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Bose's iPod SoundDock Reviewed
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Nov 03, 2004 07:09 PM
from the so-your-pony-can-only-do-one-trick dept.
from the so-your-pony-can-only-do-one-trick dept.
LabRat007 writes "Playlist has a review of the Bose SoundDock, the desktop speaker system for the iPod that Bose has lately been promoting the holy hell out of. The long and the short is that it sounds great--better than any other iPod-specific speaker system--but for $300 is lacking in many features even cheaper setups have, like the ability to actually use the SoundDock as a syncing dock. Oh, and it has no line-in, so you can't use the SoundDock as output for anything else, like a PC or laptop, for instance." It's not quite as cute, but I like my Cambridge Soundworks Model 88 (now superseded by the Model 730) as a laptop loudspeaker system.
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In the professional audio world (Score:4, Informative)
Most of what you are paying for when buying Bose is the marketing.
Not quite as bad as Monster Cable, but close.
Re:In the professional audio world (Score:2)
Re:In the professional audio world (Score:3, Informative)
In home audio... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:In the professional audio world (Score:5, Informative)
> Most of what you are paying for when buying Bose is the marketing.
Hehe. What's that tagline that us audiophiles use:Gee, I wonder why they NEVER give tech specs on any of their speakers. Not anything fancy like SN ratio, but even the BASIC info such as frequency range! Maybe because they are CRAP and OVER_RATED speakers.
See the speaker forum [avsforum.com]forum at avsforum [avsforum.com] if you want MULTIPLE confirmations on how bad they sound.
Monster cable isn't THAT bad.... the rule of thumb is to spend 10% of your Home Theater / Speaker cost on cables... so MC is'n't that over-inflated. It's not great, but it's better that Rat Shack.
BTW, if anyone is serious about GOOD video cable quality, check out the Nordost [nordost.com] line.
Peace
--
While killing all the lawyers would make many people EXCEEDINGLY HAPPY (myself included)
it would NOT _SOLVE_ the problem -- because the problem is the face in the mirror.
If you don't like the laws, then DO something about it, or shut up,
because simply bitching accomplishes absolutely nothing.
Parent
Re:In the professional audio world (Score:3, Informative)
Only if you're also serious about paying $2,000-4,000 per meter!
It's called mid-range... (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't take exception to that but I do have a problem with super-audiophiles like yourself trying to give advice to regul
Re:It's called mid-range... (Score:5, Informative)
As a general rule, for speaker cables, bigger is better. The bigger the cable, the greater the distance at which you can drive a given load without a voltage drop. Because voltage drop causes a disproportionately large drop in the lower frequencies, the smaller the cable, the thinner the sound. The difference between 10-12 AWG and 18-24 AWG is noticeable over a sufficient distance.
Monster cable comes in at 14 AWG, which is heavier than average for a speaker cable, so I'm not surprised if someone can tell a difference between that and a smaller cable. That said, the audible difference is likely the gauge, not the construction.
Some related reading material [trueaudio.com]....
Frankly, if you're measuring the distortion of a speaker cable, you have way too much money and should give me some of it. :-)
Parent
Re:It's called mid-range... (Score:3, Informative)
What is the most expensive speakers or video system you have actually spent some time with??
Once you've heard & seen a GOOD system, then you know where the priorities need to
Re:In the professional audio world (Score:3, Informative)
Whose rule of thumb is that? So if my amp costs $2000,
Bose -- litigious bastards? (Score:3)
isn't it kind of wasteful? (Score:5, Insightful)
isn't it a bit of a waste to spend to much on a set of speakers almost in vain to reproduced already degraded music...? why not buy a simple stereo and play the original CD on it if you really needed good sound quality?
i guess there's the convenience factor... but for $300, i'd probably just buy a very large HD, rip music in lossless formats and use Airport Express to stream those to an existing nice set of speakers?
Re:isn't it kind of wasteful? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:isn't it kind of wasteful? (Score:4, Informative)
It's a bit of a waste to spend money on Bose equipment. Usually audiophiles are stuck up pontificating snobs, but on Bose, they're right- Bose's technique is to use cheaply made speakers and EQ the hell out of them. Why make a $20 driver, when you can buy a $2 driver and for 50 cents of electronics, make it boom and squeak enough to fool a casual listener?
Buy a set of decent headphones like Grado's SR-60s, or pick up some CSW speakers on clearance. The older brands made by Henry Kloss's companies prior to CSW are often a steal as well, though you'll need an amp of course.
Parent
Re:isn't it kind of wasteful? (Score:4, Interesting)
So playing compressed music through an iPod and speakers with quality A is going to sound better than an original CD through speakers with quality B, if A > B.
Of course, if you use a crappy amplifier, loose wires, badly compressed material etc. all bets are off.
Parent
For $100 (Score:5, Informative)
In a similar vein (ot) (Score:2)
Roland DM-20s
Roland DA-30s
Event TR8s
KRK RP5s, 6s or 8s
Behringer B2030As
I know the Mackie HRx24s are the "answer", but the question is do I have > $1000 to spend on a pair, or between $150-$300.
I really am looking
Re:In a similar vein (ot) (Score:3, Informative)
JBL OnStage (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:JBL OnStage (vs. inMotion) (Score:3, Insightful)
Looks familiar (Score:3, Informative)
Cambridge Bose (Score:3, Informative)
(http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/categ
for $300 that has a cd player that can also play mp3 cds.
Bose is the Microsoft of the audio world (Score:3)
Re:Bose is the Microsoft of the audio world (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, when it comes to this particular product, I think Bose is relying on something pretty specific (though you might still call it "marketi
better review on ipodlounge (Score:3, Informative)