Discussion
It's not bad, well worth a listen along with the Bose SoundDock Portable (the £300 version) which is quite an improvement over a standard SoundDock.
It may not have the greatest sound quality in the world, buts it's well above par for a self-contained dock, goes pretty loud if that's important to you, and looks great as well.
It may not have the greatest sound quality in the world, buts it's well above par for a self-contained dock, goes pretty loud if that's important to you, and looks great as well.
Fittster said:
£400 for an iPod dock is a lot. I'd have trouble spending that much as I'd always suspect anything that uses the iPod for a source won't sound that great.
I'd rather buy a cheaper doc that could use existing amp and speakers.
Trouble is, I probably listen to 85% of my tunes whilst sat in front of my pc these days, and thats only got a cheapy pair of creative speakers on it!I'd rather buy a cheaper doc that could use existing amp and speakers.
We are redecorating the lounge, and going for quite a minimalist look, os if I can put the tv ont he wall out the way and just use this for tunes, it saves an awfull lot of wring and speakers and boxes.
Bearing in mind I can probably do a px with my current kit and spend only a third of the price......
sstein said:
How good is the quality of a sound file that is encoded to be on an iPod?
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Stuart
It's easy to knock low bitrates but I listen to plenty of Internet radio and other stuff through a Meridian system and it sounds fantastic.-
Stuart
An iPod can store Apple Lossless so ultimately the quality is as good as your source material. Where there may be an issue is how it's transferred to the dock connector, I always thought it was analogue but I know Krell have an iPod dock/DAC that claims to do it digitally.
I bought 3 when i was in new york over xmas. They are lovely, spank the bose and the rest of the docks that were in the apple store. To give example i was in the ny store which is a huge open basment space about twice the size of the london one maybe more. I cranked up the b and w with some hip hop and it was clearly heard all around the store and standing right next to it there was no distortion whatsoever. Very very good system.
What tbops said ^^^^.....I used the Monitor Audio iDock for a couple of years, and the B&W is so far ahead it's like night and day. Encoded at 320, you'd be hard pushed to hear any difference from a decent separates system (IMO). The bass response is unbelievable, and it just doesn't distort, even flat out. Yes, it's a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for. Highly recommended.
What those two said ^^^^. I have a Zep in my kitchen and also one in the conservatory in my place back in Yorkshire, and they sound fantastic. Oddly enough the newer one (in the Dorset kitchen) has a slightly cleaner sound to it, but I'm assuming that's because of the tiled room it's in.
I paid £280 for the most recent one from somewhereorother on the net a few months ago.
I paid £280 for the most recent one from somewhereorother on the net a few months ago.
The whole explosion of compressed signal data ito mass, popular adoption, based entirely on convenience whilst quality goes straight to hell amazes me.
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
derestrictor said:
The whole explosion of compressed signal data ito mass, popular adoption, based entirely on convenience whilst quality goes straight to hell amazes me.
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
As I said, used in my room and garage only. Compressed music files for the loss really.
Have nice warm set of celestions, NAD cd system and proper amp in the living room
derestrictor said:
The whole explosion of compressed signal data ito mass, popular adoption, based entirely on convenience whilst quality goes straight to hell amazes me.
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
But most people listen to their music in the background, they are not sitting in an acoustically prepared room listening for slight nuances in a violinists performance.The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
In most peoples cases the ambient noise, whether in an office, house, car etc, will ruin the sound quality far more than having compressed sources.
I have the B&W Zep in my bedroom, and can whole heartedly recommend it.
Quality of music on my ipod varies from 128kbps up to 320kbps.
Im hard pressed to find any real difference in quality between the two bitrates but then again maybe im not ‘listening’ properly like an audopphile.
As far as the Zep goes, it is an awesome bit of kit. Yes it is pricey compared to any other dock out there, but the sound quality is awesome for a one box unit. If you want the convenience of a single unit with no wires etc, this is THE one to get. Makes the Bose look useless in comparison.
Quality of music on my ipod varies from 128kbps up to 320kbps.
Im hard pressed to find any real difference in quality between the two bitrates but then again maybe im not ‘listening’ properly like an audopphile.
As far as the Zep goes, it is an awesome bit of kit. Yes it is pricey compared to any other dock out there, but the sound quality is awesome for a one box unit. If you want the convenience of a single unit with no wires etc, this is THE one to get. Makes the Bose look useless in comparison.
Maybe its my untrained ears but I honestly can't hear the difference between this B&W and the Bose, to me they both sound excellent. The B&W does appear to be much clearer at high volumes, so if thats important to you then its probably worth the extra cash.
However, I do like the design of the B&W, very nice. My only worry is that I like the fairly understated looks of the Bose, it just sits in the corner of our living room and another in our study and looks classy. The B&W is a the sort of thing I'd probably buy as a single man in a modern apartment, its a conversation starter.
However, I do like the design of the B&W, very nice. My only worry is that I like the fairly understated looks of the Bose, it just sits in the corner of our living room and another in our study and looks classy. The B&W is a the sort of thing I'd probably buy as a single man in a modern apartment, its a conversation starter.
Edited by AndyWoodall on Monday 21st April 10:54
Agree on the whole look of the Bose vs Zeppelin. The Zep stands out while the Bose blends in.
I have the Bose in my Kitchen and it is perfect for its placement.
Im happy with both the Bose and the Zep in my room, they do the job perfectly in each setting. But for sheer depth of sound, compared side by side, the Zep wins hands down. For low volumes or high.
I have the Bose in my Kitchen and it is perfect for its placement.
Im happy with both the Bose and the Zep in my room, they do the job perfectly in each setting. But for sheer depth of sound, compared side by side, the Zep wins hands down. For low volumes or high.
kiwisr said:
derestrictor said:
The whole explosion of compressed signal data ito mass, popular adoption, based entirely on convenience whilst quality goes straight to hell amazes me.
The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
But most people listen to their music in the background, they are not sitting in an acoustically prepared room listening for slight nuances in a violinists performance.The way it is replacing peoples' primary listening sources dumbfounds me - it is just so limited - stereo has never sounded so thin and uninvolving...a bit like the music!
In most peoples cases the ambient noise, whether in an office, house, car etc, will ruin the sound quality far more than having compressed sources.
As someone with a deep mistrust of both Bose and B&W I'd go for one of these on the 'interesting looking' angle.
http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/moreinfo/index...
http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/moreinfo/index...
Plotloss said:
As someone with a deep mistrust of both Bose and B&W I'd go for one of these on the 'interesting looking' angle.
http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/moreinfo/index...
I like this to look at, are they any good soundwise?http://www.soundandvisiononline.com/moreinfo/index...
And why do you distrust the companies you mentioned??
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