iPod Hi-Fi Boom Box
Apple iPod Hi-Fi - Boom Box Announced
Apple announced their latest addition to their iPod range - the iPod Hi-Fi. Marketed as "Home stereo. Reinvented." by Apple, although some of us might disagree.
Hi-Fi or Lo-Fi?
Apple have made a big deal about the audio quality of the iPod Hi-Fi. I haven't even heard one yet, so it really is unfair to comment, but I will anyway. I spent a very horrible time in Apple's Regent Street store recently. What struck me was how shabby the shop was. I know it is extremely popular shop, but I suspect they could afford a cleaner. Sue and I were followed around the shop by 3 burly Apple bouncers which did not help with the retail experience either. I tried out all the iPod Boom Box's on display. The only one that I thought sounded good was the Bose SoundDock Digital Music System. Not amazing, by any stretch of the imagination, but good for it's form factor - but at a price. Having said that the London Apple Store is not great from an acoustic point of view either, which astounds me as music is such a large part of Apple's business.
Woofers and Tweeters, Sir?
The iPod Hi-Fi looks very much like the centre channel of a home cinema system. It consists of a 130-mm (5 inch) "sub-woofer" which does not look earth shattering from a bass point of view, and 2 x 80-mm (3 inch) "wide-range" speakers. Apple describe the iPod Hi-Fi as "Introducing the stereo for the new century. With several patents pending, iPod Hi-Fi features innovative acoustic design wrapped inside an astounding form factor. And as your ears will attest, good things really do come in small packages." So Apple could well have pulled off something special from an acoustic point of view. I suspect that the stereo separation will be quite poor however.
Portability
The iPod Hi-Fi is a one piece unit and has built in carrying handles, but I wouldn't call it portable. It will run off 6 D Batteries, but I wouldn't fancy walking around with this on my shoulder. I don't think the iPod dock idea is really suited for this purpose either, neither does B&Massa "The ipod dock is an appalling piece of design for a device intended to be semi-portable, and looks like an erect, rectangular penis sticking out of a giant, swollen, cuboid scrotum."
It produces a healthy maximum peak sound pressure level of 108 dB at 1 m (AC) or 102 dB at 1 m on battery power. It will be interesting to see how well this device performs in real life though.
What's in the box?
- iPod Hi-Fi and removable grille
- Apple Remote
- 10 iPod Universal Dock Adapters
- AC power cord
- Product documentation and user guide
What should have been in the box...
- Built in Airport Airtunes receiver
- A built in radio preferably DAB - you can't use the iPod Radio Remote using the Hi-Fi dock!
iPod Hi-Fi Conclusion
The iPod Hi-Fi is not a product I was expecting from Apple. Neither was the iPod Radio. It has an interesting design but I think it is flawed in several areas. It is incredibly expensive and offers nothing truly remarkable. We will have to see if it's sound quality makes up for any other short-falls though. I like the analogue/digital aux input, the small form factor, but for this price it should have had a DAB radio and a built in Air Tunes reciever.
2 Comments:
The option of built in AirTunes would have made this a much bigger deal as far as I'm concerned - especially if the remote could control iTunes (huge oversight with Airport Express).
For god's sake - how long has the Airport Express been around? And still no remote included. It's as if Apple has had a severe episode of amnesia. They get the ball rolling with the Airport Express, then forget it exists and forget to release the 'killer sequel'. By now built in IR sensor and remote included should be OLD NEWS, and we should be looking forward to newer versions with video outputs so we can control Front Row wirelessly via our TV's. Come on Apple, you're supposed to be an innovator - yet there are BLATANTLY OBVIOUS product opportunities, that would not be difficult to product with existing technology, that you haven't bothered to make.
I have iPod Hi-Fi, and after hearing the sounds of others( almost all brands) this is the best one available. The sound is really solid. I am really impressed with the clearity. the design is flawless, neat and compact. I have used it in both my home and office, never disappointed . Would recommend other to get it. At this moment its the best sound quality available. If money is no issue!!
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