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Definitive Technology Bluetooth Sound Cylinder makes up for your tablet’s puny speakers

Ian White
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DefTechsoundcylinderCheck out our full review of the Definitive Technology Sound Cylinder bluetooth speaker.

Are you the type of person who takes your tablet everywhere? Do you sit in Starbucks all day long watching Netflix when you should be working on that report? Are you the type of selfish spouse who would rather sit up in bed at 11 pm and watch a hockey game on their tablet than watch it downstairs so that your wife can sleep? If so, Definitive Technology has the ultimate Bluetooth loudspeaker to take your horrible behavior to the next level. Rather than plug a pair of headphones into your tablet or laptop, clamp Definitive’s $200 Sound Cylinder Bluetooth loudspeaker to your device and enjoy sleeping on the sofa.

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All kidding aside, the Sound Cylinder offers a rather substantial upgrade to the sound quality of any 7” or 10” tablet or laptop thanks to its two front-firing 1.2” midrange/high frequency drivers, 1.7” side-firing woofer, and three channels of Class D amplification. You would be amazed how powerful 8 watts can be in such a small enclosure. The 2.1 system can really crank; which is likely to get you banished to the basement or forced to get your coffee at a gas station if you do not keep the volume low.

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The Sound Cylinder has a battery life of 10 hours, but that diminishes rather quickly if you play at maximum volume levels for too long. The Cylinder has a micro USB port for charging and a 3.5 mm jack for other devices such as a smart phone or iPod. The “audiophile” within could also run something like the Audio Quest DragonFly USB DAC from a laptop (just use the DTcylinderfrontsupplied stereo mini-mini cable) to the Sound Cylinder for a portable high-end system to take on business trips or to Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving.

The magnesium alloy clamps are very strong, but rubbery covers guarantee that your precious screens won’t be damaged. The retractable kickstand makes it easy to prop your device up on a table or on your lap and the aluminum/magnesium cylinder is durable and quite sleek looking. The Cylinder weighs less than 1 pound and is only 7.5” long.

For $200, you really can’t do better if portable audio is your thing and you hate lugging around your fancy headphones. Of course, you could always consider the $100, rubber-clad Zooka wireless speaker for a much less expensive (albeit less impressive-sounding) option. 

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