Did some more listening to the iGroove

[007]

I have it set up next to the sounddock and im7. The iGroove is really not that bad. The first few times I had it, we had it on low quality songs with low dynamics and nothing really stood out. Well, I can assure it its noticeable better than the sounddock when using higher quality music. It was not just me who noticed this, but virtually any customer I would show the two systems too. The iM7 is a step up from the iGroove and I say that only because its got that 4" active subwoofer, however, the im7 is entirely over designed and prone to parts breaking. Its also larger and heavier and im sure the iJam will top it with ease when it arrives. The iM7 really does not obey the same rules as the sounddock and igroove in which case, the igroove wins by a massive margin.

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[Jay481985]

Yes the IM& is prone to break.

The first week they were displayed they were pulled until the further

notice, due to faulty hinges on the door. The thing would scratch the

iPod and the door would never close or open just randomly

[SoCal]

I tried to listen to the iGroove at my local Apple Store and compare it to the iM7 and SoundDock, but it was impossible to do so with all the people in the store. I do like the size of the iGroove. It a personal sized unit and would go well on my nightstand (but I have iFi's in the room already). I also stand by the quality of the recording you put through a Klipsch as it makes such a difference: garbage in, garbage out; quality in, quality out.

[wdrazek]

I heard it at the local Apple store vs the two obvious competitors. The Bose had pretty smooth mid frequencies but seriously lacked bass drive. It sounded like all midrange and dynamically compressed. The Altec IM7's drawer mechanism was broken so I couldn't listen to it. The IGroove had a nice balance, good bass propulsion but was a little rougher sounding in the upper frequencies than the Bose. It could have been the source as is mentioned below.

Based on what I heard I would go with the IGroove against the other two. It beats the Bose for sound quality and I question the reliability of the IM7, regardless of how it might sound. That said, I suspect a lot of competitors will hit the market in the coming months so by next summer (or spring) who knows what the market will look like.

The IGroove also accepts any Ipod and I've read there may be an issue with some Ipods (like the Nano) and the Bose. With a black Ipod it would look great, with a white one the Bose looks a little better.

[JohnMatthew]

Thanks for this information, wdrazek. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I'm going to return the Bose I got for Christmas and get the iGroove. Though I hope I'm not being hastey given that, like you said, more and more of these things will be coming out soon.

I'm curious about what the iJam is that someone above mentioned--the one that's not out yet. Anyone know?