Bose SoundDock

If you've got plenty of cash to burn and want to get the best out of your iPod, then make no mistake; the Bose SoundDock is exactly what you need.

Many of you will roll your eyes in disgust when you browse over the price tag of this unit. In fact, those who have some idea of consumer electronics will automatically say, "Looks good, sounds good, rip off." That may be true for many of Bose's products, but the fact is clear; this unit is expensive, but you get what you pay for and that is superb audio quality combined with sleek and sexy styling.

Finished in all-white plastic to fit in with the iPod phenomenon, the SoundDock only works with Apple's popular player. This is disappointing for those who don't own one of these units, but would still like to share their audio experience with such an excellent sounding unit. We would have liked to see an adapter fitted to the SoundDock which could have enabled other MP3 players to be played through it, but in the end, it comes down to marketing. With Apple totally dominating this category, it's easy to see why Bose haven't bothered with support for other players.

In the package, Bose has included two dock inserts; one for the iPod Mini and the other for the 2G, 3G and 4G iPods. The iPod nano and iPod Video are supported, but there is no dock insert included, which means the player wont fit as snugly into its position as the other models.

The unit itself is simple, yet extremely stylish. A silver speaker grille covers almost the entire front of the unit, while the iPod dock itself is curved out in a semi-circle surrounded by two volume buttons. These are the only two controls on the SoundDock; power is supplied as soon as the AC power supply is plugged into a wall outlet, while surprisingly, there are no bass or treble controls. Although all the controls and equaliser settings are achieved through the iPod itself, for almost $500, we expected more sound options.

Sound quality is, in a word, outstanding.No other explanation is required. It's the best portable multimedia speaker system we've reviewed and the bass levels are absolutely superb. For such a small unit, the way Bose have managed to produce these sound levels is amazing. Complex riffs are produced with the finest crispness and levels were clear throughout. There was no evident distortion; even at higher volume levels.

Perhaps the critical factor when making a decision to purchase one of these units is its ability to produce these quality sound levels in a highly noisy environment; and that exactly what the SoundDock is capable of. Its good enough to replace an in-home stereo system and attractive enough to ensure you'll show it off to glancing admirers at any given opportunity.

Rounding out the package is a credit card sized remote control, which has a Volume Control, Previous and Next Track buttons, a Play/Pause button and an Off button. Unfortunately, due to the size and power of the unit, it doesn't run on batteries and can only be powered by included AC power pack, which is quite large.