Which iPod dock

[admin_exported]

Hi, a bit of advice please.

I have a Yamaha M170 DAB system and I want to connect my iPod to it. I already have a 3.5" to RCA cable but I also want to be able to control the ipod from a distance, there fore a dock with a remote is needed.

I thought I had this all sorted then I started Googling and now I'm confused...

I had seen the Cambridge Audio ID10 at richer sounds for £20 including the remote.

But is it any good, I have not seen any reviews on it.

I don't think its worth me getting the Arcam unit due to cost and the lack of remote control.

I have seen an Onkyo, Kensington 500 and the Apple Universal dock.

What do people recommend...

 

[John Duncan]

The cambridge is fine. The Apple one looks cooler and is the one I'd buy though.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response.

Would you buy the Apple just because it looks better? Or is there another reason?

 

[John Duncan]

Pretty much because it looks better, tbh. In the context of the Yamaha the sonic differences between the two (because I know the Apple one is reasonable) could not be big enough to make that the decider.

If you had a more revealing system then yes, these things matter, and I'd be looking at the Onkyo/Denon/Arcam docks. Though I'm an airport express user myself.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, thats just the info I was after.

I didn't think my system (even though it has a What Hifi 5* rating) would be good enough to notice any difference between them.

 

[Anonymous]

Finally bought an iPod dock from ebay.

I thought I was buying a genuine apple product but it turned out to be a very close copy.

Anyway I decided to give a try out as I could be surprised. I hooked it up to the hifi using a 3.5mm to RCA lead and the sound is very very quiet??

The iPod is on full volume and so is the HiFi but it just aboit fills a small room with sound.

So I guess I need some amplification.

Does plugging in a mains charger to the dock/iPod produce better results on other peoples docks???

I only have a USB to iPod cable that charges the iPod at the moment.

 

[John Duncan]

Unusual - is the iPod just as quiet when you plug it in directly from the headphone socket using the 3.5mm-RCA?

 

[Anonymous]

You know what? I haven't even tried such a simple test... I'll give it a go tonight...

 

[Anonymous]

Surely it is 'quiet' because it is a fake product made of sub-standard components which will no doubt catch fire.

 

[Anonymous]

Right I tried it out on my HiFi using the Headphone socket on the iPod.

It was louder (still not as loud as I would have thought) using the headphone socket but I guess thats because its amplified more that the Line Out the dock uses.

 

[John Duncan]

Shouldn't really make that much difference, unless as he says it's a substandard piece of kit.

Have you googled "ipod volume limit" and ways around it? European ones have a stupid volume limiter on them dictated by EU law.....

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I use a standard Belkin dock, and the output from that is higher than the headphone output (I believe only the headphone output is governed by the limiter)...

I think you might have a dodgy dock there sir...

 

[Anonymous]

Thought i'd better update this thread and close it 🙂

I ditched the Apple copy dock and bought a Kensington Entertainment Dock 500 for £17 delivered off ebay.

The iPod behaves correctly using this setup and I am very happy with both the dock and the quality of sound.

The little remote control that comes with the dock is fantastic too, it works great even when you are not pointing it at the dock.

I recommend the Kensington dock to anyone.

The Apple copy dock is going in the bin...

 

[Anonymous]

I recently bought the Russ Andrews GQ-24 interconnect for iPod (ultra plate connection). I was originally using a standard 3.5mm to RCA cable and I had to turn my volume over halfway, in order to get any reasonable volume. With the new cable around a quarter of volume gets me good sound, which is a massive improvement on my old cable.