Travel gadget: Philips Fidelio Docking speaker

The Philips Fidelio 7600/98 in New York's Central Park. Photo / Supplied

Listening to music on the road has been a challenge we've tackled before.

A CD wallet with inbuilt speakers has graced the beaches of several Pacific islands, laptops have been lugged through airports and, more recently, we've travelled with cables to attach an mp3 player to stereo or TV.

The Philips Fidelio 7600/98 nearly didn't make it into the suitcase. It's a tough call when you're going to New York and plan on doing not a little shopping.

Potentially, that 800g could be the 800g that tips the scales to excess baggage. What's a girl to do?

A sound test and the option of being able to use the Fidelio as a charger for our iPhones, even to stream internet radio, tipped the balance in its favour.

The app was downloaded, batteries packed, playlist created. All set.

Unexpectedly, our accommodation had a stereo, so the Fidelio stayed in the suitcase until the day appointed for picnicking in Central Park. I had a vision of listening to the Beastie Boys' An Open Letter to NYC while lying on the Great Lawn in the sunshine. But we found the Great Lawn fenced off, so joined the crowd on another grassy arena to be confronted with a sign that read "no amplified sound".

We'd travelled 14,000km on a musical quest only to be thwarted by bureaucracy!

But it wasn't the Fidelio's fault. It's well-suited to travel where weight and space is not an issue.

And, because of its sound quality, as a personal sound system when the travel bug has stopped biting.

* The Philips Fidelio 7600/98 retails for $149.99.