Which bose sounddock to buy

One of the biggest growth areas, however, has been in the eminently more sensible iPod-enabled hi-fi category.

The only light is hidden away behind the speaker grille: it activates when the dock is switched on and off, when the volume is increased and reduced and hides itself at other times. The SoundDock is eminently practical in ways other than plain aesthetics. The latter takes pretty much any iPod you care to throw at it too apart from the Shuffle , charging it while playing back.

Even the power adapter has thoughtful design elements. You can wind the cable around a slot moulded into its rear — a rubber nodule at the end of the power cable enables you to lock the cable in place. The only fly in the portability ointment is that the SoundDock weighs a not-insubstantial 2. Clipped to the rear of the slimline chassis is a high-capacity rechargeable 2,mAh lithium-ion battery. The battery can quickly and easily be detached from the rear of the dock and swapped with a new one.

Also, it'd be nice if the SoundDock, like Tivoli Audio's iPAL , had a built-in rechargeable battery, making it a truly cordless speaker that you could place anywhere. When we first reviewed the SoundDock in , it was one of the first dedicated iPod speakers available. In the years since, the the market's been flooded with competing models offering more features and decent if not better sound quality.

The SoundDock remains well suited for use in an office, a bedroom, or a small living room--especially for those for whom the Bose name is worth paying a premium. But we'd like to see the SoundDock at a slightly lower price and--at the very least--with an auxiliary line-in port. David Carnoy. 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. 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.

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.

This one doesn't. Also, you won't find any bass and treble controls on the unit or its remote. The iPod dock protrudes from between the unit's speakers and finds itself flanked by a volume button on either side. The remote is simplistic but the large, round, rubberised buttons are responsive and allow you to skip through playlists.

Unfortunately, the remote doesn't let you navigate through the other menus on your iPod and select tracks by artist or genre, which would be of more use. Affordable and musical For its size, SoundDock II produces an impressively broad and expansive soundstage, even when the source music is relatively compressed. Rock out to kbps of Guns N' Roses' Paradise City and guitars, vocals and drums are tidily organised. The Bose does a great job of keeping all the elements coherent and distinct.

The SoundDock II is also surefooted with its timing. Bass notes sound solid and defined, although other docks in this test can delve deeper and exhibit a greater sense of scale. Having said that, the SoundDock II has no problems filling an average-sized room and just about retains its composure at high volumes.