Customer Reviews

Kensington 33350 Entertainment Dock 500 with Charger for iPod

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This docking station exceeded my expectations. I am using this dock with my 30GB Video iPod and the sound quality is great. I earlier tried hooking the iPod directly to my Denon receiver using iPod's mini-jack with composite audio cables but the output wasn't right. It was on the low side. After I hooked the audio out from Kensignton Dock to my receiver, the sound quality is very crisp and awesome.

The S-Video out from Dock is connected to the receiver as well and the video quality on 50 inch widescreen TV is great. I converted some home videos to MP4 format at 512 kbps and the video looks good on big screen.

Pros:
- Sleek and compact dock
- Amazing sound quality. No distortion noticed
- Charges iPod while playing
- S-Video Out provides nice video and photo display on TV
- Remote is RF based so you can operate it from any direction. Remote has good range. The ability to press and hold 'Select' button to move up the menus is very nice
- Docks nicely even with iPod skin on
- Comes with world charger (100 to 240 volts) so you can carry it outside U.S

Cons:
- Menus don't display on TV so it limits menu navigation through remote from a distance. This was not an advertised feature anyway in Kensignton Dock but new docks will come out with this feature soon

This is a fantastic dock in features, but a little known fact about the Kensington Dock 500 is that it continuously charges your iPod whether the battery is full or not. The problem with this is that it will eventually ruin the battery in your iPod, giving you decreased runtime and eventually killing it altogether. This is why high end battery chargers stop charging when batteries are full. Kensington actually admits to the continuous charging on their website in the FAQ section. I found this out from the staff at a Genius Bar in an Apple Store after I purchased the Kensington dock. Luckily I was still able to return mine and get a dock by a different company that stops charging when the battery is full.
I would recommend the Belkin TuneCommand or the Keyspan AV dock. Both of these units are basically identical to the Dock 500; except that they both stop charging when the battery is full. Ohh, and they cost less too.

I did a lot of research in trying to find just the right dock for my new 80 GIG iPod, much of it on Amazon and iLounge. I figured with the negative reviews on the remote that even if it was a bit faulty, it probably had some sort of solution or I at least would be able to get it replaced (Kensington offers a free 2-year warranty on this product). That said, it seemed to provide the best audio and video outputs (with s-video capability assuming you already have an s-video cable or buy one separately), so I went for it.

Everything worked great for two days, and then the remote stopped working. HERE'S THE PROBLEM: The coils which should make clean, direct contact with the flat end (the negative end) of the AAA battery are very, very flimsy, and one of mine (probably at least one on the remotes on all of the people reporting problems) always tended to tilt sideways when I put a battery in (resulting in the coil not completely hitting the negative end). The result is that you're not getting full power from the batteries and so the remote seems dead. HERE'S THE FIX: I had to use a golf tee to keep the coil straight-on with the battery as I put the battery in, and then removed it once the battery made clean contact and could push it in directly. After that it worked fine. Use whatever but make sure those coils are in direct contact - that should do it. UPDATE: A day later, my fix has failed, but I'll continue to play with it and see what I can do - that cheap little coil is really flimsy but at least the company can replace it.

The remote will navigate through pretty much every menu on your ipod (not just volume or skipping tracks, but also going up and down levels on the menu, turning the iPod off and on, etc), though sadly as I had read in advance the menus do not turn up on your TV screen. It'll be great when/if that problem is solved.

As for AV quality, I'm fairly satisfied. On my HDTV, using the RCA inputs for audio works great but the picture quality leaves something to be desired (what do you expect with all that compression) - looks great on a 2" x 2" screen but blow that up onto an actual TV and it's watchable but hardly crystal clear. I haven't tried the S-video connection yet but I imagine the results won't be that much better (again, I'm assuming it's the file compression and not the cables that make that big a deal). Audio is my main concern, and that sounds great. I'm picky about such things and as such was late to make the leap to iPods in general, but this dock makes my songs sound nearly as good as CD's to my ears.

Pros:
-Great sound
-Nice unobtrusive design
-Supports RCA and S-Video output
-Good range on the remote

Cons:
-Cheap (but fixable) remote
-No menus on the TV (though very few support this)

This product is better than the Apple's Audio & Video (AV) Connection Kit, becuase its remote allows you to browse the iPod menus. Though it's the only additional feature (compared to Apple's), it is really useful.

It works well, its design is ok for the iPod identity, but sometimes the remote doesn't work well. The reason and its solution are deeply described in other review. Once you fix it, it works perfectly.

The remote feels a little flimsy and can require a thoughtful push on the buttons to ensure they are pressed fully. But, and it's a big deal, is that this unit can operate the Menu selection on the IPod which is something no other IPod cradle can do (even Apple's own cradle can not do this!). Also, the cradle comes with a standard video plug and not just the S-video plug (the cradle does have a s-video out connection as well), so even older or less expensive TVs can be connected.

A previous person stated that the cradle does not stop charging once the unit is full but I dispute this. The charge indicator does appear on the ipod when fully charged and the screen goes blank, a good indication that no more charging is taking place. Also, the FAQ on Kensington's site does not state any problems with charging, it mearly states that it is better to do incremental charging instead of waiting till the unit has completely drain it's battery. While other battery types like NM HI are better off completely draining before recharging, lithium ion should NOT be fully drain but instead recharged often.

I was able to hook this up with relative ease (more wires in the back of my tv) and the iPod works through the speakers from the stereo. However, the remote doesn't work and there is absolutely NO contact information throught the Kensington site about where to find help. I like the sleek look of it and the remote mimics the iPod.

Before I purchased the 33350 Entertainment Dock 500, I used to hook my ipod to my stereo with an AV cable...those days are over!

I really like the idea that I can just drop my ipod on the dock and never have to worry about charging it. I can also control it by a remote control while sitting on my sofa. The only feature that I can't figure out is how to browse by playlist. Otherwise, the Kensington 33350 Entertainment Dock 500 has simple functionality but well worth the money.

The entertainment dock 500 works awesome! I couldn't be more pleased. Very easy to use.The sound is great and the video works fantastic.A little pricey but the rebate helps.The remote works well also.Well worth it!

I have seen many reviews about problem with the volume control. I experienced the same thing until I realized that I mistaken the up & down buttons with the + & - buttons. The volume works just fine on my wife's old Sony receiver. The remote is quite nice and it does everything the iPod control could do. As stated in others' reviews, you can't read the screen from a distance, thus rendering the ability to scroll through the menu with the remote a bit pointless. However, it would be worse if the remote couldn't scroll through menus.

It is compatible with the latest video iPod. I have the 60 gig iPod but I do notice a slight hiss coming out from the speakers. I listen to classical music and the hiss bothers me. I bought this for my wife and she is not as picky as I am in terms of sound quality. Then again, I don't expect high fidelity quality from this small setup. Since I have this little gadget for my wife, I bought the Squeezebox for myself from Slim Devices to stream music which sounds a lot better.

In summary, this dock does a good job and the design is not bad. The construction is solid and I like the light on the remote. If you are looking for great sound quality, I haven't encountered any dock that is better than this one, so this might be your best bet. The Apple A/V cables work fine as well but it is more expensive than the dock and I see more value in this dock.

Sound and video quality are great. Easy to use remote and this is a good quality product. One downfall - don't expect this to display your iPod screen. It only displays video and pictures - not the music menus. This is NOT a problem with the Kensington, but a lack of feature of the iPod. I was hoping to be able to see the music menus from across the room on my TV - but you have to be right in front of the iPod to scroll through any of the menus.