KitSound BoomDock Docking Station for iPod/iPhone
Product Description
The Boom Dock is no lightweight dock, this is a serious box of power…. It lurks on your shelf, teasing you, tempting you with its empty iPod/iPhone dock; “plug it in!” It goads…. You oblige, turn it up to 60 and BOOM! You would be forgiven for wondering if it is nuclear powered. It is not brute force though, it delivers sound to you with military precision. We have used revolutionary aluminium cones for the satellite drivers which give a massive dynamic range close to 90dB. For the non geeks out there (most of you!) good comparisons are; CDs which have a maximum range of 96dB (which is rarely used) and the vinyl rock and pop albums from the 60’s and 70’s which only had about 30dB!
The Boom Dock is a 2.1 system, it has a low Q down-firing 5.25″ subwoofer which gives a super-sharp, super deep and super punchy bass response that you can feel right in your chest. It is like being at the epicentre of a small earthquake. If this is too much for you though, you have the option of adjusting the bass and treble levels to suit your own preferences.
At the back, you will find a rare sighting for this day in age – a pair of proper phono inputs! You can connect other audio visual equipment to the Boom Dock, including your TV (as long as it has an audio output). The magnets are shielded so you can site it very close to screens without damaging them.
You can tune the Boom Dock into regular FM or AM radio stations and enjoy them with the full sound that it produces.
Trouble waking up in the morning? Simply select a rousing tune on your iPod, crank the volume to max and set the alarm on the Boom Dock for your regular wake up time…. BOOM! try and sleep though it, we dare you!
The Boom Dock will accept any iPod (except shuffle) and your iPhone/3G/3GS (in flight mode).
The guys seem to have really worked on the components on this bit of kit. The sound is awesome, like some of the really expensive docks like Roth Audio, Bose etc. It is a nice subtle look with a polished piano black finish which the wife likes. It certainly beats our old plastic alarm clock radio! Gotta say these guys seem to know what they are doing when it comes to sound quality.
Rating: 5 / 5
Many docking speakers struggle to make themselves heard, either because they don’t have the volume or lack clarity. The Boomdock doesn’t struggle.
The volume range goes from a whisper to absolutely, bloomin’ too loud. Really, standing right next to this thing, I couldn’t turn the volume to full. My sister gave it a go and the windows literally shook, whilst small objects danced across the table. If you like loud music, then you’ll like this, the neighbours though… For me I couldn’t really conceive of a time when I might need to play music that loud, that might just be me, but it’s nice not having to struggle to hear over the sound of everyday background noise.
The Boomdock really handles bass notes well, you can feel them in your chest and through the floor and furniture. They never become loose and flabby at high volume either, retaining a definition as good as your music file. In fact audio quality isn’t diminished for the sake of quantity at all and you can get as much out of a track at any volume.
A docked iPod can be utilised with the remote control, so you have effectively a very decent home stereo, and one that has cool, understated design.
Versatility hasn’t been forgotten about either and there are multiple options with the boomdock. Having standard left/right audio in jacks, other audio equipment than an iPod can be connected. I tried with a Sony Ericsson w995 and got satisfying results, though the full range of functions that you get with an iPod aren’t available. Televisions and computers ought to work just as well. An FM/AM radio and alarm clock function complete the range of features.
The asking price in light of this review is reasonable as other docking stations in this price range and higher may find it hard to compete with.
Rating: 5 / 5
If you want a powerful and attractive dock for ur iphone/ipod then this could well be the balance between the cheapo items and a Bose. UNlike many decks this could be used as a main hi-fi. Crystal clarity to the sound and a real meatiness to the bass – so much so I’ve had to turn bass levels down! The remote control is a very responsive unit and allows easy access and navigation of ur iphone/ipod. The piano black has a very classy look and looks superior to virtually every other dock I’ve seen. I’ve not been using it long enough to award a 5 star but it may well deserve that. THe build quality is very strong and there is a re-assuring weight to the unit. I recommend this deck with confidence.
Rating: 4 / 5
Fantastic build quality looks great and the sound is fantastic, rivals the £200+ systems easily. KitSound BoomDock Docking Station for iPod/iPhone
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve auditioned quite a few iPod speakers over the years and never found one that I really liked that I could actually afford – I’d reconciled myself to having to find big money for something like a B&W Zeppelin to get true room-filling Hi-Fi sound. Then I met the Boom Dock.
Bass is usually the crucial factor for me – I want a lot of it but volume isn’t enough on its own, it needs to be clear, punchy and undistorted and you have to feel it in your toes. To put this into context, when I was a reckless teenager with my first Hi-Fi I loved the lower frequencies so much that our neighbours put their house up for sale (no, I’m not joking) and were incredibly relieved when we moved before they had to. Be warned, it might look small and genteel but, in the hands of an expert, the Boom Dock could clear a street…
It doesn’t just slam all your bass-lines either, the treble is clear and sharp without being harsh. Vocals sound especially great too with lots of ‘presence’, like your favourite singer-songwriter is in the room with you. As you ramp up the volume it hangs onto the fidelity and nothing rattles except the teeth in your head. It’s not the most ‘neutral’ sound and audiophile purists might like something more polite but there’s no denying the basic quality – you get the feeling someone designed this to really sound good and not just to fill a gap in the product range.
So what’s wrong with it? Well, the circular arrangement of buttons on the remote would be much more intuitive if they mirrored the arrangement on most iPods. The numeric display is a bit bright (especially in standby) and there’s no option to dim or extinguish it. Most significantly, there’s very little stereo separation between right and left channels, but this is a limitation of any one-box design and isn’t unique to the Boom Dock. However these points are really just nitpicking and you can forgive any minor weakness because the main feature, the sound, is so strong.
If you’re looking for a great iPod speaker-dock at a realistic price then you really owe it to yourself to audition the Boom Dock before deciding. If there’s a better sounding iPod speaker in this price-range I’d be amazed. Stop dreaming of Zeppelins and buy 4 of these instead, one for each room! Sometimes five stars aren’t enough.
Rating: 5 / 5