk. The LCD displays the current time, the mode (iPod or FM radio etc.) and the alarm time.  

The quality of the sound is excellent and the volume that the speakers produce is good enough to use in the living room to play mood music at a house party or braai. The dock also charges your iPhone or iPod battery while it’s plugged in.  

On top of the Sony ICF-C1iP there is a superfluity of controls. There are the controls on the left side for setting the time, date and sleep timer button. In the centre, on top of the device is the Mega Xpand button, which engages the speaker’s stereo separation feature that makes for a wider field of sound as well as a snooze bar. To make use of the various audio functions of the unit the included remote does a good job and the controls on the top of the unit, on its right side, can be used for this as well.  

We found that the Sony ICF-C1iP is easy to set up and use and the sound quality is quite good even if it could do with a Sony Xplod amp for improved bass. There’s also an auxiliary line input at the back of the device if you want to blast music through a friend’s mp3 player.