hmm, I hope this is the right place to ask this. I was between this and the Music Discussion one, but over there it seems more about the actual music than technical aspects of the sound, so I figured here. I could have put it with the ipod discussions, but I was hoping to get answers from people who are more into thinking about sound quality and such issues, and the ipod forum seemed more generalized to me. Hope it's ok!
Anyway, like the title says I'm looking for some speakers for my ipod that I can take along when I leave for a few days, to have some music with me without needing to be in my hotel room or wherever with the earbuds stuffed in my ears. Kinda like a very small version of the hi-fi I have at home. I did try the MRoogle way, but mostly people seem to be asking about specific speaker sets or specific sets of needs, so I'm not getting anywhere, It doesn't help that I'm in Europe, which means less choice as I have to be able to buy these on eBay (the local high street doesn't really have anything to offer along those lines, except for the JBL onstage micro, which I tried out and do like, but I would like to know if there are other, better options out there, especially seeing as the micro is out of stock and the store has no clue when it'll be back in).
Here's what I need them to do apart from being available in Yurp:
1. be fairly small and compact. Don't need to be tiny though, since it would sacrifice #2; the JBL onstage micro is a great size, but the creative one for ipod nano is probably too small to handle stuff like Flogging Molly. Compact also means a minimum of chargers etc. Ideally they would work/charge using USB just like the ipod, because I'm taking the usb wall charger along anyway for the ipod, so if it takes care of the speakers too, we're all set.
2. Decent sound quality. I listen to a variety of stuff, from symphonic classical (think Camille Saint-Saens) to irish punk (see flogging molly, also dropkick murphys etc). In between, you get the likes of Johnny Cash, Amy MacDonald, The Doors, some Rolling Stones stuff, The Pogues, instrumental stuff with guitars, Chet Baker, and ragtime. So they have to cope decently with all of that, because if they don't, I'll end up not taking them along and it will have been a waste of money! I mean, I know it won't be like a home sound system, but neither should it be so bad that all the sounds end up all pureed together in one big stew
3. I don't give a damn whether or not it charges the ipod at the same time, because I'm taking the Usb chrger anyway, and usually the macbook too, so I can take care of the ipod charging separately. I'm also not particularly interested in connecting it to the macbook, but if the option exists without compromising on the other stuff that's more important, I'll be happy to have it. I use an ipod nano right now (4g), so that's what it should work with, but I've been ogling iphones for the past few weeks, and now that I'm cutting down on takeaway as part of my new year's resolutions, I'm also saving lots of money, so I'm not sure how long I'll resist the temptation to buy one. Therefore, I think it may be wise to make sure the speaker works with iphone too
4. Price: I'm going to consider a pretty wide range of that, because I want it to be something I'll use cheerfully and regularly, not a silly gadget (I've bought some of those in the past once or twice, so I know what it means lol). Still, I'd rather not go over $150 (us). and of course if it's cheaper, so much the better
Anyway, I'd love to hear some of your recommendations for these!
Anyway, like the title says I'm looking for some speakers for my ipod that I can take along when I leave for a few days, to have some music with me without needing to be in my hotel room or wherever with the earbuds stuffed in my ears. Kinda like a very small version of the hi-fi I have at home. I did try the MRoogle way, but mostly people seem to be asking about specific speaker sets or specific sets of needs, so I'm not getting anywhere, It doesn't help that I'm in Europe, which means less choice as I have to be able to buy these on eBay (the local high street doesn't really have anything to offer along those lines, except for the JBL onstage micro, which I tried out and do like, but I would like to know if there are other, better options out there, especially seeing as the micro is out of stock and the store has no clue when it'll be back in).
Here's what I need them to do apart from being available in Yurp:
1. be fairly small and compact. Don't need to be tiny though, since it would sacrifice #2; the JBL onstage micro is a great size, but the creative one for ipod nano is probably too small to handle stuff like Flogging Molly. Compact also means a minimum of chargers etc. Ideally they would work/charge using USB just like the ipod, because I'm taking the usb wall charger along anyway for the ipod, so if it takes care of the speakers too, we're all set.
2. Decent sound quality. I listen to a variety of stuff, from symphonic classical (think Camille Saint-Saens) to irish punk (see flogging molly, also dropkick murphys etc). In between, you get the likes of Johnny Cash, Amy MacDonald, The Doors, some Rolling Stones stuff, The Pogues, instrumental stuff with guitars, Chet Baker, and ragtime. So they have to cope decently with all of that, because if they don't, I'll end up not taking them along and it will have been a waste of money! I mean, I know it won't be like a home sound system, but neither should it be so bad that all the sounds end up all pureed together in one big stew
3. I don't give a damn whether or not it charges the ipod at the same time, because I'm taking the Usb chrger anyway, and usually the macbook too, so I can take care of the ipod charging separately. I'm also not particularly interested in connecting it to the macbook, but if the option exists without compromising on the other stuff that's more important, I'll be happy to have it. I use an ipod nano right now (4g), so that's what it should work with, but I've been ogling iphones for the past few weeks, and now that I'm cutting down on takeaway as part of my new year's resolutions
, I'm also saving lots of money, so I'm not sure how long I'll resist the temptation to buy one. Therefore, I think it may be wise to make sure the speaker works with iphone too 4. Price: I'm going to consider a pretty wide range of that, because I want it to be something I'll use cheerfully and regularly, not a silly gadget (I've bought some of those in the past once or twice, so I know what it means lol). Still, I'd rather not go over $150 (us). and of course if it's cheaper, so much the better
Anyway, I'd love to hear some of your recommendations for these!