iPod Speaker Docks

[Pete_Coach]

Looking to buy a gift. My Daughter in Law has an iPod with tons of music on it. I would like to give her one of those iPod speaker docks but have no idea of them. What would be the best one? Should I stay with a brand name (Bose, Acoustic Research etc)? I am not talking about an alarm clock or a home entertainment system with an iPod dock but one of the ones that can be moved room to room or taken outside etc. I do want it to sound good.
Any recommendations?

[poedua]

Looking to buy a gift. My Daughter in Law has an iPod with tons of music on it. I would like to give her one of those iPod speaker docks but have no idea of them. What would be the best one? Should I stay with a brand name (Bose, Acoustic Research etc)? I am not talking about an alarm clock or a home entertainment system with an iPod dock but one of the ones that can be moved room to room or taken outside etc. I do want it to sound good.Any recommendations?

What is your budget ?

[arsalanmustafa1989]

yah the budget is important question. i myself have owned a few and play around with them at work too. umm i think the bose ones are over priced and they are really heavy, the apple one is too big in my opinon for a bedroom type setup , although it sounds nice. what i can recommend in my opinion that offer good sound and decent price are the jbl

[BlackCrowe13]

Perhaps not what you were thinking... but I have had the best results using high end compact PC speakers with headphone jacks. May seem too simple to be effective, but I find it is soft on the battery drain, and can be packed in a bag to take with you. I use 2 small speakers with my ipod when I go to my cabin... lasts about 24 hours of use at normal volume... If you want it to sound really good, you'll need to get a more stationary type system... I was looking at the icube II... good ratings and really neat looking, and compact enough to move without taking the whole wall unit apart.
They sell them in "girly" colour too!
Perfet for a daughter (in law). Good luck!
:)
http://www.itrush.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/apple-ipod-4gb-nano-pack.jpg

[Pete_Coach]

What is your budget ?

No budget.
I would like one that sounds good. Like I said though, I don't want a full blown home stereo or entertainment system that happens to have a dock as an afterthought. Just something along the lines of the Bose Sounddock (it happens to be $249 at Best Buy), or equivalent.

[Emancipated]

Some other names for consideration would be JBL, Altec Lansing, Creative, and Logitech. They all make simple but functional speaker docks in the range of $150-$300. The JBL On Stage would be ideal for a nightstand and has an alarm feature built in (technically, all or most iPods have that already so that's kind of moot).

[gordholio]

Here's a refurbished Altec Lansing IM600 for US$75 plus US$19 shipping just in case.
The cheapest price I could find for it new was $130 at Agile Electronics.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/IPOD-Portable-Speaker-System-Altec-Lansing-im600-Dock_W0QQitemZ290249625341QQihZ019QQcategoryZ11169 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[poedua]

No budget.
I would like one that sounds good. Like I said though, I don't want a full blown home stereo or entertainment system that happens to have a dock as an afterthought. Just something along the lines of the Bose Sounddock (it happens to be $249 at Best Buy), or equivalent.

Only thing about the SoundDock ( at $250 ) is that it isn't very portable. If portability isn't an issue, you may want to look at something like a Klipsch iGroove SXT as well.

Future Shop has this on sale for $130 ...

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10105981&catid=26997

...and it seemed to get pretty good reviews....

http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-speakers/klipsch-igroove-sxt/4505-11313_7-32563614.html

http://dev.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/klipsch-igroove-sxt-ipod-speaker/



Or, if ' aesthetics ' aren't a major issue, perhaps look at the Griffin Amplifi ( which has a bit of masculine, bulky look to it ) selling for $150 in Canada . This review puts it at almost a par level with the Bose SoundDock in fact for almost $100 less than what Future Shop is selling the SoundDock for...


" Amplifi delivers unmatched sound performance for its $150 suggested retail price, so closely rivaling Bose’s $299 SoundDock that only looks and small sound differences are in Bose’s favor "



Here's the full review ( they gave it an ' A- ' rating ) ...

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/griffin-amplifi-21-sound-system-for-ipod

And, with the $100 you save by not buying a Bose, you can get her a nice pair of good quality ' Sennheiser Open Dynamic Headphones ' for her to use with her iPod when she's away from her dock ( about $100 at Future Shop ...and garnered a ton of good reviews ).

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10073388&catid=11174&atab=&PCName=&nAllReviews=true&logon=&langid=EN

[standinginrain]

Only thing about the SoundDock ( at $250 ) is that it isn't very portable. If portability isn't an issue, you may want to look at something like a Klipsch iGroove SXT as well.

Future Shop has this on sale for $130 ...

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10105981&catid=26997

...and it seemed to get pretty good reviews....

http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-speakers/klipsch-igroove-sxt/4505-11313_7-32563614.html

http://dev.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/klipsch-igroove-sxt-ipod-speaker/



Or, if ' aesthetics ' aren't a major issue, perhaps look at the Griffin Amplifi ( which has a bit of masculine, bulky look to it ) selling for $150 in Canada . This review puts it at almost a par level with the Bose SoundDock in fact for almost $100 less than what Future Shop is selling the SoundDock for...


" Amplifi delivers unmatched sound performance for its $150 suggested retail price, so closely rivaling Bose’s $299 SoundDock that only looks and small sound differences are in Bose’s favor "



Here's the full review ( they gave it an ' A- ' rating ) ...

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/griffin-amplifi-21-sound-system-for-ipod

And, with the $100 you save by not buying a Bose, you can get her a nice pair of good quality ' Sennheiser Open Dynamic Headphones ' for her to use with her iPod when she's away from her dock ( about $100 at Future Shop ...and garnered a ton of good reviews ).

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10073388&catid=11174&atab=&PCName=&nAllReviews=true&logon=&langid=EN

I am also looking for a dock speaker system for my touch.

I've done a bit of research and now I've decided between the logitech pure-fi elite, altec lansing IM600, and the griffin amplifi.
I'm basically just looking for the best deal as I'd be happy with any of these. Any thoughts?
Also do you know who sells the amplifi around the gta?

[poedua]

I am also looking for a dock speaker system for my touch.

I've done a bit of research and now I've decided between the logitech pure-fi elite, altec lansing IM600, and the griffin amplifi.

For what it's worth.

Don't know about the logitech pure-fi, but this site ( below ) reviewed 20 iPod docks ' head to head ' - the Bose Sound Dock & the Altec Lansing IM600 included - and they chose the Griffin Amplifi as the overall winner.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/it-ends/ipod-dock-bracket-finale-altec-lansing-imv712-vs-griffin-amplifi-285573.php

I think this comment in the review sums it up nicley.........


" For a shelf price of about $130 (US ), the Griffin Amplifi is a steal in the world of iPod Docks. "

I'm basically just looking for the best deal as I'd be happy with any of these. Any thoughts? Also do you know who sells the amplifi around the gta?

Not sure about the entire GTA, but I DO KNOW that the authorized Apple / Mac dealer ( store ) in Oakville carries them - and they sell it for $149 Cdn ( before tax )

[standinginrain]

Not sure about the entire GTA, but I DO KNOW that the authorized Apple / Mac dealer ( store ) in Oakville carries them - and they sell it for $149 Cdn ( before tax )

What's the better option between the griffin amplifi and the klipsch igroove since its currently on sale at futureshop?

[TruE SkiLLS]

Buy a dock which has a company name that is well known in audio plz... aka Klipsch, not Griffin.

[Emancipated]

Buy a dock which has a company name that is well known in audio plz... aka Klipsch, not Griffin.

*cough* BOSE *cough*

Just read reviews and see what people think. Make your judgement on those merits.

[poedua]

What's the better option between the griffin amplifi and the klipsch i groove since its currently on sale at futureshop?

I'd say they're about dead even IMO.

I do know some sites - like MacWorld - gives the griffin amplifi a slight edge over the i groove. Then again, I'm sure some other sites may lean toward to the i groove.

Your best bet is to take your mp3 player to Future Shop and a store that sells the amplifi and see how your own tunes sound on each one.

But, if I had to pick, I'd go with the griffin amplifi ( according to some, it's close to the same performance as a Bose SoundDock but at almost half the price ) .......but that's just me.

[fitbrit]

I actually bought an Apple HiFi to test out from eBay. It was about $150 shipped when the retail price was $399. It sounds amazing for the price and size. Very basic, but great sound and easy to use. Don't forget iPods have wake/sleep timers, so you can use any speaker system as an alarm clock too. I've actually DJ'd parties of 20-25 people with an iPod mixer and the Apple HiFi, so you can imagine the output of the thing.

Bulky yes
Quality yes
Remote yes
Price YMMV

In the end I decided to keep it.

[Pete_Coach]

*cough* BOSE *cough*

Just read reviews and see what people think. Make your judgement on those merits.

Thanks all. I see the Bose haters are still out there.

I have looked at a lot of reviews and the interesting this is the they all seem to say something along the lines of "like Sounddock but less expensive", "as good as a Sounddock" or "Soundock performance with out the Soundock price". Funny that so many compare themselves to Bose.

I will do as poedua suggested and take my player and go to Future Shop, Best Buy and several others and listen to the music.

Again, thanks.

[warpdrive]

I have looked at a lot of reviews and the interesting this is the they all seem to say something along the lines of "like Sounddock but less expensive", "as good as a Sounddock" or "Soundock performance with out the Soundock price". Funny that so many compare themselves to Bose.


The problem with Bose has always been that the performance doesn't stand up to the price. So from what you are saying, it seems you've proven it to yourself. I've always been adamant that if one actually takes time to directly compare the competition to any Bose product under identical conditions (not a "rigged" kiosk made specifically for Bose), you can find similar or better performance at half the price.

I've always given Bose the benefit of the doubt whenever they announce a product, but I've always been disappointed with their audio performance after hearing it with my own ears. They do seem to know the science of psychoacoustics and do sound more impressive if you don't have an accurate reference point to judge it by.

[TruE SkiLLS]

The problem with Bose has always been that the performance doesn't stand up to the price. So from what you are saying, it seems you've proven it to yourself. I've always been adamant that if one actually takes time to directly compare the competition to any Bose product under identical conditions (not a "rigged" kiosk made specifically for Bose), you can find similar or better performance at half the price.

I've always given Bose the benefit of the doubt whenever they announce a product, but I've always been disappointed with their audio performance after hearing it with my own ears. They do seem to know the science of psychoacoustics and do sound more impressive if you don't have an accurate reference point to judge it by.

+1 lmfao, people who relate products with BOSE clearly has no idea of performance levels in audio, let alone high end audio experience. If BOSE was about... 1/3 of the price that they retail at, maybe then it'd be considered, but at the price that they sell at? no thanks, I can get something better 3 times and still have chump change.

whenever someone recommends BOSE, its basically the same as a futureshop employee telling you to buy their 200$ MONSTER HDMI cable.

of course, you may say I'm a BOSE hater, but only I know what I've heard to compare the difference.

[aznangel]

lol

i LOVE my Bose speakers

but then i have to agree with the price vs performance thing ...

NEVER buy them, unless you know someone working at a retail store that sells them

ask them to do an employee purchase for you and you'll be very surprised by the markup the stores put on these products