Which Ipod dock, speakers, alarm clock radio is best?

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h17esh

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Hi ive recently decided to buy myself an ipod docking station with speakers, but as i need an alarm clock aswell, i thought i might go for a product which has it all in. the products im looking at are:

ihome ih5 : http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/ihome-ih5-docking-stereo-clock-radio-ipod/

Gear 4 - houseparty 24/7 : http://www.gear4.com/product_detail.php?products_id=208

Gear 4 - housepart III : http://www.gear4.com/product_detail.php?products_id=297
(not sure if this has an alarm clock - but like the look of it. Also fairly new so cant find reviews or anywhere to buy it)

iHome IH7 : http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/ihome-ih7-dual-alarm-clock-for-your-ipod/
(reviewd by ilounge)

ILuv i277BLK : http://www.i-luv.com/iLuv/product_info.php?cPath=68&products_id=307

Was just wandering if these were quite good? which one would anyone recommend? Any known problems? anything would be much appreciated.

I also wandered generally what the sound quality on ipod alarm clock radios compares to just dedicated ipod speakers? Is there a lot of difference? Would i be compromising on sound quite a bit buy going for a ipod alarm clock radio?

As i said any opinions/comments welcome.

thanks in advance.
 
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xterra

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I would go with the ihome iH5 or iH7. I have the ihome iH5 and love it. I believe that the iH5 is the original ipod alarm clock radio dock, which set the standards for all other alarm clock radio docks.
 

Macco

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I think it would be wise to find one that has a usb port for Firmware updates, to fix problems the iPod updates create.
 

h17esh

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thanks for your comments. yes it is wise to find one with it.

any other comments on the actual speakers ive stated?

cheers
 

h17esh

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ih 5 looks very appealing but not sure about the look of it.... whats the sound like? is it quite boxy or decent?

has anyone had a look at the gear4 speakers, apparanetly sound is really good...

does any of these have bluetooth?
 

kurtisb

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The IH5 sounds like a clock radio, not a sound system. If you buy one, be careful inserting the iPod. The connector can be easily damaged with just a little sideways push.
 
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Please do not cross or double post in the forums. Continue to use this thread for any other questions about this subject.
 

tmgolf

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I personally love the Tivoli Audio iYiYi (http://tinyurl.com/ykqjfj). Being in the audio industry myself, I would have to respectfully disagree with the part of the ilounge review stating that the audio quality is a step below competiting models. I find the sound from the iYiYi very well balanced throughout the audio spectrum and believe that you will be quite pleased with it. The iYiYi has a unique name and unique shape and I am convinced that you will love everything about the iYiYi that would be important. The most important thing about any device that you will be placing in the bedroom is that if married, your wife finds the unit easy to operate. Speaking from experience, I can say that my wife finds the iYiYi easy to use and easy to set the alarm.

Hope this helps in some way!

~Brian
 

McBrew

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A warning for anyone with a 2nd gen Nano thinking about an iH7:

I bought an iH7 and took it home. I popped in the Nano adapter that came with my Nano, and couldn't get the Nano to fit! I took it back, figuring that the dock connector on the iH7 was defective. I exchanged it, but the Best Buy clerk let me open it and try it out after I told him what happened with the first one. He promised me that it would work, because it was the Universal Dock. Well, it still wouldn't work! The clerk tried it, and couldn't get it to work either. It simply would not fit. If you take the Nano adapter out, it will fit and work fine, but you don't get the support of the custom Nano adapter. Before anyone asks, YES, I was using the rounded 2nd gen Nano dock adapter, not the 1st gen square edge one.

I ended up buying a Memorex iWake, which looks better than the iH7, anyway.

In anticipation of an upcoming sailing/diving trip to the Caribbean, I bought a Tivoli iSongBook today. I am LOVING it so far! If only it had two alarm times, it would take over for my iWake. I cannot recommend the iSongBook enough. Yes, it is expensive, but it sounds very good and had more features than many other ~$300 system (good radio, good remote, battery power, detachable stereo speaker, etc).

By the way, the same Universal Dock adapter that would NOT work with either iH7 that I tried works just fine with the iWake and the iSongBook. There is something WRONG with the iH7 that makes it not match up to 2nd gen Nanos.
 

mjmoonwalker

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Well, now there's an iH8 update so it should fit the nano a bit better.

I like the iHome because it can work as speakers and as an alarm clock - that's the beauty of it. Now with the new reincarnation of the iH5, you can have dual alarms, radio presets, and lots more. I should have waited for a newer version! :p

But seriously, the iHome is a great product - great speakers, awesome alarm, compatible with most or all iPod models, etc.
 

McBrew

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As I mentioned, I ended up getting an iWake, right after Christmas. I really like it as an alarm clock. I think it looks a lot better than the iHome models. The dock actually works with Nanos, and it sounds okay, too. It is no replacement for a $300 speaker system, but for an alarm clock radio it sounds pretty decent.

I only have three complaints: 1) FM reception is mediocre at best. No biggie for me, as I listen to a Tivoli PAL radio in the morning. 2) There is a Daylight Saving Time switch on the back which is supposed to add or subtract 1 hour depending on which way you switch it. I thought this was pretty cool, but I recently found out that there is a flaw. The switch not only adds (or subtracts) an hour from the time-of-day, but also to both alarm times. Oops! They overlooked that little error. In other words, to correct for Daylight Saving Time, you have to actually change the time manually, like most clocks. 3) Like many other reviews have said, the backlight is really bright, even on the "dim" setting. I can make shadow puppets on the wall at night. It is not bad when turned a bit to the side, but I am thinking of getting a little piece of window tint film and sticking it on there.

Other than that, I love the sleep timer (adds 10 minutes every time you hit the snooze button), dual alarm feature (I'm single, but I use ut for weekday/weekend alarms), gentle progressive volume alarms (instead of jolting you awake in the morning), and the big snooze button (I'll probably wear it out before too long).
 

N e s s

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I have the iHome iH6, it's basically the iH5 with remote and extra features or the iH7 minus the extra speaker. I got it for $90 CAD on Boxing Day, so I'm content with it. Only gripe is the display is too small and although there are about 7 dimmer settings, it's either too bright in the dark, or vice versa.
 

jp42

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I have an Xtreme Mac Luna - and it's great. A step above iHome, in my opinion.
 

CJO

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N e s s said:
I have the iHome iH6, it's basically the iH5 with remote and extra features or the iH7 minus the extra speaker. I got it for $90 CAD on Boxing Day, so I'm content with it. Only gripe is the display is too small and although there are about 7 dimmer settings, it's either too bright in the dark, or vice versa.
Boy, I picked one up yesterday and I thought that the display was HUGE! To each his own. Haven't really had a problem with the brightness of the display either, though I wish it autodimmed when it was dark.

CJ
 

pohatu771

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My sister uses iHome2Go... it's older, so many stores have it reduced now (hers was $50). It's a pretty nice system. It comes in black or silver, and includes inserts for different iPods. They aren't Apple Universal Dock inserts, though... It is old enough that the 2G iPod nano hadn't been introduced, and doesn't fit into the 1G nano adapter... but it stands straight up, so it's not too neccessary. It also includes an iPod shuffle (1G) USB port, but I don't know if it works for music or just charging. There is a line-in port.
 
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