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iPod dock buyers guide

Alex Kidman- 21/06/2008 01:22:47

Tags: iPod dock, iPod speaker

iPod docks - when the voices in your head get too loud, it's time to unplug those earbuds and free the tunes. Alex Kidman compares five speaker docks for iPod.

Not all iPods are the same. As the brand has evolved, Apple's done a number of rather unusual things to the shape and size of the iPod. As such, most docks use the standard iPod Dock Connector (for third-generation or newer iPods), but may require a small adaptor to 'fit' each iPod. You would have found an adaptor in your new iPod box, but may have thrown it away.

Thankfully, many iPod docks come with adaptors for each type of iPod, although they don't always label which adaptor goes with which generation and type of iPod. Because the dock plug itself is universal, you can survive by jamming down the iPod without the adaptor, but it's an ugly solution and one that could lead to bent pins and dead iPods - we don't recommend it.

iPod = MP3 player

Whether or not Apple likes it, iPod is the byword for 'MP3' player, in the same way that Google is synonymous with internet search. With that kind of market dominance comes plenty of add-ons and accessories, and in the case of the iPod, that's most prevalent in the bolt-on speaker dock market. Without exaggeration, we could fill every page in Home Entertainment magazine for the rest of the year with iPod speaker docks, and still miss out a few. With that kind of variety on the market, what exactly should you look for? We've assessed a few key iPod docks to give you a good feel for what to look for.

Speakers

The starting point for any dock is the embedded speakers, and it would be easy to say "just buy the one with the best speakers". (There - we've said it.) But it's actually not that easy, because for the vast majority of iPod owners, the thing that will determine how good those speakers actually are won't be the quality of construction, but the quality of what you're putting into them. Most songs from the iTunes music store are only encoded at 128kbps AAC, which is fine when you're listening through headphones - it can even make the awful white earbuds sound OK, which is practically black magic in our books. iTunes Plus tracks are markedly better, with 256kbps encoding, but they're still dwarfed by the number of lower-quality tracks available. The lesson is clear: if you want good sound out of your dock, feed it good sound to begin with.

Types of docks

There's a lot of variety in the dock market, and while most people will associate small, portable docks - in the same way that iPods themselves are portable - you can go as large as you'd like in your search for an iPod docking solution (see our review of the VAF Octavio for example). The iPod market and mindshare is so large that plenty of companies, from the tiniest 'you've-never-heard-of-them-before' operations right up to the biggest and best-known sound vendors have incorporated an iPod dock into their systems.

There's also a variety of add-on features that you can opt to buy into, from alarm clock systems to streaming, rechargeable batteries and remote controls. And if you're part of the smaller audience that's purchased a non-iPod MP3 player, you're also not automatically excluded. Most iPod docks come with a standard 3.5 mm audio in jack for connecting other audio sources.

Reviews

Click the page control link below, and you'll find links to 5 recent iPod dock models, plus a summary of the good and less good points concerning iPod docks, and a conclusion.

Page 1 of 2  Next - iPod dock reviews, conclusion and summary  

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In this article

• iPod dock buyers guide
• iPod dock reviews, conclusion and summary

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