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Bose's iPod SoundDock Reviewed
LabRat007 writes "Playlist has a review of the Bose SoundDock, the desktop speaker system for the iPod that Bose has lately been promoting the holy hell out of. The long and the short is that it sounds great--better than any other iPod-specific speaker system--but for $300 is lacking in many features even cheaper setups have, like the ability to actually use the SoundDock as a syncing dock. Oh, and it has no line-in, so you can't use the SoundDock as output for anything else, like a PC or laptop, for instance." It's not quite as cute, but I like my Cambridge Soundworks Model 88 (now superseded by the Model 730) as a laptop loudspeaker system.
isn't it a bit of a waste to spend to much on a set of speakers almost in vain to reproduced already degraded music...? why not buy a simple stereo and play the original CD on it if you really needed good sound quality?
i guess there's the convenience factor... but for $300, i'd probably just buy a very large HD, rip music in lossless formats and use Airport Express to stream those to an existing nice set of speakers?
Anyone who recommends Monster cables (or any other cables) over generic wires, has ears that are far better than the ordinary person.
I don't take exception to that but I do have a problem with super-audiophiles like yourself trying to give advice to regular people. You guys end up telling us to spend too much money on the wrong things.
10% on cables!! Ha! If you're only spending $500-1000 on a system, just use the cables that come with the speakers... I've never met anyone that can tell the difference between cables on a mid-range system.
I stopped by the Mac store to buy the Altec Lansing inMotion speakers after reading a good review of them. They had the the JBL OnStage and it has better bass and nicer controls. The donut shape seems to fill a room better than the flat inMotion speakers. It synchs and charges newer iPods and will accept output from a headphone jack. I'd rate it higher than my Harman Kardon soundsticks and it takes up way less room.
I'm pretty happy with the inMotion speakers that I got as a birthday present. While they are on the pricey side, the sound is impressive (especially) for such a small package. They don't take up much room, they charge/sync, and they accept line in and headphones out. However, their big advantage is portability - they collapse to a small size, come with a soft case and are battery-operated. I've taken them on canoe trips, to bbqs and on the road. The rest of the time they take up a small amount of room on my dresser.
If you're never going to move the speakers you might want something else, but in terms of sound quality/ruggedness/portability they are tough to beat.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
Actually, when it comes to this particular product, I think Bose is relying on something pretty specific (though you might still call it "marketing"). A lot of the attraction to the iPod is that it's simple and slick, and so Bose, as well as the other companies making iPod accessories, have put some focus on making the products simple and slick (meaning 1 piece, looks nice, simple controls, easy to set up). It's probably largely an issue of knowing who your audience is.