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- Aug 27, 2013
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I dont own an ipod, and probably never will, so all that im typing here is based on connecting my laptop to these via their 3.5mm inputs , with exception of the bose, i used a 3.5mm to ipod connection convertor thingy.Most of these I got as demo/second hand with exception of the phillips and the Jamo. all have remotes except kenton and philips, and +tweeters indicates 2way. OK, lets get the Gear4 out of the way(dont have much to say about it). Its loud, but it quite simply sounds terrible and is over priced! It is currently stripped to pieces, hoping to use the speakers in my i10 as fronts, hopefully there they will sound better than the factory hyundai speakers that are, well, not Onkyo like they were in hyundais from the 90's.
The logitech is the only one here that runs on a battery, so its great for the beach or camp fire.
DOCK PRICE I PAID RETAIL PRICE INPUTS SPEAKER
Bose Soundock i R200 R3500??? ipod dock 2
Jamo i200 R500 R2200 ipod dock, 3.5mm in and 3.5 mm out 2 +tweeters (optional sub via line out)
Logitech pure-fi R200 R700-900 ipod dock, 3.5mm in 2( other 2 are passive radiators)
Kenton Chopin R100 R300 on BOB ipod dock, 2x 3,5 mm in 2.1
Philips DS6100/10 R500 R800 ipod dock, 3.5mm in, usb link 2
GEAR4 house party iii R150 R900 ipod dock, 3.5mm in, fm tuner 2+tweeters
Monitor Audio I-Deck R500 R???? ipod dock, 3.5 mm in, pc link 2+tweetrs , speakers seperate to unt
Digitech 2.1 dock R300 R????? ipod dock, av input(soud only),3.5mmout, am/fm tuner 2.1
Im reviewing these on their retail prices and not what i paid.
Lets start with the Bose , it packs a mean punch considering all in has are 2x2 inch full range drivers, the bass is impressive , and offers decent clarity when it comes to mid and highs,does well at higher volumes too , but gets strained if you stick it to max volume, i think the 2 inch driver can only hold its composure for so long. Does an ok job of delivering those low,fast dance beats. When the Sound dock ii was launched they added a much needed 3.5mm input that this doesnt have.
Jamo i200 , Ive had this for a few months now, and its strong point is clarity , it really makes a nice sound, especially when connected to an active sub with the high pass set to 120hz( freq response on the i200 is 120hz-20khz). It does battle to deliver anything that resembles Bass with out a sub , so an active sub is a must! the remote feels like it could break if pressed too hard or dropped
Logitech pure-fi anywhere, Stereo Image on this is great. Bass response from this is quite decent considering it has two 1.5 inch speakers, the bigger ones are 3INCH passive radiators(THINK THATS WHAT THEY ARE CALLED AS THEY JUST MOVE WITH AIR) with no electrical connection(this i discovered when i opend it up to change the battery,i always thought they were"subs"), they move around from the air pressure created with the two small speaker. Clarity is decent, a bit better than the Bose , but not as good as the Jamo. if you are listening to something like roxttette or nikleback or similar the bass response is good, however dance music and hip-hop show its weakness, i use it for pc games , and it does its job well.
Kenton Choplin, Now I was very surprised when i heard this little dock , 2 1inch speakers, a 3 inch woofer,and damn does this little thing perform well, overall it sounds better than the Bose, detailed highs, deep bass , however mids do suffer a little, and it cant go as loud as the bose , but works well in a braai area when back ground music is what you want, considering its retail price of R300 and that it fits in the palm of my hand, well almost, my wrist helps a little , this is the best overall performer for the money and only out performed by the monitor audio, The Jamo( only when the active sub is connected), by the bose in terms of volume, but those cost a hell of a lot more!
Phillips , 2 2inch 10 watt full range drivers, clarity is great and has very similar characteristics as the logitech in terms of sound, but is more powerful.
Monitor Audio, this one is probably the best of the lot , but im sure for a price that is probably around the same as the bose( im assuming).
Its not quite as easy as the others to move around though, because its a 3 piece unit, but those 2 way speakers do a damn good job, deep bass ad great clarity from 2 speakers, granted they are the largest with 4 inch woofers and a 1 inch tweeter that is painted gold, stereo image is as good as you want it to be as you choose where to place the speakers, however there is a downer, i lost the remote and its now totally un=useable as their are no buttons on the unit, where with the others you still get almost all functionality without the remote.
Digitech 2.1 , The bulkiest of the lot, this is as loud as the Bose and the gear 4, it sounds better than the gear 4, not much better , but better.
Surprisingly with a built in 4 inch woofer , it doesnt give near the same deep bass as the Kenton does with its 3 inch woofer and much smaller case, it also doesnt have amazing clarity, but its bearable. It does have the best remote though.
Conclusion , my favorite here in terms of value and if I had paid retail for these is the Kenton, its performance is AMAZING for its price!
But my real world favorite for what i paid was the Monitor audio untill i lost its remote...
This review is my opinion from using these daily in the real world over the last few years, I have since sold the Bose to a friend who really wanted it, stripped down the gear4, and sold the Monitor audio idecks speakers , The Jamo i200 is what i use now the most, as for me , with a sub hooked up to it , it comes a very close second to the monitor audio.
The logitech is the only one here that runs on a battery, so its great for the beach or camp fire.
DOCK PRICE I PAID RETAIL PRICE INPUTS SPEAKER
Bose Soundock i R200 R3500??? ipod dock 2
Jamo i200 R500 R2200 ipod dock, 3.5mm in and 3.5 mm out 2 +tweeters (optional sub via line out)
Logitech pure-fi R200 R700-900 ipod dock, 3.5mm in 2( other 2 are passive radiators)
Kenton Chopin R100 R300 on BOB ipod dock, 2x 3,5 mm in 2.1
Philips DS6100/10 R500 R800 ipod dock, 3.5mm in, usb link 2
GEAR4 house party iii R150 R900 ipod dock, 3.5mm in, fm tuner 2+tweeters
Monitor Audio I-Deck R500 R???? ipod dock, 3.5 mm in, pc link 2+tweetrs , speakers seperate to unt
Digitech 2.1 dock R300 R????? ipod dock, av input(soud only),3.5mmout, am/fm tuner 2.1
Im reviewing these on their retail prices and not what i paid.
Lets start with the Bose , it packs a mean punch considering all in has are 2x2 inch full range drivers, the bass is impressive , and offers decent clarity when it comes to mid and highs,does well at higher volumes too , but gets strained if you stick it to max volume, i think the 2 inch driver can only hold its composure for so long. Does an ok job of delivering those low,fast dance beats. When the Sound dock ii was launched they added a much needed 3.5mm input that this doesnt have.
Jamo i200 , Ive had this for a few months now, and its strong point is clarity , it really makes a nice sound, especially when connected to an active sub with the high pass set to 120hz( freq response on the i200 is 120hz-20khz). It does battle to deliver anything that resembles Bass with out a sub , so an active sub is a must! the remote feels like it could break if pressed too hard or dropped
Logitech pure-fi anywhere, Stereo Image on this is great. Bass response from this is quite decent considering it has two 1.5 inch speakers, the bigger ones are 3INCH passive radiators(THINK THATS WHAT THEY ARE CALLED AS THEY JUST MOVE WITH AIR) with no electrical connection(this i discovered when i opend it up to change the battery,i always thought they were"subs"), they move around from the air pressure created with the two small speaker. Clarity is decent, a bit better than the Bose , but not as good as the Jamo. if you are listening to something like roxttette or nikleback or similar the bass response is good, however dance music and hip-hop show its weakness, i use it for pc games , and it does its job well.
Kenton Choplin, Now I was very surprised when i heard this little dock , 2 1inch speakers, a 3 inch woofer,and damn does this little thing perform well, overall it sounds better than the Bose, detailed highs, deep bass , however mids do suffer a little, and it cant go as loud as the bose , but works well in a braai area when back ground music is what you want, considering its retail price of R300 and that it fits in the palm of my hand, well almost, my wrist helps a little , this is the best overall performer for the money and only out performed by the monitor audio, The Jamo( only when the active sub is connected), by the bose in terms of volume, but those cost a hell of a lot more!
Phillips , 2 2inch 10 watt full range drivers, clarity is great and has very similar characteristics as the logitech in terms of sound, but is more powerful.
Monitor Audio, this one is probably the best of the lot , but im sure for a price that is probably around the same as the bose( im assuming).
Its not quite as easy as the others to move around though, because its a 3 piece unit, but those 2 way speakers do a damn good job, deep bass ad great clarity from 2 speakers, granted they are the largest with 4 inch woofers and a 1 inch tweeter that is painted gold, stereo image is as good as you want it to be as you choose where to place the speakers, however there is a downer, i lost the remote and its now totally un=useable as their are no buttons on the unit, where with the others you still get almost all functionality without the remote.
Digitech 2.1 , The bulkiest of the lot, this is as loud as the Bose and the gear 4, it sounds better than the gear 4, not much better , but better.
Surprisingly with a built in 4 inch woofer , it doesnt give near the same deep bass as the Kenton does with its 3 inch woofer and much smaller case, it also doesnt have amazing clarity, but its bearable. It does have the best remote though.
Conclusion , my favorite here in terms of value and if I had paid retail for these is the Kenton, its performance is AMAZING for its price!
But my real world favorite for what i paid was the Monitor audio untill i lost its remote...
This review is my opinion from using these daily in the real world over the last few years, I have since sold the Bose to a friend who really wanted it, stripped down the gear4, and sold the Monitor audio idecks speakers , The Jamo i200 is what i use now the most, as for me , with a sub hooked up to it , it comes a very close second to the monitor audio.
