It’s intended just as a bedside clock radio, so don’t think of it as a full iPod speaker dock. It’s quite sturdily built, with a decent weight to it. The device is a wedge like, oblong affair, dominated by a silver speaker grille, which tapers out at the bottom into an iPod white plastic. The absence of DAB is a negative though it would have inevitably pushed the price up. The reception in the office was such that I could only pick up Radio 1, but it fared better in a home environment. The Philips web page rather naughtily describes the radio as ‘Digital’ – what this means is that it contains silcon based tuner rather than an analogue box, but don’t confuse this with DAB – it’s still just FM.
The charmingly titled AJ300D then, gives you music from a decent range of sources– there’s the iPod dock, you can use a Philips GoGear, there’s a FM tuner and at the rear there’s a line-in auxiliary so you can attache any other source. And as the GoGear isn’t actually too bad at all, that’s actually quite a good thing. However, Philips has been a touch more savvy by making this clock radio dock combo work with both the iPod and its own GoGear MP3 players. Creative is not the only one to have thrown in the towel and start designing for the iPod – this rather sleek clock radio, with a built in iPod dock is from Philips. What many noted was that it wasn’t designed for its own line of Zen MP3 players, but for the ubiquitous iPod. Philips has some work to do if it wants to make the speaker great, but for a bedside option, it’s quite acceptable.A few months ago Creative released the Xdock. For those who need such functionality, it’s a good choice. Very few, if any, accessories support current-generation and legacy devices like this speaker does. The first is its lower price, and the second is its novelty. For casual listening in a bedroom, both are good choices, but Philips’ speaker falls a bit below iHome’s.Īlthough its audio performance isn’t quite as strong, AJ7260D/37 earns the same general recommendation as iDL100 for two main reasons. AJ7260D/37’s bass performance is a little better on the default setting, but iDL100 can be adjusted to match using granular EQ settings that Philips doesn’t offer. Philips’ speaker doesn’t get as loud as iHome’s, though, and its highs aren’t as strong. The two mostly sound alike, which is to say pretty good for alarm clocks. It’s not a major issue, but one worth being aware of.Ĭompared to iHome’s dual-docking speaker, AJ7260D/37 exhibits similar but slightly less impressive audio performance. When the source is toggled, docked devices will see their charging sources turn off and then back on again. Much like with iDL100, we noticed some charging oddities. There are also source, sleep, snooze, and two alarm buttons. Left and right can toggle between station presets, and move forwards and backwards between tracks. The center is used to control Dock 2, but the top and bottom controls tune the FM radio. Although the physical design is mirrored on the other side of the speaker, the controls are different. They also double as rewind and fast forward buttons when they’re held down. The top and bottom of the ring control volume up and down, respectively, while pressing on the left allows you to set the time, and pressing on the right triggers the progressive FM station scan. On the left, the big button in the center plays and pauses the Lightning device. Philips uses a pair of round buttons with rings around them for the majority of the controls. The Dock Connector plug is pretty much the same, although the plastic around the plug is much more accommodating, and there are no nubs. Behind the dock is a 2.25” tall clear plastic support, with a rubber bumper at the top. This includes both mini and full-size iPads rubber nubs on either side help stabilize them. It does pivot though, which makes installing iPads easier, at least. The plug is unfortunately built into a wide plastic base that prohibits the use of pretty much any case. Labeled Dock 1 and Dock 2-Lightning and 30-pin, respectively-they’re arranged with the more modern connector in front of the other. Underneath, there’s a battery compartment for backup power it takes two AAs.Īt the heart of the system are its two docks. A thin FM antenna sticks out of the back as well, enabling the unit to tune stations as clearly as the iDL100. There’s also an audio in port, although no aux cable is included.
On the back of the unit, there’s an integrated power cable-notably without the need for a large wall adapter-next to the USB port that can power your choice of devices, including any iPad.
0 kommentar(er)
