Sonic Impact IF1 Speaker System

by Sonic Impact

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 3 x 8 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BT1CEI
• Item model number: 5085
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

Product Description

10-19-2007 - Brand New Item. Description - SONIC IMPACT 5085 IPOD(R) IF1 PORTABLE SPEAKERS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent portable stereo for the iPod, January 11, 2006

By 

Chris Newton (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sonic Impact IF1 Speaker System (Electronics)

I recently bought one of these, and I'm thrilled with the whole package, the audio quality, bass response, intelligence of the design, form factor, and flexibilty of use.

What it is;
a. a great PORTABLE stereo system.
b. a replacement for your ipod dock
c. a well designed / small travel case for your ipod & headphones.

What it is not:
a. a boombox
b. a great replacment for a home stereo system
c. an audiophile's dream
d. a great outdoor stereo

Its intended purpose was for travel / portable use, and for that purpose, it's definitely best of breed. I bought it so that I could use my iPod around the house / garage / basement without having to use headphones, and it's perfect for that use. Many of the other base stereo systems for the iPod do not have built in rechargeable batteries, so they have to live in one spot unless you want to carry around the power plug. That may not be a major problem, but the i-Fusion has the added benefit of being able to close down for REAL travel in a suitcase or backpack. My all-around impression is very positive, and the few negative comments I can make are pretty standard for all small stereos in general.

Pros;
a. Carrying strap
b. Built in hard case
c. built in storage for ipod (that doesn't let the ipod slide around loose)
d. seperate storage for headphones / jacks
e. external rubber cover over the input ports
f. Easily visible battery recharge lights
g. Easily visible on / off indicator lights
h. easy access to controls
i. can sync your ipod to your computer
j. bass is deep and rich even at low volumes... especially considering the small speakers.
k. audio in jack for use with old iPods or Shuffles, or other audio devices.
l. the iPod can be recharged through the iPod dock connector cable even if the i-Fusion is not being recharged itself.
m. easy access to the battery if it needs to be replaced in the future.

Cons;
a. Price... as a base stereo for the iPod goes, it's fairly cheap... but for a similar sounding travel sized stereo without ipod connectivity, you'd probably pay $50. After lots of research I felt it was worth it, though
b. At normal volume the lows sound great, but the high-pitched stuff is a bit tinny.

Arbitrary, perhaps unimportant Cons;
c. No remote control
d. no audio out jack for headphones. I COULD remove the iPod and use it without the i-Fusion, but sometimes it'd be easier to just have a handy headphone jack if the i-Fusion is setting on my desk.
e. To charge the i-Fusion you must have its own power plug plugged in. It would be great if it could be powered off of the iPod dock connector plug, to reduce the number of cables. The iPod can be charged from the connector plug if the i-Fusion itself isn't plugged in however, so that's a consolation.
f. The i-Fusion power plug has one of those big transformers right at the end, making it difficult to plug into a crowded outlet or power strip. I wish they would have raised the price by 5 bucks and put the transformer a few inches further up the line.
g. (this might actually be a gripe about the iPod) Hitting the off button on the unit doesn't stop the iPod from playing... that's pretty standard with dockable add ons to the ipod. It's weird... if you disconnect headphones from the headphone jack the ipod will pause. If you disconnect it from a dock while it's playing, it continues to play. I'm sure the engineers at Apple had long discussions about this, but I'm still not happy about the outcome.

Final Word;
I really think that this is the absolute best of breed for iPod stereo devices. It has just the right mix of quality, features and price. For a stereo of its size, it has excellent audio output, including decent bass quality even at low volumes. It's great for travel & portability, and has little room for real improvement. Ultimately, I think it deserves 4.5 stars, but I'll settle for 5.... 4 is just too low.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great system!, December 29, 2005

By 

Colleen Shaver (Worcester, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sonic Impact IF1 Speaker System (Electronics)

This speaker system is perfect. Not only is it one of the only truly "portable" iPod speaker systems out there, it provides high quality sound, even better than I thought it would. It comes with a durable zip case with room to store your iPod & smaller accessories (headphones, iTrip, etc) right inside. It has adapters to fit all different size iPods.

I would absolutely recommend this system for anyone looking for a high quality portable iPod speaker system. I am so happy with this product.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't own one, but my sister does.., April 14, 2006

By 

Jennifer L. Lucas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sonic Impact IF1 Speaker System (Electronics)

My sister bought one of these a couple weeks ago after testing it out in the store. It just happened that it was plugged in and she had her ipod in her purse. In the store, the sound was quite good and we could tell that it would most likely sound good even louder than we were testing it out.

Her main purpose for buying it was to have something to use while she worked with her horse at the barn. So the 1st day we took it out, we plugged in the ipod and turned it up to probably about 3/4 full volume. The sound was great! It projected well in the outdoor arena and had a fantastic clear, rich sound. Neither of us thought it sounded tinny at higher volumes, as one reviewer mentioned.

In the little I have used it, the only negative thing I have noticed about it is that when using it with an ipod Mini, the play/pause button can be a little awkward to get to.. but that is almost insignificant, since it doesn't really pose a problem.

I know my sister completely loves this thing and I would definitely buy one if I had more of a need for it (rather than just really wanting one!)