For those of you who like premium iPod speaker docks (Bose SoundDock, Apple iPod HiFi, et al), check out this iK500 from Kicker (mad ICE sub & amp makers from the US), called the "iKick":


Remote, seperate bass & treble, but no battereis (hence the posting in the Off Topic section).

Here's some info about it:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-FrS4zARF2Wo/App/Product/It...in.aspx?i=20608IK500

& here's a review or two:
http://www.geardiary.com/2008/05/10/the-kicker-ikick-ik...tereo-system-review/

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/kicker-i...reo-system-for-ipod/

Personally, I rate Kicker's stuff.
My car has all Kicker speakers (including front 5x7 + tweeter components (retailed at £200+) & a 15" CompVR sub) which have given me countless hours of pleasure - & quite probably a hearing problem in the future

I'd be interested if anyone has heard one of these.
Reviewers seem to be impressed with it's bass & loudness which is right up my street.
Also, at US$250 or less, it seems a decent price. Or maybe that's the current exchange rate talking...

That's not bad looking. But I wonder how much it would really "kick" seeing how thin it is.

thin is not allways bad!

I do own the Loewe RS2000 which is equal to some G.E. i think.

It's one damn thin boombox like some of them B&O-Systems and it kicks for sure!Great sound from that thin thing.

So i can really think of great sound out of this as it is a modern unit from a "known" factory

I actually like this one!

This is not a bad looking unit.Wouldn't it be nice to see some chrome caps on those drivers?It is sharp edged like older boomboxes.The round speakers stand out in an old school way.I can imagine Batman carrying this thing around on his shoulder back in the day.The thing that really sets well with me is the apparent quality of the build and sound.Of course there is no battery power or tuner but it does have a recessed handle.

Back in the early '80s very loud boomboxes were very common on the streets in the city.Eventually with local ordinances and rules limiting high volumes many people moved indoors allowing manufacturers to build cheaper less powerful boxes to save money.Others went to personal headphone portables as their prices fell.The ones still into really loud devices got into car stereo.Car stereo has always been about POWER and VOLUME.It's only natural that they are the manufacturers to bring this back in portable devices.Power and volume were the very soul and essence of the classic boombox.

I'm very excited about this Kicker!I'm seriously thinking of getting one.Though not a boombox for lack of a tuner and battery power,it's shape is nice,the round drivers are highlighted nicely,and it would appear to be a big league performer!Maybe Lasonic should have developed a similar design to this instead of the I931.Though certainly a much different style,it's black and has menacing looks in much the same way as did the old 931.The I931 is just a little too "cute" in appearances for my tastes.Couldn't Lasonic have come out with something similar to this except with a tuner and ramped down enough for battery power?

quote:

Originally posted by Fatdog:
That's not bad looking. But I wonder how much it would really "kick" seeing how thin it is.

check out this on YouTube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPeiLNGpmg

...it kicks alright

Thanks for the video link, Iso. That thing is friggin' awesome!! I might just check on one of these.

Couldn't help myself.Just got one Will report back...

theres 22v ish battery packs out there. wonder how long theyd last. looks really nice. thats sub is wooing me

kicker makes great equipment i stll have kicker 15 inch subwoofers i bought back in 1993 and i refuse to get rid of them they are the bomb.

Who here had a SOLO BARIC?

Most pounding action in a small box you could get!

i had two of the square 12 inchers the bass would hurt you ,but the sound was a little un refined ,more geared towards blowing things apart ,i prefer the old skool competition series,

Yeah, the sub in my car is a 15" CompVR - old skool for sure (it's circular ).

I'm feeding it 2 bridged channels of a Kenwood KAC-PS501F, which gives a proper 150W (rms, v. low%thd @ 20-20khz) & it just won't run out of puff. It's obscene. If you're going to listen to music in a car (rather than SPL & all that) I can't see why you'd ever need more...

I received my Ikicker and tried it out today.My initial impression is that it's not worth the money spent .The bass is quite strong.However,I had to max out the treble on the Ikicker to start with (...please keep in mind I have a high frequency fetish..LOL...).Strings,symbols,etc. became nice and sharp sounding when I did this.What really bothers me though are the mids which lack some presence and detail for listening to music not primarily focused on the bass.Unfortunately there isn't a multi-band equalizer on this docking station.That might have helped to tailor the sound to different styles of music.Simple bass and treble controls just don't seem to be enough.Though it's pretty loud,I don't think there is sufficient quantity of mids and highs to keep up with its bass.It's high frequency presentation is "polite".In fact I can max. out the volume without it becoming uncomfortable to listen to probably because of this.

While putting the ikicker through it's paces,I actually found myself wishing for my Panasonic RX-DT680 (having battery power as an option!)which I paid all of maybe $35.00 to acquire.That boxes sound is very configurable.It can sound polite if you want it to sound polite.But with some tweaking of the treble sliders,that '90s box can sound fiercely oldschool '80s to my ears!My coworkers have actually complained about the 680s volume when I have pushed it!Perhaps comparing a docking station to a boombox isn't a fair thing to do.However,you would think that being manufactured by a car stereo company (and sucking too much power for batteries) that the iKICKER would be more of a match for this '90s boombox.

Of course maybe I'm being too critical of it overall.What I can say about the Ikicker is it's very simple and intuitive to operate.The remote is really nice.Also there is little doubt in my mind that this is the loudest and bassiest Ipod docking station available as they claim.Of course keep in mind I've not actually listened to other docking stations.Even so it wouldn't surprise me if there are others that sound a lot smoother than this one.This one seems designed for those who primarily listen to dance or rap at loud volumes.I'll be doing some more testing over the weekend at work.If it still doesn't satisfy,I may return it.