Apple iPod Hi-Fi Speaker System

Can't help it. I simply love design. I simply love apple. While I had no need for a new stereo of any sort I simply had to pick up apple's new hifi for ipods. There are a couple things that drew me to it right off the bat - specifically the ability to plug in an external source other than an ipod and the ability to have decent sound when I am outside (using batteries).

So I go into the apple store yesterday and attempted to listen the hifi. It simply wasn't possible. There are more people in the apple store on a Saturday afternoon than you would imagine. The background noise made it just short of impossible to make all but a cursory cosmetic check. I got one anyway.

At home I unpacked the unit and noted the packaging is typical apple - simple and minimal. Included is a remote control, ipod trays, power cord, the hifi and it's grill. The hifi itself only has two buttons - volume up and volume down. There is an audio in port at the back for another audio source and a large plastic screw that provides access to the battery bay.

I set up the hi fi with a 30 gig Ipod video, placing it on a table about 3 feet off the ground. The room in which the hifi is residing doesn't really have any absorbing features (ie no carpet etc).

I put the unit through it's paces with various music and was initially disappointed. Some songs sounded incredible with loud, clear highs and lows, while others sounded pixelated and a bit distorted. As the evening went on the sound improved - this may be in part due to wearing the drivers in a bit (although the wearing in period for most speakers is way more than 7 hours). Whatever the case the unit reveals the limitations of AAC and MP3 formats. Songs recorded at higher bit rates tended to sound more clear, accurate and comfortable. I plugged in an external CD player and found tracks played on the hifi from the CD player tended to sound even tighter and with less noise.

The hifi can indeed fill a room with sound. It's pretty amazing really for being so small. That said, bass can be a bit boomy and on my unit the grill seems to vibrate slightly - I may just remove it all together.

Other items worth noting, the remote is effective although the menu button is deactivated. As such navigation is severely limited. You can skip back and forth between tracks but not between playlists. You can tell whether the unit recognizes a command as a green light illuminates behind the grill - a stylish feature a la Bang and Olufsen.

There were a few things I wish apple would have considered. One is the placement of the ipod on the hifi - the ipod stands up in the hifi and is supported by the ipod tray and connector. It looks a bit odd really and I can picture someone accidentally jarring or hitting the ipod at a party and damaging the connector. Hopefully future iterations will incorporate the ability for the ipod to lie flat on the front or on top.

Another wish - the hifi does not have the ability to switch between sources. In order to listen to an external source, you must unplug the ipod. The system then defaults to the external input. Since I am mentioning the external in port, it would have been great if apple had included two connection cables for external units - one would be a headphone jack to headphone jack cable, the other an RCA to headphone jack cable.

Other considerations - it would have been nice to see an external out port with video (a la the AV connection kit) in the event folks want to watch videos or have the convenience of the remote from time to time but use another set of speakers. A clock or alarm of some sort may have been nice as would a radio - I realize these last two items could potentially undermine the simplicity of the unit but for $349 I am sure apple could execute an elegant solution. Now I am going to push it for nitty gritty - the inclusion of electrical sockets and a carrying bag would have really added value. The hifi's design lends itself to presentations. As many of these are on the road a bag and the ability to have just one plug in a wall with the laptop and projector plugged into the hifi would have been awesome. And finally, this is really minor but I have to mention it - I wish the track and volume controls were juxtaposed as I keep turning the volume up when I really mean to move to the next track

So what's the deal - should one buy this thing? I cannot in good faith say the apple hi fi is a good fit for everyone. There are a few steps I would recommend taking before buying one. If you have a television or stereo, consider picking up the ipod AV connection kit which includes the same remote. You also get the ability to see photos and video (provided your ipod has said functionality). Heck, even if you don't have a stereo of television with RCA in ports, consider pairing the AV connection kit with the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks and bass unit or other speaker set. You will get potentially better sound for less money with these two solutions. Heck, you can pick up an entire stereo with tons of inputs and better sound on ebay for about the same amount as the hifi.

So why get one? I say design and simplicity - no power brick, no wires (except the plug), decent sound, portability and it's an apple. I am looking forward to summer when my hifi will in the backyard with a video projector for late night movie viewing on the lawn.

One last thing, I have not yet tried using batteries. I will add an addendum with findings.