WANT to juice up your living room music scene? Speaker maker AVLabs believes it has just the thing.

The brand new AVLabs video speaker sports a glossy tuxedo-black suit that will spiff up any table. The size of a phonebook and powered by just a single cable, this gadget saves some space on your desk and avoids cable clutter.

With its circular design and light 1.25kg body, it's the perfect companion for users who want to tote it on their shoulders, belting tunes down Orchard Road in true ghetto hip-hop style.

The four speakers, at the front and sides of the gadget, help to blare music in all directions. Pop-star wannabes can shake their bums to Justin Timberlake from any corner of the room.

Then there is the 3D Surround sound button that promises a faux 360-degree surround sound.

When I select that function, the gadget widens the sound somewhat, though it is far from any cinematic effect. I can hardly feel the ricochet of gunshots when I play the Hancock trailer.

Bass is mostly passable but I would have preferred a more thumping beat when I listen to rock and hip-hop.

I know something is amiss when The Killer's When You Were Young doesn't compel me to get off the couch. When the array of musical instruments comes together in the chorus, I can barely differentiate the individual instruments.

In fact, the mix of guitar strums and drum beats sounds jarring and grated on my nerves.

So why plonk some $300 plus on this gizmo when you can more likely get a better sounding alternative at a fraction of the price?

Maybe it has something to do with its video playback feature.

Pimped out with a glorious 7-inch screen in front, this baby beams out razor-sharp videos that are stored on your iPod. When I play several music videos, there is hardly any distortion or blurred footage. Impressive.

The music also stays nice at earth-shattering decibels. Even when the volume is at a mere 11 units (the gizmo plays up to a volume of 18), the sound comes out loud and proud.

Final say

AVLabs is flexing its muscle by building a stylish video playback device. However, the sub-standard audio quality drizzles on its otherwise stunning parade.

By Stephanie Gwee, a freelance writer

This story was first published in The Straits Time Digital Life on 5 November 2008.

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