PhilMUG iPod Hi-Fi review

[elbert]

I'll be posting a review very soon, but here's how it looks like with my setup. So far, so good. I've been enjoying the speakers tremendously.

Abangan...

[docnap]

So, how is it Mr. Chairman? Did it pass the Audiophile's test?

Nap

[chu]

Cool. Complete with the Airport Express. Please let us know your thoughts on how it stacks up against the Bose and the IM7's, I'm really curious to know if the lack of tweeters really make such a difference as some reviewers say.

[elbert]

User Review: Apple iPod Hi-Fi

Can a one-piece iPod speaker system replace your entire home stereo?

That’s the question I asked myself after reading about Apple’s new iPod Hi-Fi, a single-enclosure speaker system designed specifically for the iPod. During the special event organized by Apple to launch the iPod Hi-Fi (along with the new Mac mini), Steve Jobs himself said he’s “actually getting rid of his home stereos that cost a lot” in favor of the Hi-Fi. As he and Apple’s ads put it, it’s home stereo reinvented -- the singular sound system for the iPod age.

What this review is about

Let me first state that this is not a technical review. I am not a sound engineer, nor do I consider myself an audiophile. I don’t have any measuring tools or benchmarks. I do not have the training to determine stuff like staging and imaging. I just have a set of ears that can distinguish good sound from bad sound. But I’m the type of guy who would run up to the control room in the middle of a movie to complain that the sound is not balanced, so you could say that I’m a bit OC when it comes to sound quality.

This is a user review, with the iPod Hi-Fi being subjected to real-life conditions. I’ve been using this demo unit for the past two days now, and I’m ready to share my experiences with you.

Equipment, environment and placement

For this review, I am using a 3G 20GB iPod. Thanks to the 10 Universal Connector (a.k.a. dock) adapters included in the box, I’m able to mount this old unit snugly. I’ve also hooked up my Airport Express, which is the way I imagined I’d be using the iPod Hi-Fi at home to begin with. This is because I have a pretty large (and diverse) iTunes library in an external hard drive (with a good number of songs in audiophile-quality Apple Lossless format), so I prefer to play music from my computer.

I live in an old, 1930’s-built apartment with a generous amount of space (generous compared to what most buildings offer these days). The space I wish to fill with sound is a living room with a floor area of 55 square meters (11 x 5 meters). Between the wooden floor and the concrete ceiling is a height of 3 meters. The walls are about a foot thick and all the neighboring apartments are detached (which means I never have to worry about the neighbors when I crank up my music). It’s not a tight space, but it’s not too spacious either. It’s the kind of space I imagine Apple had in mind for the iPod Hi-Fi.

I first placed the iPod Hi-Fi on top of an antique cabinet, four and a half feet off the ground. Not an ideal height, but this is where our old JVC mini component normally sits (and has been gathering dust for the past five years). The JVC’s two-way speakers are actually satellites to an Altec Lansing subwoofer (which weighs a ton and houses two 6-inch drivers). Although the sound this setup produces is not audiophile grade, it provides a clean sound with a lot of bass to boot.

Set up and operation

The iPod Hi-Fi cannot be any simpler to set up. I removed it from the box, picked out the right iPod adapter, mounted my iPod and connected the power cord. Three easy steps and it was up and running. I even simplified the process a bit by using a standard appliance cord I had lying around (since I didn’t want to bother looking for an adapter for the cumbersome UK-style three prong plug that came with this unit). Total setup time (from opening the box to playing music): less than 2 minutes.

There are no switches or knobs to be found on the Hi-Fi. The only controls are on the top -- two flush-mounted touch-sensitive buttons (just like the ones in my 3G iPod) for volume control, in simple + and - symbols.

Music control (i.e. playlist and specific song selection) is done through the iPod itself, as it should be (how else cant you sift through thousands of songs?). iPods mount on the top with a slight angle, giving the user the ability to fiddle with the iPod without having to bend over just to read the display. With the exception of the volume control, none of the iPod’s features are removed when plugged into the Hi-Fi, which means anyone familiar with any iPod will find that the iPod Hi-Fi does not involve any learning.

Since my iPod does not have the features of the current models (nano and 5G), I don’t get the special “Speakers” menu that appears when plugged into the Hi-Fi. I miss out on the bass and treble boost options as well as the backlight and album art controls. Should I want to tweak the sound, the EQ settings are available anyway, so no big deal there.

The iPod Hi-Fi can also be controlled from a distance using the included (and soon-to-be-ubiquitous) Apple Remote. The tiny white 6-button control functions (and looks) just like the iPod shuffle -- very basic. You can play and pause, adjust the volume and cycle through tracks sequentially. You cannot cycle through playlists and I cannot imagine how that’s possible with a remote that does not have a display.

The Hi-Fi has two sources for audio; one is from the dock connector on the top, and the other is a line input at the back that accepts both analog (mini stereo jack) and digital (optical, using a mini-Toslink connector, a.k.a. S/PDIF). The dock connector takes precedence over the line input. If there is no iPod docked, then the unit will automatically switch to line input, as long as a jack is plugged in. If you want to select the line input while an iPod is connected, holding down the menu button on the remote for a couple of seconds will allow you to manually switch between the two.

Using an Airport Express with the iPod Hi-Fi is a great way to utilize the optical input. However, good luck finding the right cable. I’ve canvassed practically every known audio specialist in town and the only cables to be found are the more common square Toslink, which will not fit either the Express or Hi-Fi. I actually have a Monster cable that has the square connector on one end and the mini optical on the other (part of the $40 Airport Express Stereo Connection Kit). I was thinking that there should be an adapter available that will simply convert the other end into a mini optical jack. Googling led me to a web site that sells them for $0.50 a piece wholesale. These things actually exist! (I ordered a dozen)

Even a simple analog mini-jack to mini-jack analog cable is not easy to find, so I ended up patching two mini-jack to RCA cables using a coupler. This is not an efficient way to get the sound through, but it works and is what I’ll be using until my optical adapters arrive.

It’s interesting to note that not only does AirTunes work wonderfully well with the Hi-Fi, it works with Front Row too. Mind you, this feature is limited to music playing only. It won’t work with videos, even if from iTunes.

So how does it sound?

On to the meat of this review -- the sound.

Apple uses audiophile terms when describing the features of the iPod Hi-Fi. They say that to fully appreciate the speakers, one must listen out for the following: large soundstage, precise imaging and separation, wide frequency range and room-filling power without distortion.

I loaded up my iPod with a special playlist. The first five songs I played were precisely the ones Apple specified for sales presentations and demonstrations. First up was Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”, to demonstrate large soundstage. Up next were Jamiroquai’s “Seven Days in Sunny June” and Wynton Marsalis’ “Bourbon Street Parade for precise imaging and separation. After that was Black Eyed Peas’ “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” for wide frequency range. Last up was Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” to deliver room filling sound without distortion. I likened this exercise to a wine tasting where a sommelier will describe the color, nose, acidity, tannin and all that gibberish, with everyone in the room usually agreeing even if they don't notice any of that stuff. So just as I am in wine tastings, I didn’t care for the suggestive responses and chose to judge for myself.

Did Keys really sound like she was in my living room? Were the songs of Jamiroquai and Marsalis three dimensional? Did it sound like each instrument was being played in different parts around the speaker? Did the lows and highs in the Peas’ song well represented? Was Green Day able to make the speakers sound like it was about to blow up?
In the beginning, the answer to all the above was a NO. Allow me to explain why.

First of all, as my good friend Vic Icasas pointed out, speakers need to be broken in. He is the CEO of a major recording studio, so I took his word for it. He says the diaphragm and suspension need to be exercised before their full potential can be obtained. So I did what he suggested -- I played a lot of different songs loudly for a few hours.

Secondly, the speaker placement needs to be ideal. The old cabinet I mentioned was too high and too close to the wall. I picked perfect table for it -- a sturdy shoe cabinet two and a half feet tall and positioned it two feet away from the wall. I then sat 10 feet away from the speakers.

With that, I tried the same tests once again. It took a while, but I slowly realized that the speaker was starting to perform the way Apple says it would. My answer to all the above later turned to a YES. Well, maybe not for the Alicia Keys part, but her song sounded really great, and it instantly gave me a totally different impression of the dame song I’ve heard so many times over. With the other songs, every instrument was heard, and, with my eyes closed, I started placing the band members in different parts of the room. Cymbals, synthesizers, bass -- every frequency was represented, and represented well. It's a good thing Green Day didn’t succeed in blowing up the Hi-Fi.

I then switched to the AirPort Express and started streaming tunes from my computer. I played a good number of Apple Lossless encoded jazz vocals, to some old Stevie Wonder tracks (like Superwoman, where his moog makes sounds that shift from left to right in succession), to some Steely Dan, to some Madonna. I played house music, I played rock. I played them loud, and soft was well. These speakers just couldn’t falter, and I enjoyed every bit of sound it pumped out. It’s a real joy to use and it’s making me rediscover playing music at home (something I haven’t done in a long time now).

Should you buy one?

If you’re an audiophile, probably not. That is unless you want a nice sound system for your poolside, kitchen, beach house or bathroom. The Hi-Fi is a speaker system that sounds much larger than it looks, but it isn’t audiophile grade, so it will never replace large, expensive sound systems. It can, however, replace commercial grade sound systems, the ones which come with its own set of speakers. If you own an iPod and realize that it’s been a really long time since the CD, cassette or radio in your home stereo got some exercise, then you are a candidate for the Hi-Fi.

One cannot help but compare the Hi-Fi to the Altec Lansing InMotion 7 and the Bose SoundDock, being that they are similar and are very successful iPod speakers. I’ve tried those two speakers, and I liked the Bose for its sound and the IM7 for its portability and design. However, I was never convinced to buy either of them. I felt they were more for bedroom rather than living room.

Also, with the Bose and Altec Lansing, it doesn’t take much to get the sound distorted at high levels (not to say that’s how one should use those speakers anyway). I will tell you that the Hi-Fi is also not immune from distortion at high levels, but that would be at levels that are insanely high (ear bleed comes to mind). Compared to the two, the iPod Hi-Fi is more powerful and delivers a richer, purer sound.

Of course, sound is relative and subjective. I encourage you to try it out first. I don't think it'll take much to convince you if you're interested to begin with. For added measure, take your iPod with you so you can hear how YOUR songs sound on it.

Please note that the Hi-Fi is heavy. Asking a relative or friend to buy it for you from abroad may not be a good idea as it takes up a quarter of today’s typical baggage allowance.

The iPod Hi-Fi is expected to retail at P19,999. While that may seem like a hefty sum for a set of iPod speakers, don’t forget that it’s an entire sound system.

Conclusion:

I've decided to replace my sound system at home with the Hi-Fi. It's all I need. It's simple, it's impressive. The whole point is to provide home entertainment, right? We'll this will certainly keep me highly entertained for years to come.

So there you have it, a one-piece iPod speaker system replacing my entire home stereo. I decided to buy this demo unit.

My only gripe with it is how it looks. Hopefully, it'll grow on me.

[docnap]

Comprehensive Review. Now I understand why it took a while. Thanks a lot Mr. Chairman.

Nap

[icetraxx626]

Cool review.

[vicicasas]

I know you don't have all three units side by side, but I read several comments around the internet that say the Hifi is great for filling a room, i.e. parties, but the Bose and the Altec supposedly sound better in the treble area when only low volume is required. Others say the Bose and Altec also sound better for close-in usage as opposed to the ten-foot listening range you mentioned for the Hifi.

How about your opinion? Great review, btw.

Oh, and last question: with what kind of music do you think the Hifi will perform best? Classical? Pop? Rock? Hip-hop? (Podcasts? mwhehe)

[dominiquejames]

I had the chance to see and listen to the Hi-Fi (attached to my 17" PowerBook and playing music from my iTunes), and also use it as the speakers for 3 short movies played to an audience of 220 plus people in a room the size of 3 big classrooms, it performed admirably well.

[right_stuff]

I had the chance to see and listen to the Hi-Fi (attached to my 17" PowerBook and playing music from my iTunes), and also use it as the speakers for 3 short movies played to an audience of 220 plus people in a room the size of 3 big classrooms, it performed admirably well.

must agree with this.

[chu]

That the placement of the speakers is so critical to its sound would explain the very wide range of opinions on the Internet, I mean the reviews really swing from saying its great to saying its totally off.

Of course this would mean that people buying it should make sure they can place them properly otherwise they won't be hearing its full potential. The other challenge would be for Apple retailers to have the right space to place them so the demo would also be optimal.

I can just imagine Steve Jobs is using these in a multi-room environment with Airport Express to send the signal to each one, it would really go well with that whole minimalist high-tech look.

When I'm in the market for room speakers for my iPod this will be at the top of the list, for now I'm only looking for small portable speakers that sound good, obviously these are in a different category.

Thanks for the great review!