iPod Hi-Fi Introduced

[RiddleKid]

Sounds 4xtimes better than...

Did someone already mentioned that the boox sounds up to 4xtimes better than ordinary sounddocks?
shockingly true...*Grasp*

It's not any better (and no worse) than the other sounddocks. It has its advantages and its disadvantages. iDon'tcare... what the hell did you expected?
Apple don't walk on water either. They just make it look like it

btw: am i the only one? the new case is somewhat close to a domina.
Covered in black, leatharrrr, (... put it over the eyes err the display i mean) and way much overpriced for what you get. iDeserve it

Greetz

 

[weg]

My only response to you is...Listen...Let your ears tell you if it's worth $450. My ears have led me to spend thousands on my audio system...and it is worth every penny...some people, will likely be blown away by this device's performance...others will likely be underwhelmed...let your ears decide.

Find it and listen to it...fyi byo ipod...

I have my iPod connected to my stereo (via the iPod dock), and I do hear a huge difference between the iPod and my CD player. Spending $350 on speakers to connect them to the iPod is a waste of money...

 

[JordanNZ]

This is so not hifi--look at the frequency response on the speakers!

Interesting idea, but WHAT a lost effort. Oh, well....on to v.2

The frequency response IS good for what it is.... It's listed as +-3dB, most systems will list as +-10dB or even 20! Most adults can't hear anything over 16khz anyway.

They aren't trying to fool anyone there, which is nice. Most speakers will list something stupid like 50hz-30khz, but fail to mention that it rolls off at 10dB per octave after 10khz.

 

[yac_moda]

Out of all of the Ugly speakers available for the iPod I think I like this one the best ...

Although I would just buy a regular speaker system, many are truly good looking, and plug a aExpress into it ...

 

[lu0s3r322]

i like simplistic design all that stuff but i would think that they would try to make it a little thinner instead of this big bulky box.

i rather get a bose, my 2 cents

 

[rob25255]

Am not going to buy with one click!

Im normally a sucker for buying the latest gadgets after a keynote etc but I cant justify spending another £250 on the Hifi when I have a Bose. Guys and gals please tell me im doing the right thing and NOT spending money!

 

[Super Dave]

10 Dock Connectors?

Ok, so the iPod Universal doc comes with 5 connectors:

Five Dock Adapters that fit the following iPod models: iPod mini (4GB and 6GB); iPod with click wheel (20GB, 40GB, U2 Special Edition); iPod with color display (20GB, 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, U2 Special Edition)

The iPod hifi comes with 10. What are the other 5 for. 1 for the nano, and…what? I mean there's the 3rd generation (10, 15, 20, 40 if I recall). Does anyone know if they were all different sizes than the other 5 already listed with the iPod dock? If not, then where are the other 5 coming from for the hifi?

David

 

[jordanste]

im not feeling it.

 

[xsnightclub]

Keep in mind it is only 6.6" high and 6.9"deep.

A standard iPod is 4"

It is not as big as it appears in photos.

 

[drb6]

Sorry - i didnt mean you in particular Just generally.
I dont know that the forums here have a wide enough cross-section to gauge the public response, but i see your point.


I agree - but as i said before, this year is about transition. In hindsight, my MacPad speculation was probally misplaced (or maybe slightly premature). 'New' products are a bonus this year - even if its not quite the bonus we were hoping for


But then maybe that isnt what your looking for (style and feature wise).
Then maybe you arent the target market - Like we agreed, design is a matter of opinion!

Z

You're right about MR folks not being a very good representation of the general public. And we are definitely harsher on Apple because we do expect so much. But also looking at it from an outsider's perspective, the Apple faithful are more likely to buy products just because they are Apple-made. The general public will look at what they are getting for the price. Of course there are those who just want the brand name, but they are also more likely to buy a product for its image and so its style counts in that too.

And I also see your point about transition. I personally don't expect much this year. Getting the Intel ibook is what I'm most excited about as mine was recently stolen and I'm ready to pull out the credit card for it. Anything else, like you said, is a bonus.

I don't mean to harp on the design aspect, but I do feel that it is a very big factor for why many of us spend so much money on Apple products. Now if I had the functionality of an ibook or powerbook but a terrible design, I might still buy them because the functionality for those products trumps design IMO. But for a boombox that doesn't offer too much more functionality than other products on the market, I'm not inclined to forgoe my second most important criteria for Apple products, esp with its cost. Now if the boombox was 150 or even 200, I wouldn't be saying anything at all in this matter.

But I think we've exhausted this topic. Its nice to see more people who are moderate in their responses, most people on MR get very passionate about everything

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

So, anyone ordered one?

 

[iDrinkKoolAid]

There is a clear difference between uncompressed WAV and 128AAC and 128MP3. However, once you get to 192 or 256, you can't really hear the difference. And obviously, there is no difference between wav and Apple lossless.

Perhaps some can hear the difference between 128 kbps MP3, 128 kbps AAC, and 16-bit PCM. Try as I might, I couldn't detect any difference that day with my Etymotic ER-4P headphones. That was weird no that I think about it, since I've even perceived that audio CDs made from 320 kbps MP3s sounded thin in the bass and harsh in the highs.

I've encoded some 16-bit PCM into 2-ch 448 kbps AC3 once and used PC ABX, an M-Audio Transit (no, I don't own an $4,000 Apogee), and the same Etymotic headphones to do some double blind testing. Those two formats were perceptually indistinguishable, at least with my hearing that day, my preconditioning/expectation, limits of listener fatigue, and equipment.

I can hear the difference on the Bose system in my car. And that is a poor audio environment with only fair frequency response. And on top of that, Bose systems generally suck. So I have no idea why you can't hear the difference.

As an audiophile for 13 years (started when I was 17), I've fallen into the Bose trap formerly, but they get more heat than they should. The new Bose Wave Radio, albeit overpriced, sounds very nice. Good bass response and very nice highs.

Next time, try outputting through a quality receiver and some quality speakers. As in speakers that are accurate and offer a full dynamic range.

I appreciate the suggestion, but a reverberant environment such as one you are suggesting is definitely not ideal for error-free data collection. The numerous reflections and low-frequency room modes may obfuscate results. Let me divulge to you that the current audio system I'm building has dynamic range written all over it. It consists of four 10-inch woofer and two horns. I'm using modified diaphragms (thin aluminum jobs with damping coating) for the compression drivers. This is fed by two amplifiers, about 150 watts for the mids/highs and 350 watts for the bass per side. I plan to use a pair of subwoofers fed with 800 watts. This is fed by a DSP crossover and a DSP equalizer. I have a universal SACD/DVD-Audio player. And yup, SACD does seem to sound better than CD.

Sorry to brag about my pride and joy and go off on a tangent. What I'm trying to say is using quality headphones in a quiet environment is the way to go for detecting to subtle differences in audio.

 

[RiddleKid]

Ugly or not: If you buy it you have to think what to do with all those front row remotes before you loose count... Maybe i should give them their own drawer. Any suggestions?

 

[iDrinkKoolAid]

Out of all of the Ugly speakers available for the iPod I think I like this one the best ...

Although I would just buy a regular speaker system, many are truly good looking, and plug a aExpress into it ...

That Klipsch iFi is one amazing system. I have one on my desk at work, and it sounds very nice. Smooth highs and very good bass.

Too bad they aren't selling. I saw Costco blowing them out for $199 the other day...

Now I don't want to mention that Costco is also blowing away 20-inch iMac G5s with 3-year AppleCare for something like $1449 do I?

 

[yac_moda]

Keep in mind it is only 6.6" high and 6.9"deep.

A standard iPod is 4"

It is not as big as it appears in photos.

¡¡¡ WoOoW !!! I thought it was bigger then that, then it truly is UGLY

 

[e-clipse]

It REALLY needs an accordion woofer !!!

Now if the white part was brushed metal titainium ...

... and the black was brushed graphite ...

... and it had a grill with diffent sized wholes, cause there is NO WAY you take this outside as its pictured !!!

Watch out for the future Apple commercials showing it on the urban streets with breakdancers. lol jk

 

[yac_moda]

About the size of a small loaf of bread with itty bitty little speakers !¡!¡!¡

AND other people would SEE IT and SEE that I actually spent $350 ...

... ON THAT !!!

¡¡¡ NO WAY IN LA LA LAND !!!

 

[dan-o-mac]

Apple did accomplish one thing with this iPod Boom Box. It shows how stupid a mac mini would look with a built in dock. I can't believe people wanted that feature on a mac mini.

 

[ortuno2k]

I wasn't too thrilled with the big deal.
It's ok but nothing new.
Sure, the speaker looks nicer than the rest of the other systems I've seen. Let's see now how it sounds. Will I buy one? Nah, don't need it.

 

[dan-o-mac]

No a Mac mini would look COOL with a iDock in it !!!

I don't get it. what's so cool about an ipod sticking out of a Mac mini?

 

[Zillatron]

too much time messing around with iLife. Compare his demo with previous iLife demos. The obvious conclusion is that, as has been reported, products that were not quite ready were removed from the Macworld keynote.

Now... the new mac minis are cool. How anyone could complain about such an obvious buff to the product line is beyond me.

...they'd have been idiots not to want to get in on such a high priced item.

If I owned Apple, there is no way I'd want to see a lot of people walking out of my store with someone else's $300 peripheral when I could make a better one myself.

100% spot on - one of the best posts i've read all week.
Give this man a prize.

Z

 

[Air Cargo]

ipod Hi-Fi

I have my Bose Wave radio/cd player in our bedroom being fed music via airport express from my iMac which is in another room. I don't personally see any benefits of this new device unless you you want to listen to your music in your bathroom or whilst pottering around in the garden etc..

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks,
Phillip.

 

[thestaton]

What I find crazy - go build a mac mini and put all the bells & whistles on it. $1300 for a computer with no screen!!! You can buy a 17" iMac for 1299 sure it wont have 2gigs of ram but it will have a bigger harddrive, better graphics card, and a 17" LCD. How could anyone justify buying a mini?

I dont even wanna discuss the iJoke known as a music player, or the iCow. Does Steve not know that you can buy a whole leather coat for $100 dollars!!!!! It might not be the highest quality but I'm sure it could keep the wind off of me compared to doing nothing for my iPod.

wow what a day of huge disappointment.

 

[Quartz Extreme]

I have a question: besides the internal speakers in iMacs, have there been any apple-branded speakers in recent memory? Ever?

Apple PowerCD with black AppleDesign speakers

Apple Pro Speakers

Twentieth Anniversary Mac w/ Subwoofer

AppleDesign headphones

 

[dcv]

Well I'm still glad I bought my Altec Lansing iM7. This new iPod hi-fi looks pretty ugly from the pictures. I'll definitely try it out in the Apple Store to see how it compares sound-wise, but I doubt I'll be buying one. I don't see any features that the iM7 doesn't already have, other than the "official" Apple remote.