Customer Reviews

iLive iS809B Wireless Speaker System with Dock for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The speaker set as a whole works very well once you get it up and running. The set I purchased comes with 4 speakers and one dock. I found that 2 of my speakers have white LED indicator lights while the other 2 speakers have blue LED indicator lights, which is a bit odd. In any case, I found the speakers difficult to pair, for those with trouble try these steps:

1. Have all speakers and dock near each other within arms reach.
2. Plug all speakers and dock into an outlet and turn them on, dock and speakers will blink slowly.
3. Turn the speaker volumes to medium-low, when they come out of the box they are at max volume and will make a very loud beep when it tries pairing.

Alright, this is when coordination is key:
Each speaker has a pairing button, when you hold the pairing button down for 3 seconds, the speaker will make a beeping tone once every half-second while it searches for the dock, it will attempt to pair for about 10 seconds. The dock has a pairing button on it's left side. When you hold the pairing button down for 3 seconds, the status light will blink rapidly as it searches for the speakers for 10 seconds. You can see how this requires some coordination...

4. Using one hand on a pair of speakers, press and hold the pairing button on the speakers to initiate pairing (beeping sounds start).
5. Repeat step 4 on another pair of speakers.
6. Quickly press and hold the pairing button on the dock.
7. If you are able to do this fast enough, all 4 speakers will make a long sustained tone indicating that they have been paired.
8. Dock your ipod and give it a whirl, if you find that one or more speaker(s) is not outputting sound, you did not go through the steps fast enough... Repeat steps 4-7 again but FASTER!

I found that the speakers and docks, once paired, will not lose pairing (THANK GOODNESS!) even if you unplug them for an extended period of time, although the clock on the dock will reset unless you install 2 AAA's in the dock (not included).

Sound quality wise, I tried moving the speakers around my 1 story house and found that I got clear reception everywhere I went. The speakers do not produce the best sound in the world, they definitely do not measure up to my Klipsch speakers, but they sound decent once I up the treble to 5 and the bass to 3. Also, you can leave the speakers on and turn off the dock, they will not make any static sounds like many 900Hz wireless speakers do, they go into standby instead. Turning on the dock causes the speakers to spring into action.

The remote also appears to not use IR but will work wirelessly. You do not need to point the remote at the dock for it to work. In fact, I found that I could walk clear to the other side of my house and still be able to control the dock.

I'm overall very happy with this set of speakers. Pairing was a pain, but once I got it up and running they work decently, the range and ability for the remote to work anywhere was a definite plus.

Update: Discovered that when you play soft sounding music, the speakers will go into standby within 10 seconds. When the music gets louder, the speakers re-engage. This behavior is rather annoying, I wished that they would stay engaged while the base station is on.

Update 2-10-11: Speakers are still going strong. To resolve the issue of the speakers going into standby with soft music, I turned up the volume on the base station and turned down the volume on the individual speakers (end result of keeping the same output volume). It seems the speakers need a certain threshold of input sound or else they will go into standby.

Also, I discovered that the docking station will interfere with wireless networks, which makes sense as most wireless networks and these speakers operate on the 2.4Ghz frequency. When I place the dock near a computer that is using the wireless network, the computer will completely lose its connection until the dock is turned off.

I am still happy with these speakers, they have been on for the last 2 years, never turned off. I have since moved to a larger two story home, still works like a charm.

I purchased the set and pairing was really easy. It worked for 30 minutes and the dock died (no power, no nothing). I returned it and purchased another set. The second set worked for 45 minutes and the dock died. The sound was pretty decent and had a good coverage for the wireless speakers - only if they got the dock to work it would be useful. This product is horrible! What I waste of time to pair the speakers and have something working for a few minutes.

This system is a great idea that is very poorly executed.

The instructions for pairing the base station with the speakers do not work. Both the instruction in the box and posted on [...] are wrong (thank you ichinban for posting usable instructions). Once the base station was paired with the speakers the system worked well for 5 hours. The speaker had decent sound and good range from the base station. Then the base station display stopped working and soon there after it would not transmit to the speakers. I tried several times to contact ilive customer service by phone (which was a dead end game of selecting different numbers) and received no response from several emails.

I will never buy another ilive product and continue to advise others against doing so because they either don't know their own system well enough to write usable instructions or they just don't care, their products are poorly manufactured and they have zero customer service/support.

This system is horrendous. It played beautifully for 3 hours, every speaker working. Then, suddenly, the base unit died and was unresponsive. DPI (the maker of the system) sent me a replacement base. I paired the speakers to the new base, and now, two speakers sounded horrible and scratchy and one would no longer link with the base unit. Again, I called DPI and told them two speakers were scratchy. They said they'd send two more, but only sent one. The one replacement was also scratchy and horrible sounding, so I am giving up and will be returning this system to [...] where I purchased it. Also, the idea that this could be indoor/ outdoor is laughable, as the speakers appeared sensitive to TOUCH, and WALKING IN FRONT OF THEM!! DPI needs to go back to the drawing board.

Bought this unit with 2 speakers about 3 months ago and I loved it. The system has great sound and even though it's tough sometimes to "pair" the speakers to the base station, I didn't mind.
A few weeks ago the base station crapped out and the power was flickering on and off. I called iLive and they would not repair the basestation because it had been more than 90 days since I purchased it.
Furthermore, the representative told me, "WE HAVE BEEN HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A LOT OF THESE PRODUCTS"!!!
So steer clear of this item.

This is the 2nd ilive speakers I have purchased. The 1st one was from Costco online. I had it working for one day and then it quit. So, of course, being Costco, they took it back and I got a gift card. I was going to purchase another one but Costco took it off their website. That should have been my clue that this system is horrible. But stupid me I found the ilive again on Amazon and ordered it. Costco's came with 4 speakers but Amazon had only 2. Anyway, I now have to figure out how to send it back.

This product can not be used in the presence of a wireless router. Anywhere in my house, and even outside, the wireless speakers pick up a loud buzz or hum that can't be overcome without turning the router off. Also it is difficult to pair the base unit and the speakers unless they are close together or you have two people. And it seems that the speakers must be paired often, not just once when they are new.

I bought this from another vendor, hooked up easily with no issues. The remove was a bit heavy, but worked anywhere from my house (wifi-remote), really cool. The sound was awesome and I was so excited thinking that I found the one I like. Worked fine 45min-1hour. I switched off and tried to switch on again. The base died and did not power on. Thought there might be a issue with the dock and exchanged with a complete new system. To my surprise, this one got the same issue. I exchanged again second time (as I like the sound clarity so much) but same issue, so it went back.

As much I like the sound quality, I am so upset about the dock getting died after the first power off. Wasted so much time on hooking, unhooking, taking it to the store etc.

Never buy this again.

This unit seemed like what everyone would want.I bypassed the negative reviews [MISTAKE] and bought one anyway.It was fairly easy to set up and worked well for 3 months and then quit.I sent the base in for a replacement and received another.A month later the remote quit working.It is impossible to contact the company.I was on hold twice for an hour and gave up.They don't respond to e-mails and don't offer a replacement remote control anywhere.I now have two nice wireless speakers and a base unit that keeps time.The only way to control the volume is thru the remote.I like Amazon because they supply reviews for the products they sell. We should all heed these reviews.
RAY

Even thought I read the bad reviews I took a chance and purchased it. The product lacked workmanship quality, the buttons are small, feels like a toy, seems somewhat cheap. Good packaging, good shipping,,, but one of the speaker turn on and then it died. The other worked fine and it paired fine, the quality of sound is pretty good but the volume is somewhat limited if you use it outdoors. I am returning it since I lost confidence on the quality of the product. I would consider looking for other similar products from a different manufacturer.