iPod: The Missing Manual, 7th Edition

Play the iPod In Many Rooms at Once

Why settle for pumping the iPod's music through the speakers in only one room when you can fill the whole house with your sonic booms? Many companies now offer their own wireless multi-room sound systems that let you stick the iPod in a dock and broadcast its music through several remote speakers in other rooms.

For the products mentioned here, you don't even need an existing Wi-Fi network—great news if you're Wi-Fi-less or your network's already overloaded.

• Eos Wireless. For $250, you get an iPod base station that has its own set of speakers and one other remote speaker. You can scatter up to four additional wireless speakers in other rooms for about $130 a pop. If you want to better match the sound system to your home decor, you have a choice of black or white speakers. (www.eoswireless.com)

• Creative Xdock Wireless. You just need to plug the iPod into the Xdock and connect the X-Fi wireless receiver to the stereo or, say, a set of powered speakers upstairs. The basic system costs $200, but you can add on extra X-Fi receivers to other speakers in the house for $100 apiece, each with their own remote controls. (www.creative.com)

• Sony S-Air Play. This $400 package gets you a glossy iPod dock and two remote speaker units. Connect the dock, pictured here, to the stereo system (or use it solo). Snap the wireless cards into the remote speakers—and the system is pretty much ready to rock. For big houses, up to 10 speakers can be used with the dock. Each ...