Best iPod Speakers

[a_recording]

As I said before, the Aktimate Mini is an active bookshelf speakers with an iPod dock. You can't go wrong with them, the reviews are very positive They just need a fair bit of room to breathe because they are rear ported, so don't let them get too close to a wall or they get a bit bloated.
 

 

[loveholic]

$700 for that? I believe Focal XS is a much better choice. It's got built in dac as well.

 

[a_recording]

I listened to the Focal XS against the Aktimate in the same room, and I ended up choosing the Aktimate just because it was better at imaging, the sound was more engaging, and overall the setup seemed more elegant than a bunch of different boxes. Your mileage may vary of course, but I just find it unlikely that a pair of small satellite speakers and a sub could do better than a set of fullsize bookshelf speakers people are suggesting (any active bookshelves/monitors, not just the Aktimates.) I suppose the Focal XS would have the upper hand in pure bass extension.
 
Here's a neat roundup of reviews - not from the manufacturer, but still from a reseller, so I suppose take it with a grain of salt
 
http://www.redboxav.com/products/aktimate/reviews.php

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

Its all depend on the room,position,listening distance,volume etc... The Focal XS are meant to listenend very close and i bet it sound better than the aktimate used very close.

 

[loveholic]

Most ipod/pc speakers are designed for near field listening. I've tried the Focal XS and it's a total package. It comes with the ipod dock, built in dac, 2 drivers per satellite, and more. The price is little high, but they are very easy to use and sound good out of the box.
I have no experience with the aktimates, but there is no way those are worth $700. You could get a brand new pair of adam a5's for $500 or  a used pair of dyn bm5a's for $500-600 or Klipsch ifi can be found for less than $300 on ebay or the Focal XS from amazon for $450.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Most ipod/pc speakers are designed for near field listening. I've tried the Focal XS and it's a total package. It comes with the ipod dock, built in dac, 2 drivers per satellite, and more. The price is little high, but they are very easy to use and sound good out of the box.
I have no experience with the aktimates, but there is no way those are worth $700. You could get a brand new pair of adam a5's for $500 or  a used pair of dyn bm5a's for $500-600 or Klipsch ifi can be found for less than $300 on ebay or the Focal XS from amazon for $450.

 
 
That's probably true... but I bought my Aktimates for 550 AUD, which probably means you can get them for far less in American dollars. They are near-field speakers - they achieve their best quality sound at normal listening levels at my desk half a metre away. I'm really not sure you could find them though...
 
In the Sunday Times review (not a hugely authoritative source I know) the Aktimates are compared favourably with the Adam A5s. Careful though, this link opens a PDF :S
http://www.redboxav.com/products/aktimate/files/Aktimate-Review-Sunday-Times.pdf

 

[cifani090]

Meridian F80, http://meridianusstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mus&Category_Code=F80_i80,

 

[loveholic]

Quote:

Meridian F80, http://meridianusstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mus&Category_Code=F80_i80,

 
That's not a realistic solution to this thread. For that much one could configure a real system.

 

[Dalamar]

Quote:

Meridian F80, http://meridianusstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=mus&Category_Code=F80_i80,

Is it just me, or is that a useless $3000 blackbox? Looks almost as snake oil as the lessloss blackbox I mean blackbody...