GPX iLive IBCD3816DT Speaker System for Apple iPod (159239)

Pros: Great Features Low Price CD MP3 Player Strong sound Nice-Looking System
Cons: Sound quality good, but more superior (costly) options are available Wiggle Room in Dock

Bose and Apple speaker systems are not in my budget. So for speakers to enhance my iPod, I decided to give the iLive boombox a shot. Overall, I'm very satisfied. The sound quality is good. It's not top-of-the-line quality, so people who desire ...

Pros: Good charger,looks OK,
Cons: Sounds bad,bad reception,remote not designed well, no handle just a strap.

This thing sounds terrible. There is a noticeable hiss when between songs. You can't turn it up very loud at all before it sounds like a car with big bass speakers that are rattling the thing apart and don't even think about using the extra bass unless you like lots more distortion.

Pros: easy to use, and versatile
Cons: its loud, but not loud enough to support a party of people

"I bought the iLive system for my iPod, mine is a 2Gig black nano, but the iLive comes with an insert to hold any size iPod in place. I love this thing, mostly because my iPod has a loose headphone jack and pauses on me whenever I try to use headphones with it. That doesn't happen with the iLive, it always plays. The sound of the system is pretty nice as well, its not loud enough to keep a party bumpin' but its great for weight lifting or hanging out with some friends. Overall I'd recommend this for the price since I've had mine a while, sounds good, and I haven't had any problems." This review was written probably a year ago. The iLive I bought is still working today, I have it upstairs me and a few of my roommates usually use it to listen to music when we make food we just leave it there and turn it on. Mine in particular has gone through a lot, I had one of my friends accidentally spill red kool-aid all over it, and somehow it still works. The only maintenance needed was a CD lens cleaner and run that.

Pros: Attractive appearance; portable; both AC and battery powered: and multi-functional (clock, alarm, CD, radio, iPod)
Cons: Radio reception is inexplicably poor and product failed after less than six months.

I bought an iLive boom-box at Kohl's in late April. It never got good FM reception, even when other radios of the tabletop variety did fine from the same location. One has to attach a canvas type strap to anchors on each side of the unit's top--no integrated or hard plastic handle. Worst of all, its volume control and speakers started malfunctioning after less than four months of use. When the power was turned on, it would literally "boom" and volume controls did nothing to reduce impact. Sometimes unplugging and then replugging it to AC current would restore normal functions, sometimes not. Eventually, the digital display stopped behaving itself too. Although the product isn't dirt cheap (price range from vendors begins at around $80 and goes much higher), it only has a three month warranty.

Pros: It looks cute, the white is nice
Cons: Bad sound, not reliable. Quite heavy.

This little desktop stereo LOOKS cute, but the sound is terrible. I've only had it for 1 year, and don't use it that often, already, it's stopped working. Next time I'm going to spend a little more money and get something that won't end up in the landfill! I wouldn't recommend this thing to anyone.

Pros: cheap
Cons: unreliable, poor sound quality, hissing sound, heavy, doesn't always work.

This product is definitely not expensive, but there's a reason for that. It doesn't always work - the iPOD player works about 75% of the time, and the CD player works about 25% of the time. You have to turn the volume WAY up to even hear it, and then there's a lot of background noise and the sound quality is really awful. I'd rather not have a boombox than deal with the frustration that I experience every time I try to use this machine. Definitely keep shopping.

Pros: Looks, quality of sound
Cons: CD slot seems a bit delicate

Best for Ipod because it charges and the function buttons work with it, but can play any MP3 player via the included input jack. Sound quality is excellent and it's attractive too. CD slot seems a bit delicate. Per a salesman, this used to sell for over $200 when it first came out. We got ours for under $50 with a rebate. Great for kids, teens or families that just want a quality boombox for MP3 playback.

Pros: Offers AM/FM and CD in addition to an iPod dock.
Cons: Poor sound quality, large and bulky size.

I was looking for something to play my iPod Nano in my bedroom, and didn't want a full-blown stereo system (or even mini stereo.) I looked at several, but decided the iLive offered good value for the money since it had an AM/FM tuner and CD player as well.

After a week of trying it out, I returned it to the store.

Sound Quality
My first complaint is the sound quality. I was able to listen to several competing products, but for some reason I couldn't find the iLive on display anywhere. I took a chance. Their is a large amount of background noise/hiss, no matter what mode I'm in (using the iPod, the radio, or the CD player.) Once you get past the background noise, the sound output is sub-par as well. Either too much muddled bass (low end), or too much clipped highs. I was unable to get even passable sound from this unit.

Size
Another (slight) drawback is the size. Other players I listened to sounded much better, but were significantly smaller. You'd think that with larger speakers the sound quality would be better, but that wasn't the case.

Pros: GREAT DESIGN - VERY ATTRACTIVE - WELL BUILT - MANY FEATURES -
Cons: LOOKS BETTER THAN IT SOUNDS -VERY FAKE BASS -DISTORTS EASILY-NOISY FM-POOR INSTRUCTIONS

A FRIEND OF MINE HAD THE ALTEC LANSING iM7 BUT I WANTED TO TRY THE iLIVE BY GPX AS IT WAS MUCH LESS COSTLY - ON SALE FOR ONLY $80. THIS UNIT IS NOT EVEN A CLOSE MATCH IN PERFORMANCE. THE iLIVE IS VERY WELL BUILT, VERY ATTRACTIVE, AND HAS MANY FEATURES. WHAT A SHAME TO HAVE SUCH A WELL DESIGNED UNIT AND YET REALLY SKIMP ON THE SPEAKER AND AMPLIFIER QUALITY. I ACTUALLY LIKED THE ADDITIONAL CONTROLS ON THE iLIVE BETTER THAN ON THE iM7 WHEN NOT USING THE REMOTE.
I USED THE UNIT FOR ONE DAY ON CD'S AND A 30 GIG IPOD. I RETURNED THE GPX iILIVE THE NEXT DAY FOR FULL CREDIT AND ORDERED AN iM7 FROM AMAZON AT ONLY TWICE THE PRICE - BUT WELL WORTH IT.