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Love this product. It is compact, and sounds great. We liked it so much, we purchased an additional one for our boat.
Purchased the DS-A2x with an Onkyo Receiver and Sony speakers as a bookshelf system for my living room. Hooked up very easy and have had no problems. I can't use all the features because my IPod is older, but if I upgrade, I'll be all set.
You're going to need a very clear line of sight to the dock from your controlling position. First, let me say what's right about this product.The fact that this is a self-contained unit with an OSD and a remote for ~$100 is something that's pretty rare. Six colors, none great, large, blocky, pixelated text (that does scroll) displaying very basic information. Sometimes there's a delay, sometimes there's not. The remote sensor is very directional as well. Docks that control the volume invariably have poorer sound quality and given the step down you're already experiencing by using compressed audio and much better speakers, introducing more distortion is simply not a good idea.Lastly, when using the OSD, the options for navigating the lists are good, if inelegant. I consider this a plus because I'd much prefer a line-level out and allow my receiver to control the volume, some may not prefer this.
You can choose larger steps to scroll through massive libraries which makes finding the artists/albums/playlists you want a lot easier. This isn't to say it couldn't be easier still, but given other dock manufacturers' ways of doing things this is one of the better ones.Now the negatives:The OSD is very ugly. Depending on what you're expecting, this product is either the best thing out there or a severe disappointment. I've only used it for music playback. If you're looking for something that does video, you're going to have to find something that works with your iPod as what will work on 5G iPods won't work on 6Gs or Touches or iPhones and vice versa.The remote is finicky. Whether I'm dealing with the Harmony or the included remote (or my receiver's remote using the connector cable) it's twitchy. It sounds great, navigation isn't a chore, and it works. Maybe it's an aberration, but take it as you will.So to sum up, if you want a way to control and navigate your iPod's MUSIC LIBRARY from your couch and don't mind a very austere display, this isn't a bad product.
Other manufacturers, like Denon and Sony, have the OSD generator in their receivers so you must have a compatible receiver to operate it via the TV.More good news is that the dock doesn't control the volume. I should also mention the remote's construction is about as cheap as you could imagine.Lastly, my dock stopped recognizing the iPod about 15 months after I bought it. If you want something pretty to look at, this isn't it. If you want to be able to control your iPod from across the room without frills, you've come to the right place.Video access can only be done via the iPod itself and only on 5G video iPods (Apple's fault, not Onkyo's), but I've never tried this to see how it works. It received moderate usage, but in no way was treated poorly. If you want video, care about a slick interface, or require an RF solution (no line-of-sight for the remote) this product just isn't for you.
The unit is very easy to hook up and use if you have an Onkyo receiver. The bottom line is that a nice home stereo system exposes the compression of the mp3 and mp4 formatted music. If you want the ability to hook up your 160 gig ipod to your home system for background music, this is perfect. If you are looking for a way to jam your favorite tunes from your ipod through your home system, this is not the best method.
This extra ipod unit for the onkyo stereo is nice. By using a wireless remote, I am able to control the stereo and Ipod dock all over the house
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