iPods are great, and we’re rarely without one. But sometimes a pair of earbuds just isn’t enough--especially when you want some tunes for a backyard BBQ or basement dance party, or perhaps your favorite Lemonheads record just doesn’t sound right unless you crank it up. Either way, Ion Audio’s Tailgater can help you rock with friends, indoors or out.

Weighing in at 20 pounds, the Tailgater is best described as “luggable” rather than portable. It’s about the size of a small guitar amp--12.5 by 9.5 by 14 inches--and, in fact, features XLR and 1/4-inch stereo inputs for hooking up a guitar or the included microphone. The internal battery will keep the party going for about 8 hours. Standard RCA inputs also let you connect any source, provided you have the right patch cable. There’s even a line out, so that you can connect multiple Tailgaters for even bigger sound. A full recharge takes about 12 hours via the included AC adapter, and there’s a handy LED power gauge on the top panel, so you can keep track of how much juice is left.

Take your karaoke revue on the road.

Soundwise, we were pretty happy with the Tailgater. It’s plenty loud for use outdoors, and the inputs all feature individual gain knobs so that you can tweak the levels until they’re perfect. The master volume knob lets you project sound near or far, and the Tailgater’s sound is consistent at both high and low volume levels. Our only beef with the sound quality is that Tailgater favors the midrange. Both the highs and lows were a bit washed out, but given the Tailgater’s likely uses, we weren’t expecting audiophile-quality sound anyway.

The Tailgater can also optionally charge a compatible iPod (any newer iPod that supports USB charging) connected via the 30-pin dock connector. There’s a switch next to the dock to turn the charging feature on or off. Unfortunately, the Tailgater is not certified to work with the iPhone. Plugging in our 3G triggers the familiar “this device is not made to work with iPhone” message, which you can dismiss. It will work for playback, but charging isn’t supported.

The build quality of the Tailgater is impressively solid. Though it’s not as road-ready as the pro amps that clearly influenced its design, you’ll have no problem throwing it in your trunk and taking it out for a day at the park. We also appreciated the rubber feet on the bottom that kept the case from scratching our wood floors. Our only concern about durability stems from the master volume, which felt flimsier than the other knobs, although we didn’t experience any problems with it during our test period.