Customer Reviews

Eton Sound 50 Speaker System for iPod (Astro Black)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own the White Eton Sound 50 - it was miraculously cheap for the supposed quality and on the overwhelming positive response of user reviews and of the CNET editor review. However, I found that this speaker system/dock is not as good as it's made out to be. For the price, it may be a good value on an iPod dock, but I'd much rather get a better 2.1 speaker system instead.

Pros:
* Pretty good sound at lower levels.
* Remote is one the best I've seen.
* Line in is useful.
* Great for use in a smaller room.
* Price is right. Got it for fifty under list price with a
* Small profile.

Cons:
* Sound is horrible at higher levels - heavy distortion.
* The front has BRIGHT, flashing lights that cannot be dimmed or turned off. Very annoying, and will not "match" colored iPods, such as the nanos and minis.
* Even at somewhat low levels, sound is a little muffled - not very rich.
* Doesn't look as sleek as the much more expensive Bose SoundDock.
* No audio output/headphone jack. Not a problem for larger iPods, but with iPod nanos that have the headphone jack on the bottom, then you can't charge the iPod in your dock and listen to it through headphones.

If you're looking for a value iPod dock, then this is a pretty good option. The better JBL, Altec Lansing, and Bose systems may be better, but are priced in the triple digits. Also, I'd prefer a speaker with smaller sound but less distortion. The distortion is simply horrible. If you want other features besides that of a dock/charger, then you might want to get an iHome or similar product, which will have a clock, alarm, and radio.

Conditionally recommended.

I am very pleased with this system. My daughter has a different type, and it just doesn't compare.

The sound quality is much higher than anyone at the office would have thought. I have been asked several times as to whether the volume is turned up all the way. Then I hit the remote and bring it up to 1/2 volume, and they are blown away!

I would recommend this to anyone. I have a Nano, but my daughter's video iPod works just as well.

Have wanted a system like this since I first saw the Bose Sound Dock last fall, but didn't want to spend $300. This one is 1/3 the price, smaller, and has great sound. Eight sound levels, small footprint. I'm using it in my office and I keep it on the lowest sound level -- it will really belt out the sound if you crank it up. Several office mates ready to order their own. The remote is compact as well, and it's worked well so far. Overall, I love the product. The operation manual is a bit light on information, but most product manuals seem to be going that route today, so I can't really complain. If you want an inexpensive, quality speaker system for your iPod (I'm using a 40Gb -- the manual claims it works with 3rd & 4th Generation iPods, the iPod mini, iPod photo, iPod U2, iPod nano and 5th Generation), try this.

Sound quality is excellent although i have not really blasted it. Best system for the money. Easy to operate & recharges when hooked up.

Received my Eton Sound 50 for my iPod last week. Love the remote control! Great to MUTE when the phone rings! Sound is excellent even when I "cranked" it up...

Just bought a 2nd one! :-)

The unit sounds okay. Like some other reviewers, I heard some sound distortion at the higher volumes when using the iPod function. Strangely, when I used the audio jack with the iPod shuffle, there didn't seem to be as much distortion.

My biggest complaint is more with Amazon's description than with the unit itself. It DOES NOT have the ability to use batteries. It is AC Power ONLY! That was a sizable role in us choosing to get this unit and I was extremely disappointed that this was the case. The review on CNET pointed this out, but somehow I missed this. I have contacted Amazon about this and they said that since they cannot verify, they will not change the description. If this is a must for you, look elsewhere.

There is a lot of sound that comes out of this unit. I definitely wouldn't use this as your primary iPod speaker system, they are GREAT for portability. I love the fact that they are easy to move around especially since I tote them around from room to room as I clean the house.

Overall, the unit is okay. I do wish that when you use the iPod adapter, there would be less sound distortion. The audio jack does sound good though. I would recommend this unit if you want something that sounds pretty good and is a decent price. I had high hopes, and was disappointed. I really do wish that Amazon would correct the description about the power sources. I would have given it 4 stars if this was correct.

Keep in mind, this review is comparing this unit to lower end units, not $100 + units. Some of the other reviewers gave it low marks by comparing it to Bose and other high end systems.

I got this for sale (on Amazon) for $70 and it was worth every penny. These speakers can play very loud - I only got half way up the volume before it was too loud for me but, the good new is, there wasn't much sound distortion at that point. You can still hear details in the music when the volume is low and the speakers never sound tinny to me. Set up and operation is simple and intuitive. 5.5 generation ipods (like mine) need the dock that came with the pod, but that's minor irritation - more than made up for by the quality.

This is a perfect speaker system for the ipod. The sound is loud and when it's in use it has a small pretty blue light. The remote is nice too. Only could have been improved by being portable with batteries. The design is very stylish.

I own the White Eton Sound 50 - it was miraculously cheap for the supposed quality and on the overwhelming positive response of user reviews and of the CNET editor review. However, I found that this speaker system/dock is not as good as it's made out to be. For the price, it may be a good value on an iPod dock, but I'd much rather get a better 2.1 speaker system instead. Note: I posted the same review on the white Eton Sound 50 page, but I noticed that the black one is viewed more. Egoism kicks in.

Pros:
* Pretty good sound at lower levels.
* Remote is one the best I've seen.
* Line in is useful.
* Great for use in a smaller room.
* Price is right. Got it for fifty under list price with a
* Small profile.

Cons:
* Sound is horrible at higher levels - heavy distortion.
* The front has BRIGHT, flashing lights that cannot be dimmed or turned off. Very annoying, and will not "match" colored iPods, such as the nanos and minis.
* Even at somewhat low levels, sound is a little muffled - not very rich.
* Doesn't look as sleek as the much more expensive Bose SoundDock.
* No audio output/headphone jack. Not a problem for larger iPods, but with iPod nanos that have the headphone jack on the bottom, then you can't charge the iPod in your dock and listen to it through headphones.

If you're looking for a value iPod dock, then this is a pretty good option. The better JBL, Altec Lansing, and Bose systems may be better, but are priced in the triple digits. Also, I'd prefer a speaker with smaller sound but less distortion. The distortion is simply horrible. If you want other features besides that of a dock/charger, then you might want to get an iHome or similar product, which will have a clock, alarm, and radio.

Conditionally recommended.

I bought this ipod docking station for an outdoor party I was having. I wanted to play my ipod on shuffle for a mix of songs. This little docking station has great sound (even at high volume), is easy to use, and the remote works great. For a small piece of equipment, I was very pleasantly surprised by the output of great sound and bass! I did have to replace the dead battery in the remote when I received it. At first, I thought maybe something was wrong with it, but when I called the company about it, they were very friendly and helpful and I talked to real-live people--from the person who answered the phone to the person who answered my questions. And, the operator kept coming back to tell me that I was next in line to talk to someone. Very unusual. Great customer service. I highly recommend this item.