“Listening to your iPod doesn’t have to be a solo pursuit. The popular Apple players have spawned a range of speaker systems with built-in docks; just drop in your iPod and you can rock out at home, at work or on the go. But which speaker setup should you get? Your options range from Altec Lansing’s portable inMotion iM11 and iHomeAudio’s alarm-clock-style iHome iH5, both costing about $100, to the $300 Bose SoundDock you may have seen advertised on the sides of city buses. And now Apple’s $350 iPod Hi-Fi sets a new standard,” Julio Ojeda-Zapata writes for The St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Brace yourselves for serious sound. We tested our iPod Hi-Fi loaner alongside a Bose SoundDock and decided that extra $50 is money well spent if you’re in the market for a top-tier iPod speaker system. SoundDock users shouldn’t rush to upgrade, however, because the iPod Hi-Fi doesn’t add anything new.”
Ojeda-Zapata writes, “The iPod Hi-Fi is gorgeous gear, though, and it sounds sensational. On those grounds, it’s the iPod speaker setup to beat.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike H.” for the heads up.]
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Related articles:
Consumer Reports: iPod Hi-Fi ‘mildly disappointing’ – March 17, 2006
Chicago Tribune writer: ‘Don’t be duped’ by Apple’s iPod Hi-Fi – March 13, 2006
Time Magazine’s Gadget of the Week: Apple iPod Hi-Fi – March 13, 2006
CNET: Apple iPod Hi-Fi is a ‘box of delights’ – March 09, 2006
Detroit Free Press: Apple’s new iPod Hi-Fi delivers ‘powerful, room-filling sound; mighty tempting’ – March 07, 2006
PC Magazine Editor’s Choice: Apple iPod Hi-Fi ‘this one’s a winner’ (4.5 stars out of 5) – March 04, 2006
Review: Apple iPod Hi-Fi – March 03, 2006
The Inquirer reports on attack of Apple cultists, blames MacDailyNews for inciting ’email fatwa’ – March 03, 2006
CSFB: Apple iPod Hi-Fi a harbinger of things to come – March 02, 2006
Inquirer writer: Apple Mac, iPod users are gullible saps – March 02, 2006
Apple iPod Hi-Fi photos from all angles – March 01, 2006
Videos of Steve Jobs introducing Mac mini, iPod Hi-Fi – March 01, 2006
Apple debuts iPod Hi-Fi speaker system, leather cases for 5G iPod, iPod nano – February 28, 2006
Gorgeous gear? First Post. I have no life.
The truth is, the iPod Hifi does add something new that Bose doesn’t offer:
1) An input jack. The fact that Bose didn’t include any method of sound input beyond the iPod dock itself strikes as sheer brainless stupidity.
2) AirTunes ready.
These two features are worth the $50 cost difference in a heartbeat, in my opinion.
Not that I’m buying – I already purchased the Klipsch iFi system for my home office. Nice big subwoofer that hides under the desk, and two small satellites. A separate dock with a decent length cord that I can place where I want, an 1/8 inch input jack in the back of the sub unit, a tiny 5 button remote, and great sound.
Also, the input jack signal is MIXED with the iPod sound – so you can hook your computer up to the system, and play your iPod from the dock and still hear your computer. Great feature, sold me, even at $399.
I have life instead
It’s weird how subjective reviews of the sound quality of speaker systems are. The reviews of the iPod Hi-Fi have ranged from “Incredible! It sets a new standard for sound quality!” to “OMG its teh suxx0rz!!!!11”
both of those are just the addition of an imput jack.
so you’d pay $50 for a firewire to input jack?
hell, i could make one for you for 50 freaking dollars
We had a few other quibbles. The iPod looked a bit exposed in the dock, so we were leery of accidentally bumping it. And we wish the Apple clicker gave us better iPod control. It has a “menu” button, for instance, which would be handy for navigating a player’s menus
Yep the iPod looks stupid and fragile sticking out of the top and Apple’s remotes do s*ck r0yal a$s.
You want a better value, look here and shop by price, you can get a 7.1 surround sound system cheaper than a iPod HiFi.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6466_7-0.html?filter=100021_11121926_&tag=ont.av
In fact someone was selling a HK DRR 2005 reciever for under $600.
Found it, this is a great deal for the price., it’s more than 1/2 off. Powerful too. especially if you get the HKS-14 speakers with 200 watt subwoofer.
Comes with two remotes.
cliccckkckckkckkkcy
I think what the iPod hi-fi illustrates is that some people will like things and others won’t. Luckily there’s a choice of products.
Got mine yesterday. Clearly superior to the Bose Sounddock. Low sample rates are clearly a problem, though. Make sure you use at least 192bit or superior.
MacDude, you’re an idiot.
Try comparing something that’s actually, you know . . .
SIMILAR the next time.
You flaccid chimp.
username, I’d be surprised if you could build a FireWire to optical digital input jack for 50 bucks, or at all.
MacDude, what are you smoking? Any decent 7.1 (or 5.1) speaker kit is going to cost you more than the iPod Hi-Fi, and then add the cost of the receiver and iPod connections so you can control your iPod with a remote. Not to mention, what if I want to put it on my desk at work, on the kitchen counter, or in my garage so I can listen to tunes while I work on my car?
What if I just want one unit that I can move from room to room and maybe to the back yard? Nobody is saying to buy the Hi-Fi for your home theatre, and you’d have to be on crack to recommend a home theatre setup for someone who just wants to listen to their iPod.
Crazy guys.
Thank you Andy C. What is MacDude’s point anyway? That there is better stuff? Um, yeah. So what? It’s only a better value if it does what the specific consumer wants it to do at a price point that improves on the value perception. MacDude, what if I don’t want a 7.1 system, and instead want an all-in-one speaker system that plays from my iPod and can be portable if I like? Then, your recommendation is irrelevant, and you are an idiot. Apple actually thrives on people like you who try to steer the consumer to what they don’t want. Best Buy, Circuit City, and a host of other chains are full of salespeople like you who don’t care what the consumer wants, only what they can sell them.
Are you questioning my ubb3r l337 h4x0r ski11z???
BTW, new ipod nano ad in HD
http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/
heard it here first.
I’m sorry, I was wrong. I went to the local Apple Store today and listened to it before passing judgment. I was blown away by the amazing sound.
Having actually gotten information before I post my stupid ramblings here has made me reconsider many of my other choices. Why, for instance, do I keep sucking Microsoft’s d*ck?
I’m off to go splatter my brain cells (both of them) against a wall with a shotgun.
My point
Is that if your going to spend $350, get a surround sound system.
If you want something similar to the iPod HiFi you can do better at a lower price.
Also if your in the market for better sound, which the iPod HiFi is marketed towards, you’ll get better value for your money if you apply the $350 towards a real audiophile system.
Not for one that pretends to be.
What the iPod HiFi is, is a entry level audiophile box, much like the Bose Wave Radio.
The price is a bit more that your typical $100 5 disk cd/radio /boombox.
My advice is if your in the market for better sound, skip the entry level limited box and go with a decent surround sound system.
This is why, your going to use the HiFi to get better sound, next your going to want more features and connectivity, your going to quickly realize the limitations of the HiFi.
Nobody in their right mind is going to lug a iPod HiFi around for long, especially on batteries, with that fragile mesh cover.
And those speakers, don’t expect them to last long at high volumes either.
The white plastic will get dirty fast if your be too portable with it.
Plus there’s no frigging center handle, so your stuck using to hands to carry it.
Airtunes ready means only one thing: I’m prepared to pay an extra $129 to have semi-wireless sound… as it that would be wireless, you still have to use a cable and an extra power outlet.
Still, for those of you who don’t mind wires, I’m sure the hifi is a nice alternative.
It’s not an alternative for me though.
I can’t make toast.
Hey, lets all post as MacDude!
Okay, now I’m MacDude too.
Sorry, I was being a moron. But then that’s not news.
I suggested getting a surround system for listen to the stereo tracks on your iPod. How moronic! Seven channels of crappy sound instead of two channels of very good entry-level audiophile stereo.
Next thing I’ll do is say that instead of getting a Mac, you should get a nice lawnmower because the Mac doesn’t cut grass worth a damn. Because I’m a moron.
Just saw and heard one in Fry’s. Can’t judge the sound because the store really noisy. What I don’t like is the way an iPod just sits on top. Seems goofy to me. If it had its own pocket of some kind to hold an iPod it would be better. Also the thing is heavy for its size. If I live in a cramped dorm, very small apartment, or had an RV I might consider one. I think any type of external speakers is better than using ear buds for extended periods of time.
MW = volume.
As an iPod owner – shuffle, nano, 3G – the last thing I want is another iPod-specific piece of gear. I have several, and they don’t work with each other (cases, transmitters, cables, etc).
$349 is the price of a decent AV player that supports – DVD, CD, iPod or other mp3 player, computer, tv, and more…
– A Very Good Point –
>MacDude wrote: If you want something similar to the iPod HiFi you can do better at a lower price.
I’d add “you can do better at a lower price and get a wider set of features, greater expandability, and more usability”.
i think most posts miss the point. if you have ever looked at audio gear very long, you probably have come to realize that the best serve a few core purposes and even then not in all circumstances. so why all the ditzing of the ipod hifi? if it does not suit your purposes, don’t buy one. but for heaven sakes, don’t try to convince everyone else not to buy one. have a decent 5.1 (cv reference front and canabilized acoustimass satellites). you can hear it down the street. also have a sounddock and sometimes even using my roland tda-700 as an ipod speaker (you can move curtains down the street with it). i listened to the ipod hifi at the apple store last week and bought it for the things it is good for. end of story.
imho, the ipod is about how you listen to your music. not how someone else thinks you should. the extensions of the ipod should be the same way. they are just a enabling vehicle for the music. it is about you and the things you waste your money on are your decision.
>mackie wrote: i think most posts miss the point….don’t try to convince everyone else not to buy one…imho, the ipod is about how you listen to your music. not how someone else thinks you should.
I think you miss the point of discussion forums.
Just as you are free to express your reasons why you like it and bought it, others are free to state why they don’t like it.
It’s strange that you gave your vote in favor of the iPodhifi right after pressing people not to speak out why they don’t like the thing.
That seems slanted to me.
ps. “i” should be “I”.