Can't figure out how to make a speaker system fit in with your garden's or backyard's landscape?  Let Creative solve that problem with their Sound Blaster Wireless Rock, a weather-proof speaker system designed to sit on the ground like a random piece of rock.

Designed for permanent placement outdoors, the device can withstand sun, rain and snow, making it especially convenient for piping music outside the main house.  You can connect it using cables like regular speakers or pair it with either a Sound Blaster Wireless Transmitter or a Sound Blaster X-Fi to stream music.  Do note, it doesn't work with WiFi, so one of the other Creative products are required for untethered use.

The Sound Blaster Wireless Rock measures 12 x 11.1 x 13.8 inches, weighs a hefty 6.3 kg and sports an authentic granite-like exterior.  It uses a single 6.5-inch stereo speaker, with dual tweeters providing contoured sound during open-air playback.  A detachable battery around the back feeds it enough juice to last for 6 straight hours of music on a single charge.

Creative claims its 20 watts of power per channel will deliver enough loudness to make it an excellent speaker to satiate most backyard and poolside listening requirements.  Setup is easy, too, consisting of just three steps before you can start piping music from a Windows or Mac computer.

Personally, I never imagined dressing a speaker up as a granite rock to ever be a good idea.  The Creative Sound Blaster Wireless Rock, however, looks incredibly fit for the job.  It's available from Amazon for $199.99.

	Creative Labs Sound Blaster Wireless Outdoor Rock Speaker List Price: $199.99 Sale Price: $199.99

We're not sure how well PVC pipes will sound as speaker bodies, but these Ikyaudio Sea Cucumbers Audio Speakers sure look way sexier than the usual boxes you can grab off electronic store shelves.   At least, they're as sexy as one-eyed giant caterpillars can get (which happen to be right up there with Megan Fox and Brooklyn Decker - no, really).

Built by Etsy seller Ikumagoo, the hand-made speakers mimic the elongated shape of sea cucumbers (thus, the name) and actually look like robot-like alien creatures right out of a sci-fi movie.  Designed for desktop use, they sure add a heaping of style few work desk accessories can pull off on their own.

The Ikyaudio Sea Cucumbers Audio Speakers use cleverly-joined sections of PVC pipes for the body, hand-painted with a high gloss lacquer finish.  Each one is equipped with three-inch magnesium/aluminum alloy drivers in the head, along with a hole at the end of the tail acting as a bass port.

Since the speakers are unpowered, you'll need to pair them with an amplifier for a louder sound using the three-way binding ports along the back.  Creator Ikumagoo claims they make for "a very good sound stage, lots of low end bass for a small speaker."

You can get the Ikyaudio Sea Cucumbers Audio Speakers for $199 a pair.  If you don't own a spare amp, you can also order them bundled with a mini-amp, but you'll have to get in touch for the pricing.  Custom colors are available.

[Etsy via Gadget Lab]

Tired of high-end home speakers that look like high-end home speakers?  Blow your entertainment system some style with the Pnoe, a gorgeous behemoth of a speaker clad in the form of a giant horn.

Created by Arcadian Audio, this seeming cross between an alphorn, a tuba and a vuvuzuela features sleek lines that make it as much a room centerpiece as an audio delivery component.  Developed over ten years, the company's flagship horn speaker claims to bring a "wide and precise" soundstage, along with a unique "clarity and fullness of sound."

The Pnoe is, basically, a full-featured speaker clad in a large, single-driver horn design.   It's definitely not the first horn speaker ever devised (even those old phonographs had them), but it probably qualifies as among the most powerful, with a speaker sensitivity of 100db/W and an impedance of 16 Ohms.   Suffice to say, you'll probably destroy your hearing using this in the bathroom - listening rooms with a minimum three meters of distance between the listener and the giant speaker are recommended.

Made from fiberglass and special damping materials, the speakers are designed to create the smoothest and roundest path for the sound waves out in front, keeping them away from any form of obstruction.  The horn body only comes in charcoal black and ivory white, but the driver mount, grille and grille fabric can be customized in any colors.

No pricing was announced for the Arcadian Audio Pnoe.  It's considered a luxury pair of high-end speakers, though, and any time you get both "high-end" and "luxury" in the same sentence, you just know it's gonna be priced steep.

[Arcadian Audio via Born Rich]

Even military geeks use iPods too.  After all, how else are they supposed to listen to battle hymns and soundtracks from their favorite war movies?  Now, they can have an MP3 speaker to match that fascination with war memorabilia in the form of the Thodio A-Box, which bundles high-end audio electronics inside an authentic 1950s military ammobox.

No crappy plastic cases painted with camouflage here.  These are real-deal, vintage ammoboxes made from 1mm steel plates and fortified from the inside with 6mm trespa, each of which supposedly came straight from the military (according to Thodio).   Manufactured back in the 50s, the fact that the bulletproof boxes remain usable now should prove a testament to their durability.

The A-Box uses audio components that are exactly the same as the company's iBox, a luxury iPod speaker that retails for a hefty chunk of cash.  It comes in two models, light and heavy, which weigh 6.4 ad 6.9 kilos respectively.  The former packs two 25-watt rms amplifiers and woven glass fiber speakers, while the latter upgrades the amps to two 70-watt units and the speakers to woven kevlar.   Both are housed within a similar 30 x 15.5 x 19.5 cm (L x W x H) ammo cases.

Each model gets battery indicator LEDs in the bass tube, which changes from white to orange to red, depending on how much power you have remaining.  The heavy model gets extra indicators behind the speakers, which warn when the distortion is driven too loud.  The insides are lined with vibration-dampening materials to ensure good sound despite the steel construction.

If you've ever wanted for a durable and stylish outdoor iPod speaker, I think the Thodio A-Box is as good as I've ever seen.  As an extra bonus, you can plug in your music player either outside or inside the box.   When docked inside, all that bulletproof metal should ably act as extra protection for your gadget too.  The light model costs 350 Euros, while the heavier one retails for 475 Euros.

[Thodio via Retro Thing]

Like dogs, but don't appreciate them damn sharp teeth?  The Hi-FiDo speaker is a sexy, little puppy that's all bark and no bite, woof...woof...woofing your favorite songs from its unusually-distinctive canine shell.

The entire body is built out of ceramic, which creator Matteo Cibic claims has acoustic properties that the system uses "to diffuse the high-quality sound with a bass reflex system."  Whatever that means, the thing should sound slightly on the high end, which is good.

Hi-FiDo is a 150-watt speaker clad in an all-white, 40 x 30 x 25 cm ceramic frame that looks like a toy dog with four short legs, a cute little tail and a giant mouth.  Sound pipes through that large gorge of a head, pumping out presumably excellent-sounding music from your favorite audio source (it can connect to your iPods and other media players via auxiliary cable).

Speakers rarely get me excited, but a 150W doggy floor speaker (it looks a little too big to sit right next to my desktop PC) sounds like the perfect thing to set down in my living room.  If you have a horny male dog in the house (no, not your husband silly), please try to keep him away  - I have a feeling he's going to try and get this thing very dirty.

The Hi-FiDo is slated for availability in April from Matteo Cibic Studio.  Only 50 examples will be made, which means it's going to be a limited edition piece.  As such, expect it to be a little pricier than usual.

[Matteo Cibic Studio via Craziest Gadgets]

USB Brando, the home of all gadgetry and random things that you probably don’t need but almost certainly want and will post probably spent money on. One of their latest products is the E-Blue pair of iPhone speakers and really, these are pretty cool!

They’re made of titanium and come complete with rechargeable battery with an eight hour battery life. USB Brando claim these speakers feature “fantastic bass, mid-range and high audio output,” and “the latest wireless audio technology - A2DP, you can enjoy.”

So essentially, these cute little things will enable you to listen to your music from your iPhone in higher quality than the in built speaker offers at any time. Yes, they’re perfectly compact and portable. So if ever you feel the need to pull your speakers out and party, you can do so. Please don’t do that on a bus though. There is arguably nothing more annoying than people forcing their music on you via speakers on a bus. But don’t set me off on a teenager rant.

They operate via the Bluetooth communication with your iPhone up to a ten meter distance. You can charge the battery up via the USB connection on your phone. It boasts a magnetic field (not that I’m quite technical enough to know what the purpose of that is).

So that’s a pretty impressive array of features for rather a reasonable price too. Just $68 which places these speakers are about mid range really, with a good quality product. Having read a few reviews around and about it seems people are pretty pleased with their purchases on this one. So if you want some pretty portable but high quality speakers for playing those iPhone MP3s, then these ones might just be for you.

More info at Brando Website

Better portable speakers usually mean harsher power consumption, which makes it problematic for extended playback during outings and other outdoor activities. While it won't exactly solve the dilemma permanently, Devotec's Solar Sound Bluetooth Speakers should help you squeeze a little more juice out of the battery.

The wireless speakers can take tunes from any Bluetooth-enabled device, including phones, iPods and computers. Alternatively, you can plug the music source in via a 3.5mm jack, if you'd like to cut down the power consumption even further.

Main features of the speaker unit include dual 2-watt drivers, support for Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP profiles, top-mounted solar panels and a 1500 mAh rechargeable battery unit (which is the same battery panel used by most smartphones). It can draw a full charge via USB (four hours) or directly from the sun (between 12 to 24 hours, a pretty acceptable number). The battery can last for 8 hours of use at medium volume, even longer if you leave it out in the sun while playing, making it ideal for outdoor activities.

Apart from it, the Solar Sound also comes with attractive touch-sensitive button controls and a built-in mic, so you can use it as an amplified speakerphone when connected to your handset. It weighs a light 260 grams and measures 16.5 x 5.5 x 5.5cm.

The Devotec Solar Sound Bluetooth Speakers are available now for a pretty steep asking price of $96. Considering how long it can last you on the road, though (8 hours, plus, possibly, an hour or two when used under sunlight), the cost sounds worth it.

[Devotec ]

Most cheap portable speakers typically come with the same shoddy plastic build and generic styling. Occasionally, though, you come across a real gem that offers a bit more fun than what your standard desktop speaker provides. One look at the DIY Speakers from Merkury and you instantly know that there's something that's unusually attractive about it.

Forget plastic enclosures, these speaker units are housed in a standard cardboard box. While probably cheaper than plastic containers, the carton build gives the speakers a personality that makes them a tad more fashionable than most similar devices in its price range.

Instead of a complete, ready-to-use pair of audio output peripherals, the DIY Speakers ship flat as a kit that you can assemble at home. It comes with all the standard components you need to put together your own stereo speakers, along with a set of instructions and six colored pencils. The instructions, of course, are intended to teach you how to put the thing together, while the pencils are meant to let you customize the containers with the best art you can muster.

You can build the rig easily on your own or with your kids for both an educational and creative bonding experience. The customizing alone should offer entertainment for a good couple of hours. If you're traveling, you can even open the frame (it opens like a regular box from the top), take the speaker apart and slip the components into a folder for taking with you anywhere.

Sound (according to a couple of reviews) is pretty decent, better than what you'd normally expect from an $18 box. The DIY Speakers can connect with most any audio source via a 3.5 mm dock and requires no separate power source. Using over 70% recycled components and with a fully biodegradable case, it's a pretty "green" piece of electronics too.

[Urban Outfitters via HustleHard]