Customer Reviews

Sharp i-Elegance Music System for iPod and MP3 Players (High Gloss Red/Black)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Has decent sound especially with the surround button activated, not real loud but it is enough to enjoy the music on the patio. Going to take it to the Philippines and enjoy it at the many resorts that we are going to visit, it is small enough to take along and it charges the I-pod while I listen. Good product at a really fair price, I would highly recommend this to anyone. Also it will accept the I-pod touch with the protective covering on.

The difference between the Sharp i-Elegance and my less expensive mp3 speaker is the built-in sub-woofer, which contributes to the i-Elegance's hefty weight of 1.3 lb. The lid flips open and on it are the various controls: the On/Standby button on the right and the E-Sound/(-TV OUT) button on the left. At the center of the lid is the plug-in slot for your iPod, with 4 templates for different models. The volume controls are on either side of the slot. The "E-Sound" button activates the circuit that electronically enhances the bass at low volume. Supposedly, you can view your video files in your iPod on a TV monitor via the i-Elegance. There is a RCA video output at the back for you to do so. The "E-Sound" button doubles as the "TV OUT" control.

I don't have an iPod; I have a Nomad Jukebox mp3 player instead, but it is not a problem. I can plug my player in at the "AUX IN" socket on the back. You are not going to get room-filling music out of the i-Elegance. What you do get is a superior sound output with a credible bass, for personal use. For room filling volume in a small package, I recommend the iPig. (Please see my other review.)

The design of the battery compartment is one of the best I have seen. The 4 AA batteries slide in their individual slots either head first or tail first. Slide on the attached compartment lid and you are ready to go. You can also use the 100 to 240 volt transformer, adaptable to electrical grids all over the world. The i-Elegance is clearly designed for portable use, but it has no handle. Moving it around on location is an awkward proposition. There are carrying pouches for the speaker and the transformer, but they are for long distance travels. For that, I gave the i-Elegance a 4 star rating instead of a 5.

Sharp i-Elegance Music System for iPod and MP3 Players (High Gloss White/Black)

Welcome to the new world!

i have been an audiophile for over forty years, and have seen many things come and go.
this product is the most highly defined and practical system ever.
it has both real bass and high definition sound.
simply awesome!

This is one of the most impressive products to hit the Hi-Fidelity sound industry (although it was not targeted for that market) in the past 50-80 years. For decades, the designers and reviewers of high-end loudspeakers have been touting Thiele/Small parameters as the only way to design and construct speakers and their relationship to a particular enclosure so they would faithfully reproduce bass and midrange tones.

But for this little fellow, Sharp uses a whole new technology that it licensed from TBI Audio Systems, Ltd., a small, minority-owned business in Atlanta, GA. You can see their products on this site at: BioLinks Audio DAD-1.

The Sharp i-Elegance music system employs ETL (Embedded Transmission Line) technology that essentially re-defines the High Definition Sound Standard. This little iPOD docking station has an embedded woofer operating in an enclosure volume of approximately .007 cu. ft. and produces clean bass below 100Hz at personal listenable volumes with only a mere 2 watts of power. The midrange and highs are produced by speakers less than 2 inches in diameter without breakup or compression. The port diameter for the subwoofer is a mere 7mm in diameter but you can actually feel the air coming from it when low bass is voiced. In fact, placing a finger over the port will immediately kill the bass so it sounds like most of the competing iPOD docking stations.

The bass produced by this product is absolutely unattainable with Thiele/Small parameters; and when I mentioned that on a couple of the blog sites that hi-fi enthusiasts and so-called audiophiles frequent, the response was incredible. Without any listening experience, it was quickly dismissed as being the same thing as headphones and no big deal. Well, anyone who has any idea what they're talking about cannot compare headphones (which are close-coupled to the ears) to any loudspeaker that interacts with the room acoustics to produce sound like the i-POD Elegance and all other speakers do.

Granted, it will not play loud enough to produce a room-filling sound that's necessary for a party environment; but its small footprint permits it to sit on a desk and produce quality computer sound unlike any computer speaker system out there. This product could have easily been marketed as the "Freedom" personal speaker system for, unlike headphones, it is perfectly suited for producing wonderful sound in the kitchen or at a bedside table while allowing one the freedom that even wireless headphones cannot facilitate for those particular environments.

Sharp also makes one for the iPHONE but this one can be similarly used with any cell phone to turn it into a quality, hands-free speakerphone with zero feedback! You can use it in the car, too. I just plugged in my LG Dare to the unit with a 3-conductor to 4-conductor cable to allow its built-in mic to operate but use the Elegance for the speakers. I simply placed both of the units in the center console and it worked like a charm. The quality of audio was loud and clear with no need to wear that dorky Blue tooth earpiece. A truly awesome (and safe to use on the go) mobile speakerphone!

The clarity and bass reproduced by this little titan is, well it's insane! The room-filling sound and off-axis listening does not diminish the effect either - the speakers simply never draw attention to themselves: this is no easy task for even expensive tower loudspeakers.

In conclusion, the descriptor "Little Big Horn" was chosen not because these are horn speaker designs but as a reference to how the arrogant Custer and his troops were shot down just like the long-in-the-tooth disciples of Messieurs Thiel and Small will be with this product and the technology break through that it represents. For the record, I am not associated with Sharp in any manner.

I had real hopes for this system, especially given the high original retail price and glowing reviews of others (for other colors). It's OK but not great. In my opinion, the sound is not tinny but also not full. The "subwoofer" does add a little bass but it isn't real sounding bass. My small JBL ipod speaker system sounds better. I don't like that the speakers are totally exposed when open--other similar systems have something over the driver to protect it. The 3d effect works but is pretty standard for these kind of portables. Nice unadvertised feature: it works with and charges an Iphone 4g. Worth the asked price but not much more.

I had these speakers for over 3 months now, I used them for my office and they have great sound, not as loud as the Sonic Impact 5084 (which also have amazing sound, but the iPod connector came loose and speakers started to create lots of noise). The Sharp i-Elegance is nice for a small environment, you're not going to host a huge party with these, but if you just want relaxing music in your office/home and looking for quality sound these are it, I also travel alot and these speakers serve me great because I can also plug them into a 220vlts outlet, and there are not bulky, they come with carrying bags for travelers.

I have an Ipod Touch 4G. One thing I would like to point out is that Ipod's manufacturer charges $39 plus tax + shipping for just a video out cable. This system has video out as well as the portable speakers so you save money by not having to buy more accessories. Also many other portable speakers do not charge your Ipod like this one does. I wasn't expecting something of this size to get really loud but it's loud enough and sounds really good. So the Sharp DK-AP7P is portable, plays video, charges your Ipod when plugged into a wall socket and sounds great for less than a video out cable. What more could you ask for? One thing I am a bit unhappy with is the batteries draining if you leave them in. But that's my only complaint and since I use rechargeables it's not too big of a deal if I forget to take them out . Actually I just take one of them out to break the circuit and can fit the one extra battery in the carry bag with the system. I only gave 4 stars because of the battery issue. But otherwise great product.

This gem arrived and was a bit smaller than I thought it would be based on the photo online. Most things are however (a fact I should be used to by now), but I was not a bit disappointed. Very sleek, compact design that folds up to look like a shiny black capsule that compliments it's design space. The stereo sound quality is superb with the two main drivers and the benefit of a dedicated sub-woofer for the base lows. The i-pod sits in at an angle and charges even when the unit is off. I bought this for my 8 year old son to listen to his favorite Disney artists as well as for a "sleep sounds" application for falling/staying asleep. Everything just sounds great on this device and like others have eluded to; there is really never a reason not to have the bass boost button not engaged. The difference is night and day with it off. Very fine product that compares to easily and exceeds in most cases, the sound quality of units I've tried out at Best Buy that run $100 dollars or more. Have not tried it out using batteries yet but I'd imagine nothing changes sound wise. It also comes with a soft case for travel to help keep the scratches at bay. One of the best electronic purchases I've made in recent months, easily.

My daughter wanted something portable to use with her IPOD and this works great. Pretty good sound as long as your not blasting it. Small compact size with decent sound. Great price.

This is a small compact docking station. The sound quality is excellant. It is fairly simple to use. We wish it came more ways to use it. It does as advertised but we feel like it might have more uses. The instruction pamphlet is straight forward but brief. We love that it can be used to charge the iPhone too. It's a great little product. We were blown away by the sound quality. Great investment!