LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – The first Lightning speaker docks are starting to Rumble out of CES, starting with the thunderous OnBeat Rumble, an attractive new dock from JBL that can not only dock a new iPhone, iPad or iPod, but accepts audio streamed across the room via Bluetooth as well.
Boasting 50 watts of power and a four-and-a-half inch subwoofer that JBL promises will deliver “dynamic, thumping bass performance,” the Rumble is an attractive speaker dock, with a colorful street look.
One of the big things JBL is boasting about the Rumble, besides the new Lightning functionality, is the exclusive to Harman TrueStream technology, which promises to deliver major bass with low distortion.
On a thumping CES showfloor, there’s no way to tell how this sounds in practice — consumer audio gear that emphasizes bass tends to score poorly in other departments — but we liked the look of the OnBeat Rumble and we’re fans of Harman-Kardon’s products, so the idea of their first Lightning-enabled dock is exciting.
Unfortunately, like most of the Lightning products we’re seeing here at CES, expect the OnBeat Rumble to not hit the market until March, and it’ll cost $399 when it does debut.