That’s where an entire audio sub-industry has sprung up, catering entirely to iPod owners who want to “dock” their music box somewhere and jam to a room-filling sound that’s not mashed into their ears.

Blast and The Boston Globe recently tested five of these docks: the Altec Lansing inMotion Max at $199, the Logitech Pure-Fi Express Plus for $78, the compact iHome iH4B for $39.99, the Cambridge SoundWorks i765 for $299, and Wayland-based Sprout Creation’s all-wood Vers 2X at $199.

As a bonus, Blast also tested the Boston Acoustics Duo-I at $199 and the iHome iH51BR at $149.

For professional advice, we turned to Dariusz Dobrolinski, is co-owner of the tiny yet historic Q Audio store on Vassar Street in Cambridge, which claims to be the worlds smallest hi-fi store and one of the original distributors of CD players in the US in the early 80s. Dobrolinski said the Altec Lansing inMotion Max was the best item on the list, and we agreed.

“It sounded the richest,” Dobrolinski said. He warned us not to jump at the deepest bass or the highest treble, which some inexpensive systems tend to crank up to make up for their lower quality components.

“If you want to buy a docking system, don’t look for something that has bass and sizzles, it may impress you, but later on you will notice you don’t get the midrange and that’s where all the instruments and all the voices are,” Dobrolinski said. “Bass is not critical unless you want to fill a huge room, but none of those systems are designed for huge rooms.”

The Altec Lansing and Cambridge SoundWorks models were all very similar, though. They sounded great, look great, and come from brand names that are known for generally building their products to high quality specifications.

The iHome name has gained a lot of ground in the last three years. You often see these functional alarm clock iPod docks in both luxury hotels and college dorms. They generally sound good and have useful wakeup features like dual alarm clock times and, of course, the ability to wake up to your favorite songs blasting from your nightstand. The iH4b’s compact size and low price makes it a great value for dorm rooms and bedrooms. It has a good sound on a small footprint.

The Vers 2X is a great choice people who want something different. It doesn’t have a radio or really any other features except an iPod dock, but it’s an attractive, well-built speaker system.

Dobrolinski said that you should also focus on how the product looks. Style is important. He also said that you’ll want your dock to have a remote control so you’re not getting up all the time to tune it.

Individual products on Page 2

It’s a taller, narrower iHome clock/radio/iPod dock. Only this time, it has Bluetooth on board. This allows you you to make wireless speakerphone calls from your iPhone, cell phone, PDA, etc., right from your alarm clock. It also lets you beam your music from any Bluetooth-compatible product (like your laptop) and play it up to 30 feet away on the iP47.

We finally got the chance to play with the iP47, and we’re impressed. The Bluetooth works as advertised, and phone and music playback sound great.

The calls were surprisingly clear over the unit, and you can even make calls using the remote control, leaving your iPhone or whatever plugged in and charging. A tray also pulls out of the unit with a full alphanumeric keypad. You can also plug in anything that’s not wireless via the line-in jack.

At $150, it’s an investment, but weigh the features and decide for yourself.

So, I’ve toed the company line. That’s what the iH12 and every other iHome product does. It’s what they do, and they’re very good at it.

The iH12 is a compact cube with a backlit display, dual alarms and gradually progressing volume for waking and sleeping. It has a remote, AM/FM radio with 12 presets and an auxilary input to plug in your non-iPod devices.

The device has iHome’s usual Reson8 speaker with passive subwoofer for bass. It’s not going to shake a room, but the iH12 projects a clear sound that’s as good as any of the docks on the market.

It is not compatible with 3rd generation or earlier iPods, so make sure you have something fairly new to throw at it.

At $80, it’s priced right in the meaty curve of the iPod-audio-docking-alarm-clocking products. Give it a shot.

4 out of 5 stars

This new line of iPod lamps promises to hold all dockable iPods including 30-60GB, nano and mini. Each lamp is a bright halogen, and depending on which one you get, they feature backlit buttons and telescoping lampposts.

I can’t believe no one’s really thought of this yet. As long as they manage to sound decent, these look awesome.

The iHome lamps are now available for $49.99 and up at Lowe’s, Amazon.com, Costco and other retailers, Checkolite said Thursday.

One is small and loud, and the other’s got Bluetooth.

They’re still in the concept stage. Here’s what we’ve gathered so far — mind you nothing is set in stone.

The iH69 iPod Computer Speaker System with Computer Sync, in addition to being a mouthful, is a compact, versatile solution for all your dorm/desktop/bedroom audio needs. It docks, charges, plays and syncs your iPod and computer audio (or any other audio source for that matter) and if it follows company trends, will sound as good as some of the larger computer speaker options out there.

It’s being marketed as a clutter-reducing sound solution. The iH69 also has a remote control and is built on 20-watt, 2.5″ Reson8 speakers.

iHome showed the iH69 concept at CES in January. Look for it later this year in the $200 range.

For a more robust choice, the iP47 looks like it will be a sick desktop solution with built-in Bluetooth to wirelessly stream your audio from a cell phone, PDA or computer. It also works with your iPhone and has a speakerphone/microphone combo that lets you take/make calls right on the device.

Like we’ve seen with other iHome clock/radio options, the iP47 also features dual alarms, AM/FM radio, snooze, etc.

iHome may have a few more tricks up its sleeve later this spring. Stay tuned.

With all the bad press plastic bottles are getting lately, the iH85B, designed with a bike mounting bracket is a great replacement.

It takes four AA batteries or an AC adapter for home listening. It’s also water and impact-resistant with a speaker cap to protect itself. It docks with all docking iPods.

The iH85B also charges your iPod when plugged in by AC power.

The product also uses Reson8 audio technology, giving the iH85B some rich sounding vibes–and it does sound really good for a device its size.

If you’re into cycling, and into iPods, check this one out.

Features:

• Listen to your iPod at home or while biking anywhere
• Charges your iPod when connected to AC adaptor(included)
• Works with docking iPod models
• Reson8™ technology with passive speaker for full, rich sound
• Mounted wireless RF remote control for safer control while biking
• Comes with mounting bracket and all hardware
• Bike mounted remote control for safe riding
• Tough water and impact-resistant polycarbonate case
• NOT compatible with iPod Shuffle.

Compatible with all versions of the iPod, except for the new versions of the iPod Shuffle, the iH7R makes waking up and falling asleep smoother than ever.

The volume of the alarm and sleep settings increase and decrease smoothly with gradual wake and sleep features to avoid startling the user. These features allow the user to be slowly awakened or lulled to sleep with either tunes from their iPod or the AM/FM radio.

A buzzer alarm option is also available for those who need a quick wake up call in the morning. There is also a dual alarm feature for those who like to sleep through their alarms or in cases where two people need to wake up at different times.

The iH7R sounds impressive with its Reson8 speaker chambers, known for the their clarity, depth and power. A bedside satellite speaker allows for a surround sound effect, but it doesn’t reach much past the width of your bed, though-this is due mostly to its short length. The speakers live up to their reputation by producing high-quality sound from such a compact unit.

The radio and iPod can be controlled from any part of your room using an included remote, as long as it’s a straight shot to the iHome base, despite claims otherwise by the manufacturer.

The only major downside here is that the menus of the iPod can not be accessed through the remote. This makes it tough to get picky from the other side of your bedroom.

A patch cord is included to play your CD’s and other audio devices as well.

Overall, the iH7R packs an impressive sound and user friendly features.

For $149.99, it’s a great investment for those who always want to have their iPod around.

The iH4 displays the time and can be used as a speaker system when connected to any iPod. It differs from the previous model because it is much smaller, taking up less than a quarter of the desk space its predecessor did. It is much more convenient to store on a nightstand, but the size difference trade off some features like an AM/FM radio.

The iHome iH4 is an extremely simple device to use. The buttons are all clearly labeled, and an instruction manual seems almost pointless. The on and off buttons are both located at the top of the system while the four settings buttons are located along th”oo high volume, it muffles any vocals in the music.

The iHome iH4, though not reasonable for the sole purpose of playing music, is convenient, affordable and reliable for the function of an alarm clock. It has an appealing, retro to look to it, unlike most alarm clocks.

So, if you want to charge your iPod while you sleep and wake up hours later to the sound of one of your favorite songs, perhaps the iHome iH4 is appropriate for you.

$49.99, now available.