It's not a product that's gonna catch fire, cuz not everyone will want one. On a scale of eyebrows, where more bushy = higher rating, I'd give it Larry Kingish type eyebrow.
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iPod How do you rate iPod Hi-Fi?
- Thread starter DCapple
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it's fine
I bought one. The first one unfortunately was dead in the box. The second one worked fine.
I want it for the backyard - so I wanted an all-in-one unit that's portable. It has very good bass and it pumps out a lot of undistorted power. I like the design personally and it seems to be a solid build. I like the fact the power supply is built in and that it has handles.
The main problem is that it doesn't live up to Steve Jpbs' claim that it's an audiophile's product. It isn't. It's likely equivalent to other comparably priced products - which means you're missing something. In this case, that means a hole in the higher end frequency response. It can also sound muddy if there's too much going on - like in full orchestral pieces. It's fairly senstive to positioning and of course - given it's size - stereo seperation and imaging are not up to hi-fi standards.
Finally the Canadain price - $430 is a bit of a ripoff given the going exchange rate.
But if you're expecting good sound that can drown out the neighbours' kids playing in the pool - as I am - then it's more than adequate.
Just don't expect it to repalce your hi-fi. It won't.
I bought one. The first one unfortunately was dead in the box. The second one worked fine.
I want it for the backyard - so I wanted an all-in-one unit that's portable. It has very good bass and it pumps out a lot of undistorted power. I like the design personally and it seems to be a solid build. I like the fact the power supply is built in and that it has handles.
The main problem is that it doesn't live up to Steve Jpbs' claim that it's an audiophile's product. It isn't. It's likely equivalent to other comparably priced products - which means you're missing something. In this case, that means a hole in the higher end frequency response. It can also sound muddy if there's too much going on - like in full orchestral pieces. It's fairly senstive to positioning and of course - given it's size - stereo seperation and imaging are not up to hi-fi standards.
Finally the Canadain price - $430 is a bit of a ripoff given the going exchange rate.
But if you're expecting good sound that can drown out the neighbours' kids playing in the pool - as I am - then it's more than adequate.
Just don't expect it to repalce your hi-fi. It won't.
For what it is, it is very good -- I think the sound quality is top notch. Also it shows up the competing Klipsch and Bose products to be sadly inadequate by comparison what with their excessive bass and questionable treble. But the stereo separation is a genuine problem, and with this problem and the price of the iPod Hifi, I think a better approach with the iPod is to use it in conjunction with Apple's $99 dock + RCA + remote + charger kit and hook it up to a conventional stereo.
The big problem I see with the iPod HiFi is that it falls awkwardly in between a reasonably cheap way of using the iPod with the very best stereo equipment and units which are genuinely portable. Not all of the latter suck; the Logitech mm50 for example does its job well and makes far more sense as a travel device or even a device movable from one part of the house to the next. I think the best I can say about the iPod HiFi other than already noting that it soundly kicks the iPod docking stations from Bose and Klipsch is that it is something I would consider as a valid alternative to a Bose radio -- but ahead of a Bose radio if only it had a tuner.
The big problem I see with the iPod HiFi is that it falls awkwardly in between a reasonably cheap way of using the iPod with the very best stereo equipment and units which are genuinely portable. Not all of the latter suck; the Logitech mm50 for example does its job well and makes far more sense as a travel device or even a device movable from one part of the house to the next. I think the best I can say about the iPod HiFi other than already noting that it soundly kicks the iPod docking stations from Bose and Klipsch is that it is something I would consider as a valid alternative to a Bose radio -- but ahead of a Bose radio if only it had a tuner.
I'm just always amazed when some columnist says "great for college students!"
Okay, I don't know about you dude, but I don't have $350 to drop on a speaker that connects ONLY to the iPod, and neither do any of my friends. Especially considering you can get a really nice speaker system (5.1, etc.) for $350, that'll connect to almost anything.
Okay, I don't know about you dude, but I don't have $350 to drop on a speaker that connects ONLY to the iPod, and neither do any of my friends. Especially considering you can get a really nice speaker system (5.1, etc.) for $350, that'll connect to almost anything.
Update on: It's fine
After reading some material. I am re-recording my AAC files with Apple Lossless. This makes a huge difference with some music - especially full orchestras. They sounded muddy and lost in AAC. In Apple Lossless, there is good detail. Overall sound quality is much improves, it's still al little short in the treble though.
Since the main puprose is for listening in my backyard, I have 2 options - keep the iPod hi-fi - or take it back for the AV kit and some outdoor speakers. I could then connect up my iPod to my stereo and run some outdoor speakers.
Views?
After reading some material. I am re-recording my AAC files with Apple Lossless. This makes a huge difference with some music - especially full orchestras. They sounded muddy and lost in AAC. In Apple Lossless, there is good detail. Overall sound quality is much improves, it's still al little short in the treble though.
Since the main puprose is for listening in my backyard, I have 2 options - keep the iPod hi-fi - or take it back for the AV kit and some outdoor speakers. I could then connect up my iPod to my stereo and run some outdoor speakers.
Views?
I borrowed one. It's not terrible but really, it's far too big and very expensive for the performance it delivers. The Bose Sounddock is a better package if you consider the overall impact in a room IMO. If you don't need an 'iPoddy' speaker system, I can recommend getting a dock and a pair of M-Audio DX4's. The total will be slightly over $200 if you include a cable and AC adapter (or you can use a cheap powered USB2.0 hub like those from Belkin). This will deliver better sonic bang for the buck.
Wow. How the **** did I miss that this whole time?DeSnousa said:Quote from the Apple site.
I do agree about the other stuff though
Well... having purchased one a few days ago for the MR picnic, I can honestly say that it's worth every penny. Three or four people had iPods with them and shared their playlists with the rest of us. Sound quality from such a small box is superb, clear and powerful... and it is much smaller than the pictures suggest.
I certainly didn't expect the number of adapters for various iPod models but was pleased to see that it had a built-in mains transformer, not an external brick. For a wee while, I assumed you could stream directly to it but that was based on a misreading of the manual; it doesn't have built-in wifi, unfortunately
My only quibbles are:
1) The connector at the back for external audio should have been RCA plugs IMHO rather than a minijack although the optical input would have to be separate... maybe not then.
2) Built-in tone control/EQ would have been nice too rather than relying on iPod's iffy EQ.
But all in all, a superb piece of engineering and to those of you who say it's too expensive then compare it to the competition and you'll see that's its worth it. The quality of the build and sound make it a little special, IMO.
AstrosFan said:
As a professional audio engineer, I often get people coming up to me with spec sheets and frequency graphs saying "does this look like a good hi-fi to you?".
My reply - WHATEVER the specs may say - is always the same: "I have no idea, go and listen to the thing."
Having said that, I haven't personally heard it
(although my colleague has one and loves it!). Price seems a bit steep though....
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For all the complainers, you can't appreciate the Hi-Fi in a small room. At my Apple Store, we use the display Hi-Fi to listen to music while stocking, etc... The unit more than fills the entire store with awesome sounding music and never gets distorted. That fact alone sold me on the unit, however I don't have a room big enough to appreciate the unit in my house, so I'll probably pass on getting one.
We LOVE the Hifi!
We bought the Altec Lansing iM7 when it first came out and loved it from the first moment! It is so portable and looks great. The sound quality is excellent and we took it everywhere we went. When Apple announced that they were selling the Hifi I told my wife that there was no way I was going to spend that kind of money for something that probably would sound the same as the iM7 IF we were lucky (and that's coming from someone that loves all things mac...). A while later we happened to walk into the Apple store in San Francisco and of course I had to go look at the new hifi, still convinced that there was no way we were going to buy one. The Hifi was on a shelf right next to the iM7 so I cued up the same song and played one and then the other. My wife and I both looked at each other shaking our heads and then I whipped out the wallet and grabbed a box. We were shocked! The sound wasn't just a little bit better it was appreciably better. It doesn't sound like the higher ranges are as good but it's only because the middle tones are so strong. The tweeter is a full range tweeter that does the middle range as well as the hi ranges. You end up with a much fuller and realistic sound. The imagery is excellent and crisp but the separation is not great as in all the ipod speakers. The ported bass holds very true even when you turn it all the way up and the resonance is excellent.
The first thing you notice is how solid the speaker feels, it is not light but it feels impressively stout. There is no tinnyness or rattle at all when big bass is pumping. The design is very elegant and it looks great on a shelf as if it was a standard component in a high end stereo system. That leads to one of the draw backs. When you take the Hifi some where it is really scary! The front grill is very fragile and you could very easily rip or snag it on something. Even worse, if something sharp impacted the grill it could very easily damage the cones of the speakers. I always want to wrap it up in a towel or something and that really hurts it's transportability. That led to another problem. When it first came out there weren't any third party cases available. Within a very short while Waterfield, a great case company, came out with a nice case but it was $149 dollars! Add that to the cost of the Hifi and it's getting up there. Then TuneWear came out with the Concertino Bianco, a white leather case that costs $300! Yes, it is kind of cool but the one thing it doesn't do is protect the front of the Hifi, which is the exact spot that needs to be protected. So for a while we just didn't take it out very often but when we did it performed admirably. At big parties it filled very large rooms and halls with great sound. Just recently, very recently Griffin came out with the Hi-Way, a nice case for $50. Even more recently Gecko Gear came out with the Hi-Fi Traveler for $75 and it got much better reviews then the Griffin so that's what we'll probably buy.
So, that solves the portability question. What else what I have liked to see? I wish the ipod dock was a little bit more recessed some how. The iM7 has a great little flip out holder so the iPod is part of the speaker system. That makes it so you can even move it around while it is playing. The Hi-fi dock is a little bitty thing so the iPod sits on top like a piece of toast in a toaster! You definitely would want to walk around with it and when it is set down some where anyone walking by with a purse or a bag will knock it right off the speaker (we've done it...). It would be nice if it sat flush some how.
The remote for the iM7 is stored in a recessed slot on the back of the speakers. This is GREAT because if you don't have a built in holder you're going to lose the remote. It's not a maybe, it's a certainty. We've lost it a number of times and luckily we've found it each time but it has gone missing for weeks at a time. It is one my major gripes with Apple, why don't they make a little recess for the remote on all their units that have a remote???? They could even make the back of the remote aluminum, white or black so it will look "cool" and fit in with their form factor. I've often wondered if it was done that way as a new income stream, imagine millions of users and half of them losing that damn remote! Let's see, half a million times $29.....
Unless you have the latest ipods, either the video or the nanos, you can't easily raise or lower the treble and or bass. In my case I have the photo ipod but I like the standard settings so unless you're a bass or treble freak it's not a problem but I would rather have the option. I know you can use the equializer built into the iPod but that isn't that easy in a party situation. It is very easy to change the bass or treble on the iM7.
The last thing is just a, "I wish they would do that" kind of wish. I wish the Hi-fi came with two grills. One, the standard black dress grill and two, an out door, get dirty black metal grill. Then you could lug it around and have it out where the people are throwing balls and what not and the damn thing is safe! It would be nice if you could dress it down a little to protect it.
All that aside, we LOVE the darn thing and have become quite enamoured with it's clean look in our house. So, that's my three cents on the matter and I'm sticking with it!
We bought the Altec Lansing iM7 when it first came out and loved it from the first moment! It is so portable and looks great. The sound quality is excellent and we took it everywhere we went. When Apple announced that they were selling the Hifi I told my wife that there was no way I was going to spend that kind of money for something that probably would sound the same as the iM7 IF we were lucky (and that's coming from someone that loves all things mac...). A while later we happened to walk into the Apple store in San Francisco and of course I had to go look at the new hifi, still convinced that there was no way we were going to buy one. The Hifi was on a shelf right next to the iM7 so I cued up the same song and played one and then the other. My wife and I both looked at each other shaking our heads and then I whipped out the wallet and grabbed a box. We were shocked! The sound wasn't just a little bit better it was appreciably better. It doesn't sound like the higher ranges are as good but it's only because the middle tones are so strong. The tweeter is a full range tweeter that does the middle range as well as the hi ranges. You end up with a much fuller and realistic sound. The imagery is excellent and crisp but the separation is not great as in all the ipod speakers. The ported bass holds very true even when you turn it all the way up and the resonance is excellent.
The first thing you notice is how solid the speaker feels, it is not light but it feels impressively stout. There is no tinnyness or rattle at all when big bass is pumping. The design is very elegant and it looks great on a shelf as if it was a standard component in a high end stereo system. That leads to one of the draw backs. When you take the Hifi some where it is really scary! The front grill is very fragile and you could very easily rip or snag it on something. Even worse, if something sharp impacted the grill it could very easily damage the cones of the speakers. I always want to wrap it up in a towel or something and that really hurts it's transportability. That led to another problem. When it first came out there weren't any third party cases available. Within a very short while Waterfield, a great case company, came out with a nice case but it was $149 dollars! Add that to the cost of the Hifi and it's getting up there. Then TuneWear came out with the Concertino Bianco, a white leather case that costs $300! Yes, it is kind of cool but the one thing it doesn't do is protect the front of the Hifi, which is the exact spot that needs to be protected. So for a while we just didn't take it out very often but when we did it performed admirably. At big parties it filled very large rooms and halls with great sound. Just recently, very recently Griffin came out with the Hi-Way, a nice case for $50. Even more recently Gecko Gear came out with the Hi-Fi Traveler for $75 and it got much better reviews then the Griffin so that's what we'll probably buy.
So, that solves the portability question. What else what I have liked to see? I wish the ipod dock was a little bit more recessed some how. The iM7 has a great little flip out holder so the iPod is part of the speaker system. That makes it so you can even move it around while it is playing. The Hi-fi dock is a little bitty thing so the iPod sits on top like a piece of toast in a toaster! You definitely would want to walk around with it and when it is set down some where anyone walking by with a purse or a bag will knock it right off the speaker (we've done it...). It would be nice if it sat flush some how.
The remote for the iM7 is stored in a recessed slot on the back of the speakers. This is GREAT because if you don't have a built in holder you're going to lose the remote. It's not a maybe, it's a certainty. We've lost it a number of times and luckily we've found it each time but it has gone missing for weeks at a time. It is one my major gripes with Apple, why don't they make a little recess for the remote on all their units that have a remote???? They could even make the back of the remote aluminum, white or black so it will look "cool" and fit in with their form factor. I've often wondered if it was done that way as a new income stream, imagine millions of users and half of them losing that damn remote! Let's see, half a million times $29.....
Unless you have the latest ipods, either the video or the nanos, you can't easily raise or lower the treble and or bass. In my case I have the photo ipod but I like the standard settings so unless you're a bass or treble freak it's not a problem but I would rather have the option. I know you can use the equializer built into the iPod but that isn't that easy in a party situation. It is very easy to change the bass or treble on the iM7.
The last thing is just a, "I wish they would do that" kind of wish. I wish the Hi-fi came with two grills. One, the standard black dress grill and two, an out door, get dirty black metal grill. Then you could lug it around and have it out where the people are throwing balls and what not and the damn thing is safe! It would be nice if you could dress it down a little to protect it.
All that aside, we LOVE the darn thing and have become quite enamoured with it's clean look in our house. So, that's my three cents on the matter and I'm sticking with it!
Sesshi said:
I have to add a little footnote here that I borrowed it again recently for a garden party, and after playing around with it once again for a while decided to get one because I liked using it. Sometimes I have to say it's not all about the sound but the usability.
Gotta say, I heard one the other day, and was quite impressed with the sound and volume and the design is sexy, very simple and smooth, very iPod lol However, the price is a bit crazy, so it might be better to save a bit more and get a set of Bose Speakers for pure quality, or Sennheiser for that matter.
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