Customer Reviews

iHome iP9 Speaker Dock with Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone (Black)

5 star:		(147)
4 star:		(91)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(47)

 

 

I have searched hard to find the "perfect" iPod alarm clock. For me, the iHome iP9 comes closer than anything else I found, but it does have some very annoying flaws.

In my opinion, the best features are:

* The alarm can be set to wake to a random song on an "iHome" playlist on your iPod. Only Sanyo seems to have a product with a similar feature, but I think theirs looks REALLY ugly.

* The backlight dimmer has 7 levels of brightness and can even be turned off.

* You can adjust the snooze time from 1 to 29 minutes in 1-minute increments.

* The alarm volume (for radio and iPod) gradually increases for "gentle" waking.

* The sound quality is quite good for such a small unit.

The things that annoy me about the unit are:

* The alarm set buttons are located directly behind the snooze bar, and hitting one of these buttons resets the alarm when the alarm is sounding. While the snooze bar is very big and has a bump that you can feel with your fingers, I fear that I will accidentally turn off my alarm one morning when just trying to snooze for a few more minutes.

* There is a beep when setting the alarm. While this offers audio confirmation of your alarm setting actions, it can be annoying if you are trying to set the alarm when your significant other is sleeping.

* The dial controls are cool in theory/aesthetic but are not so great in practice. It can be more time-consuming to use these to set the alarm time and other settings when compared to conventional buttons and a system where one sets the hour and minute independently. Also, the dials are mechanical (unlike an iPod) and lack an indent or other means for providing traction. So, your finger can slip, making them not so easy to turn. For this, I found a simple work-around: I stuck on each dial a small, round, self-adhesive, clear plastic bumper (something you can find in any hardware store). This makes it much easier to turn the dials, but it does not get around the fact that dials are not always the best interface.

* Personally, I find only the dimmest and off settings for the backlight to be of any use. Perhaps, the other backlight settings would be needed if the unit is placed in direct sunlight. However, I find them too bright, and it is very slightly annoying that I need to press the dimmer button to cycle through the 6 other "on" settings each time I turn the backlight off. While definitely better than some competing units whose backlight is always way too bright (e.g. the Sony ICF-CD3iP), even the dimmest setting can be rather bright in a totally dark room.

For me, the positive outweighs the negative when evaluating this unit as an iPod alarm clock. While not my primary usage (and paling in comparison to a dedicated home stereo), I found the sound on this unit to be surprisingly good when using the unit as an iPod speaker system for casual listening in a small room.

I had been reading about the IP99 for months but was unwilling to pay well over $120 for it. When I happened across the new IP9 for $79.99 in a local warehouse that starts with "Cost" and ends with "co", I thought I would give it a try.

The sound is slightly improved over my older IH5 and IH6 radios -- which is to say excellent for the money -- and so far I haven't heard the slightest GSM buzz. The iP9's 3D effect is richer than the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2's "Mega Xpand" feature. The overall sound of the iP9 is slightly warmer than that of the Sony but otherwise comparable. The Eq option is a big plus.

The one advantage the Sony has is that it supports an iPhone from the back via and adustable block. That somewhat negates the need for a dock insert. This is a nice convenience for people with an iPhone shell that is small enough to fit in a universal dock as you may not have to remove the shell to dock the iPhone securely. You NEED an insert on the iP9 as you would on any device with a universal dock on top and nothing substantial behind the dock. Fortunately, the iPhone insert iHome includes seems to work as well as an iPhone 3G Universal Dock Insert from Apple... and it's black! The iHome website currently states that the IP9 does not ship with an iPhone 3G insert but perhaps iHome wised-up.

The dual alarms work in a similar manner to the Sony. The 2-5-7 day setting is a plus. I have not used the snooze feature though it is supposed to be configurable. Our dogs do not allow us to snooze, in case you were wondering. At night, one big advantage for the iP9 is that the dimmer allows you to turn off the backlighting entirely. As anyone with a Sony will tell you, their dimmest setting is way too bright. The iHome's numbers are also a little larger.

I have read about some quality problems with the IP99 and am hoping that the IP9 is as solid as the IH5 and IH6 clocks I have had for a few years without any problems. The iP9 seems to be built more solidly than the Sony, particularly with respect the buttons. The dials take a little getting used to, but if you're tying to adjust the volume in a dark room they are much easier to adjust than the tiny Sony volume buttons, which have an annoyingly loud click. I also give the iP9's remote an edge because it includes a few more functions.

In summary, the iHome iP9 is a solid performer with an excellent attention to detail that puts it ahead of the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2, despite its more iPhone shell-friendly design.

First of all, THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY IF YOU HAVE AN iPHONE, because the other model just doesn't have sufficient shielding to work with the iPhone. You will have constant buzzing and interference due to the iPhone constantly polling.

Now to the review. The product comes nicely packaged and protected, and with good instructions. Set up is simple, even setting the time, which is just a selection of a time zone if needed. Mine came perfectly timed (it has a battery backup for it's internal clock) and so I just selected my time zone and I was done. Most of the setting are intuitive, except perhaps turning off the alarms if you don't want them to ring the next day... But, read the instructions (I had to finally turn to them as I couldn't work it out... and you know, turning to instructions is the last thing any man wants to do!:-)))))

In function the unit deliver acceptable sound for what is basically a clock radio. And being able to access all your favorite music on the iPod or iPhone, with a remote control no less, is great. Even the alarm works well, with a gradually increasing volume (and irritation... exactly what is required to pierce my slumbering brain...). And being able to wake to radio, MP3, or buzzer is great. The dual alarms can be set for 5 or 7 day setting, so that if you don't have to get up quite so early on the weekend, you can...

FM & AM reception are acceptable, and the tuner has pretty good lock and definition (stays on station, and doesn't pick up much "bleed through" of stations that are close to each other on the dial...). Finding a place to hang/hide the antenna cables can be challenging...

Answering the phone while in the cradle works fine, but isn't the greatest sound.

So, great sound, great time keeping, great access to favorite tunes, great that it charges the phone whilst in the cradle, and it looks good too. So why do I say "almost" does everything? Well, the one think I would change would be to fit a small light sensor, and have it maintain one illumination setting for day and one for night (illumination level of my choice of course). It does have plenty of graduations of light intensity, but it seems I am forever adjusting the illumination, from the bright setting for day, and one of the night... Setting them once as a preference and having it automatically set to that selection as needed would be wonderful...

Anyway, it's a nice solution to keeping your iPhone by the bed, and charging it without cables everywhere. And it does it all whilst looking good, and performing other tasks... Pretty good value if you ask me...
BrianB.

For some reason finding a well designed clock radio is quite difficult. Poorly laid out, confusing and/or hard to use controls are the biggest problem. Finding all the features and functionality you want is also a challenge, even more so when you add iPod integration to the mix.

After trying units from two other manufacturers, the iHome iP9BR was the charm. Here's why:

1. Well organized and easy to use controls.
2. Easy to read display with brightness control (can be turned off completely).
3. AM and FM radio with good reception.
4. Sleep / wake to iPod.
5. iPod Touch navigation from remote.
6. Decent sound (for clock radio).
7. Compact and attractive.
8. Reasonably priced.

Overall, I am very pleased. The only pain is that the AM radio requires an external antenna that is hard to find a good place for on my nightstand.

Well I have to say I was hesitant to buy this based on the wide range of reviews here...but I have to say that it has exceeded my expectations after two months of ownership.

PROS
-sound is great, fills bedroom nicely
-radio is crystal clear works as advertised
-alarm function has been working flawlessly for 2 months
-plays and controls my iTouch 2nd generation great( charges it too)
-comes with cradle for a nano and iphone as well as itouch

CONS
- the remote is poorly laid out and leaves a lot to be desired
- selecting a radio preset from the remote is a chore having to go through them all each time, can't select one (not a big deal)
- cradles are hard to remove once in place( seem to be fragile too)

Overall, all the functionalities work as advertised and this is well worth the money in my opinion.

I bought this radio after extensive searching both on Amazon and the Apple website. After several days of use, I'm very happy: it's very well designed, sounds good, and works as promised. The two criticisms which prevent my awarding a '5' are 1. that the clock/radio is unaware of the phone ring (it won't turn down music, or broadcast the ring through the speakers and thus you can miss inbound calls), and 2. the audio quality is good, not great.

Prior to buying, I looked for a clock radio that worked with the iPhone 3G and offered excellent audio quality. My goal was to consolidate some of the equipment in my room: ipod speakers, clock, radio, charging station. Sound quality and aesthetic were both important to me.

The box includes the radio, remote, charger, an fm antenna (just a wire), and an am wire (a loop antenna). There are inserts for several types of iPods and the iPhone 3G.

The manual is shockingly well written. It's simple (about 4 pages in English) but complete.

The clock has several cool features: you can set an alarm to wake you up every day, every weekday, and only on weekends. Each alarm can be set to wake you to radio, a specific ipod playlist, or a random song from your library. There's a buzzer alarm too.

The interface is really intuitive. Controls and settings are easy to use. There's a cool 'turn down' feature that softens music (ultimately to off) while you fall asleep.

I previously used the Bose Sound Dock before and loved it. The audio is excellent, but it does not have the clock nor the FM radio function. The iP9 does not live up to the audio quality of the Bose. Not Bose, but good.

As stated, the radio/iPod is unaware of the phone's ringing. It would be really nice if it turned down the volume so you could hear the ring! Or even better, the ringer should sound through the speakers.

I am really happy with the product. I would give it a 5 with better sound quality and a ring 'awareness'.

The main reason I purchased this unit was that I had a spare iPod lying around and I was tired of waking up to my blaring alarm clock. So, the "wake to playlist" feature was of keen interest to me, although the one reviewer who commented that it didn't work had me concerned.

The feature probably works in some scenarios, but if your goal is to wake up gently, you're out of luck.

I received an email from the manufacturer when I asked about this. Here was the reply:

"Our iHome alarm is design to switch to buzzer, if the iHome is not recognizing enough sound coming from the iPod, like the music recording level is too low or long period audio drop out between songs.

Please try selecting some high recording level songs in the iHome play list for alarm. Also try turn on the bass booster on the iPod EQ setting."

Meaning, if you're playlist is classical music or soothing sounds, the iP9 is worried you're not jumping out of bed and just goes to buzzer. I actually watched it happen. When the alarm first goes off, a nice message appears on the iPod that you're waking to an iHome playlist and you hear the first few notes of Mendelssohn (in my case). After the first few bars, the iPod shuts off and the buzzer takes its place.

As you can see from the quote above, that is by design.

The eight-level clock dimmer is a nice feature, but even the lowest setting (before "off") is quite bright in a dark room.

So, it failed as an alarm clock, but is performing satisfactorily as an iPod speaker dock in my office.

I did a lot of research prior to purchasing this product, and it got great reviews, so I went for it. However, despite claiming it's iPhone compatible, I still get the "Not compatible with iPhone, change to airplane mode" message. That I wouldn't mind, but probably 90% of the time, the system does not play the music from my iPhone, and it just plays through my iPhone speakers. The screen indicates that it is iPod mode, and the phone even charges, but the music doesn't play. I can fiddle with it and usually after about 10 tries, it'll play...sometimes I have to unplug the system to make this work. Also, twice, after having this issue of the iPhone not registering on the system, it locked up the system, freezing the time. So now it isn't even functioning as a clock.

In theory, I really liked this radio: nice design, all the functions I was looking for, remote control, alarm clock, iPod player, but none of this matters if the systems doesn't work!!!

I was so excited to get this for my husband for his birthday. He loved it. It worked right out of the box, no having to even set the time, it did it by itself when it got plugged in the outlet using the AC adapter. Ours even came with the batteries for the backup feature. If your power goes out, the display dims quite a bit to save battery power, but your alarm (a buzzer) will still work because of the battery backup.

How do I know this??

By experience.

We've had this for 6 months, almost to the day. It has been working just fine, and then one morning the alarm was not the radio, but the buzzer, which is the backup method of alarm when the power goes out. I thought maybe the power problem was an issue with our outlet, so I plugged it into a known working outlet. Still nothing. I then thought it was a problem with the AC adapter, since the radio was being able to get power from the batteries. I payed $27 to IHome to ship me another power adapter. When it came 6 days later, I immediately plugged it into the IHome and.....

Nothing. It still didn't work. The problem, I believe, is in the area when the adapter plugs into the radio. This would be a warranty issue, and I would have to send it to Singapore with the receipt for repair at my expense. Sorry, not worth it. And, since it's been 6 months, I don't have the receipt anymore.

I will be tossing this out and NOT recommending it to anyone.

The iHome looks great, plays nicely, and wakes my daughter in time for school every morning! Her last iHome (probably a first generation version) deteriorated after a few years, i.e. dials did not sync well to adjust alarm time and volume; time of day was off by about 10 minutes and there was no way to fix it; iTouch did not fit in the charger. But to its credit it lasted quite a long time (for an alarm clock) that's why we got another one.