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Sony CMTBX77DBI Mini Hi-Fi with iPod Dock
by jlaker1992
I have always purchased Sony products becaus I believe that the quality is always excellent. Before I purchased this model, I had an older versions which had no iPod dock, I could connect my iPod via an aux cable but that is such a pain! I then stumbled across this online. I read a few reviews on it and thought it was worth a try. There ... are so many cheap iPod docks out there, but I thought that I may as well spend more money on a quality item that would last a long time. I am so glad i did because this is simply excellent.
I paid £149.99 for this product, looking at the prices now I wish I hadnt paid so much!! Amazon are selling it for £99 which is really well priced! I don't regret getting it, I just regret the really high price that I paid for it.
Once I received it I took it straight out the box and fell In love with it straight away! It looks really stylish and the black finish is dome to a high standard. The actual iPod dock is on top of the stereo box and looks really good with the iPod on it. It's a really fashionable piece of kit. It comes with two speakers which also look vey nice. It's not too large and looks great ontop of my bedRoom cupboard.
I then turned it on and started to play music through it. I was amazed at how loud it could go for such a small thing. It sounded so amazing! The quality is great and it doesn't distort at high levels. I like the amount of bass provided. It's not too overpowering. This speaker system is great for any type of music. I like pop, rap, rock, some classical and loads of other music styles and it plays them all to a really high standard. There are some setting you can use to change the sound quality also.
It has a nice screen which displays what settings you are on. It is very clear and well designed. I found it really easy to set up and very easy to use. Sony have always produced a reaally high standard of hifi systems and this one will not let you down! It is reliable, stylish and made to a high standard. It may cost way more more than others similar on the market, but as I have said before, you pay for the quality in the knowledge that you have a well built product.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a new speaker system who owns an iPod. It can fit into small spaces, but wouldmt look out of place in a large room. It could fit on your desk! It's perfect and I am chuffed to bits with it. Make sure y.ou search around for a good price. I didn't and wish I had! There are a few offers on it so have a look.
Thanks for reading my review :)
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Groov-e i-Speaker Dock 30
by Drewster_Rooster
Introduction
Last year I bought myself a lightweight portable docking station and speaker system for my iPod, it wasn't expensive but it did the job and served me well for a few months until I managed to knock it off the shelf it was sat on and it ended up in a few useless pieces on my floor. Oops. I'm a big fan of music and ... tend to have it playing during the day but rather than making do with playing my songs through iTunes on my computer I decided that I should invest in a docking station that was a little more robust and stylish and in the end I settled for the subject of this review, the Groov-e i-Speaker dock model number GVSP828.
What is it?
The i-Speaker dock is a stereo speaker system suitable for all MP3 players including those made by Apple, I bought mine specifically for my iPod and iPhone and as well being a speaker system it also acts as a charger too. It's mains run, comes complete with a long cable and arrives neatly packaged in a well protected cardboard box. I like it's design, glossy black in appearance with smoothly rounded edges the speaker section runs across the whole front of its body and in the centre are the volume controls and on/off switch. My iPod sits in the central part of the speaker on the docking station itself and once in place it is held firmly without wobbles and does feel safe and secure. The system is not particularly heavy but because it's quite squat in design it sits nicely on my desk where I have mine and I like the modern, sleek look it adds to my room.
My thoughts
The player supports iPhones with operating systems 3.0 and later and there is a free App which you can download from iTunes which supposedly turns your iPhone into an alarm clock although this isn't without its faults as I will come to later. I didn't buy my system to have in my bedroom so this function isn't relevant to me although due to the speakers size it would fit nicely on a bedside cabinet and would fit in well with any modern bedroom. The system has an FM radio built in which is controlled by the buttons on front of the speakers but again I don't use this function as I specifically use mine for playing the songs and albums on my iPod and iPhone. I have tuned in a few radio stations just to see what they're like for the purpose of this review and have no complaints about them here, the Groov-e finds and holds them without distortion or crackles and I'm sure this would be a handy function for some people if they like listening to the radio.
The speakers have an 8 watt output which is more than loud enough for me and even if I want to crank up the volume to high I've never noticed any loss of sound quality or audible distortions, you can't adjust the treble or bass though as there isn't a settings control but I don't see this as being a problem as I simply want to listen to the songs on my MP3 player and don't feel the need to adjust the settings. It's straightforward to use, you simply connect your iPhone or iPod to the docking station and turn on the speakers from the on/off button. This then activates your MP3 player and using the onscreen controls of your device you simply scroll through to the songs you want to hear and press 'play' it really is as easy as that. It's non-complicated design and operation appeals to me, aesthetically I like how it looks and it bangs out my music at a volume that I can control whilst charging either my iPod or iPhone.
It's not without it's drawbacks though unfortunately and having owned and used mine for a number of months now I've become aware of a problem which is rather annoying. The main problem as I briefly mentioned earlier in this review is with the App that Groov-e produced to go with this system and simply put this just doesn't work as it's supposed to or how they said it would. The app is supposed to turn your iPhone into an alarm clock and should allow you to select from a number of different 'natural sounds' to be woken up to on a morning, except for some unknown reason it doesn't. The app downloads without problem and looks quite fancy but for some reason it just doesn't do what it was designed to do and there have been a number of complaints written on amazon's website which all say the same thing. As already mentioned this isn't a problem for me as I didn't buy my system for my bedroom but at the time of my purchase it was promoted with this app and I do think that it misled quite a few buyers and understandably this has been a contentious issue for some. I suspect the app just needs an update to make it functional but 3 months since my purchase this has not happened yet and I would strongly dissuade anyone from buying this system if they think its going to replace a bedroom alarm clock as you will end up feeling very disappointed.
Having said that, if you're looking for a docking system that is well made and has great speakers then there's little to complain about with this model. It is easy to use, has a modern design and looks and feels of very good quality. It's not terribly expensive compared to some similar models either, I paid a little under £40.00 for mine from amazon and it currently retails there for just over £45.00 at the moment so the price does obviously fluctuate, I would suggest that you buy this with the knowledge that the app doesn't seem to be functional at the moment and if you buy this simply for the charging docking station and speakers then I don't think you'd have too many concerns.
As a rating I think 4 stars is fair, it's not perfect as discussed in this review but it's still an impressive system that is well worth the money, thanks for reading my review.
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Panasonic SC-HC30DBEBS DAB Micro System with iPod Dock
by 2night
Space is at a premium in my house, well that's being a bit harsh, space is at a premium in my house because of all of my stuff. It's for that reason alone that I went for this particular design of hi fi.
This is the SC-HC30DBEBS by the well know name of Panasonic. The big clumsy name is in stark contrast to this sleek and stylish ... machine. It's feature packed with such things as AM FM radio and the ultra modern DAB radio, CD and an IPod docking station. The silver sliding door that covers both the CD and the iPod is very cool and slides smoothly. The selection of DAB stations is staggering and the quality of the sound compared to the standard radio is fantastic. The option of being able to store my favourite channels is a must as trying to scroll through the endless amounts of channels every time I wanted to listen to a particular show would drive me mad. Unlike lots of other DAB radios this has a clever function that allows me to store my favourite channels alphabetically.
Being able to just pop my iPod in to the front of the machine means that I don't have to keep popping one CD in then out and another one in just to hear two different songs by two different artists. With my iPod I can have all my music on one device and the sound is great through the systems speakers. It's got quite a punch, clear vocals and strong base are instantly evident. Even at high levels there is no distortion, however the unit does make a slight humming noise that can be heard when music or the radio is played at very low volume. The remote also works to flick through the iPod tracks and adjust the volume and so forth. The main control buttons are at the top of the unit and it's here that I select either CD or iPod.
The machine stands nicely on a sleek pedestal. This adds nothing to the overall size of the unit and blends in beautifully with the over all design. The remote control works well, the buttons are not too close together like they can be on small remote controls. Also it has a good range, there is nothing more frustrating than a remote that you have to stand up and walk over to the machine to try and make it work. As crazy as it sounds a lot of players out on the market have terrible remotes and it's something worth trying out in store before you buy as it's not covered in the guarantee policy as a fault.
This is a great buy if you're in the Market for a new CD player, iPod dock or DAB radio. It has Looks, sound, versatility and compared to more inferrer models it's good value for money.
Thanks for reading :0) 2night.
This can purchased online at :
Amazon.co.uk
For £162.99 + shipping
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