Nickname: Valmorel

Review: At 57 years of age I find my music requirements have changed. At one time, 20/20 home Hi-Fi was all I wanted to listen to. But now I want my music and radio in the form of podcasts with me for use anytime, anywhere. The iPod aproach is probably the best way to do this right now. And the addition of portable speaker systems of good if not perfect quality greatly enhances this experience. As memory gets cheaper, formats can be less compressed too, further improving quality. I like the way the Apple Hi-Fi can interact with the iPod to provide extra functionality such as "back light on when docked." What we really want now is a decent remote with a screen and functionality that mimics that on the iPod.

Date reviewed: May 16, 2006 8:55 AM

Nickname: Dutchie Rivers

Review: Room for improvement. Work on it.

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2006 8:08 PM

Nickname: Andres

Review: I hope Apple can take the advantage of its incredible momentum and market innovating, yet simple, technology that can adapt to our new and growing digital lifestyle. Looks like they're headed in the right direction. An Apple Plasma or LCD wouldnt hurt. http://www.tiket.cl

Date reviewed: Mar 11, 2006 4:29 AM

Nickname: batman

Review: Doesn't anyone remember vinyl? As long as you're staying in, nothing comes close. CD is a distant second best, but iPods are an abomination (and I own one). Don't anybody try to tell me that an AIFF file is the same quality as a CD just because it's un-compressed. You have to remember, you're relying on an iPod to amplify your faultless AIFF file, so it doesn't really matter how good the quality is. Nobody ever plugged a Walkman up to a set of domestic stereo speakers and expected decent sound and it's not going to happen this time round either, no matter how much Mr. Jobs perfects his speakers

Date reviewed: Mar 7, 2006 1:10 AM

Nickname: Yggdrasil

Review: I listen to my iPod through my high-end, audiophile system and I definitely don't consider 256 kilobits per second VBR mp3s "garbage." Sure, it's not CD quality but then again CDs aren't that good sound-wise either. And it sure beats CDs for convenience, any time. I've sold off most of my CD collection and haven't regretted it since.

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 10:54 AM

Nickname: Brian

Review: Phil and others perhaps aren't aware of Apple's Lossless Encoder, which doesn't lose any fidelity in the process of importing the audio signal.

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 9:30 AM

Nickname: Stevo

Review: Good call by Phillip, in that this is not going to be high-end audio, by using compressed tracks from an iPod. This unit, however, is quite unique because it doesn't limit you to using just the iPod. You can use a digital optical output to drive it. I'd love to see how that sounds!

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 5:13 AM

Nickname: AUDIOGEEK

Review: I have mixed emotions on the subject. On one hand, I do not understand why upper frequencies are limited to 16000. All it takes is a higher quality tweeter. Box size is irrelevant for high end. There could be 5th harmonics issue and limiting to 16000 kind of a band aid. On the other hand, I seem to recall a reseach project when sound stage was created not by 2 speakers separated for stereo effect, but by 2 speakers aligned side by side, with specialized crossover design. Since I did not hear the box yet, I cannot tell whether some of these ideas were implemented. Overall I consider it a positive step. Jobs is a bright guy and eventually he will get it right.

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 5:00 AM

Nickname: longtime_listener

Review: I consider myself a sometime musician and low-end-audiophile. I am particular about the sound. For the past year I've used a Mac as my audio source. With a USB audio converter, it can sound as good as anything I could ever hope to afford: better than some $10,000 systems I've heard. (See http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/bbs.html for rants for the hopelessly lost in good-sounding computer audio) My point? Apple has a plausible contribution to make to home audio.

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 4:31 AM

Nickname: simX

Review: Philip: You do realize that you can buy any old CD from the store, rip it to lossless AIFF quality, and then copy that to your iPod or stream it via an AirPort Express to the iPod Hi-Fi? Just because there's garbage lying around, doesn't mean you have to pick it up and eat it. The point of the iPod Hi-Fi is to make it easier to use your iPod with a home stereo. If you're an iPod user, you likely don't want to listen to the radio or carry around CDs, in which case the iPod Hi-Fi is a perfect replacement for traditional home stereo systems: there's no real need for a CD player or an FM tuner or any of that stuff. Only an iPod connection is necessary. It makes things easy, clean and predictable. Contrast that to some home stereos that have 40-button remotes as Steve pointed out in his mini-keynote, and the Hi-Fi will be a dream to some. If it really does sound as good as Steve says, sentiments which seem to be echoed by Tom Cullen, then I think this will be a big product.

Date reviewed: Mar 2, 2006 4:28 AM