KEF Picoforte-1 Speaker Dock System for iPod (Black)

by KEF

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds
• ASIN: B000VKBLC0
• Item model number: PicoForte 1
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Product Description

The New KEF Picoforte 1 Digital Component Audio System including the KEF 1001 speakers delivers big sound from the smallest package. KEF has 45 innovative years of award winning high-end loudspeaker design, and it all goes into the new KEF Picoforte 1 iPod docking station. The result is a compact component audio system with a no-compromise sound output for the way we live today. Simply dock and play to fill the room with vibrant, detailed sound that will revolutionize the way you experience your iPod. The iPod charges as it plays, so you enjoy music without interruption. Its sleek, slender design fits almost any room's décor. And the included remote lets you control the iPod system from across the room. Furthermore, KEF Uni-Q "sit anywhere" technology means that you can enjoy the same rich stereo image wherever you sit. The compact and flexible Picoforte is designed to be simple to set up, while having the flexibility to adapt to your personal environment. The system is supplied with a more than generous supply of speaker cable, so that speakers can be positioned as far apart as you desire. The optional subwoofer connection means that bass lovers have their dreams answered, and the S-Video connection means that you can use a TV screen to display song titles (in a range of supported languages) or even play movies (where supported). Compatible with the following models: iPod 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G; iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sound and Looks - Outclasses almost everything else at its price point, November 3, 2008

By 

Majeski "mlewis123" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: KEF Picoforte-1 Speaker Dock System for iPod (Black) (Electronics)

Every product is good at a certain price. At its $400 list, the PicoForte 1 was not a great value, but at anything below $200, it's a steal. KEF (Kent Engineering and Foundry) is an old-line, British manufacturer of some well respected and expensive high end speakers. In fact, I own a pair of floor standing KEF104/2, which were made in the mid 80's and are still considered by audiophiles to be one of the best speakers ever produced. So I was intrigued to see KEF offering the PicoForte 1 for the iPod. At the current price, I was willing to try out this product despite the fact that, as of this writing, there isn't even a single review on it.

The PicoForte 1 arrived quickly from Vanns via Amazon. The unit was very well packaged, with its two metal speakers protected inside cloth bags and everything well laid out in a styrofoam case. If you are considering this for a gift, the packaging and unboxing really does make for a good presentation. From the get-go, this units reeks of quality. What differentiates it from most other sub $500 systems is the material - no cheap plastic - just metal. It is heavier and has a considerably nicer appearance than most other iPod speaker units I have seen. Though the PicoForte 1 is small, the sound is surprisingly full and clear. The small, heavy, solid-metal speaker cabinets have unremovable metal grills and can play loud enough to fill a small to medium sized room. The sound quality is also a step above most units of this size. The mids and treble can be described as clear, sweet and precise, unlike the muddy and often bloated and fatiguing sound typical of almost any speaker crying out from a plastic enclosure. Bass extension from the 3 inch driver is definitely limited, but still clear as far as it goes. There is both a sonic and a physical integrity that is rarely found in units of this size and price. The PicoForte 1 trounces the Bose Soundock/Soundock two in sound-quality, price, and fit and finish, but trails it badly in number of Amazon reviews - the Soundock having hundreds, while this will be the PicoForte's first. Bose SoundDock digital music system for iPod (White) I can also compare the PicoForte 1 to the highly rated Logitec Pure-Fi Anywhere Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere Compact Speakers for iPod (Black) (2006 model) which I own and use for travel as it can run on batteries. The all-plastic Purefi unit sounds good and can fill a hotel room with sound and is very good for spoken audio podcasts and acceptable for music. The KEF outclasses this unit sonically, but of course the KEF is not a portable. If your music listening absolutely requires volume and a lot of bass, then the JBL 2.1 Creature (and newer versions of this system) is one that I both own and can recommend. JBL - Spot 2.1 Speaker System I bought the JBL Creature from Amazon for about $40 (!) and it has hundreds of Amazon reviews from satisfied users. For deep bass and room filling volume, the JBL is hard to beat. But it does not have the same sonic integrity that the Picoforte 1 has.

In my opinion, the PicoForte is best employed as a bedside, near-field iPod music system because it delivers high quality sound, even at low volumes, and its small speakers offer versatility in placement. Using the small, credit card style remote with its 18, bubble-type buttons works fairly well, but takes a little getting used to, especially in the dark. It allows you to operate almost all of the iPod's functions, however, navigation is slower and definitely more cumbersome than using the iPod directly. From considerable personal experience, I have discovered that the remote can be easily misplaced. I am now in the habit of parking it in a space directly in front of the amp unit after each use. BTW, I can confirm that the new iPod classic version 6 works well with the PicoForte, however, I have not tried any of its video out functions. I can state with certainty that my 6G iPod classic both charges and functions via the remote just as well as my earlier iPods do. I also have a 4G and 5G iPod and all work well with the PicoForte. The benefit of getting sound from the iPod's line out dock is that you bypass the noisy amplifier/headphone circuitry and tap into a signal earlier in the signal path which is more pristine. The PicoForte 1 has a class D amplifier that puts out 35 watts per stereo channel which is very good, considering the small size of this unit. At the very lowest sound levels the amp emits a clearly audible hiss in the background. Fortunately, as you increase the volume, the hiss increases only slightly - you won't be able to hear it at all with music at a moderate volume.

Now a few words about my setup. While this unit will certainly deliver very listenable background music while you are going about your routine in your kitchen or den, the PicoForte really excels in near-field listening positions. If you set this unit up in the headboard of your bed, you may be in for a real treat. Place the speakers several inches away from your ears, making sure the tweeters are at ear level. If you can imagine a sort of headphone set up, but using these little speakers instead of ear-cups, you will be on the right track. With the speakers on either side of your head, about 6 to 12 inches away from each ear, pointing directly at your earholes, you can get some truly amazing imaging and take full advantage of the systems excellent sonic clarity. Listening to classical or acoustic jazz in this position, lying on my back, head on my pillow, and speakers towed in and close to each ear, the sound is almost magical. Similar to a headphone experience, some music images inside my head, however the soundstage is huge; far exceeding what even the best headphones can do. I can clearly hear the air and space in the room where the music was recorded. The reverberations and echos in recordings stand out, which really brings the music to life in a 3D sort of way. In normal listening circumstances, you are only getting maybe 25% of the sound directly radiating from the speaker cones - the remaining 75% of the sound is reflected to your ears off the walls, floor and furniture causing all sorts of degradation in sound. This is the problem that near-field listening overcomes. Near-field listening is used in recording studios so that the engineer can hear exactly what is going on in a mix without the interference from colorations created by the room. The PicoFortes are especially good for near-field listening because the speaker has the tweeter embedded in the center of the woofer cone. KEF calls this Uni-Q . This avoids sonic confusion from having sound emanating from two positions as is the case with most speakers that have a separate woofer and tweeter. For near field listening, having the sound emanate from the same point is a real advantage.

KEF also makes a higher priced PicoForte 3, with upgraded speakers featuring a similar Uni-Q driver. The PicoForte 1's amplifier unit looks to be exactly the same as KEF's more up-market model. The Picoforte 3 (rated at the same 35 watts per channel as the PicoForte 1) lists for $600 but is discounted only to $500 (as of this writing). [[ASIN:B000VT0LZ4 KEF PicoForte 3 Black iPod Docking Speaker System The Picoforte 1 appears to be the genuine bargain. At this price you are getting something that I suspect will likely last longer, sound better and look better than any other similar option I know of. And you can introduce yourself to a smidgen of what the audiophile experience is about.

I will close with a tip; always rip your music at the highest bit rate you can - Apple lossless being the best. MP3s ripped at 128 bits can sound pretty awful on a good system. Currently, there is some advantage in having small file sizes so that you can squeeze more music on your iPod. But remember that hard drives and RAM are doubling in size every year. Several years from now you will be glad you opted for high quality sound instead of efficiency of size, which will have no utility. One more tip. The stock speaker wire that comes with the PicoForte is long and thin. I believe I improved the sound quality maybe 5 to 10% by replacing it with a much shorter, much thicker gage of wire that I bought from an audio shop for about $15.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sound for the size, December 6, 2008

By 

M. Bhandarkar "Mahen." (Delaware,USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KEF Picoforte-1 Speaker Dock System for iPod (Black) (Electronics)

I was looking for an ipod dock which had the following features
1) compact 2) had an aux input to play non-ipods 3) below $200 4) good sound.
The picoforte is all of the above but a little low on BASS but then it does have a port for an optional sub-woofer.
the speakers can be kept apart for great stereophonic sound unlike other ipod docks which have built in speakers. The pico forte is well worth the money provided it sells for around $150.
I did buy an Belkin pure AV,mini stereo cable with gold connectors to plugin my non-ipods and I can say the sound is good,I now even play my ipod through the AUX and not the dock as I have found that the KEF does sound better when my ipod is connected through the belkin as compared to the dock. Vanns.com managed to deliver the package to me on time and in an excellent condition.the picoforte is packaged very nicely.Overall a great product,great quality for the price,good sound (though lacks a bit of BASS,loses 1 star for this)
great remote but I dont use it,since i use the AUX port.I also listen to FM which one cannot from the bose sounddock.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best iPOD speaker dock out there. It knocks the Bose for 6., December 22, 2008

By 

Paul Gill (Tokyo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: KEF Picoforte-1 Speaker Dock System for iPod (Black) (Electronics)

I don't have much to add to the comprehensive review of this product by mlewis123. Like him, I was already familiar with KEF's high-end speakers and bought this with a view to getting as good quality sound as possible out of my iPOD.

I haven't settled down yet and am currently living in Japan. In the next few years I envisage moving at least twice so I want something I can put in a box and take with me, yet which offers good enough sound quality to allow me to enjoy listening to my music from it. I found in the past that having been used to high-end sound reproduction at home, when I moved away and started having to listen to my music on boom boxes and midi/micro systems, my enjoyment of the music disappeared as I couldn't help but be aware of the inferior sound reproduction.

I can happily say that KEF Picoforte has solved my problem. Keep in mind that this is still only an iPOD dock speaker system so it can't compete with a separate CD player/amp/speakers combination. Nevertheless sound quality is sufficiently good to allow you to enjoy your music on it. Sound separation is very good and stereo projection is excellent. To some listeners the Picoforte will sound very light on bass. There is an output connection for an optional subwoofer, which would undoubtedly solve this problem. In my opinion, KEF have made the right decision in choosing not to compromise sound quality by trying to get the Picoforte's tiny speakers to reproduce bass adequately.

The remote control is excellent. Its only draw back is that you can't scroll through lists quickly on it. The Picoforte will also allow you to hook any MP3 player up to it via a cable connection. The build quality is excellent and the weightiness of its tiny speakers is impressive.

I tested the Picoforte against the Bose Soundock sytem and in terms of sound separation and clarity the Picoforte won hands down. Yes, the Bose offers a lot more bass, but the downside of that is very muddy sound separation. Also because the Bose is one simple unit there is no stereo projection from it.

To the reviewer who rubbished the Picoforte in comparison with the Bose, all I can say is that his priorities can't have been anything other than portability and simplicity and he can't listen to anything other than house or techno music. Unlike mlewis123 I haven't had any problems with hiss, even at the lowest volume levels. If you turn up the volume and pause your iPOD, you will hear plenty of hiss but I couldn't hear any when I had music playing.

There is no doubt that in terms of sound quality this is the best iPOD/MP3 speaker dock out there. I recommend it to the pragmatic audiophile and the regular iPOD user who is curious as to how good their iPOD can sound.