The iPod has revolutionised the recorded musical landscape so much that audio companies have created hardware to get the best sounds out of your portable player.
KEF, renowned for its high-end speakers, has produced an iPod dock called the Picoforte. The Picoforte Three is the more expensive of two versions: it uses a pair of KEF's award-winning KHT3000 speakers, as opposed to the more basic KHT1000s used on the Picoforte One. KEF's uniquely styled 'egg' speakers, with their small size and surprisingly good sound quality, are ideal accompaniments for portable systems.
The speakers implement KEF's proprietary Uni-Q technology, giving you the widest sound dispersion from the smallest possible package. The cabinets are entirely metal, while each Picoforte component - both dock and the two-box 35W amplifier module - is die-cast zinc.
The Picoforte is compatible with every current iPod as well as other MP3 players thanks to the 3.5mm audio jack. An optional subwoofer connection means that lovers of bass can choose to extend the system and the S-Video connection means you can connect to a TV screen to display song titles in 10 languages, or even play movies (if your iPod allows). Unfortunately, it doesn't show album artwork. Included is a credit-card style remote control.
Soundwise, the Picoforte delivers. The One may be a little light on bass: that's not the fault of the speakers but rather the amp. Adding a subwoofer will give you bass no end.
The Picoforte, especially the Three, has a lot of plus points including precise and detailed hi-fi sound and the ability to integrate both bass and treble smoothly. Design wise, it's eye-catching, modern and classy. It's also very easy to install and operate.