Customer Reviews

iLive Boombox with iPod Docking Station (Pink)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is a great product save for one important feature: The CD player works well, the Ipod cradle is child-friendly, and the pink color is just fantastic for my girls; unfortunately, it does not charge my Ipod Nano (4th generation) 8GB.

I called the manufacturer and they said they only supported charging the Ipod Nano up to the 2nd generation.

I wish the product description includes this most important fact.

So, I had to return the product for full refund.

First of all, 3 stars mean I think this unit is average. I got mine for under $30 and for that price I was willing to buy it. I love complex music, and sold portable electronics as a kid, so I'm pickier than the average person. If you want an iPod docking unit with a radio that's cheap and very compact, you don't have overly discerning ears (like me), and can listen to music at something stronger than low level, then this unit is fine. I do think if I paid more than $35 for it I'd feel ripped off. In order to get the most out of this box it needs to be played at low/mid to mid-level, which is probably how it would be played at home, or outside, or in a community accepted environment. My biggest caution to you is if you're buying it for work, listen to music, and can't turn the volume up much (I'm in an executive office setting and my box sits two feet away on one of my desks) be wary. I'm not sure the reason, maybe because of poor sound equalization or stereo/speaker formatting (or probably just low quality speakers) when I listen to my unit at a lower volume, I can hear the melody and dominate vocals of some songs but not the background vocals (e.g. California Dreaming) unless I turn it up to a level that's too loud for my environment. This is frustrating. Also, the manual tuner on this thing (didn't think anybody was still using them) wanders slightly on occasion and I have to retune it. But hey, this is a budget unit. If you're looking for a budget compact box for that iPod and want radio back up, or are giving this to your 9 year old, then it's probably good enough.

**This docking station will not charge the latest iPod Nano released 9/2008**

I purchased this in white about a year ago to use in my cubicle at work. In a corporate office where I need to use low volumes the sound quality is good but when I use it at home on the weekends while doing chores I found that the sound at high volumes became a little strained and does not go up as high as I'd like it. The radio is ok if you're in a good area but every now and then I have to tweak the dial for better reception. The clock is in an odd curved spot on this docking station so if you look at it from certain angles it's impossible to see.

I have no complaints for the actual Ipod play such as moving from song to song and stopping and pausing, but I did find that the docking adapter for my iPod 3rd generation does not slide in the docking station so I had to play the iPod without it making the iPod rock back and forth whenever I used the menu features. It comes with several sized adapters to use with the many iPods that are out but I couldn't use any of them with the iPod I had when I purchased this.

All and all it's not a bad little player for the money and it will charge your iPod (Older versions only)when you use it. Unfortunately I just purchased the new iPod Genius and will need to buy another docking station that's compatible and charges my iPod.

Warning - this boombox is a battery hog. It requires 8 C cell batteries. Also when running on battery power an attached IPOD will charge. For some this may be ok but for me it quickly drains the C cell batteries even if the power to the box is turned off. Also, on our unit, the ipod backlight turns on and off every 5 seconds. This is not only frustrating but also drains the batteries.

Additional information: FM reception is poor to fair. Sound is good.

A family member purchased this for my 11 year old daughter for Christmas. It's worked well under moderate use for four months until today. When the ipod was pulled out of the dock, the connector came with it. I opened it up and found the docking connector was held in place by only four solder points, no screws! What genius engineer decides that lead based solder is strong enough to hold a heavy use connector in place? A product is only as good as it's weakest component. Look elsewhere if you want something that won't end up in the landfill.

This is a great docking station, and nice little boombox. The sound might not be the most epic, but for the price it can't be beat.

In comparison to other iPod speaker systems a great deal for the sound it does put out. Our family has four iPods, and absolutely love the convenience this radio offers. We have two of these units now, a blue one and a pink one, and never regretted out decision, not for a minute.

If your looking for an economical and inexpensive charging/speaker system, look no further. Not only that, but its stylish, and keeps the iPod protected while docked, which most docks do not do. What more can you ask for? Maybe better sound quality, but your not going to get that for this price point.

I am very pleased with my docking station. It was inexpensive, shipped right away, and works great. I took it to work with me, and all of my co-workers love it too!

This product has a tremendous value. I wasn't sure what I was going to receive due to some of the negative reviews I read, but was more than pleasantly surprised the first time I turned this on. My girlfriend uses it in the bathroom to get ready every morning and takes it to the beach for portable sound. The sound is crisp from low to high volumes regardless of what other reviews says. I have a different Ipod docking station that I use in the garage and paid 4 times as much for it. The quality in sound and the achievable volume level of this product far surpasses that of mine. I would defenitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a portable ipod docking station.

As others have mentioned, you get a very fair deal for what you pay for. The stereo went out in our road trip mini van, and rather than pay hundreds to replace it, I bought this unit and put it on the dash. The sound is not great, however it is certainly adequate, and it filled the van with either audio book readings or music. The radio was certainly sensitive enough to pick up stations in town. I'm satisfied.

I bought this for a young lady, and I did not expect much. But I was pleasantly surprised at it's reasonable sound levels, and smooth, though narrow, frequency response. She loved it and that made it entirely worthwhile.