Bose SoundDock Portable (black)
Manufacturer: Bose Corp. Part number: 43085
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Bose SoundDock Portable is a really good iPod speaker, but it should cost less than $400.
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CNET editors' review
Bose SoundDock Portable (black) price range: $359.00 - $499.00
- Reviewed by: David Carnoy
- Edited by: John P. Falcone
- Reviewed on: 09/10/2007
- Released on: 09/20/2007
The good: Relatively compact and portable iPod speaker with a detachable replaceable lithium-ion rechargeable battery that powers the speaker and iPod; includes auxiliary input and remote control; 30-day risk-free trial.
The bad: Expensive; no bass/treble controls; no clock or AM/FM radio; only three hours of battery life at full volume.
The bottom line: The Bose SoundDock Portable is a really good iPod speaker, but it should cost less than $400.
We rarely feature price so prominently in the opening paragraph of a review, but in this case it seems appropriate considering price is this product's main sticking point--or at least the one thing everybody seems to balk at when we mention it. And that's too bad, because the SoundDock Portable is an attractive iPod accessory. Available in black or white, it has nice clean lines, a nifty little hideaway dock that swivels open and closed when you press on one corner, a simple-to-use remote, an auxiliary input for connecting other portable devices, and decent performance. But tell someone it costs $400 (after they listen to it) and you'll get plenty of head shakes. And to be clear, that's a firm $400--you won't find this discounted at Amazon or Buy.com.
So, are you a sucker if you decide to buy this thing? Not exactly, but you sort of have to embrace the idea of overpaying for a product and not worrying about it. It helps that the SoundDock Portable is well-built. Pick it up and you'll notice that it's got a nice heft to it. Weighing a tad less than five pounds and measuring 6.75 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and just more than 4 inches deep, it's almost the perfect size: light enough to carry around but heavy enough to make you feel that it's made up of quality components.
There are smaller--and much less expensive--portable iPod speaker options out there; the Altec Lansing iM600 ($120 street) and the Logitech mm50 (soon to be replaced by the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere) come to mind. Those flatter models are easier to pack in a suitcase, while the fatter Bose is probably better-suited to being moved from room to room at home (or out on the deck). Its bigger size means it'll offer a richer sound, with more clarity and better bass--and play flat-out louder, too. While the Altec Lansing's built-in rechargeable battery is rated at 7 hours and the Logitech's at 10, the Bose's is rated at just 3 hours--though Bose says you'll get several hours more if you keep the volume at mid to lower levels. As for the SoundDock Portable's battery, we did appreciate that it's detachable and replaceable, though they'll cost a steep $89. (Thankfully, you should get several years of use before needing a replacement.)
It's worth mentioning that when your iPod is docked and the SoundDock isn't plugged in, its battery not only powers the speaker but keeps your iPod charged at the same time. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but chances are the speaker's going to lose its charge before your iPod does, so it might not be the most efficient use of power.
A couple of other nitpicks: a lot of today's iPod speaker systems have built-in AM/FM radios. This one doesn't. Also, you won't find any bass and treble controls on the unit or its remote. If you want to play around with the EQ settings on your iPod, you can (we turned the EQ to "off" because any other setting seemed to have an adverse effect on the sound), but the speaker's settings are fixed and you get the impression that the speaker is processing/filtering your music to optimize it for the speaker's frequency range. That's mostly a good thing, but some audio purists might find the lack of flexible controls unsettling.
The body of the speaker itself has only two buttons--volume up and down--while the remote has just eight buttons that offer basic control over your iPod. You can skip tracks forward and back, pause and play tracks, do some rudimentary menu navigating, raise and lower the volume, and turn the speaker off. The remote is well-designed, with a rubberized coating on its face and buttons below that feel nice and tactile. No complaints there, but just remember you'll need to walk up to the unit to see the iPod's screen if you're looking for a particular song.
As far as the sound goes, we tested the SoundDock Portable with a variety of musical styles, and it did well compared to other compact iPod speakers. We went through a mix of songs--a variety including the Arcade Fire, Snoop Dogg, Annie Lennox, Prince, the Fray, and Angelo Badalamenti (the Twin Peaks theme), and more. A couple of severely bass-heavy tracks on Prince's 3121 album brought the little Bose to its knees (read: things got a little crunchy), but all in all, the low end held together well, even at relatively high volumes.
We expected the system to sound best with acoustic material, which tends not to challenge small speakers, but we were surprised to find that it actually did better with the pop and hip-hop stuff; the midrange just isn't as tight as you'd hope. That said, the speaker does play fairly loudly, particularly for its size, and is well-suited for deck and poolside listening. It will also fill a small to midsize room with sound, but like a lot of other compact iPod speakers, you won't get much stereo separation unless you stand directly in front of the speaker, a few feet away from it.
The Bose SoundDock Portable is easy to sum up. This is a nice product with good sound and solid build quality. It's missing one key feature--a built-in AM/FM radio--and it's at least $100 overpriced. What can we say? Buy it if you can live without the radio and don't mind paying a premium for the Bose name. Those on a tighter budget would do better with something along the lines of the aforementioned Altec Lansing or Logitech solutions, or even the dockless Tivoli Audio iPAL.
User reviews
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the best portable music system out there.
by lbhajan on December 21, 2007
Pros: clean, crisp, clear sound at all volume level. absolutely no distortion
Cons: none except there is no am fm radio built in, little pricey but worth the money
Summary: got this for christmas and am totally impressed with the sound. makes me wanna listen to all my music all over again on this system. i don't think separate ...
Summary: got this for christmas and am totally impressed with the sound. makes me wanna listen to all my music all over again on this system. i don't think separate base and treble controls are necessary, the sound is automatically blended perfectly at all volume levels. i highly recommend this product, you won't be disappointed. bottom line, you get what you pay for.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It's quite the road warrior
by DowningB on September 18, 2009
Pros: I've owned my PSD for a couple of years now. It has a really great sound for such a small unit. In addition to using it around the house, I always take it with me wherever I go on vacation. It's light and easily fits in my carry-on bag.
Cons: The stereo separation isn't great but that's to be expected on a unit this size.
Summary: Sounds great. Works great. Looks great. Another quality product from Bose.
Summary: Sounds great. Works great. Looks great. Another quality product from Bose.
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The other systems I tried were not even in its league.
by magizzle on September 6, 2009
Pros: Big, lively, tight sound across all frequencies; nice design and exactly the right size for what its supposed to be. It's a totally different sound experience from the other systems I tried.
Cons: A lot of other systems offer more features - CD, radio, etc., - for less money ... but then, they don't sound as good. The remote is nice to have, but only really works for pause/play and volume ... skipping around playlists isn't happening easily.
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The Best Portable Iphone speaker system
by ehrose on July 13, 2009
Pros: Big sound from a compact package. Great bass, warm midrange and PORTABILITY to boot. CRANK IT UP and you'll forget what is cost.
Cons: PRICE - if that is a monumental obstacle the On Stage 400P is the best value for $200 - sound is nearly as good as the BOSE, lacks portability and cannot be cranked up nearly as high but a fine choice
Summary: Simply put the best portable IPhone speaker dock out there. If price is no object where else do you look for this type of quality from such a small portable ...
Summary: Simply put the best portable IPhone speaker dock out there. If price is no object where else do you look for this type of quality from such a small portable package
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"You get what you pay for" rings true.
by sw33tjimmy on June 27, 2009
Pros: Huge sound despite the portable size. Slick and attractive design.
Cons: Expensive!
Summary: I can appreciate quality when I hear it. I have a smaller appartment and this system fills any room I put it in without breaking a sweat. I have yet ...
Summary: I can appreciate quality when I hear it. I have a smaller appartment and this system fills any room I put it in without breaking a sweat. I have yet to crank it because I don't want to bother my upstairs neighbors. It's almost funny how hard the bass hits with this little guy!
The only downside is that it's so steeply priced. I only picked it up because Best Buy also threw in a pair of Bose In-Ear headphones and a bose-branded sound-dock carryingcase; almost $200 worth of loot. Even with a free pair of $125 headphones, I still felt a little taken, but that's probably just my inner cheapskate-Winnipegger emerging.
I get the feeling that Bose dumbs its products down for the mass-market. In that respect, the sound-dock portable reminds me of my iMac. Form over function. Simplified to the point that you really can't configure it even if you wanted to. I could see some gearheads out there getting put off by that. Me? I'll take factory settings and be glad that I don't have to spend time reading a manual. An FM tuner would have been nice, but to be honest, I doubt I'd ever choose the radio over my iPod.
When it comes to quality, I'm not going to say Bose is the best but I will say it's the best I've heard. If you put a gob of time into researching product lines and sniffing around for specialty shops you could probably find a better-sounding system (possibly even cheaper)...but if you're like me, you'd rather spend all that spare time listening to music instead?
If you want quality iPod speakers and don't mind paying top dollar for them, check out the Bose Sound-dock Portable. It's absolutely effortless to set up and looks just as great as it sounds. -
I love it!
Pros: It's worth the $$$. It sounds great at any volume. I love hidden touch sensitive volume buttons. I have the bell & whistle home ent system. But the SoundDock is what I use to listen to my music!
Cons: None......
Summary: It's great, Its Bose!
Summary: It's great, Its Bose!
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The best portable sound system
Pros: Portable, great battery life, great sound quality
Cons: The remote battery dies quickly
Summary: I love this product. In fact, I find myself preferring to listen to my iPods using the SoundDock vs. hooking them up to my stereo system (NAD receiver with PSB ...
Summary: I love this product. In fact, I find myself preferring to listen to my iPods using the SoundDock vs. hooking them up to my stereo system (NAD receiver with PSB speakers) as the iPods sound much crisper at lower volumes with the Bose SoundDock. Besides the quality of the sound, I also very much appreciate the portability of the product. I carry it everywhere in the house, including the outdoor deck. I strongly recommend this to everyone looking for decent sound quality and portability.
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Beautiful Sound Quality Fall in love with music again
by shazzy61 on December 20, 2008
Pros: The best sound quality around. Very easy set up. Loud enough to fill the room.
Cons: I would have like bass and trebble controls, and built CD, radio and alarm would have made this the perfect sound system for me.
Summary: As a first time user of an ipod, I wanted a docking system that had the very best sound quality, this system has made me fall in love with music ...
Summary: As a first time user of an ipod, I wanted a docking system that had the very best sound quality, this system has made me fall in love with music again.
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Awesome Speakers
by gaurkuma on August 25, 2008
Pros: If you want to enjoy music at appreciable volume limits these are one of the best available. I have creative 5.1 speakers and I can easily feel the difference between the two.Plus portability and auxillary input is a great advantage.
Cons: Well, if you are looking for speakers that can shake you, probably the bose dock is not a good choice.
Summary: Overall worthy buy. It is costly no doubt but Bose shouldn't be blamed. Good stuff comes at good price. Take sony or apple they all are in the same ...
Summary: Overall worthy buy. It is costly no doubt but Bose shouldn't be blamed. Good stuff comes at good price. Take sony or apple they all are in the same league.
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The best sound for your IPOD on the move or standing still!
by f1325g on August 12, 2008
Pros: Sound quality and carrying bag lets it go where I go and keeps the unit safe with extra padding. Clean crisp sound. Remote is very convenient.
Cons: Price, a few more features on the remote would be a plus like shuffle and repeat. Battery life when Ipod is docked.
Summary: I am new to the Ipod world only having my Ipod for not even a month now. I am a National Marketing Tour Manager and I wanted to add music ...
Summary: I am new to the Ipod world only having my Ipod for not even a month now. I am a National Marketing Tour Manager and I wanted to add music to my current event setup. I first purchased the Logitech Pure-Fi setup that Best Buy carries for around $130. I loved the sound while in my hotel room, but when it was put to the test at an event it failed. I then went back to Best Buy and remembered seeing the Bose Sound dock and asked a representative about it. The rep turned it on and it filled the whole store and that was not even at max volume. I purchased it on the spot. When I use the unit people that come by my booth are amazed that the sound is coming from that little box. I carry the unit everywhere I travel. It's great while in the hot tube listening to a little Sade or Yellow Jackets. I found that if you use an AUX cable that can be plugged in the back will extend the units battery time per charge. With this setup, the unit is not having to keep the Ipod powered up. It doesn't have an eq option, the Ipod classic has an on board eq that works great to adjust the sound. Use the adapter that comes with your Ipod to get a perfect fit. Even at $400 you will not be wasting money.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Bose Corp.
- Part number: 43085
- Description: The SoundDock Portable digital music system reproduces music with fullness and clarity unmatched by other battery-powered iPod speakers, from a design even slimmer than the original. Proprietary Bose technologies let you enjoy your iPod out loud in more locations - without compromising sound quality. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery (included) provides more power and longer playing time than most other rechargeable batteries. The rotating dock disappears for storage and protection during transit. And a molded handle makes it easy to carry the system from place to place. Just dock and play. The iPod charges as it plays for uninterrupted music enjoyment. A custom remote easily controls the system and basic iPod functions. Auxiliary input lets you play other portable sources, too. The SoundDock Portable digital music system. Unsurpassed performance and portability for the serious iPod listener - from the most respected name in sound.
General
- Product Type Portable speakers with digital player dock
- Width 12.1 in
- Depth 5.9 in
- Height 6.9 in
- Weight 5.2 lbs
- Enclosure Color Gloss black
Speaker System
- Speaker Type Active
- Magnetic Shield Yes
- Audio Amplifier Integrated
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x IPod docking, 1 x Audio line-in ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm )
Miscellaneous
- MP3 Player Compatibility iPod mini, iPod nano, iPod photo, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod with video (5G)
- Remote Control Remote control - Infrared
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
- Power AC 120/230 V
Battery
- Type Speaker battery - Rechargeable - Lithium ion
- Required Qty 1
- Included Qty 1
Product series
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Bose SoundDock Portable (black)
Manufacturer: Bose Corp.
Specs: portable speakers with digital player dock, 12.1 in x 5.9 in x 6.9 in, Gloss black, Active
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Bose SoundDock Portable (white)
Manufacturer: Bose Corp.
Specs: portable speakers with digital player dock, 12.1 in x 5.9 in x 6.9 in, White gloss, Active
Manufacturer info
- Bose Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Bose Corp. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.bose.com/
- Address:
The Mountain, Framingham, MA 01701 - Phone: 1-800-999-2673
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