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iPod Hi-Fi Introduced

ilmiacs said:
If $350 too much for any of you, you are really no audiophile...:cool:

I have seen some small devices with incredible sound the last years. (The Tivoli system sounds incredible for that size and prize. And if put on those legendary Koss Porta Pro, you are wondering, where all the bass comes from.) If Steve was clever enough to let some world-class sound designers do the job, then I believe todays iPod HiFi is able to produce pretty good sound for $350. I would trust Steve more, if I would know that he really loves great sound. But the only thing I know is that he loves U2... not neccessarily promising. I have to hear it with my own ears.
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True...350 is a small price in the market of HiFidelity. Speaker ratings are not everything. Speaker placement is every bit as important to an audiophile.
 
What happened to "Steve the perfectionist"??

Hasn't Steve got a reputation for having axed products at the last minute and making his people redesign until it's just "perfect"? What happened to that?! :confused: Was he pushed into letting this mediocre stuff out maybe or is he beginning to go all dell on us? :eek:

Minis: They can forget about the student market for minis if you can't even run a 3D game.

iPod HiFi: Apple microwave/toaster more like it. Engadget says this about the HiFi: "Well, let's be straight up, the Hi-Fi is heavy. Like, way too heavy to want to carry with you to the cabana or the beach.."

April 1 better be freaking impressive if they want to keep their stock price!
 
zanevlc said:
and can use batteries (great for taking to the beach) will get 2 when they arrive here in Spain. one for the bathroom. (although guess my neighbors will not like it :p )..and one for the Kitchen....
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iFi and sand? iFi and condensed moisture? I don't expect a long life from units that go there.
 
mackeeper said:
Very true. One question, why is it called an iPod? It isn't an iPod!!!!!!
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It's not. It's called an iPod Hi-Fi because it's a Hi-Fi (a term I've only ever heard from my grandmother) for iPod. Just like the iPod Dock is a Dock for iPod.
 
Hmmm... maybe this is part of Steve's plan: Show ugly products that won't sell to crash stock prices. (Buy apple shares now!!!!)
Then, on April 1, introduce amazing really cool products (touchPod, MBP 12" and 17", DeskMacPro) and watch the stock price shoot through the roof. (Sell your shares then).

Remeber, Steve owns quite a lot of apple shares ;) .
 
Was it really neccasery for Apple to hold a special event for these announcements? Surely they could have been released quietly with a store update and press release?

I just hope that they are keeping all the good stuff for April 1st.

P.S - what dose 'MEH' mean??
 
ke2000 said:
if it this is introduced by Haman kardon i would accept it.
Has technology gone back to 10 years ago?
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Come on, the Harman Kardon Soundsticks and the JBL Creature II speakers look so much nicer than this white plastic box from Apple.
 
e-clipse said:
A college student will definately spend $2000+ for a powerbook or macbook pro.
A college student will not invest in a over glorified boombox.
A college student probably already has a system that can smoke it!
The iPod was a great invention for its sleekness and portability.
iPods rule the college campus outdoors.
If I was even going to bring that iPod HiFi Boombox on campus, it would need to have iShock theft protection.
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A college student will not invest $2000 in a laptop. Their parents, perhaps, but not the student. Nor would they invest in over glorified boombox, unless....

...unless it doubled as a cooler to hold beer! Now that would be a fun product. Doesn't it look like this hi-fi box is big enough to open and store a fresh, cold 30-pack??!? Man I would love to have this on the beach. An iPod, big speakers, and beer! Introducing the iParty (i-nstant Party). Who's game??!?!
 
joemama said:
A college student will not invest $2000 in a laptop. Their parents, perhaps, but not the student. Nor would they invest in over glorified boombox, unless....

...unless it doubled as a cooler to hold beer! Now that would be a fun product. Doesn't it look like this hi-fi box is big enough to open and store a fresh, cold 30-pack??!? Man I would love to have this on the beach. An iPod, big speakers, and beer! Introducing the iParty (i-nstant Party). Who's game??!?!
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I dont drink but I could SOO see that!!! Apple might be on to something actually. haha.
 
MrCrowbar said:
My opinion:

Mac Mini: Nice update. Core Duo version is nice, remote is cool and the IR-Sensor is well placed. Just buy the cable to hook it up to your TV and you have a nice media centre.
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MAC MINI FSB-667 WooHoo!
 
It's an iPod speaker. Whoop-dee-frekin-doo. It'll sell a few, but I think the market is thinking more along the lines of $149. Sure, the speakers in that range sound like crap, but nobody seems to care.
 
e-clipse said:
A college student will not invest in a over glorified boombox.
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<snip />
e-clipse said:
If I was even going to bring that iPod HiFi Boombox on campus, it would need to have iShock theft protection.
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So, they won't buy one, but they'd steal one?
 
joemama said:
A college student will not invest $2000 in a laptop. Their parents, perhaps, but not the student. Nor would they invest in over glorified boombox, unless....

...unless it doubled as a cooler to hold beer! Now that would be a fun product. Doesn't it look like this hi-fi box is big enough to open and store a fresh, cold 30-pack??!? Man I would love to have this on the beach. An iPod, big speakers, and beer! Introducing the iParty (i-nstant Party). Who's game??!?!
Click to expand...

definatly game!
 
joemama said:
...unless it doubled as a cooler to hold beer! Now that would be a fun product. Doesn't it look like this hi-fi box is big enough to open and store a fresh, cold 30-pack??!? Man I would love to have this on the beach. An iPod, big speakers, and beer! Introducing the iParty (i-nstant Party). Who's game??!?!
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my thoughts exactly, about 3 pages back. They missed a big tailgating audience here.
 
topher said:
weight with batteries is almost 17 lbs.
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TADAAA! The first 17 lbs iPod. Next version will actually come which built in iPod! The iGhettoPod (a real boom box, after all).
 
Compressed Audio ? /= 'Audiophile Fidelity'

I believe there is still much FUD about the perceived poor sound quality of perceptual audio coders (MP3, Ogg Vorbis) as compared to its original source.

If one uses laboratory-quality headphones (not iPod earbuds!) and a studio-quality sound card (not the Griffin iMic!) and performs a valid A/B/X test, she may find that the sound-quality differences are imperceptible.

I for one, always thought MP3s sucked since back in 1997 codecs sounded awful. A Ph.D. student in audio engineering convinced me ,otherwise. He told me to give him what I thought was a good recording, and he burned an audio CD with three formats, 128 kbps MP3, 128 kbps AAC, and 16-bit 44.1 kHz PCM, and told me to identify which is which.

After repeated listening and frustration, I gave up and he told me the order. I could not tell which versions were compressed and which weren't. Old perceptions, especially in audio, die hard.

I have normal hearing (tested during 2004) and used Etymotic ER-4P headphones for the above test.

I'm looking forward to what the iPod Hi-Fi will sound like. I hope it sounds better than the Bose SoundDock, which has excellent bass and ability for high output, but the highs get very harsh at high levels.
 
Nothing to see here, move along now

-not fond of the looks
-what about radio at least
-not to sure if I like it being powered by D sized batteries
-the price is ridiculous. The sound and the battery life had better be stupendous for the price.

IMO it's OK.
 
Mini video

From MaFixit:

The GMA950 uses "Dynamic Video Memory Technology" (DVMT) to support up to 224MB of video memory; system memory is allocated where it is needed dynamically. It has 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM of its own, shared with main memory

Still, on paper, the GMA950's specs best those of the Radeon 9200 card used by the PowerPC-based Mac mini. For instance, the GMA950 claims 1.6 billion pixels per second vs. 1.1 billion pixels per second for the Radeon 9200. And the GMA950 includes a 256-bit graphics core running at 400MHz while the Radeon 9200 uses a 400 Mhz 128-bit core.

Again, benchmarks have yet to be recorded, but we wouldn't be surprised if the new Intel-based Mac mini's integrated graphics performance exceeds that of the previous PowerPC-based generation with a separate graphics card for most tasks.
 
I made myself a promise. Next time I am just not getting excited anymore about their events. It was one BIG disappointment. Mini is on par with my expectations, but didn't saw the higher price coming on that one. And then a speaker system being a highlight? It's not going to beat my home ones, for sure. No matter how 'HiFi' they are. Plus in the home, I am using already airport express with my Powerbook. I just don't see the market for this.

And if Steve keeps going this rate, January was already bad as of the expectations and now this one to top it off, I am going to sell all my Apple stuff and go to the 'dark' side. That will teach him :D
 
MrCrowbar said:
Hmmm... maybe this is part of Steve's plan: Show ugly products that won't sell to crash stock prices. (Buy apple shares now!!!!)
Then, on April 1, introduce amazing really cool products (touchPod, MBP 12" and 17", DeskMacPro) and watch the stock price shoot through the roof. (Sell your shares then).

Remeber, Steve owns quite a lot of apple shares ;) .
Click to expand...


Hmmm... derecho de usufructo
 
joemama said:
A college student will not invest $2000 in a laptop. Their parents, perhaps, but not the student. Nor would they invest in over glorified boombox, unless....

...unless it doubled as a cooler to hold beer! Now that would be a fun product. Doesn't it look like this hi-fi box is big enough to open and store a fresh, cold 30-pack??!? Man I would love to have this on the beach. An iPod, big speakers, and beer! Introducing the iParty (i-nstant Party). Who's game??!?!
Click to expand...


The iBeerbuddy!
 
iDrinkKoolAid said:
I for one, always thought MP3s sucked since back in 1997 codecs sounded awful. A Ph.D. student in audio engineering convinced me ,otherwise. He told me to give him what I thought was a good recording, and he burned an audio CD with three formats, 128 kbps MP3, 128 kbps AAC, and 16-bit 44.1 kHz PCM, and told me to identify which is which.

After repeated listening and frustration, I gave up and he told me the order. I could not tell which versions were compressed and which weren't. Old perceptions, especially in audio, die hard.
Click to expand...

Weird, because I can hear the difference. I've particiapted in essentially the same tests with friends and fellow musicians. Maybe it's because I'm a musician, have near-perfect pitch and have had ear training. Dunno, but all I'm saying is that I can definitely hear a difference. :cool:
 
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