Bose Quality Shines

Some background:

I switched to an iPod Classic in January as I wanted an mp3 player with a large storage capacity for my 100GB+ collection. It's my first, so I decided to go all out with accessories. I got a nice protective case, the interface for my aftermarket Sony deck in the car to keep it charged and play through it, displaying song info, but now, I needed some portable speakers.

I use my iPod to listen to music at work. With my previous mp3 player, I plugged in a 2.1 system with subwoofer (the JBL Creature system). Nice, but cumbersome and lots of wires. There are so many different solutions for the iPod that I spent an entire month visiting electronics stores and reading reviews online. I wasn't so sure about the Bose product due to the price involved, plus I read some reviews at another site and was hesitant. I dove in anyways and am so happy that I did.

The Bose SoundDock Portable I purchased was the black one. I also purchased a travel bag with it and just recently, a spare battery. The unit is nice and compact in size and no more than 12 inches wide. Perfect for my desk at the office. The power brick is huge, but that sits under the desk out of sight. Overall, it's very aesthetically pleasing with a smooth shiny texture all over except for the grill on the front. The carry handle is recessed on the back and you have the slight bulge (no more than 2 inches) where the replaceable battery pack juts out.

The unit is sturdy and construction seems very solid. The tray that holds the iPod swivels out at the push on a corner. What I like best about it is that I do not have to remove my iPod from the aftermarket protective case! It fits just by removing the contoured base that came installed. A perfect fit I might add. And as with other systems, it does recharge the iPod while docked, even while running on battery.

The sound is superb. Bass is very tight and pronounced. I can feel it on my desk and those sitting on the other side of the wall at my employer can tell when I'm playing something with a lot of low end. I thought I had a problem with distortion at first until I realized that it was my equalizer setting on the iPod that over emphasized the bass to where it was too much for the unit. On your standard settings on your iPod, you will get great sound, so choose your EQ settings carefully to ensure that the system doesn't over do it.

The office environment obviously sounded great, but I wanted to know more about how it would play while on battery. I brought the unit home and had it playing in my loft/home office which is about 300 sq. ft. It filled the area and could be heard fairly well downstairs. Mind you, I did NOT have this thing turned up too loud. I would say it was about medium volume. Levels were good and highs were crisp. Low end was just right. I've read that if you crank it on high, you'll get about 3 hours of battery. I hit about 5 hours and it still wasn't dead yet, so YMMV depending on use. Another situation I had was I took it outdoors on a boat with 20 people. It performed flawlessly and I still didn't have to crank it for it to be heard. I played it at various volumes and turned it off and on (while the captain made some announcements here and there) so it got a workout. This usage went on for around 7 hours. I actually picked up my 2nd battery as I was worried about running out, but that wasn't necessary and unfounded.

At $399, this isn't for everyone. I still slap myself around for paying that much, but when I play it, that goes away and I know I got a quality sounding system that does everything extremely well. Even the travel case holds everything perfectly including the spare battery, iPod, and remote control. Bose went all out on this speaker system. When you combine looks, size, sound, accessories, and overall usefulness (especially if you're like me and use it 5 days a week at 8 hours a day), it's a great package that is well worth the price.