Customer Reviews

Banshee Audio 5.0 Surround Sound Speaker System for iPods/MP3 Players (Black)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great........

I saw the Banshee on the cover of Popular Science and checked the Banshee website before ordering it from Radio Shack by mail. ($99.99 on sale + free shipping)

It's a great sounding unit for it's size and in its price class. Definitely superior to the ihome dock and the smaller JBL dock. There is a decent amount of bass and the right side is ported for airflow.

The Banshee dock is just a stand for the ipod, mp3 player, PSP you'll hook up and there is no remote. You may just not use the dock depending on the fit of what you're hooking up.

The unit has 3 buttons on top, volume up, down, and the middle round button is a fade in/out ON button that take the volume off or on in about 2 seconds. There is a jack in the back to connect a powered subwoofer which Banshee indicates they will sell in the near future.

But........

It is NOT shielded for use around a television as I found out when hooking it up under a 30' Phillips set and watching the picture get all fuzzy.

I don't get any surround effect, (or much stereo effect, either) but it plays loud for its size and fills a small room with sound.

It is NOT a portable. There is no battery power for this unit, it has to have a 120 volt AC source. If you need mobility, a boombox with auxillary input would be your choice.

Overall, it's a great value for its size and price, and I would recommend it.

If you're looking for a satisfying compact speaker for your ipod or other mp3 device (I use an Archos pocket jukebox myself), look no farther. Or rather, listen no farther, because this amazing little Banshee will blow you away with the amount of clean undistorted sound it puts out, including respectable bass plus a surprising surround sound effect. Until I encountered the Banshee, my favorite portable speakers were the Virgin Boomtube EX and Bose Soundmates, or whatever they call their little gray ported speakers. What's cool about the Banshee is that it sounds as good as those while throwing in a surround sound field all in one convenient package. The down side -- no battery power, plus a very heavy power brick. But it's easy to forgive this little speaker when you hear your favorite sounds blasting out of it with incredible fidelity. The company says they will be offering a subwoofer later, but this little guy does remarkably well without it. The Banshee is the ideal solution where you want music but don't have the space or time to set up a fancy stereo, i.e. in the kitchen, bathroom, garage, patio, dorm room, office, etc.

For a small black box, it blows my mind and ears away. I plugged it into my iPod at 60% volume and the house was filled with amazing crystal clear sound. I recommend everyone to buy this product. I love it so much that I have bought two banshees and placed them in my basement and in my inlaw suite. When I played the banshee in my in law suite, it not only filled the 800 sqft suite but continued into the rest of the house making it seem that I have a my iPod hooked up to a JBL or Bose 5.1 sound system. Also, my cousin has a bose sound dock, and my sister has an iHome the banshee system beats both systems without even breaking a sweat.
I love the Banshee and recommend everyone to buy one.

Dear All:

I have purchased one Banshee for myself and one for my brother. All I can say is that they sound great. Yes they do not charge but it appears that this company put their money into the speakers and not iPod charging. If you want great sound buy this product. I think some of the other reviewers who complained about popping did not read the directions about not placing the item near certain types of electronics.

I returned my Banshee stereo. It sure was loud, however the music seemed to wave in and out. You cannot charge your iPOD either. There is no remote. There is no battery compartment - not portable at all. There are many other choices for less price. Save your money and look for something else.

These sound great and look great, the constant complaint i read is that they don't have a dock.. Obviously the people at Jensen (the manufacturer), listened, and they've come out w/ two models that have a charging dock. I dont' know why they don't use the Jensen name more, because it gives a little peace of mind to buy a Jensen product over a Banshee product.
I'm ordering the smaller model w/ built in dock from [...] my local grocery store, they have the best price i've seen.

The only reason why I bought this was because i got it off a daily deal site(I won't say which one) for $20 with $2 shipping. I was like hey $150...I'm getting them for $22. How could I pass up that kind of deal? The only downside I was expecting was that the iPod cradle wasn't a dock. But I was willing to look past that since my Logitech mm28 just connects to the earphone jack(I'll be comparing some of this to my mm28). Anyway, after anxiously waiting for my package for a week, I rip the HUGE box open and I see this shiny little piece of equipment. I plug her in and I hate that I can't tell if it's on or off without sound coming out. But I get her on and get it to a medium volume. Something sounds wrong. I hear like a warbling sound for most songs that I play. I listen to many different types of music where bass and treble and dynamics vary. I try different audio sources. I try sitting and standing at different positions and different distances. No help. Listening at anything near loud volumes...don't get your hopes up. My mm28's play at much louder volumes with much better treble and bass production. Mind you that the mm28's retail around $40 and easily found around $20ish. These banshee speakers also don't have battery operation. Instead, you get a brick of a power supply. The silly look wouldn't bother me if it served as a design to give me the awesome sound that it supposedly should. I don't even think it was worth my $22. Sorry Banshee.

Pros:
»Included cradles
»Style (if it's your thing)

Cons:
»Weird warbling effect
»Volume handle
»Bass reproduction
»Horrible value
»Bulky

it should be called "snap, crackle, pop". I'm told the constant crackling sounds with certain "tones" is interference from other devices. So this would be great if you lived in a home without anything electronic running near it. And I could totally be wrong, but I've lived in two homes with this thing and both places it makes the terrible crackling sound. Not only that, but you can't adjust anything. . it has to be plugged in and there's no recharge capability for your Mp3 player. Save your money and look elsewhere, in my humble opinion.

I completely agree with some of the prior negative reviews. This system does snap, crackle and pop (and it has nothing to do with other electronics) unless you are talking about anything else plugged in. With significant treble in the music you will hear the system pop, so most rock is immediately out. Gaming wise, I haven't had any problem with the midi reproduction.
Overall, however, there is a wavy output which I find rather annoying. I am not an audiophile by any stretch; but I do notice a surge in music as I listen to my iPods playback. This may have to do with the AC current from the bulky adapter. Why not supply a direct current?? It pretty much steps down your 110VAC to 12 VAC. That is why some say it is not too portable. Sitting on the desktop, it looks pretty good, I think. Hope this helps