[Top photo: (from left) Altec Lansing IMT800 MIX Digital Boombox and HELMS SoundBuddy W DS-920]

By Melvin Seah

You do not need to hole up at home to enjoy your great collection of music. A portable speaker dock lets you blast all your favourite songs at the next picnic.

Altec Lansing IMT800 MIX Digital Boombox
Price: $439 (usual price: $469)
Booth: 6121

Go retro with this Altec Lansing boombox, which looks a lot like the boomboxes seen in the music videos of the 1980s. The MIX Digital Boombox IMT800 comes with an iPod-cum-iPhone dock. It also has what Altec Lansing calls specially engineered horn-loaded polypropylene tweeters for crystal clear highs while two custom-designed drivers give the room-filling mids.

An XdB bass-enhanced side-firing subwoofer and what the brand calls "tuned passive radiator" - this component has been tweaked to the max - render super powerful bass. It also has a digital FM tuner and dual auxiliary inputs so you can connect two additional players. Runs on AC power or eight D-sized batteries.

Freebie: The first 50 customers each day will receive $10 Manhattan Fish Market dining vouchers.

HELMS SoundBuddy W DS-920
Show price: $135.20 (usual price: $169)
Booth : 6438

Your iPod may be afraid of the rain, but not the Helms SoundBuddy W DS-920 wireless speaker. With a range of 20m, you can enjoy music in your garden with this pair of battery-operated, water-resistant speakers, while your iPod stays nice and warm indoors. Need to change tracks or adjust the volume?

No problem, use the full-function remote control. It also has a 3.5mm auxiliary input for use with an iPod Shuffle and other audio devices.