ipod mini - need external speaker

[tarter]

I want to get a mini CD player for my living room but in the back of my mind I think everything will be going flash or hard drive driven in the near future. I have an ipod mini on order but am now wondering what my options are outside of buying an overpriced Bose sound dock.

Can I just as easily plug the ipod into a line in input on any mini CD or radio system?

Help me please, there have to be some better alternatives to Bose.

Thanks, Tarter

[_jackal_]

google is your friend.... most of these are portable speaker systems. If you aren't concerned with being portable, or the ipod form factor, then I don't think you will be limited to something made specifically for the ipod, and can likely just use any system with a line-in. However, I would wait for someone else to confirm that first, since I don't have any equipment to confirm that myself.

http://www.goldster-audio.com/concertino/product.en.html

http://www.alteclansing.com/product_details.asp?pID=IM3

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=29&product=80

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.asp?ProdId=ONSTAGE

[eisforelectronic]

The Soundock and the JBL and other products designed specifically for the Ipods sound halfway decent for what they are. If the room is on the smaller side they won't be too bad. the problem with hooking most any portable product up to a good system is most do not offer a line level output, only a headphone out is usually available. However most audio systems for computer use are designed to take the headphone connection because only computers with specialty soundcards have anything else.

[plextor guy]

but I'd guess it's a pricey and underperforming product like almost every other bose product in the last fifteen years. Give it a listen though. It might be the Bose product that breaks the mold. The other iPod portable speaker systems I've listened to are awful. I've listened to many of them and unfortunately own one of them, the Altec Lansing inMotion. It's comparable to most inexpensive clock radios in sound quality. In other words, tolerable for news and talk but not suitable for music playback. If I were you, I'd go with a good 2.1 speaker system like the Logitech Z2300 or a comparable product from Klipsch or Cambridge Soundworks. Another alternative would be a Pal from Tivoli. It's a mono only solution but the sound quality is pretty good and certainly a step up from some of the iPod marketed products.

[cvc]

The Tivoli radio has always gotten great reviews. They just made one specifically for the ipod. Plug in and your rockin'. But we are talking portable. The Tivoli is great for just that. It obviously isn't made for rockin' the house. Your home theater is for that. Go to the Tivoli web site for info and purchase. Or if you have a Good Guys store near by.

As for Bose. "no highs, no lows, it must be Bose." A salesman once said this to me. lol

[plextor guy]

A word about the iPal, the PAL marketed for the iPod: It's no different from other PAL's except in appearance and materials. The iPAL has a hard plastic exterior with a white facia. It's a weak attempt at cashing in on the iPod accessory market. All PAL's have a minijack input you can use to connect an iPod or any other device. Personally, I prefer the rubberized PAL's.

[kaltfuzion]

I want to get a mini CD player for my living room but in the back of my mind I think everything will be going flash or hard drive driven in the near future. I have an ipod mini on order but am now wondering what my options are outside of buying an overpriced Bose sound dock.

Can I just as easily plug the ipod into a line in input on any mini CD or radio system?

Help me please, there have to be some better alternatives to Bose.

Thanks, Tarter

If you're looking for a miniCD player for the living room, the Cambridge SoundWorks CD740 is a great system. It's the same size as a Bose Wave System, has better sound, more features, and costs $200 less. It has inputs on the back for hooking up external sources. It also plays mp3 CD's, and has a nice display that shows RDS info (some stations broadcast the song name, artist, etc -- similar to ID3 tags).

Cambridge SoundWorks CD740 (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=aud_radio&item=c174rczzz)

You'll be amazed at the sound this little thing outputs...especially the bass.

[ciscokid1970]

All you have to do is get this adaptor that plugs in to your headphone port on any device and splits it up into Left and Right RCA jacks. Just plug those in to any audio system audio input. Adjust your IPod volume to match radio level (my MP3 player is at about 20% volume).

Here is the radio shack adaptor $15 (you may find the same type of adaptor cheaper somewhere else)
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-2451

I found one for $4 at a local surplus electronics store.

that is it....only $15 or less

[bargainseeker]

If you are looking for non-portable iPod speakers to set up in a bedroom, office or kitchen, I would recommend the Swans M200 (http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=3) speakers for $179 from Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=36-136-102&depa=0). Some reviews of them are here (http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/SwanM200/M200.html) and here (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1101/swanm200.htm). In my opinion, the Swans M200s are the best multi-media speakers for music currently on the market.