Customer Reviews

Bose Sounddock Portable Black Digital Music System for the iPod

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love my Bose Sounddock. For this reason, I ran to the Bose store to check out the new portable sound dock with iPod in hand. I currently use my Sounddock in different rooms when cleaning/working out/cooking/etc. So it would be such a help to have a Sounddock that was more portable, particularly when moving room to room cleaning and for when I want to work outside this spring.

But I was rather disappointed. It's simply the old Sounddock with 'cubby' to put your hand (I never understood why there wasn't way to conveniently pick up the old Sounddock) and the dock swivels in. That's it. AND for that, it's $100 more. And it's not durable. When I think 'portable', I think it means something that one can take out to a park or when camping. I wouldn't take this camping...especially since it's $400.

It's great that Bose protected the most vulnerable part of the Sounddock (the dock), but I feel like it did nothing to protect the circuitry. Would this survive a drop? I don't think so. But Bose still makes the best iPod dock there is. The sound is second to none.

The Sound Dock definitely fills a niche. It allows you to hook up that Ipod without tying up any other sound devices... and it sounds awesome!! To get that sound takes a good bit of size and weight... I don't think their is much chance at any further trade-off, without spending a LOT more money.

The sound is typical Bose, rich, deep, vibrant, etc... I would be careful with the "portable" tag, because of the weight, but if you really need to, you could take it with you. No different than last decade's "Boom Box".

I use mine at work, because I really like the sound and it is low impact (just set up on the corner of my desk). I plug the Ipod in when I get to work and I've got podcasts, tunes, etc... all day long!

I suppose I could live without it, or have bought a cord to play into my old cd player, but for the money, I found this to be the most elegant and low profile solution. I highly recommend!!

All the best,

Jay

Bose doesn't always have the best in sound but this qualifies as the the best. Simple to use with a great sound.

I was compelled to return the SoundDock after 2 days, as this portable version does not yet come equipped with magnetic shielding for the speakers, thus the 3G reception your iPhone receives, causes interference to the Bose unit, and will always result in overpowering & loud, intermittent (once every several minutes or so) 'popping' noises. This is no way to enjoy an otherwise perfect device.

If you want to successfully use a Bose SoundDock and only have an iPhone 3G, you can either:

- use the portable version via the aux input, and do not dock it (but that's no fun, since you cannot charge the device while playing)

- use the non-portable version (Series II for example) and dock the iPhone as it was intended (but then you're back to square-one with having to plug in your Bose unit)

- or wait, until who knows when, for an updated portable version to be released, equipped with the necessary magnetic shielding for the speakers

NOTE: It may have been a unique issue to my iPhone 3G, but even after turning off my 3G radio (which shouldn't have to be necessary), I still had popping issues, just less frequently.

This is actually my second SoundDock. I purchased the first one (the non-portable version) in May 2005 and it worked perfectly for a little over 2 years. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of inserting an old iPod that had suffered water damage rather than my new iPod. The result was that the sound became tinny and muted. Knowing that it was my fault and that the warrantee was probably up I brought it back to the store fully expecting to pay to have it repaired or to receive a replacement. To my surprise, the sales associate offered to exchange it, no questions asked, before I even had a chance to explain what had happened. I was given two options. For no charge I could swap out the damaged version for brand new (not refurbished) version of the same sound dock or I could opt to get the Portable and only pay the difference. Since I routinely move my SoundDock from room to room I opted for the latter. Ever since I have been just as satisfied as I was with the original.

The most important thing for me in buying this SoundDock was the sound. I wanted something that would be powerful and rich sounding and do my music collection justice. This for me perfectly fits the bill. It is equally good at filling the room with rich sound as it is with providing background music. I am sure my musician boyfriend, whose ear is much more trained than mine, could find some way to deem the quality imperfect, but as an average consumer I am more than satisfied. I will say though that although I was told that the sound quality would be an upgrade from the original I don't really notice it sounding any different.

Sound quality aside, there are many things I appreciate about this product. I love that it is so lightweight at only 5 lbs because I actually take advantage of its portability. It is very easy to carry around and I never worry that I will drop it. The battery life is also great. I can easily listen to a few hours of music without needing to recharge it. The product also uses very little power when not in use so you don't have to worry about depleting the battery if you leave it unplugged for several days without using it.

I also find the style to be sleek and minimalistic. Whether I have it in my bedroom, living room or kitchen it always looks great.

Overall, this is a great product. The price tag can seem like a lot to swallow but the sound quality is wonderful and the customer service even better. To me the price is worth it just knowing that if any issues arise there is a great company behind the product willing to resolve them. I think we all know how rare that is in today's society. If you don't think you'll be using it in different rooms of the house the non-portable version will be more than sufficient for your needs. However, if you are using it in different rooms it's well worth the extra $100 for the convenience factor.

Update: I recently purchased an iPhone 3G and was pleasantly surprised to find that this SoundDock is compatable with my new phone as well. Sound quality is great and you can put the phone on "airplane mode" when in the dock if desired to reduce interference.

The Bose SoundDock portable is a very nice niche product.
Here in Florida we spend a lot of time at the Pool.
By law, there isn't a lot of AC power available at a swimming pool so portable audio devices are a must.
The problem has been, that no Radio station plays my songs and only my songs. ;)
And only one person can listen to a portable device with headphones.
CDs just don't get it. Too few songs per CD and a real PITA if you are going to put a couple of thousand songs
down on CDs.
So it boils down to MP3 players.
I have an iPod....but any MP3 player will play through this amp/speakers.
The iPod has the added advantage of being controlled by the Remote Control that comes with the unit, and it
may sound a little better since the only way to hook a foreign MP3 player is to connect the headphone out to the Aux input on the SoundDock.
Whereas a real iPod will connect via the data plug as a real line in.


This was a good move by Bose. They took their successful SoundDock II and redesigned it with a Hefty Li-on battery.
This thing will play at medium volume for 4 or 5 hours. (And BTW it is recharging the iPod battery during this time....)
More than a enough time to get burnt to a crisp. ;)
More than enough for me, I rarely spend more than a couple of hours at the pool.
It will play longer than that at full volume which is very loud, and has little to no distortion.....as long as there is no distortion on the source audio.

The remote is handy, as normally the SoundDock is on one of the tables and I am stretched out on a Chaise Lounge.

The power is more than adequate.
I always ask if the sound bothers anyone, but invariably the Bose sounds so much better than the usual array of AM/FM battery powered radios that most
folks ask me to turn it UP!

I like Bose. They build answers to problems, not audiophile pieces.
You can hook up an iPod to a $10,000 stereo and it won't sound much better.
A stereo is only as good as the source, and MP3 players, while great for portable sound, are NOT audiophile devices.
Given that, Bose has done an excellent job of delivering strong, balanced, pleasant sound on a truly PORTABLE device.


Why not 5 stars?
Too Expensive for some people.

I recommend this unit. I think it is the best portable answer to iPod sound.

I was a little worried about spending so much money on this ipod sounddock. It sounds great and the battery lasts quite a while. I've gotten about 10 hours of play time with it at a medium volume. It sounds terrific and is very portable. I am really stoked to have this unit. I use it out in the garden, around the house, and especially for camping.

If you can afford it, pick this one up.

I had two "old"sound docks from AMEX rewards. AMEX had a super sale and I got the portable plus the carrying case. The sound is fantastic. I don't think it is reasonable to expect it to be like an IPod with earphones. My wife and I take it when we travel and listen to books we load on the IPod. The new carrying case is slim and counts as a personal item on airlines.

I use this all of the time and the sound is what I expect from a Bose product....Rich and Bold. It is not fussy or hard to use. I love this product and I highly recommend it. It is pricey but definitely, definitely worth it.

Sound is outstanding. Very portable. Pricey yes. However, much better sound than similar products at a lower price point.