[macfantn]

anyone had any luck with this?

Dealzmodo (??): Apple iPod Hi-Fi, $87 B&M - Gizmodo

[Zeeb]

I went to my local target when it was rumored the price dropped to $175--since its only a block away. No dice--they didn't have any in stock. Seems almost too good to be true.

[Goldfinger]

Anyone know the reason behind this ? Are they discontinueing the HiFi ? Maybe an updated model around the corner ?

[centerchannel68]

Who cares. It's a puny system built for looks and not sound. Go to good will, spend $50 on a vintage receiver and speakers, and rock out your entire building.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Who cares. It's a puny system built for looks and not sound. Go to good will, spend $50 on a vintage receiver and speakers, and rock out your entire building.

Some people are reporting finding it for $50. At that price it will be better than any receiver/speaker combo you can find.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger 

Anyone know the reason behind this ? Are they discontinueing the HiFi ? Maybe an updated model around the corner ?

Lets hope so. It is by far the ugliest, feature poor product has come out with in a long time.

It is embarrassing to find 3rd parties doing a better job for less when Apple is the one that should be setting the standards.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Some people are reporting finding it for $50. At that price it will be better than any receiver/speaker combo you can find.

hahaha. No it won't. That thing is wimpy. Are you freaking joking? It has ONE 5.14" woofer, and two 3" midranges. It lacks a tweeter, and a woofer under 6"!?!?! Come on... for MUSIC?! Give me a ****ing break. That thing is retarded.

[kmkkid]

Still $400 here. Not that I'd buy it if it was $10, but meh.

[::maroma::]

Yeah I was, and still am, baffled on why Apple even bothered with this thing. There are literally thousands of iPod docking speaker systems out there, and this one is on the lower end of the spectrum. I hope Apple is discontinuing it, and never attempts to waste time and money on it again.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

Yeah I was, and still am, baffled on why Apple even bothered with this thing. There are literally thousands of iPod docking speaker systems out there, and this one is on the lower end of the spectrum. I hope Apple is discontinuing it, and never attempts to waste time and money on it again.

You might hate the sound of this but I have noticed how much we think alike lately.

[::maroma::]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker 

You might hate the sound of this but I have noticed how much we think alike lately.

Haha, I've noticed the same. I don't mind the sound of it. I won't hold it against you that you're Canadian, though.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by kmkkid 

Still $400 here. Not that I'd buy it if it was $10, but meh.

If it was $10, I'd get one for my office
I've listened to one in a loud store to rock/pop-type of music, nothing challenging for good speakers. The sounds war alright, certainly better than what you get from those small docking stations. But they can't compete with my stereo setup (nor should they IMHO).

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

hahaha. No it won't. That thing is wimpy. Are you freaking joking? It has ONE 5.14" woofer, and two 3" midranges. It lacks a tweeter, and a woofer under 6"!?!?! Come on... for MUSIC?! Give me a ****ing break. That thing is retarded.

Show me any *decent* receiver and speakers (especially speakers) that can be bought for $50.

[ort888]

I'll stop by the Target on the way home. For $80 bucks, it would be a nice thing to have upstairs.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

Haha, I've noticed the same. I don't mind the sound of it. I won't hold it against you that you're Canadian, though.

That's ok. Nobody other than some Americans consider being Canadian a bad thing anyway.

[climber]

Oh, I forgot that apple came out with the "hi-fi". When I first looked at the thread I thought it was the ipods going for that much. That I would drive to Target for. Heck I would even step into Walmart...well maybe not!

[shifuimam]

FWIW, not all Target stores in a given area will have the same clearance prices.

I got a surprisingly good RCA mini system for $50 on clearance at a Target south of Indianapolis - they were still full price at $130 in Indy. If you *really* want one of these, drive out to a store further out in the middle of nowhere and see what you can find...

For $50, it certainly is a better deal than the iHome, but the iHome comes with a remote, is more portable, and has an alarm and clock. And FM radio.

[Gossamer]

The local Target has two left for 50% off, so they're $175 each. They're going for anywhere from $150 to $230 on eBay, so I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and try and flip them. Any thoughts?

[Mastrap]

For $75.00 I'd grab one for the office, maybe.

Otherwise, my iPod is just plugged into my Tivoli.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

The local Target has two left for 50% off, so they're $175 each. They're going for anywhere from $150 to $230 on eBay, so I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and try and flip them. Any thoughts?

I don't sell anything on ebay unless I'm going to make $50. Otherwise it isn't worth the time, effort, shipping, ebay fees, paypal fees, etc.

[Weezer]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

The local Target has two left for 50% off, so they're $175 each. They're going for anywhere from $150 to $230 on eBay, so I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and try and flip them. Any thoughts?

not worth the hastle after ebay/paypal/shipping fees.

[ort888]

My Target didn't have any. I'm not motivated to drive to any of the other 4 Targets in the 5 miles around my home.

[Cadaver]

I actually think the iPod Hi-Fi sounds pretty good. My wife has one for both her pink iPod nano and her Delphi MyFi XM receiver (via the aux input on the back). Its in the sitting room off the kitchen and sounds pretty good.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

I don't sell anything on ebay unless I'm going to make $50. Otherwise it isn't worth the time, effort, shipping, ebay fees, paypal fees, etc.

Yeah, I didn't think so. Thanks for the input.

[jebjeb]

Originally Posted by Cadaver 

I actually think the iPod Hi-Fi sounds pretty good. My wife has one for both her pink iPod nano and her Delphi MyFi XM receiver (via the aux input on the back). Its in the sitting room off the kitchen and sounds pretty good.

I agree. We bought ours so we could clear some of the gear out of our bedroom, have something battery powered for the back yard and actually to take on holidays.

It is a little over priced but it is not one of those things that one can judge by specs alone. There was nothing else at the time that combined decent sound and bass with battery operation and maximum volume. One of the weedy little battery ones would be no good out on our deck during a party.

At half price, I think they are a great deal. However, by no means would I be doing what Steve initial said when they released this and replacing all my normal HiFi gear with iPod HiFi's.

[Naplander]

I really don't understand all this moaning about how it's overpriced, underpowered etc.

The sound and features are great, and it's a very elegant piece of kit. I love mine!

[mdc]

Originally Posted by ort888 

My Target didn't have any. I'm not motivated to drive to any of the other 4 Targets in the 5 miles around my home.

Same here. I would've bought one for under $100.

[centerchannel68]

All you people saying it sounds great need to clean the wax buildup out of your ears. There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response. And lack of tweeters= shitty high end frequencies. That thing is a piece of crap.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Naplander 

I really don't understand all this moaning about how it's overpriced, underpowered etc.

The sound and features are great, and it's a very elegant piece of kit. I love mine!

The sound quality is good for the size.

The problem with it is: (In my opinion)

1) It is butt ugly. Not sexy, cutting edge or inviting like other apple products. It should set the standard for all 3rd parties to follow not come out late and be behind everyone else.
2) The features suck. For that price it should have an RF remote at the least. More importantly it should have video out to watch content from your iPod.
3) It should have a rechargeable battery and not take huge D batteries like some toy from the 80's.
4) Once again, the design. It should scream BUY ME, TOUCH ME from 30 feet away. Right now it looks like a large power brick from the Mini.

That aside I would still buy one for $100 but not full retail.

[scottiB]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker 

The sound quality is good for the size.

The problem with it is: (In my opinion)

1) It is butt ugly. Not sexy, cutting edge or inviting like other apple products. It should set the standard for all 3rd parties to follow not come out late and be behind everyone else.
2) The features suck. For that price it should have an RF remote at the least. More importantly it should have video out to watch content from your iPod.
3) It should have a rechargeable battery and not take huge D batteries like some toy from the 80's.
4) Once again, the design. It should scream BUY ME, TOUCH ME from 30 feet away. Right now it looks like a large power brick from the Mini.

That aside I would still buy one for $100 but not full retail.

It has a remote.

I'd prefer D batteries. If I were to take this to the beach, barbecue, whatever, I'd rather be able to swap out the batteries than find an outlet.

This is meant to be a portable jam box as well as a shelf system. That's why I want one (on sale). I can use it in the bedroom in place of my LCD TV's weak speakers, and I can take it out with me when I wash the car, have friends on the deck, or whatever.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

All you people saying it sounds great need to clean the wax buildup out of your ears. There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response. And lack of tweeters= shitty high end frequencies. That thing is a piece of crap.

Have you heard one before?

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker 

The sound quality is good for the size.

The problem with it is: (In my opinion)

1) It is butt ugly. Not sexy, cutting edge or inviting like other apple products. It should set the standard for all 3rd parties to follow not come out late and be behind everyone else.

Definitely.

Originally Posted by scottiB 

It has a remote.

RF remote. It comes with a standard infrared remote, which means you need line of sight.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by scottiB 

It has a remote.

An IR remote. I said it should be an RF remote for that money.

[cybergoober]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

All you people saying it sounds great need to clean the wax buildup out of your ears. There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response. And lack of tweeters= shitty high end frequencies. That thing is a piece of crap.

Jeebus. You certainly are an elitist mofo. Perhaps they're saying that it sounds great considering the size etc.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by cybergoober 

Jeebus. You certainly are an elitist mofo. Perhaps they're saying that it sounds great considering the size etc.

You can't just pick up something with a couple of 12 inch drivers can carry it somewhere else. I listened to one at CompUSA for a while, and I thought it was really good for the size. I went up to about 3/4 volume and the people with me started getting mad because people across the store could hear it.
Definitely not worth $350, but not a bad piece of equipment.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

All you people saying it sounds great need to clean the wax buildup out of your ears. There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response. And lack of tweeters= shitty high end frequencies. That thing is a piece of crap.

Not really, it's all about expectations. I expected it to sound a lot worse and the sound is alright. I'd get one for my office or (if I had a large house) for my kitchen. It can't and isn't supposed to beat my stereo. It certainly beats all of its competition (i. e. other iPod Docks with speakers).

Even my speakers don't have much bass (Wharfedale 70th Anniversary Speakers), which my neighbors appreciate. But it doesn't mean, my speakers sound shitty just because the mid/bass speaker is `too small'.

[centerchannel68]

Sure. It might be okay for portable audio, or for something in the kitchen. But hwen people say 'you can't beat it for the price", I disagree.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by cybergoober 

Jeebus. You certainly are an elitist mofo. Perhaps they're saying that it sounds great considering the size etc.

I'm guessing you use a 1 button mouse. There's nothing wrong with having only 1 button... it works.... just not as well as having two seperate buttons. Just like having a tweeter, midrange, and woofer will curbjob that thing.

[G4ME]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response.

band pass my friend, band pass

I am not saying I enjoy the sound of it but for its size, it had nice presence in the room but the high end was pretty junky.

but personally i would give this a whirl

The Podzuma - Speaker Building Project at Parts Express

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Sure. It might be okay for portable audio, or for something in the kitchen. But hwen people say 'you can't beat it for the price", I disagree.

For the SIZE it is pretty good for audio quality.

You can get a home theatre in a box for that money but it is a big clunky 8 piece system.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Sure. It might be okay for portable audio, or for something in the kitchen. But hwen people say 'you can't beat it for the price", I disagree.

I paid a little over €300 for my speakers and I got the old Marantz Receiver pretty much for free … 

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

There's no way a freakin' 5" driver is going to provide in anyway decent bass response.

Wrong.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by G4ME 

band pass my friend, band pass

I am not saying I enjoy the sound of it but for its size, it had nice presence in the room but the high end was pretty junky.

but personally i would give this a whirl

The Podzuma - Speaker Building Project at Parts Express

For $230+ I'd rather try to find a Hi-Fi at Target (on sale), that I don't have to build, and that looks 1,000x better than Podzuma.

For those of us who prefer clean lines and simple/minimalistic design, the Hi-Fi sounds much better than most of the options for the money.

[Dakar²]

That think looks like a cheap kitty carrier.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Dakar² 

That think looks like a cheap kitty carrier.

Totally. Or something someone with an electric guitar would carry around with them but in white.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker 

Totally. Or something someone with an electric guitar would carry around with them but in white.

Essentially that is exactly what it is.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Sure. It might be okay for portable audio, or for something in the kitchen. But hwen people say 'you can't beat it for the price", I disagree.

Next you're going to bring out the frequency graphs and show how at 12khz there's a dip and that means it's worthless. Meanwhile people are listening to 128k mp3s on this thing and wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an Apple HiFi and a Meyer Sound line array system.

I'm an audio engineer and I know that things like the HiFi have their place. Get over yourself.

[scottiB]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

RF remote. It comes with a standard infrared remote, which means you need line of sight.

Ah. Thank you. Didn't realize the what difference the tech made.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Next you're going to bring out the frequency graphs and show how at 12khz there's a dip and that means it's worthless. Meanwhile people are listening to 128k mp3s on this thing and wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an Apple HiFi and a Meyer Sound line array system.

I'm an audio engineer and I know that things like the HiFi have their place. Get over yourself.

No, I'm going to point at the pricetag, and show you that there's only ONE tiny woofer (prolly with dual voice coils, but it probably doesn't make much really low bass, so you're losing 'stereo seperation' as well as low frequencies), zero tweeters, and then point you two your local craigslist or goodwill where you can pick up a 1980s stereo, complete, with huge speakers, for like $20-50 that will blow the crap out of it.

It's fine if you want compact sound, or portability, but don't dare say that it's 'good sound for the money', because it just isn't.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Next you're going to bring out the frequency graphs and show how at 12khz there's a dip and that means it's worthless. Meanwhile people are listening to 128k mp3s on this thing and wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an Apple HiFi and a Meyer Sound line array system.

I'm an audio engineer and I know that things like the HiFi have their place. Get over yourself.

I wouldn't argue with the naysayers in this thread. Mostly, they believe loud=good.

[centerchannel68]

Actually that's what I'm arguing against. I'm sure that thing can get 'loud', but that doesn't mean it's good quality sound. The reason I'm arguing for a bigger system is that bigger= better, and more accurate. With dedicated drivers for the highs, mids, lows, it will be more accurate, and SOUND BETTER. Not necessarily louder.