We’ve been enjoying our neighborhood’s new clubhouse and pool, but one thing that’s missing from the summertime-at-the-pool experience is music. Even decades later, the smell of sunscreen* evokes memories of Groovin’ or Crystal Blue Persuasion or anything by the Beach Boys, all of which were on the continuous P.A. playlist at the big pool at Fort Stockton.
The tinny little speakers in our iPhones are better than nothing, but not by much. On the other hand, we didn’t want something that was too big to pack easily in a beach bag or that would have enough oomph to intrude on others whose musical tastes don’t correspond with ours (to call our tastes eclectic is an understatement).
A little googling turned up a likely candidate with the catchy name of Chill Pill. This diminutive pair of speakers clip magnetically into one tidy package for storage, but when separated and connected to a sound source, put out a sound that, and I write this without the least bit of exaggeration, is amazing.
The speakers are powered by an internal lithium battery that recharges via your computer’s USB port (or iPod A/C adapter).
The neatest feature? The top of each speaker is spring-loaded and with a twist they pop up a bit and provide a little boost in the bass output. They won’t rattle any windows, but, again, that’s not what we wanted. Still, the frequency range is pretty incredible for speakers of this size.
For $40, I have a hard time believing you’ll find a better sounding pair of speakers for your iDevice than the Chill Pill. Highly recommended.
*OK, back then the preferred tanning application was baby oil. Can you say “deep fried teens”?
Your comment regarding how the smell of sunscreen evoked memories of a certain type of music reminded me of the following: Earlier this week I was driving north on Midland Drive when the radio turned up an Aerosmith tune from my youth. Immediately, I had the urge to push to gas pedal to the floor. Memories of GTO’s, 57 Chevy’s, and Chevelle SS 454’s came to mind in the now very short distance between the fire station my Island Drive turn off. The only thing missing was an 8-track player.
Why, you old hot-rodder! You’re exactly right; music and muscle cars went hand-in-hand (even though my “muscle” was a ’59 Ford 6 cylinder with three on the column, bench seats, and no a/c. But it did have an 8-track).