![[Mac and iPhone]](http://diveintomark.org/public/2007/06/mac-plus-iphone.jpg)
A friend of mine is getting an iPhone for her birthday, and she has asked me to buy something like the Klipsch iGroove, but for her iPhone. i.e. It acts as a charging station for the phone, and lets you play whatever music is on the phone through real speakers. Does such a thing exist? Or are the existing class of iPod speaker systems compatible with the iPhone?
While we’re on the subject, what brand of speakers should I buy? I am told by audiophile friends that Bose is not worth the money, but they have no other suggestions that don’t cost, you know, a thousand dollars. So let’s rephrase the question: what brand of iPhone-compatible speakers should I buy for under $200?
I doubt the quality is the same as the Klipsch but the Logic3 IP104 is the first* speaker system tied to the iPhone line. I think it’d be a good idea to wait a few weeks for the better manufacturers to release their equivalents.
* I’m not sure if it’s really the first or not. Ilounge says it is.
Comment by Abhay — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
‘Made for iPhone’ branding should be appearing soon, but I think most basic speaker docks should work, but aren’t guaranteed to.
Comment by Matt J — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Apple is selling Universal Dock Adapters at their online store (were not in stock at the store I was at last night). The thing to watch out for is if it doesn’t carry “Made for iPhone” branding, then it may trigger iPhone’s airplane mode so that it doesn’t interfere with the speakers — but also means you can’t receive calls.
Comment by Chris Griego — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
I have a set of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II, and they are out of this world. I don’t know what you mean by “iPhone compatible”, but the Soundsticks have a standard 3.5mm stereo plug.
Comment by Pete — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:41 pm
Addendum to my previous comment: the only complaints I have with the Soundsticks are the control mechanism. The bass control knob is on the floor, and it has volume +/- buttons instead of a knob, so you can’t tell at a glance what volume it is set at.
Comment by Pete — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
For the last few years, I’ve been a fan of Altec Lansing. Their high-end products sound awesome, and their low and midrange stuff have a good price/performance ratio.
I haven’t seen them brand anything specifically for the iPhone yet, but I’m sure that’ll change soon.
Comment by Mike Owens — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
I haven’t tested it yet myself, but I noticed the back of the dock that came with my iPhone has a line out miniplug receptacle. I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere, but I think it’s safe to assume that it will work with external speakers. That ought to work for her, unless she’s looking for something portable that will charge and play through the dock connector.
If that’s the case you might look at one of several JBL devices. I picked up a JBL On Stage micro for my wife for Christmas. It optionally runs off batteries which is quite handy and it sounds decent (not great, but definitely okay for the price and the aforementioned convenience of battery power). My iPhone works just fine with it, though you do have to turn off the cellular radio. I suspect this will be the case with most similar devices until devices specific to the iPhone start appearing.
As far as existing speakers being compatible, any that connect with a stereo mini-plug should work fine with the one caveat: the receptacle on the iPhone is a slightly recessed and, from experience, I can tell you that not all miniplugs will fit it (specifically those my Shure E-2C’s and Shure SE-210’s). Belkin and, I think Griffin, are both marketing a cheap adapter to solve the problem. I have to go pick one up today.
Comment by Wood — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Disclaimer: While I work for the company whose name Rhymes With Nose, but do not speak for them, and nothing in this comment is based on anything I’ve heard there.
Any iPod docking speaker will allow you to listen to the iPhone.
If it isn’t “Made for iPhone” approved (which, to my knowledge, none are currently), then the iPhone pops up a nag screen asking you if you want to switch into “Airplane Mode” — The theory being that the radios inside the iPhone might interfere with cheaper speaker solutions. You don’t have to, it’s just an option (but one that the iPhone will nag you about every time you connect)
The iPhone has worked perfectly with my SoundDock without switching to Airplane Mode. Which is more than can be said for my QuietComfort headphones, because of Apple’s stupid recessed headphone jack.
Comment by Rod Begbie — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Oh, and take this with the necessary pinch of salt, but to my ears, the only all-in-one speaker that sounds as good as the SoundDock is the Apple Hi-Fi which costs $50 more. But I’m not an audiophile either.
Comment by Rod Begbie — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
A guy at work who is really into upgrading his computer and knowing about all the best parts recently told me that Logitech is making the best speakers these days. I don’t know about their iPod stuff, but if I was getting computer speakers it would probably be some Logitech 2.1s.
Comment by Mike — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
Packing “spoils” high frequencies. They will be more crisp and will hurt your ears. Therefore you need set with “mellow” tweeters. Buy Apple HiFi, they clearly knew what they were doing by designing such a piece. I’m an audiophile, but … i don’t own Apple HiFi, no need because I own beatiful old set of speakers with full-fange elements - excellent for packed music.
Comment by Priit — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 3:25 pm
For my money, the Bose speakers are really the best you can get. I’d go with them before experimenting with anything else. And really, for truely exceptional sound, get her a set of the Bose headphones. I can vouch for them being truly outstanding in the market.
I’ve gone through Harmen-Karden, Alpine, and Kenwood, and I can say from experience that nothing sounds like the Bose. They may be more expensive, but they are well worth the money.
Comment by Jon Buys — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
Computer speakers are completely different than speakers designed for standalone audio systems. Some reasonably-priced choices for computer speakers these days include Logitech and Klipsch.
Comment by Basil Crow — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
I remember Adam Curry giving a rave review of the Logitech MM50 system. Did try it myself, especially not on the iPhone, but worth a look.
Comment by Hagen — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
> I remember Adam Curry giving a rave review of
I am reflexively in favor of anything Adam Curry is against, and against anything he favors.
Comment by Mark — Saturday, June 30, 2007 @ 9:33 pm
You likely by now already know that Apple is selling the iPhone Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack which makes it compatible with most (if not all) speaker-docking systems, including the IGroove.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/accessories/
Comment by unfettered one — Sunday, July 1, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
My girlfriend has a Bose SoundDock. When it’s playing music it sounds great to my non-audiophile ears. I’m also informed that it looks nicer than all the other solutions — we looked at the Klipsch which was “ugly”, the JBL flying-saucer-thing “cute but ugly”, the Apple Hi-Fi “ugly, boxy, what were they thinking” and a few discrete solutions including the Harmon Kardon Sound Sticks which were “boy” (this is bad, apparently). For my part I thought the Bose sounded better than the other solutions in the shop.
The reason for the “when it’s playing music” qualifier above, is that when it’s not playing music and the iPod is just charging, it emits a very faint high frequency white noise which really bugs me. The sound goes away when you undock the iPod, but that’s kind of pointless. The girlfriend can’t hear it and says I have “ears like a bat”.
So if your friend has a similar sense of aesthetics and is insensitive to high frequency noise, you might want to get her a Bose. It really does sound good and I don’t know that the other solutions don’t have similar flaws, my home theater system has the same problem, but it also has an off button.
Comment by HughE — Sunday, July 1, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
> I remember Adam Curry giving a rave review of the Logitech MM50 system.
It should be noted that Logitech was a paid sponsor of Curry’s podcast, and specifically hired him to promote the MM50 on his podcast. Anyone considering Curry’s review should add salt to taste.
Comment by Jason Clark — Sunday, July 1, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
> Logitech was a paid sponsor of Curry’s podcast
Color me unsurprised.
Comment by Mark — Sunday, July 1, 2007 @ 8:24 pm
Although the only vaguely-iPod-related feature is the audio-in on the front of the speaker (in addition to the one on the back) the Klipsh Promedia Ultra 2.0 sound incredibly good, especially given their price.
Unless your idea of audio fidelity involves packing as many subs as possible into the back of your lowered Civic, I would avoid Logitech.
Comment by Alex — Monday, July 2, 2007 @ 1:31 pm