Customer Reviews

iHome iH52 Bookshelf System with AM/FM Radio and Dock for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought mine at Target. I put by iPod in the display model in the store, hit "play" and man...what a sound! No hiss, awsome bass. (Perhaps some other reviewers should take theirs back while they can and request an exchange.) With sound this good, I couldn't justify paying $150 more for the Apple HiFi.

We brought it home (paid $199 in the store) and my 12-year-old was able to direct installation with no difficulty. Yes, there ARE lots of cables, but they are logical, color coded and really not difficult to manage. You'll need a phillps or nut driver to attach the FM antenna.

It is designed for a bookshelf, but we set it up with the subwoofer (that big, heavy speaker mentioned in another review) under the bed and the speakers on opposite nightstands.

Sound is wonderful, the remote works perfectly...very intuitive. We did have to refer to the manual to set the clock, but that made sense first time round with the directions.

Only one "I wish"....I wish it had an alarm clock. And I wish I'd known they come in white. I'd have looked elsewhere for one to match my iPod. (Which is a 30G video model. Adapters for all the models were included. Check the package before you buy, mates.)

Happy listening!

This is about the only system of its kind that I can find, and I research obsessively! If you are looking for an iPod dock with good sound and the option for radio and aux input, and is NOT a blaster-style single unit, this is about it. I paid $160 at Linens n' Things, and I am pleased that it works as well as it does doing what I want it to do.

Both white and black look sharp (I chose white to match my iMac). The "receiver" is really small and compact, due mostly to the lack of a disk player. The sub is also small and demure, and, yes, it suffers from logo-itis with a large iHome displayed prominently. The satellites are perfectly sized for a desk, and sound crisp. The remote is simple and does what it should.

The Good:
- Looks sharp, unique feature set.
- iPod dock that controls SOME iPods and displays SOME iPod info and synchs right through the receiver to iTunes for updates.
- Good sound with limited (but effective) pre-set EQ settings.
- Set-up was generally easy and straight forward.
- Hooked up my iMac through Aux port and it sounds great. No general hissing as some others have mentioned (with the FM exception mentioned below).

The Bad:
- The Remote batteries were pre-installed in the factory (who does that anymore) and were thus stone dead upon purchase. There are also AAs pre-installed in the receiver for clock backup, which will almost certainly leak and cause issues in some units during shipping.
- This unit does NOT work with all iPods equally, INCLUDING the newer iPod video versions! My 4 month old iPod video will play OK through the speakers, but will not show any track details on the screen (which is explained on a small note INSIDE the box). There is NO dock insert for the video iPods, either, and there is a small note explaining that you should order some small $3 inserts from the iHome website for the iPod video (c'mon, iHome folks, the iPod video has been out for a YEAR now! At least give us a coupon for a free insert).
- The FM reception is poor, and then when you install the included FM antenna, you pick up stations the SETI array cannot find - I get overlap from some previously unknown station on that wavelength! I have settled on a minor amount of static as the best case scenario. My prior JVC system picked up the same station just fine in the exact same location. I have tested the AM briefly, and it doesn't sound all that great either. (UPDATE: I have a much clearer signal now, after laying the AM antenna over the FM antenna input port!)
- I don't think the speakers are shielded. If they are, the company sure doesn't like to brag about it. This shouldn't be too big a deal if you have an LCD display and stopped using floppy disks, but keep in mind there be magnets here (UPDATE: I have been informed by the company that the speakers are shielded)
- sub levels are changed via the ol' knob-on-the-back-of-the-speaker method. It seems to me that a receiver up on a desk close to the user would have been a more convenient location for this adjustment to take place.

This system gets 4.5 stars for promised features, 4 stars for performance, and 2 stars for all the lies, darn lies, printed on the box and on the web! Through all my bitterness, I'm glad I got it. It is real close to being great, and gets an "A" for effort, but close those loopholes, iHomeys!

UPDATE: One month later, and all is well. I sync my iPod via the iHome without any difficulty, and iTunes sounds great thru the AUX port. I'm a big fan of FM radio while hearing the system sounds on my computer, which I have.

The sound sound quality & features on the iH52 are pretty good, but it has some minor flaws (no alarm clock, no ability to navigate menus/choose playlists on iPod) and one serious flaw with the remote when using newer iPods (specifically, the Nano, the Video, or the Classic), where the forward/reverse buttons on the remote don't work reliably. After a year of grumbling about those buttons and wondering if maybe I was just too stupid to use a remote correctly, I finally called iHome and got someone on the phone who knew exactly what I was talking about before I finished explaining the problem.

Apparently, there's an issue w/ the hardware of the iH52 that means that it can't reliably send the correct instructions to skip tracks or scan within tracks for those newer iPods from the remote--some people have the "skip tracks" function work, others have the "scan within track" function work, and some (like me) have neither work reliably so we have to schlep ourselves over to the iHome to use those functions via the buttons on the main dock. He noted that people w/ older Nanos or Videos have reported being able to revert back to the original factory firmware and get them to work correctly w/ the iH52, but not users of the Classic (whose factory firmware is new enough to not recognize the codes that the iH52 sends when using the remote to control it).

(Apparently right now the only iHome product that can reliably control the skip/scan functions of newer iPods from the remote is the iH9 (IH9 Black Alarm Clock for Ipod), which doesn't have the external speakers or subwoofer of the iH52. The iH9 reportedly also has the ability to control the entire iPod interface (including navigating menus) via the remote, and has a line-level output that could in theory be connected to a stereo system for folks for whom the lack of external speakers is a deal-breaker.)

I purchased the iHome bookshelf system for my husband for Christmas, and we absolutely love it. The reason that I purchased it was (1) it accepts the iPod Shuffle Gen1, and (2) the small profile of the base unit. The design is very slick and clean, and it fits well in our space. And, the speakers don't take up a ton of room either.

We also use the unit for the FM Radio, and the sound quality is very good. The only drawback that I see is that the interface is not as good with the Shuffle as it would be with a normal iPod. That is, you have to physically walk over and move between songs on the iPod, while it is docked in the system, and you can't use the remote for anything other than volume and on/off when the iPod Shuddle is playing. But, I knew when I got the shuffle that it wasn't as robust as the regular iPod, and went for the value price. So, it is really not a big deal.

Great product, I would buy it again!

I bought the iH52B Bookshelf System for iPods for my husband for Christmas. As a non-ipod user, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but my husband was quite thrilled with it. The one thing I did not like about it, was the speaker was huge and there were so many wires. But the sound is great and the look is sleek

I recieved this ihome 15 months ago for Christmas. Initially I was happy with the product. The FM reception was good (with the supplied antennas). I never tried the AM reception. The ipod functionality leaves a lot to be desired. It is very difficult to change artists using either the head unit or the remote. It is faster and more convenient to make musical changes through the ipod. The main problem I am having is there is no sound coming out of the speakers anymore. About 6 weeks ago, I turned the system on to listen to some music while I painted an adjacent bathroom. I heard music for maybe 1 second and then silence. I contacted the 877 number listed on the unit. The guy said I should reset the system by removing the batteries and unplugging it for 30 minutes. I have tried this once already and it didn't work. I am going to try it again, and if it doesnt work, I will call the number again. I hope they can help me with this issue I am having. To be honest, I would question the value of a system that doesn't function well with the ipod and isn't very durable. I haven't abused it either. I mainly listen to NPR on it. Buyer beware!

If I were to design a product, which has a symbiotic relationship with another product, wouldn't I want them to be compatable? The Ihome ih52b is not compatable with my Ipod. The remote isn't, which is specifically why I purchased this product. I wanted to put it in the garage, for working out there and for music in my backyard. It worked for a month. then the remote stopped changing tracks of the Ipod. I tried swapping batteries in the remote, to no avail. I contacted tech support, a person named Chee Ming told me in an email "yes, we have problems with that, try uninstalling your itunes and resetting your ipod to an earlier model or software, or return the product." Return the product? Is amazon going to take back a product older than 90 days and out of it's box? Is Target stores going to either? I doubt it. So, if you want a 200 dollar am/fm radio with an ipod dock, and what should be a full function remote which ummmm does not work for long, then by all means, go with this unit. I am disappointed. Ihome should offer to swap out either the head unit, or repair the head unit (dock) at no charge to the people who own one.

This is a great system for the money. Sound is pretty good and the feature are ok. The guy that can't get the song title with his video iPod: push the display button. This will display the song titles, artist, etc..., but you'll have to hit the display button again if you want to scroll through your iPod. You can skip between songs on the current album/playlist but it won't go to the next album for instance. Not much of a problem for me.

Also, the remote was a pain for a while because when I wanted to skip a song it would just FF a couple seconds. This was infuriating, until I learned if you hit the display button it takes care of this problem.

I am unhappy that one of my FM station always has interference. The other ones don't but that one will not go away. All in all it's been an enjoyable system, with a few quirks. I don't think their engineers are the best though. Compared to how amazing other gadgets have become this one falls short.

This item has great great sound. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much output there is for this small unit. We love it, and the remote control is a huge bonus. We also love that it charges our IPOD as well, this way we get great sound at home but the IPOD is always ready to go.

Would Highly reccommend

I bought this product about 2 yrs ago(still works like when i first got it), and for the price of $99.99 made it completely worth the value since the lower end mini docks go for like 59.99 to 79.99. This system goes very loud for how small it is at max volume with my windows open you can hear it from a block away. A couple problems are remote control sucks ass(cant skip songs consistently). but it doesn't matter cause i bought a 6 foot 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux stereo cord from frys for like $5. what works well are power (on/off) | volume | play pause | imput selector | and presets. I have a small amount of hiss but only audible when nothing is playing. so if you can get this for less than $200 I'd go for it. Also the sub in this package is way better than i expected it packs some punch but not like a full stereo surround one does... for that go with panasonic, onkyo, or sony