There are dozens of them out there, ranging from tens of dollars to many hundreds. I am looking for something in the higher end.
As an example, this one caught my eye, and the reviews seem positive.
Any recommendations or thoughts on this?
I want good sound and it should have a handle on it so she can carry it around where she wants.
I’m also looking for an ipod dock/speaker system for a 1stGen Touch. The one you linked to has some great reviews, but apparently will be updated very soon to address its shortcomings.
See here.
That’s a real drag about the Harman Kardon speakers.
They apparently are very high quality, but if they do not support charging the latest iPods, then why would anyone buy them?
And why is HK taking so long to address this?
Oh well.
Anyone else got some recommendations?
Actually, many iPod accessories have the same limitation, so you have to watch out. My Griffin iTrip FM transmitter can’t charge my 4th generation Nano.
My very rough understanding of the issue is this: The iPod dock connector is really USB and FireWire connectors combined in one. Both interfaces have the ability to provide power to a device. I think the earliest iPods could only be charged from the FireWire connector, while the intermediate models could be charged from either one. That’s why most accessories only supply FireWire power. But the newest iPods have dropped FireWire support, and can only be charged from USB power.
Anyway, I currently use the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 speakers in my office. It does charge my Nano. I like it a lot. It’s compact and comes with a soft case. And when stowed away in the case, the AC adapter fits neatly in the cavity where the iPod normally sits. I really appreciate thoughtful little touches like this. But it’s not very loud or high-end, so perhaps not the best choice for the OP. Also the remote has a bit of a lag, so it’s a little annoying to go through the list of songs using the remote. (Though that may be a limitation of the iPod itself, I’m not sure…)
Can I just take a moment to rant about the fact that none of these things seem to include a simple fucking radio. It’s asinine that the iPod doesn’t have a FM tuner, but doubly so that a iPod dock doesn’t add the feature. You know, there’s a chance that I might want to listen to my iPod on the go in a boat or at the park and then switch over and listen to the game!
I bought this one for my wife.
The sound is really good.
Reviewing, it seems scr4 recommends the same one.
Anyway, here’s how I chose that model - I took her iPod down to the local electrical goods mega-store, and into the iPod accessory section where they had about 30 or 40 different iPod boomboxes. I didn’t look at the prices at all, I just walked along the aisle and plugged the iPod into each dock and had a listen. The unit scr4 and I both have had the best sound of them all, I think.
This was about one year ago, so things might be different now and there might be a newer and better one.
NB. I also bought a 2-year warranty with it which was useful because just last week one of the socket pins for the power cable broke off.
Then I highly recommend you look at Tivoli products. My husband and I have a PAL and absolutely love it. It’s our camping/beach/picnic audio system. With every group of people we’ve ever gone camping with, it ends up being what’s used for music, as it blows everything else away with just a mono speaker. Actually, a friend has the Logitech system linked and it sounds tinny and not nearly as rich as our PAL.
If you didn’t see it before hearing it, you’d never guess it was mono and you’d never guess it was so small. Judging by the pics of the Harman Kardon system, I’d say it’s about half that size or smaller. We have it in a carrying case. Super portable. The radio reception is excellent.
If stereo is a must have, it looks like they’ve got that covered too with the iSongbook. A little bigger, but it looks like it also comes with a remote, which is nice. If it sounds half as good as the PAL, then I’m sure it’s amazing.
According to the tech details page, it charges:
This is not a boombox in the sense of having batteries that you can use at the beach. It needs AC power.
I don’t think that’s correct - the description says it is “AC- or battery-operated, so it will go anywhere your iPod or other music player goes”. Though I don’t see the type or number of batteries listed in the specs.
The Logitech I mentioned above has a built-in rechargeable battery. It gets charged when it’s connected to AC power. Very convenient.
You will note the absence of “6G” from their list :(.
Anyway, I’m leaning towards that Logitech, since a few folks have said kind things about it.
I don’t see anything about batteries, but some of the reviews mention running it on batters, so there you go.
I have the older Bose system – I got a “returned after trial” model from an outlet store and paid less than $150. I’m very happy with it, but it definitely doesn’t have batteries – strictly for desktop use. There is a newer battery powered model that has an aux input and battery power, but I wasn’t willing to spend twice the money.
I’ve also used the Anchor AN-130 speaker with an iPod, which you can pick up for $150. Really good sound, but again, no batteries.
The iSongbook looks good. Pricey, but probably sounds great. I suppose the fact that I own a Zune and loathe iTunes (and hence radio-less iPods) might be a dealbreaker though.
Just bought an iSongBook off ebay for AUD$200 through a seller in the US (they retail for AUD$699 over here). The comments at the bottom of this review mention that Sears was selling them for as low as USD$49 at one point, not sure the price now though.
I will try to remember to post whether I’m satisfied with it once I receive it.
Received the iSongbook today and very impressed so far with everything, except for the very minor issue of the remote being infrared and not RF (still works fine). Great size, fantastic sound, plus the ability to put rechargeables in (as well as run off the mains) is a huge bonus.