Customer Reviews

JBL On Stage Micro - Portable speakers with digital player dock for iPod - 60 Watt (total) - black

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

i'd been researching units of this type for travel. i intially bought (based on the reviews) an Altec Lansing unit (the inMotion) which was a big disappointment (a horribly flimsy plastic "folding" device that looked "iffy" from the start and ultimately imploded after only 30 total minutes of use). after returning the inMotion, i looked for a replacement. the JBL OnStage Micro caught my eye and (knowing that JBL has a very good reputation in the audio market) i bought it "sight unseen". what a good decision it was! the Micro is VERY compact but is EXTREMELY sturdy (made of metal and durable plastic). it comes with a variety of iPod adapters, a remote control, a power supply AND a nice travel bag (which fits and protects all the Micro necessities perfectly...including "seperated areas" for the remote and the power supply). the sound is very clear and articulate. Bass?? how can anyone expect ANY device of this size to have "booming" bass? can you HEAR bass guitars and drums? YES. do the tiny speakers "move air" like an 8" subwoofer? OF COURSE NOT. BUT,..all-in-all, this little thing sounds great (and possesses STARTLING amounts of volume)! it looks cool, too. PLUS, it packs up into its little bag and is ready for its next adventure with the greatest of ease. i am very impressed with the look, the portability, the sound and MOST importantly the QUALITY of this little "sonic doughnut". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Before I say anything else, this thing deserves 5 stars because it serves the purpose very well for which it was designed for. When people review this item like many others expecting products to match up to others in completely different categories functioning differently, then it does not get reviewed fairly. Here is why this product should receive 5 stars.

The thing sounds incredible for how small and portable it is. It gets PLENTY loud for how tiny it really is and the sound penetrates well through a room or even a small house. I cannot believe that it produces so much noise out of 6 total watts. Crazy. But seriously, the way this thing sounds is amazing.

Second, because it is so portable, it rocks. This thing is a small cylinder, the circumference about the size of a quaker oatmeal container. It comes with a carrying case and easily would fit inside a backpack or laptop case. It would be easy to just set this thing on your desk, on a coffee table or a lamp table in a hotel room.

Third, its the features. This thing has a ton of sweet features that are great especially if you own an ipod. Even if you don't, its still a solid litte thing. It allows you to dock your ipod, and comes with all the connector pieces for the different models of ipods. The best part though is that it comes with a remote that allows you to control the volume, AND navigate through all the ipod's menus (settings, albums, artists, extras, etc) and select things that way. The unit runs on 4 AAA batteries and lasts a VERY long time, and has an auto shut off feature when you leave it for a few minutes. It also has an AC adapter to plug in if you are in a place that has an outlet (this means that it charges your ipod, too). It also has an audio output jack, and a USB out port that will allow you to connect it to and sync with itunes. And finally, it has an audio input to allow you to connect a different mp3 player or your laptop or a Cd player, etc. Awesome features.

Put these three things together and you can't give it any less than 5 stars. Something this small does get a little distorted from the bass end of the spectrum at higher volumes with music that has EXTRA bass, but most songs sound very clear and good in my opinion. This distortion is not incredibly distracting from the overall sound and is not nearly as bad as a 2.1 computer subwoofer thats trying to sound 3 times its size.

SO, if you are looking for a small, portable ipod speaker dock with quality sound, this thing is for you. No questions asked, if you're mobile and want good sound from your ipod or laptop or other mp3 player, get it.

JBL, Harman, Infinity products are TOP quality from my experiences in home and car audio and I have yet to receive a product from any of these three brands that I have not enjoyed thoroughly.

First off, if your looking for portability this unit cant be beat. The ability to use batteries is great. That being said you are making some definite sacrifices. I don't know if it's just mine or everyones but it hisses a little when you pull in close, not so bad from across the room, and the bass in the back sometimes distorts the sound of the front speakers. Another little annoyance is the fact the on the box is says a USB cable is included to sync to your computer when there isnt one included. I don't know if im supposed to buy it seperatly or what. Overall it's a good give and take system, if you want pretty good sound on a portable system its good, but move to a larger one if you generally keeping it in one spot.

Update: Evidently some boxes shipped with a misprint saying a USB cable was supposed to be inlcuded. The correct packages do not come with a USB cable. JBL is honoring the misprint though so check out their website and tell them if you want one.

This little On Stage sibling definitely packs a punch and the sound quality is compared to its bigger brother. Kudos to the designers that manage to make such a portable unit deliver such a good sound.

The battery life is great, I have been using the unit for a week and it is still going strong. Also the remote control, the charger and the synching feature work as advertised. It also comes with a protective bag the allows to take your show on the road without the hassle of cables, ac adapters, etc.

Congratulations JBL!

We own the JBL One Stage Micro Portable Speaker Dock and it sounds good for its size. However you need to realize that it's a very small unit and it can only do so much with speakers that are only about one inch in diameter. It looks very nice and it comes with a nice carry case for storage and travel. The unit works really well with the Ipod Touch and also with the Ipod Nano 3rd Generation. It will charge either unit with no problems. Its remote is nice and is fully functional unlike some others. I would recommend this Docking station to anyone who is looking for a stylish and compact unit that has very good sound quality.

Specifications

Drivers: Two Odyssey Neodymium drivers
Power Output: 2 x 2 Watts
Frequency Response: 70Hz - 20 Khz
Input Impedance: > 10K ohms
Signal-to-Noise Ration: > 85dB
Voltage Input: 100 - 230 Vac, 50 - 60 Hz
Dimensions: Diameter 6" (150 mm) x Height 1 ¾" (38mm)
Remote Dimensions: 2-7/8" x 2-1/4" x 5/8" (73mm x 57mm x 15.8mm)
Weight: 1lb (.5kg)

i recently received the JBL onstage micro in black and am EXTREMELY happy with it.

Some Pros:

-sleak design
-plug-in or battery functionality,
-remote that controls all of your ipod functions (not just volume)
-it comes with about 10 adaptors for every version of ipod to make sure the ipod is held snuggly in the unit.
-comes with a carrying case
-charges ipod as it plays
-for the price, the sound is excellent (obviously, if you going to compare it with a $300 bose system, the bose sounds better, but seriously for the price you will not be dissappointed). big sound from a little unit.

Cons:
-haven't come across any yet

When I first recieved the speakers, I was a bit dissapointed in the dinky sound it projected. It can't get very loud before sounding cheap.

The biggest problem that I have with it is that it breaks. About 3 months after continual use, it starts to make this loud buzzing noise. Whenever it gets knocked slightly, starts to play louder, or plays a high bass, the annoying buzzing noise begins.

I suggest you to find another speaker set. These are not worth it, will probably break and sound like crap.

I have this and the ontour models. Both have good sound for a small package. overall i'm more satisfied with the lower cost one($29.95), even though it doesn't have the remote or the dock station. the main reason i bought this was i didn't want to travel with a charger, sucks for me when i found out this didn't recharge the ipod battery.

I got this for Christmas a few days ago and never thought I really needed such a thing - I mostly use my iPod while driving (iTrip) or biking, that sort of activity. Anyway, this unit works just fine for my 30gig video iPod. I've used it several times both with batteries and w/ the AC adapter. And like I said, so far so good. It DOES charge the iPod, it plays the music without static, crackling or any other type of interference. I CAN adjust the volume either on the iPod, on the unit or with the remote that came with the unit. It has sounded very good LOUD and also very good at lower and middle range volumes. Since it's only been a few days, I don't know how well it will last or whether my satisfaction will remain at a high level, so only 4 stars from me.

If I had to list the negatives, they would be these: the remote control is tough to use for navigating through a large library of material, but then again, you can use the navigation wheel on the iPod & that's not a problem.

The cradle that the unit comes with doesn't actually seat an iPod from what I can tell and yes, it does come with a number of extra cradles to be used for a variety of iPods...BUT...nowhere in the documentation does it say how to remove this original cradle! The thing is in there pretty securely and although I eventually got it out w/ a little screwdriver, I did scuff up the unit as well...Now that I have the cradle for my 30g iPod in there, it should be fine but there should be some kind of easy release mechanism in there...or at least a mention in the documentation!

As for the positives - really good sound quality and ease of use once the iPod is in the cradle & hooked up to the speakers...and it looks like a little black spaceship - gotta like that.

I'm going to keep using it & putting it to the test, so I'll update this review in the coming weeks/months.

I love this JBL. One problem. I cannot hook it up to my house speakers. It does not seem to work that way. I can plug the I Pod directly into the tuner and it works. Not so thru the JBL. WHY??? Does anyone know. I wanted to run it thru the JBL so I did not have to recharge the Nano. Help