I woudn't discount the audio from a dock (or a good mp3 player for that matter). Yes your not going to get real stereo, or much extension on the bottom, but some of them sound not bad and can fit into places like the kitchen (where I have mine) that you would be hard pressed to get a real system into. However, $600 for one is just way outta bounds for my tastes. Gotta hand it to Bose, they manage to sell these things based on name, and not value. Kinda like buying Gucci....