Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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This one:
I used to have the portable sounddock a few years back (sold it early last year for £200 having paid £330ish for it in early 2009!) and loved it but didnt find i used it very often once i got an iphone due to the radio inteference plus the battery had run out on it and where it lived i couldnt plug in easily but anyway, i digress.
This looks great, reasonably priced, portable etc. Is it any good? I would like something again for my room int he new house and for parties/gatherings etc. and would obv need to be wireless due to the aforementioned interference!
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Friends got one and personally i think it's rather 'meh' considering the price. If you want decent sound quality then look at a B&W Zepplin or A7.
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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Cheers! Do you know if the Bose one comes with a remote or do you control it via the iPhone?
Zeppelin is out, a sit mustnt be a dock because of the radio interference and the A7 looks like its about £700  A5 looks awesome but again, £400  They look quite big too, but do look pretty decent!
I take it with the B&W ones that run through airplay, you dont need to have bluetooth turned on all the time and sort volume etc. via the iPhone?
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Balling
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Registered: 7th Apr 04
Location: Denmark
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Radio interference isn't an issue when the dock is prepared for phone use (as most modern dock speakers are).
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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Ah. Well even so, would prefer not a docked one so I can actually sue the 'phone
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Most of the B&W systems support AirPlay including the newer Zeppelin Air (Zeppelin Air comes in two versions as well - lightening and original 30-pin).
[Edited on 25-06-2013 by Dom]
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A2H GO
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Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
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Not sure the Zeppelin is £200 better than the Bose.
Just get the bose, it will be plenty good enough for what you need from an iPod speaker.
[Edited on 25-06-2013 by A2H GO]
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antscorsa
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: london
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Used it and its good, also own a jawbone jambox and its great for the money.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by A2H GO
Not sure the Zeppelin is £200 better than the Bose.
Guess it depends if you want something to actually listen to music on or something that just farts out sound and Bose is more show than 'go'.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Have you considered getting an old second hand dock and bringing it up to date with the various adaptors and dongles available these days?
Real world example:
I was in the market for a small wireless speaker. I'd pretty much decided I wanted a Sonos Play:3, as I would buy a second one at a later date to make a stereo pair, then a Sonos Sub and then a Playbar to make the full 5.1 Sonos system. Then I had a reality check as the full system weighs in at an eye-watering £1716.
So to tide me over until I have enough disposable cash I can justify going down the Sonos route, I got a retro second-hand Apple iPod HiFi off eBay for just £77:
It was released circa 2007 for £249, and panned by critics because Apple totally overcooked the marketing - saying it was "audiophile" quality and all this bollocks when it clearly wasn't. It's just a better than average speaker dock. You'd have to have been a total penis to buy one new at £249, but for £77 it's a steal! I reckon you need to spend at least £300 today on a new equivalent speaker dock to better it.
How does it sound?
Sound-quality wise, no-one is going to confuse it for even a cheap separates system (like you might find at Richer Sounds) - it's certainly not a sonic match for my trusty (albeit ageing) Rotel 10-series / KEF Q5 floorstanding speaker setup:
Nor the Marantz KI-signature CD Player and amp / B&W DM603s I had before that:
But as far as single-box speaker docks go, it sounds good - better than the Zeppelin Mini owned by my friend that I listened to side by side with the iPod HiFi the other day, and better than a Bose SoundDock in my opinion. It does not sound as good as the big daddy Zeppelin or the A5 or A7 - but then you wouldn't expect it to, as these are much more expensive. What it does do is go extremely LOUD without distorting, you can whack 6 x normal D-cell batteries in it to take it outside / to the beach / wherever, and it has a pleasant, room-filling sound.
Will an old dock like this work with my shit?
Unfortunately, it only has the old style dock connector (so no good for the latest generation iPhone and iPod which have a new connector), and because it was released in 2007, out of the box it won't charge anything made from 2008 onwards when Apple reduced the charging voltage on their devices from 12v to 5v.
However, I have made it iPhone 5 / AirPlay compatible with a Scosche voltage adaptor and a Dolry AirPlay adaptor, and you can do the same with any old second hand speaker dock. The Dolry AirPlay adaptor plugs into the Scosche voltage adaptor (as it requires a 5v power source) and the Scosche voltage adaptor plugs into the standard dock connection on the Apple iPod HiFi.
Scosche voltage adaptor:
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scosche-Passport-Home-iPhone-Touch/dp/B001NXYXX8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372806901&sr=8-1&keywords=scosche+dock+home
Dolry AirPlay adaptor:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dolry-Connector-Adapter-Airplay-Miracast/dp/B00B1KYKHW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1372806925&sr=8-5&keywords=airplay+adaptor
Bluetooth:
You can also get a (much cheaper) bluetooth adaptor that plugs straight into the dock connector (or into the voltage adaptor if you get a pre-2008 dock second hand) to give you wireless connectivity via bluetooth, but I'm not a fan of this approach:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/i-SYNC-LAYEN-Bluetooth-Streaming-alternative/dp/B00903LFMU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372806780&sr=1-1&keywords=isync
Airport Express:
Alternatively, if the speaker dock you like doesn't have AirPlay built-in, but does have a line/optical in (the iPod HiFi has both), you could use an Airport Express to AirPlay to it.
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FC414B/A/airport-express-base-station-june-2012
Conclusion:
The moral of the story is: if you loved your old Bose SoundDock or some other dock which isn't AirPlay compatible, pick one up on the cheap second hand (people don't generally know you can mod them to work with new devices so it's easy to pick up a bargain), whack a voltage and / or wireless adaptor in, or get an Airport Express - net result: a great sounding, wireless setup for less than £150! Of course it won't sound as good as a top of the range Bowers and Wilkins, but for the comparatively small amount of money you will have spent, you won't care!
Caveat: As with any eBay purchase - remember to do your homework on the seller, and with used audio products in particular, try and pick it up in person so you can see/hear it working before you hand over the cash.
Sidenotes:
If you're curious about the iPod HiFi, you can find out more about it here:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/ipod-faq/ipod-hi-fi-stereo-better-or-worse.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/1049680/ipodhifireview.html
I set up an eBay saved search "Apple iPod (HiFi,hi-fi,Hi Fi)" and within days a bargainous one had turned up!
[Edited on 03-07-2013 by evilrob]
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baza31
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Registered: 19th Apr 03
Location: yorkshire
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evilrob you got a bit carried away there fella.
I have had a bose sound dock for ages now. I dont think the newer one above sounds any better but it does look loads better
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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I did a bit didn't I. 
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Robbo
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Registered: 6th Aug 02
Location: London
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turned up y.day (thanks Dan!) and does indeed seem good. Only issue is that (as with the last one) it is simply too bassy at times
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evilrob
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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In case anyone else is in the market for a speaker dock, you might want to check out this:
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/board/viewthread.php?tid=656955
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Daniel_Corsa
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Apr 04
Location: Wigton, Cumbria
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Just bought the Bose last week, like it. Very handy after using sound dock with this one being portable.
Sound good, battery good, fairly small.
April '06' Corsasport Feature Car  | Aug '08' Total Vauxhall Feature Car | Spring '09' Fast Car Feature Car
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Generation
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Registered: 7th Jul 09
Location: Essex
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I'm
Using jbl one. Was around £100 in a sale (£150
Before I think) so many people comment on how great the quality is, doesn't distort when loud, and doesn't sound like tinny shit.
With have a Bose audio system, and when set at the same level, can't tell the difference
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