Speakers/hifi for iPad

[blueST]

My old intempo iPod dock has died so I need something new. I no longer need a dock as I now have an iPad with it's own dock which will connect via a standard 3.5mm aux-in.

So I need something with aux-in, built in speakers and looks discrete and inoffensive (Wife's requirements!). Would be nice if it had DAB and FM. Crucially, it's going in a 4m x 4m living room with high ceilings and painted walls so needs to have a bit of power. What chance of getting something for under 150 quid?

[Markh]

blueST said:

My old intempo iPod dock has died so I need something new. I no longer need a dock as I now have an iPad with it's own dock which will connect via a standard 3.5mm aux-in.

So I need something with aux-in, built in speakers and looks discrete and inoffensive (Wife's requirements!). Would be nice if it had DAB and FM. Crucially, it's going in a 4m x 4m living room with high ceilings and painted walls so needs to have a bit of power. What chance of getting something for under 150 quid?

Saw this yesterday, running an ipad, great sound, looked very cool, but well over your £150.00 I'm afraid

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/beosound8

[blueST]

Can't see the price of the Beosound but I'm sure you're right about being more than £150! On a side note, quite why they use Flash on a website selling an accessory for iPad/pod/phone, when none of those devices run Flash, is beyond me.

Anyway, been thinking more about the speakers I need. I really don't like the look of a lot of the mini hifi type stuff I could get to connect the iPad to. So, what if I bought something like this amp:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-rec...

And connected it to some speakers like these:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-spea...

Would I be right in thinking this should sound streets ahead of most speaker dock mini-hifi type stuff for the same money? The amp is pretty discrete and could replace my disused PS2 in the telly cabinet, so would be out of sight. I could then connect the iPad dock to one of the inputs, and as a bonus, connect Sky tv to the other.

Any comments on the amp and speakers, and there suitability for the task at hand would be great.

[Markh]

The 'I hate Flash' from Steve Jobs is a strange one to me, the sound is awsome, I have just bought one for my study but it is the sharpe side of £850 but it is a cool bit of design

[Markh]

The 'I hate Flash' from Steve Jobs is a strange one to me, the sound is awsome, I have just bought one for my study but it is the sharpe side of £850 but it is a cool bit of design

[parapaul]

blueST said:

Can't see the price of the Beosound but I'm sure you're right about being more than £150! On a side note, quite why they use Flash on a website selling an accessory for iPad/pod/phone, when none of those devices run Flash, is beyond me.

Anyway, been thinking more about the speakers I need. I really don't like the look of a lot of the mini hifi type stuff I could get to connect the iPad to. So, what if I bought something like this amp:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-rec...

And connected it to some speakers like these:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-spea...

Would I be right in thinking this should sound streets ahead of most speaker dock mini-hifi type stuff for the same money? The amp is pretty discrete and could replace my disused PS2 in the telly cabinet, so would be out of sight. I could then connect the iPad dock to one of the inputs, and as a bonus, connect Sky tv to the other.

Any comments on the amp and speakers, and there suitability for the task at hand would be great.

Yes, you're right - an amp/speaker setup will obliterate most of the mini hifi systems available. Cambridge Audio make some really very good, sensibly priced gear, and those Wharfedale Diamond speakers get excellent reviews.

However, it doesn't quite fit with your wife's 'unobtrusive' requirements...

[blueST]

I plucked up the courage to show the wife the amp and speakers. You were right, she was not impressed. The amp is no problem, as I can hide that, but the thought of speakers with the attendant trailing wires sent her off on one. Back to square one...

[matts360]

Not sure if this helps

Your Ipad now has OS4 on it (latest OSX?) then you can send any ipod stuff to any 'Wireless enabled airplay' device without connecting via cable. Worth looking / asking when searching as this is a new thing just out, and certain manufacturers are building it in.

Else you can get yourself an Apple Airport Express (£60) and plug it next to your hi-fi and wirelessly play anything off your ipad to whatever room / speakers you like.

Link here
http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airplay.html

Matt


AirPlay lets you stream music wirelessly right from your iPad. Just connect any speaker you own to an AirPort Express. Or stream directly to AirPlay-enabled speakers from manufacturers like Denon, Marantz, B&W, JBL, and iHome. Your iPad automatically detects your speakers, so all you have to do is tap the one you want to hear. Since it all happens wirelessly, you have the freedom to cue the tunes from wherever you happen to be sitting, standing, or dancing.

Edited by matts360 on Monday 6th December 12:32

[blueST]

I don't think I can get anything decent with Airplay even close to my budget, would be nice if I could though. Regardless, actually having to connect the iPad to the speakers is not a problem, it needs to sit and charge somewhere so it may as well be on top of the stereo.

My main problem, still unsolved, is finding a speakers/amp/dock that meet the Wife's aesthetic requirements (basically invisible!), still sound reasonable and don't cost the earth.

Here's a link to the speakers I had before, now broken, that visually passed the test but didn't sound great.
http://www.intempo-digital.co.uk/products/iPod-MP3...