Customer Reviews

iLive Portable 2.1-Channel CD Boombox with Docking Station for iPod (White)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

This is an awesome deal for under $100.

Pros:
Price
Features
Sound

Cons:
No handle
No mp3 CD playback
Hissing sound


Pros:
For the price of this unit, it can't be beat. I searched everywhere to find a good speaker system for my Ipod for the least amount of money and none compare to this.

This unit has so many built in features. It has an FM/AM (I listen to AM talk shows and no other ipod speaker has an AM tuner), CD player, aux input, video output on the back, remote control.

The sound of this unit is good. It's no match for the Altec Lansing IM7. I'm sure that blows this away. But it's also more than double the price of this. It also doesn't have the features as well. I listen to the radio as well and it's a nice thing to have a CD player handy so when you're in a party and a buddy wants to play their CD can do so. The sound is harsh at first, but after several hours of playing it, it sounded so much better. I guess you have to break the speakers in. There is a bass boosting switch. When it's off, the sound is decent, it gets better in the mid setting, however, on full it sounds good as long as you don't turn it up too loud otherwise it'll distort pretty bad. I find the mid setting to be optimal, even on loud settings. The sound also depends on the bit rate of your sound files. Most of my songs are 128kb and it sounds decent however it sounds pretty bad when you turn it up. But when I played an original CD, it sounds great. When I turn it up really loud, the sound doesn't distort at all. I know it doesn't sound as good as something from Altec or JBL but you gotta take into account that it's only $100. For $100 it sounds phenomenal.


Cons:

It doesn't have a built in handle. What it does is it has a strap that goes on the ends of the radio. The strap is nylon and I'm sure it's strong, but it feels flimsy. The unit is pretty heavy too, and that's without batteries. I don't like the angle of display. You have to look directly up on top of the unit to see the display. So if you're sitting across the room and you want to see what station it is, you'd have to get up and walk across the room to look over it.

The CD has no mp3 playback. I don't really see this as a con since I'd put my mp3s on my ipod anyways and would probably never put one together in a CD since it takes up too much time. But still, the cd drive that reads mp3s isn't that expensive so I don't know why they didn't put it. I guess they didn't want to bump the price any higher. But I'd pay an extra $20 to have that feature.

The unit has a hissing sound when using any sources except the CD. It isn't that loud but it's audible. It'll probably only bother me when I'm listening at extremely low volume levels. Other than that, the music will just play over it.


Conclusion:

It's irritating when people bash a product and say how much something that costs 2-5 times more is better. That's a moot point. However, when you factor in the price, it's an awesome unit. For all the features it packs, you won't find anything better. The sound is good and the unit looks really nice. If your budget is only $100 then this is the unit for you. If you have an unlimited budget, don't waste your time on this unit and go buy the more expensive units.

I got one of these on sale at a department store, and thought "Wow, how could this do so much for such a low price?" Then I got it home and found out why, it's because the sound quality is absolutely terrible. Well, to qualify that, it's ok if you crank it up REAL loud. But at low volume levels the hiss/static sound would drive you nuts. Don't even think about using one of these in your office or next to your bed. For outdoor use (beach, patio, etc.) it would be ok; it actually puts out a lot of sound, and the bass output is pretty respectable, like any other boombox.

A few other gripes... the controls on this are kind of whacky and counter-intuitive. When you turn off the unit and turn it back on, the volume always jumps back up to 18, it doesn't remember where you had the volume set when you last turned it off. And though I carefully read the instructions, I never could manage to change the time on the clock. Got it into Set mode, but couldn't change anything. Don't know if my system was defective, or if the defect was somewhere between my ears.

In my case I returned it the next day. For a decent amp/speaker system, I'll step up in price and get a quality one... like the one from Apple. I mean, why spend a small fortune on an video Ipod and then get a cheap, junky speaker system with the goal of having that replace your home stereo? It doesn't make sense. Save your money for a good one!

It's really too bad that this unit sounded awful. It's got the best bang for the buck for any iPod speaker system, as it offers AM/FM radio, a CD player, and a remote. (Why don't more manufacturers include those features?)

But it fails on the most basic test for any boombox -- does it have decent sound quality? It most certainly does not. I don't expect audiophile quality, I just want it to sound reasonably good, and I've heard cheap tabletop CD players that sound better than this product.

The hiss that all the other reviewers are talking about is present no matter what sound source you select, and while it's less noticeable when music is playing, it is always there. Music sounds muddy and has no clarity or sparkle whatsoever.

I read the reviews before I bought this. Numerous people complained about a hissing noise that you hear all the time. So why did I go ahead with buying it?

Because I am _NOT_ an audiophile! I know people who will only listen to 256 kbps MP3s because they can "totally hear the difference between 192 and 256." Well, I can't! So when I read those reviews I thought that maybe the reviewers were just overly picky.

Let me tell you-- they are NOT. The humming hissing noise is really loud. It sounds like those old clock radios "wake to buzz"-- if those alarm clocks have a volume of 10, this is certainly a 1.

I really really thought that I could deal with it. I said, "Well, most of the time I will listen to it fairly loud." But then a song came on that had a lot of quiet parts, and you could hear that horrible hiss!

I'm going to have to send it back-- it's that bad.

as all above have stated, i am severely disappointed in this unit for one reason only... the hiss. it is "not that bad", but it is totally unacceptable for a product of this price. even $5 walmart clock radios don't have amplifier hiss. its completely unacceptable.

i would give the product 4 stars without the hiss. the controls are silly and confusing. buttons have 2-3 different operations depending on audio source and they are not intuitive. the product is convienent as heck, yet i would not pay over $50 for it again. build quality is cheap and chincy. there's not even a solid plastic handle (the supplied nylon strap really doesn't get it done).

the ipod integration is pretty cool, and this dock is one of the only to actually charge the ipod.

sound quality is sub-par at best. again, for a product of this price, i expect much more. the mid and high range is muddy and tinny. not crisp or clean at all. the subwoofers clip and distort with a lot of volume.

the sad thing is, you're not going to find a product with these features for under $250. amazing idea... price is right... but the execution was pathetic.

iLive? More like i got ripped off. That hiss is definitely audible at low to mid levels. Great idea. Great price.... Awful execution. Back to the electronics store this one goes. Shame on me for not doing my research.

That hiss everyone keeps talking about? I find it extremely annoying, and I'm no serious audiophile. In addition, I find the controls confusingly labeled and nonintuitive to use. This unit does have a lot of features for the price, and it works OK. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who cares even a little bit about sound quality.

I unpacked my brand new boombox, excitedly plugged it in, powered it on, and got an annoying hissssssss. The hissing persists regardless of what's playing... iPOD, radio, etc. I quickly repacked my brand new boombox, sadly placed it back in the box, and took it back to the store.

I just bought this and I can't believe the hissing sound that this unit makes. It only goes away when the volume is all the way off. It doesn't matter what mode you are in (iPod/CD/Tuner modes), it's always there. I planned on using it mainly in my bedroom while falling asleep but at a songs low sleeping volume, the hiss and song levels are about equal! If you push the volume higher the hiss isn't that noticeable but, in general, the sound quality isn't great. I may have lived with the sound quality at this price point but I just can't deal with this much hiss.

I really wanted this to work as I liked all the features but with the hiss and lacking sound quality it's going back.

For the money, the fetures can't be beat. I don't know any product that offers the ability to be portable, battery powered, play CDs (mp3 CDs too), FM radio, and all IPods and has a remote. It's a perfect beach/outdoor companion. While the build quality is very cheap and the sound quality is bested by my $30 Creative speakers, it does work and offers a simple all in one solution. It's not a replacement for a real stereo but it solves that outdoor tune solution for the current generation of music when everyone at the party has a different format.

however the only missing feature that really sucks is that it doesn't charge the ipod when docked. so come prepaired and charged.