Monitor Audio i-deck iPod Audio System
By: Monitor Audio Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 4
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 On: 2007-12-09
I bought this system to replace my klipsch ifi that stopped working after a year. These speakers sound good to me (but not as good as the klipsch ifi--but lets hope it works longer than the ifi did!). However, I am not by any means an audiofile, although I have rejected some systems as I thought they sounded terrible.
The only thing I dont like is you NEED the remote to control the volume and I can see myself losing the remote at some point. The controls should also be on the system. I cant comment on how the remote works as I have it taped to the system so I wont lose it.
Also, this is not meant to be a portable system--it is 3 pieces and meant to stay put.
On: 2007-12-05
It sounds great - sweet and natural. By contrast, to me, most iPod minisystems are absolutely unlistenable!!!!! The controls are a bit fussy. Believe it or not, I hooked it up to a REL T-1 subwoofer for foundational bass, and its a real fun bedroom system. My friend bought one for office and one for home. NOW, IF YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN GET A BLACK ONE PLEASE EMAIL ME!!! artmaltman at yahoo dot com. THANKS!!!
On: 2007-10-22
If you value detailed, balanced music in a small package, this is the unit for you. If you want window-rattling bass, this is not for you. The price of $100 is unbeatable for this quality of sound. As evidence of my enthusiasm, I have bought three of these speaker systems at $150 each for my office and my kids.
About my background: I have reasonable credentials as a discriminating listener. I appreciate and own some very nice tubed and solid-state audiophile equipment. 75% of the time, I listen to classical music and jazz--the rest of the time to various types of R&B and rock. If your tastes are similar, this unit will serve you well.
One reason this system sounds so good is that Monitor Audio appears to have the matched speaker components to a particular D/A converter. The iPod provides the digital sound and the iDeck translates the digital signal to an analog signal for the speakers. I cant say that the iDeck D/A converter is better than the iPods. (It probably is.) But the signal it produces works very well with the rest of the system.
The system is easy to set up and use. Simplicity comes at a price. The functions of the remote are limited: volume, play/pause, and next/previous track. There is a stereo in mini-jack plug on the rear and an on-off switch. The system is always on unless you manually turn it off.
One problem I have encountered in all units is that occasionally the remote appears to stop working. Unplugging the iDeck for about 1 minute has invariably solved this problem. Because the sound is so good, I did not mark down the score.
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On: 2007-09-30
This is a fabulous speaker setup to use with your iPod. Its compatible with most types - Im not sure about the new ones just released though. These have dropped in price quite a lot now and are now quite a bargain.
Im using a 30gb iPod and have started the process of ripping my CD collection. I rip at high quality 256kbps, and the sound quality through the i-deck is excellent. Ive played Jazz and Rock tracks through the system and it seems to work equally well with both. In due course I shall rip some Bach and see how it copes with Baroque. I now dont have to have any CDs cluttering up the living room and it looks great.
The only minor quibbles I have are that the remote control does not operate the iPod menu system. You can only control the volume and skip forwards or backwards by one track. Another point worth noting is that if you are more than a 6 feet away from the system you cant read whats displayed on the iPod. However these are minor inconvieniences for what is otherwise perfection.
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