Review: mik Sound Case cranks up the volume on your iPhone

The mik Sound Case is a new type of phone case available for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5/5s. It amplifies the phone’s speaker by an additional 15 to 20 decibels and improves the clarity and quality of the sound. By blocking the speaker, the case forces the sound to travel through a hollow space and out an opening on the back of the phone. Thankfully, the lightweight case doesn’t add any additional weight to the phone.

The case does an amazing job of amplifying the phone’s speaker. Not only is it louder, but it is much crisper and clearer. The case turns the phone into a super-portable speaker. Previously, no matter which case I was using on my iPhone while using speaker phone, I always found myself double-checking to make sure my phone was really at maximum volume. I never felt using my phone on speaker was loud enough, especially while driving or trying to clean up my apartment.

With the mik Sound Case, I had to lower the volume for the first time ever. There were also no awkward moments when I constantly had to ask the person on the other end to repeat themselves, or give up trying to really hear them and miss parts of the conversation. I actually enjoyed using my iPhone as a phone while using the mik Sound Case.

“I wanted to create something that made the speakers louder and protected as well as any other case. This is like having a radio always on hand and doesn’t need batteries,” said designer Mike Molinaro. In the following video, he demonstrates the power of his cases.

The case is made out of silicone, making it easy to slip on and off without much effort. It feels solid in the hand and offers great protection when dropped. It has a raised lip on the front of the phone to protect it from landing directly on the glass. Several times I did drop my phone, either while taking it out of my pocket or purse. It survived drops on carpet, hard wood floors, and concrete. The case does cover up the lock and volume buttons, but does so without making them hard to use, which a lot of silicone cases tend to do.

The mik Sound Case is available online for $19.99. For the iPhone 4/4S it comes in black, aqua, purple, pink, and yellow. For the iPhone 5/5s it comes in black, aqua, purple, pink, and yellow.