Sound:
The sound is superb. It’s easy to get the whole room to shake. Not many premium speakers are going to blast sound the way this one does. With all that sound coming out of only five inch woofers, at it’s loudest, it did lose some dynamics. That's not to say that it sounds badly at all. Most speakers are not going to get as loud as the iK501 and it certainly beats many stereo systems.

Design:
Solid, sturdy construction is demonstrated by the quality of materials used and the overall weight. Being so solid, it makes one wonder why Kicker did not bother to make portable with a battery option.

Regardless the sleek, angular desgin allows the iK501 to blend into many different environments.

Functionality
There is a total of one button on this system. How’s that for simplicity? The knob is the central menu control. Adjust volume, bass, treble and set it to standby to charge your iPhone-iPod.

Fans of using the iPhone or iPod to watch videos will like that the iK501 has a standard video component output to TV. It’s not HD, but maybe the next one will be.

Remote:
The remote has volume up & down, play & pause, skip forward & back, iPhone-iPod menu controls and power button. Nothing fancy here. The remote has a good feel and functions well.


Display:
For a stereo-boombox, the iK501 does not have the largest and brightest LCD display, but it could be a little larger. That being said, the letters and numbers are easy to read and well contrasted.

Value:
With a MSRP of $279 it is not the cheapest speaker system on the market. However, when you consider the quality of the sound and construction, the iK501 is a good buy for what it is.

After looking around at prices, and there have been much lower prices on Amazon. So make sure you check several other sites for the best price..

Final Thought:
Do you want loud, ground-shaking sound from a cool looking stereo-boombox? Then this system is for you. This system is not meant for those who want medium, light sound.