We preferred the miDock10’s audio over the miDock Studio’s. Best of all, the miDock10 is $50 cheaper.

Polk Audio is a reputable maker of quality audio products, and the company finally jumped on the iPod bandwagon by releasing a pair of iPod speakers, the miDock Studio and the miDock10. Did Polk Audio miss the iPod party? Not really, since the party is still going on. Consider Polk Audio fashionably late, and fortunately, the miDock Studio and the miDock10 have the goods to stand out from the crowd.

The two speakers obviously have different looks, but they’re roughly the same size and designed for portability. The miDock Studio measures 17.13 by 5.8 by 7.7 inches, while the miDock10 is 16 by 6 by 4 inches. Both have side handles for carrying, but neither has the correct type of handles or a shoulder strap for boom box-like on-the-street toting. If you’re handy, you could probably make your own strap for the miDock10, but you wouldn’t want to do that for the miDock Studio - more on that in a minute.

Both speakers can run on eight C batteries, but you can only charge your iPod when you’re using the power adapter. Both also have rear ports for audio-in, headphones, and an iPod dock connection to your Mac. The remote controls for each device have basic track controls and volume adjustment, and the top of each unit has an easy-to-use wheel-shaped button for controlling the track - but it’s not a clickwheel. You have to use the iPod’s clickwheel if you want more precise control.

The miDock10 uses an iPod cradle that keeps the iPod inside the unit - if you had the aforementioned homemade strap, you could carry the miDock10 around town. On the other hand, the miDock Studio has a simple universal iPod dock, and if you tried to carry the device with the iPod attached, the ’Pod is liable to fall right off.

The miDock Studio can use battery power for picnics in the park.

Because the two speaker systems are similar in size and they both have a pair of 3.25-inch full-range drivers, we thought we’d have difficulty telling the two apart in our audio tests. But there’s a noticeable difference between them. We found that the miDock10 had better clarity and bass response than the miDock Studio on all the tracks we played (rock, hip-hop, classical, acoustic, and podcasts). Overall, the miDock Studio sounded good, but the miDock10 is one of the better-sounding iPod speakers we’ve heard - and, as a bonus, it’s more affordable than the miDock Studio. Both systems suffered from noticeable distortion at the higher volumes.

The bottom line. Polk Audio has easily established itself as a force to reckon with in the iPod speaker market. We like the design and audio quality of the miDock10 over the miDock Studio, but you’ll be happy with either one.

MIDOCK10

COMPANY: Polk Audio

CONTACT: www.polkaudio.com

PRICE: $179.99

REQUIREMENTS: Dockable iPod

Great audio quality. Secure iPod dock.
No bass or treble controls. Distortion at high volumes. No strap for street toting.

MIDOCK STUDIO

COMPANY: Polk Audio

CONTACT: www.polkaudio.com

PRICE: $229.95

REQUIREMENTS: Dockable iPod

Nice audio clarity.

No bass or treble controls. Distortion at high volumes. Must operate as a stationary speaker.