[wowbagger]

It was quite a coincidence that the good folks of iWorld Australia should send me a couple of their new iLuv iPod dock/audio systems to try out this week as it was the exact present I’d intended to buy my sister-in-law for her birthday. Talk about “piss-kick”! Sitting on my door step were two models of the iLuv range, the larger i552BLK “Portable Audio System with Radio” and it’s smaller cousin the i189BLK “Stereo iPod Dock with 3D Sound”. Both items quite well representing the broad range of iLuv audio systems available with others simply adding or removing functionality whilst keeping similar footprints.


i552BLK - Portable iPod Audio System with Radio AUD$189.95

The i552BLK is one of those “does-almost-everything” flavours of iPod dock ice cream. It’s portable, it looks pretty cool, AM/FM radio, good sound & can even run off batteries for those picnic days in the park. The only thing that’s not in there besides the kitchen sink is a built in alarm, but then your iPod can handle that side of things itself in this day and age.



On top of a laundry list of features the length of my forearm the i552BLK includes both an audio in & out 3.5mm stereo jack to allow you to plug in that now ancient mini disc player you bought back in the day thinking you were the nerdiest of the nerds at the time or your antique 1st gen iPod. The input jack is also handy for connecting your iPhone 3G, which whilst stated to not be compatible on the box, seemed to work fine for me in the dock position even without turning the “radio” functions off. The only thing that didn’t work with my iPhone docked was the “skip” buttons on the remote, a small pain, but then the iPhone isn’t listed at being compatible at all so I’m more than happy.



Just like any “portable” audio system you can’t expect to hear your THX certified experience coming out of speakers the size of your fist. That said I was pretty impressed by the i552BLK’s performance. Even at high volumes I couldn’t get a distortion out of Missy Elliot and the bass response was quite adequate all things considered. You’d certainly have no problems annoying the neighbours at 3am having a party in your living room with this unit pumping out the tunes.

Pros:

• line in & out (although I have no idea why you’d use the out)
• am/fm radio
• remote
• battery powered
• in dock charge
• no distortion at high volumes
• USB connector for iPod shuffle

Cons:

• not the greatest looking on the market
• no alarm/clock built in

i189BLK - iLuv Stereo with iPod dock and 3D sound AUD$99.95

Next up we have the i189BLK, what you’d put in to the smaller basket of iPod docks around the traps, the i189BLK is a little baby designed for what you think would be portability but apparently I’m wrong. You see the i189BLK is small, sleek, has great funky design and some reasonably good sound quality for its size but she lacks the ability to plug in some batteries and take your musical life on the road.



Batteries aside I love the i189BLK. It’s an awesome little power house for its size and even though you’re going to get some top end distortion and a more tin-can sound from the bass saturated songs the i189BLK would be perfect sitting on your bedside table or in a bathroom to provide those more ambient style audio.



Again like it’s bigger brother the i189BLK is listed to not work with the iPhone3G and includes a line in again to compensate for this and other devices that may lack an iPod connector port, but again I had no problems using my phone with it. There’s also no remote to be found so all control needs to be at the unit itself.



My biggest gripe about the i189BLK is that it’s one of those devices that for some reason has a “3D Sound” feature added to its name. You can press the 3D Sound button on the top of the unit and get a larger kick from some of the notes but it really does nothing more than screw around with the EQ on a hardware controlled level. It’s a useless feature that does nothing, lucky for the i189BLK it’s size & audio quality are actually decent for it’s price point and it doesn’t need these “gimmicks” to sell it.

Pros

• line in
• in dock charge
• small, looks great

Cons:

• 3D sound
• treble heavy sound
• slight distortion at max volume levels
• no battery power

All in all as a representation of the iLuv audio system range the i189BLK & i552BLK provide a great quality of sound (for their respective sizes) and give me confidence in that being reproduced across the iLuv units. Even though there were elements I would’ve liked to have seen added or changed (a rechargeable internal battery for example) both units are extremely well made and priced in their markets. I can highly recommend you check them both out when on your next iPod dock hunt.

Links

• i189BLK - iLuv Stereo with iPod dock and 3D sound AUD$99.95
• i552BLK - Portable iPod Audio System with Radio AUD$189.95
• iWorld Australia
• iLuv
• Product Photos