Polk (Finally!) Ships The I-Sonic

At long last, Polk Audio is finally shipping its I-Sonic entertainment system, combining CD, HD radio, and XM Satellite Radio.

It’s been a very long time coming—the product was first announced almost a year and a half ago—but Polk Audio is finally shipping units of its I-Sonic entertainment system to consumers, although (naturally!) it warns supplies will still be constrained for the next couple months.

“We ask our customers for a little more patience” said Polk’s Senior VP of Marketing Dan Hodgson in a statement. “Given the tremendous response from broadcasters, consumers and the press we have more orders than we can fill in the short to medium term. However, production is going smoothly and we are confident we will be able to produce enough I-Sonic entertainment systems to meet demand this Holiday season.”

The I-Sonic occupies a unique niche, offering a compact bookshelf (or table-top) style speaker system (measuring 14.5 by 9.75 by 4.75 inches) combining with CD/DVD capability, HD radio reception (courtesy of Ibiquity), and the capability to add on XM Satellite Radio via an XM Connect & Play or Mini-Tuner antenna (at an additional cost, plus XM subscription). The I-Sonic uses a four-speaker system combined with a patented PowerPort bass porting system to deliver rich sound. The I-Sonic offers other standard features of a compact room audio system, including 30 station presets, a dual-alarm clock, a wireless remote control, headphone jack, and two sets of aux inputs so you can hook up an iPod or other audio device. The unit also offers S-Video and composite outputs so you can connect it to a television as a DVD player.

If you can get one—supplies are still constrained, after all—the I-Sonic will set you back $599.