Aggressive Sound from the iHome iP1

If you like your stereo systems to look industrial, sleek, and black, the iHome iP1 is definitely up your alley. Both sizable (weighing about eight pounds) and modern, this iPod dock is a decent addition to both your media library and your mod décor. As an added bonus, it also works with iPhones, allowing you even more usability options.

A standout feature from your standard iPod docks is the AV output for iPod videos. The ability to turn the iHome into a stereo system for your movies is a neat little trick that significantly boosts the audio of most televisions – though if you’re a surround sound snob, this is definitely not a feature that would appeal.

As with all speakers, make sure to test out multiple locations for the iHome iP1 to get the best sound results. Acoustics are a tricky thing, but with some adjustments, you should be able to get a fairly impressive, in-your-face kind of sound that really shines with upbeat, harder music genres. The tones for softer music is admittedly not great – if your music taste leans more toward folk than futuristic, you might want to keep shopping around. It makes the soft sounds a little too sharp, sometimes even distorting the tone of the music in an unpleasant manner. But with electronica, rock, and anything with a great beat, the amped up bass and treble this unit offers really makes the music shine.

The real hang up here is the price tag – retailing at about $300, this unit seems to leave a lot wanting for the money you have to fork over. There’s no alarm clock function or radio option, and while the AV output is a neat feature, I’m not sure it’s worth the extra coin. Leave me a comment and try to change my mind.