Nowadays iPod docks area dime a dozen– you find them everywhere in most every shape and size. This iPod dock concept from NOCS caught our eye however because it definitely takes a new look at how iPod docks are designed. The dock is essentially a tall speaker tower with three built-in speakers. Your iPod attaches to the top of the device, and there are controls at the top (as well as a remote control we hope) for you to control your musical selections. While it seems like an obvious design choice, this is actually pretty innovative. We’re sold, we can only hope this one hits production.  [IndustrialDesign]

Looking to trade the free, cloud-based music prediction of Pandora and Microsoft’s MixView for an expensive stand-alone system? Bang & Olufsen‘s got the solution, and they make sure it looks damn sexy for all that extra coin. At $5,900, plus $500 for the floor stand, the BeoSound 5 includes a master control and a “black box” that houses all the PC and Web connections. A “More of the Same” program creates playlists from your existing music collection using math formulas. The 10.4-inch wireless LCD panel can also connect to Web radio stations, which are, you know, free. Oh, the irony. [via Wired]

For some reason the electronics world loves covering things in wood. Wooden televisions, wooden VCRs, wooden iPhone covers….now Skullcandy has created wooden earbuds. The wood grain earphones cost a whopping $99 (pretty steep for a pair of Skullcandy’s…BUT despite their typical small price these are some fantastic earphones). The phones work with all your favorite music apparatuses. Since Skullcandy’s typically go for around $20, you’re looking at a four or five times markup for the grain exterior however….that’s pretty astronomical, even though they look pretty cool. What electronics do you own that’s wood grain? Do you think the trend is going to continue? [via BoingBoing]

Ever think to yourself: “Boy, my sound system really isn’t creepy enough”? If so, you’re in for a great surprise– and a swift, decisive disappointment. These Audiomatryoshka iPod speakers that look like a small family of drones in secret cahoots to eat your face in the middle of the night, are merely a concept and won’t be helping you pimp your dock  anytime soon. Whether you’re afraid or eerily attracted to these unique speakers, you can’t help but stare. They were created as a working interpretation of  Matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls) by Russian designer Alex Mamontoff.  Wonder how the sound quality is? [Geeky Gadgets]

Canton has added three new loudspeakers to its line of Reference speakers. The Reference 5.2 and 7.2 are both 3-way floor standing speakers, and the 9.2 is a two-way monitor speaker. All three speakers have aluminum-oxide dome tweeters which are supposed to help the speaker’s power handling and distortion characteristics. The speakers are available in high-gloss cherry veneer as well as hand-rubbed multilayer piano lacquer finishes in white, silver, and black. If you’re interested in picking a set of the speakers up you’ll need to have some serious cash on hand. The 5.2 will be $10,000, 7.2 $7000, and 9.2 $4000. [via SlipperyBrick]

Doing away completely with buttons and knobs, this cube-shaped MP3 player is completely motion-controlled. The music begins upon insertion of an SD card and stops when the player is laid flat on its face. Tilt it to the left or right to adjust volume, and tap either bottom corner against a surface to change tracks. Naturally, there’s a built-in acceleration sensor powering all of this. It’s just a concept device, so there’s little chance of it escaping the Japanese engineer’s lab and reaching the commercial masses, but it’s only a matter of time before another manufacturer apes the idea. [Hacked Gadgets via Dvice]

While this UFO doesn’t fly- it can offer you a pretty cool experience. The MobiUFO is both an MP3 player and a Bluetooth speaker/headset. The device comes in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB flavors and can play MP3, WMA, and Ogg files. The tiny spaceship has built-in speakers, Bluetooth support, and a battery life of 15 hours with headphones or 5 hours using the speakers.  The design of this is pretty cool. If you’re looking for something to play music in your bedroom or home office this could definitely do the trick, and the Bluetooth headset option makes it all the more attractive. [via SlipperyBrick]

There’s a lot going on in this diorama speaker set from Bandai, but for $2,230, is it too much going on, or not enough? The scene is a replica of Tokyo’s Ginza Street circa 1955, and only 2,000 of these elaborate rigs were produced, perhaps explaining the price. A set of LED lights illuminate the display, which can enter a nighttime mode for that dreamy nostalgic feel, and the integrated speaker is 2x1W.  It’s not clear what kinds of audio you can play from this diorama, but if you’ve got a couple of grand to blow on it, chances are it won’t be your primary music hub anyway. [Akihabara News]

Klipsch has announced the launch of not one, not two, but three new entry-level 5.1-channel surround-sound systems. The top end of the new systems is the HD Theater 1000 which has five identical speakers for five different channels of audio. Each speaker has two 2.5-inch fiber composite drivers, and a .75-inch aluminum dome tweeter with a MicroTractrix Horn. Bass from the speaker system comes from an included 10-inch subwoofer with a fiber composite cone, and all of the speakers are driven by a hybrid class D amplifier.  The HD Theater 1000 is expected to hit store shelves in February for $900, with it’s less expensive cousins, the 500 and 300 coming a month later for $600 and $400. [via Electronista]