It looks great, but the Tango X2’s sound won’t make you feel like dancing.

At first blush, the Tango X2 iPod speaker dock gets plenty of points for design. The smooth, black box takes the space of a couple of encyclopedias, and its elegant silver trim works dressed up for a dining room or down for a bedroom. But the Tango X2 has two left feet where it really counts, blasting out shrill, distorted sound.

The X2 is compatible with fourth-gen and later dock-connector iPods, so we shoved in a fifth-gen video iPod and began playing. But no matter how we adjusted the volume, bass, and treble with the included IR remote, the songs always echoed. We minimized this cave-simulation effect with careful adjustment of bass and treble, and by moving the unit off the desk and to the corner of the room. But we never felt satisfied with the audio quality—the built-in subwoofer crackled at louder levels and produced mashed-together sound at all volumes.

With such mediocre quality, the X2’s main value lies in its sleek design, audio input, and built-in AM/FM radio. A blue LED status panel glows briefly behind the front fabric after each adjustment, and the curved edges make the Tango X2 look inviting. Alas, that counts for little in the grand scheme of things.

The bottom line. While striking in appearance, weak sound means the Tango X2 won’t get a second dance.

COMPANY: XtremeMac

CONTACT: www.xtrememac.com

PRICE: $149.95

REQUIREMENTS: Fourth-generation or later docking iPod

Looks great. Input works with iPod shuffle or other audio source. Includes AM/FM radio tuner.

Without adjustment, shrill treble overpowers and bass sounds garbled. With adjustment, audio is mediocre at best.