CHARLiE: Super Cool Desktop Music Systems

Both CHARLiE systems come complete with the RothDock meaning - thanks to the wireless receiver built into the base of the CHARLiE speaker - a wire-free connection between your docked iPhone or iPod. In addition, with the USB input and the auxiliary input, these systems will work with anything you like.

The runaway success of online music services, such as iTunes and Spotify, means more and more music is ‘trapped‘ on flash drives and hard drives. This all makes fine sense… until you listen to tunes via the speaker systems generally found built into the sexy-looking, but increasingly compact Mac, PCs and laptops.

The resulting sonics from these built-in speakers tend to come ladled with ASBO-deserving treble, search in vain for convincing midrange, and are utter strangers to the valley town known as Bass. In a word… bad.

The new wireless-capable Roth CHARLiE desktop speaker systems aim to put an end to this sorry state of audio affairs. Available in two strains – a 2.0 set-up and a 2.1 system – the packages bring power and polish to proceedings.

The 2.0 is a two speaker set-up, while the 2.1 adds a subwoofer. Both systems come complete with the RothDock meaning – thanks to the wireless receiver built into the base of the CHARLiE speaker – a wire-free connection between your docked iPhone or iPod. The RothDock is also officially both a ‘Made for iPod‘ and ‘Works with iPhone‘ certified product, so there is no need to adjust your iPhone‘s settings to ‘airplane mode‘.

The CHARLiE 2.0 employs an active monitor design, with a speaker cabinet-enclosed amplifier capable of 15 watts per channel. Its big brother, the CHARLiE 2.1 houses the electronics within the chassis of it curvaceous subwoofer, resulting in 25 watts to drive each speaker – plus a further 25 watts to power the sub itself.

Connectivity perfectly suits today‘s audio libraries. Each system includes a 3.5mm auxiliary input, while the USB socket enables connection to a wide range of computer products for audio output and playback.