Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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235 of 235 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bose Quality - Listen and Judge For Yourself, January 19, 2008
After reading MANY reviews, both here on Amazon and on many other sites on the Internet, I have observed that most people either love Bose and everything they make or they seem to hate everything that is Bose. Well I can honestly say that I do not fit into either of these categories. I do own some Bose products and I enjoy them very much. However, Bose items are extremely expensive and I will not pay out that kind of hard earned cash for a product just because of the name. I have learned, when it comes to Bose I ALWAYS insist on listening to the device first before buying it. I have heard some excellent sound from some Bose speakers but some of their speakers are only mediocre. Their headphones are a mixed bag as well. I never purchase a Bose product unseen or unheard. My decision to purchase this second generation Bose SoundDock Portable Digital Music System was no exception.
I was on the fence about this purchase for several weeks. I had researched the first generation Bose SoundDock digital music system for iPod for quite some time. I found a couple of shortcomings that prevented me from buying that unit. First, it did not have a battery for portable use, so you always had to have it plugged in. Secondly it did not have an aux input, so it would only work with Apple iPod devices. What if I wanted to plug in my daughter's Sandisk MP3 player, or my son's Creative MP3 player? The second generation Bose SoundDock does not have these limitations. They have included a battery system, for hours of portable music without being tethered to A/C mains. They also include an aux input, so you can plug in any device's audio output with a stereo mini plug. They also added a slick swivel dock, which swings back into the speaker system when not in use. As far as the sound quality goes, both first and second generation systems seem to sound just as good; solid bottom end, crisp top end, and mild yet adequate midrange.
I was tempted to order this item from Amazon, as their prices, shipping, and customer service are always top notch. However, I was still a little unsure as to whether or not I would be completely satisfied with this product in my home. After all, it is $400.00! I decided to purchase it from a local electronics store, which offers a 30 day return policy, in case I decided that it was not worth the price after listening to it in my home. Well I am pleased to report that this Bose SoundDock sounds simply amazing. I don't know how they get such BIG sound from such a little device, but Bose has definately done a wonderful thing with this SoundDock. The sound is deep but not too boomy. The stereo soundfield is a little narrow but that is to be expected from any portable sound dock, as the speakers are so close together. Still, Bose is known for their ability to use angled speaker technology to offer a wide stereo sound. I guess they just didn't feel that this aspect was important enough for their SoundDock product. That is a shame. I must also note that the sound produced from this device seems different when listening from different angles. If I sit the device on a table and sit down right in front of it, the high end is crisp and bright but the lower end is a little on the weak side. However, if I back up a few feet the bottom end really jumps out, and yet you lose a little bit of the crispness of the highs. Overall the SoundDock sounds great and it really fills a small and medium sized room with full bodied sound. You can crank this puppy way up without any audible sounds of distortion. Very impressive indeed. I have listened to Pop, Rock, Country, Dance, House, and even classical music on the Bose SoundDock, and all sounded equally impressive. Bass notes are very tight, not boomy or sloppy like I have experienced on several other iPod music systems. My only complaint is that the midrange seemed a bit weak on a few tracks, but seemed just fine on others. This may have to do with the equalization of my iPod Touch, but I don't notice these differences when listening through headphones.
Overall I am very pleased with my Bose SoundDock Portable Music System. It produces rich, room filling sound, offers perfect portability (thanks to the inclussion of a Lithium Ion Battery Pack), and has an auxiliary input for all of my family's digital music devices. Sure, $400.00 is a lot of money to spend on a portable iPod music docking system, but now that I have experienced the solid build and beautiful sound quality of the Bose SoundDock, buying anything less would always leave me wanting the Bose SoundDock. Still, I cannot find it within myself to give the Bose SoundDock a perfect 5 star rating. The narrow stereo soundfield and premium cost keep my rating at 4 and 1/2 stars. I take music sound quality very seriously, and in my opinion this Bose system, while expensive, is still worth the money. I highly recommend this product for anyone that is extremely serious about excellent sound quality and isn't afraid to spend the money to obtain it.
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94 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best portable speaker system!, October 22, 2007
I spent countless hours researching portable speaker systems. After reading many web site and owner reviews I narrowed my choices down to four models. The first model was the Altec Lansing InMotion im7. I wasen't able to find this model in any store so I could listen to the sound quality for myself, so I eliminated it. The others were also Altec Lansing based on good reviews. First up was the InMotion im600, Second was the m602 and last the Bose SoundDock Portable. My final decision came down to the ability to listen to these three models side by side.
There wasen't any real comparison after a listen to the Bose. They blew the other two away. Great base and great highs. I was sold. I do realize the Bose are pricy but like most people out there, these are not my first IPOD speakers but the will be my last. Go for it and get the best first. The Bose are the way to go!
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98 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good quality, but 3G iPod owners beware, October 23, 2007
The sound quality, as you might expect, is quite good, and the loudness is nice too. For better or for worse, it's got the signature Bose sound (loaded low, with great highs, and a bit deemphasized towards the middle), but overall, this thing sounds great.
However, this product has unadvertised problems with the 3rd Generation iPods (black and white screen, dock connector, four buttons and a touch-wheel), and I'm glad I discovered this in the store before paying the full $400. When plugged into the Sounddock, the screen freezes, and neither the remote nor the buttons can advance the track. The ill effects cease the moment the iPod is removed, but nonetheless, it's more or less unusable with this early iPod. If you're thinking of trying it and have a 3G iPod, I'd recommend looking elsewhere, or at least going in to a Bose store to double check and make sure that you too don't experience this problem. Bose has heard about it, but apparently it's not a fixable issue, just a question of old technology.
So, I'd definitely recommend this product acoustically, but practically, I'd make sure you're using a more recent model of iPod before you give it a shot.
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