Out of the box with the iDeck iPod sound system

By Michael Parsons on 26 August 2005, 10:51am

We recently took an Intempo Digital iDS-01 iPod accessory out of the box, a cheap-and-cheerful £40 speaker system for your little white devil. It was small and cute, but then we got our hands on an iDeck from Monitor Audio, a bigger and more expensive mini-system at £250 that promised even more audio iPod love.

We took it out of the box, ignored the instructions and tried to see how quickly an excited Crave monkey could get it going, because that's what we do at home.

The iDeck comes in a gratifyingly big box adorned with pictures of the obligatory multiracial groovers dancing. The text on the box says that the iDeck promises to "provide your iPod with quality Monitor Audio sound reproduction".

We opened up the box to discover five strange-looking pieces of grey plastic, but as Intempo veterans we guessed correctly what they were -- adaptors that allow different form factor iPods to fit snugly into the unit's connector. We choose the correct adaptor for our 40GB iPod and removed the first layer of styrofoam to reveal the main unit.

This was an amp with the dock for the iPod and two speakers, all with the same odd raked-back shape, along with speaker cables and a power unit. It also ships with a mini-jack-to-mini-jack connector cable so you can plug in other devices, such as a radio or iPod shuffle, into the main unit.

The AC adaptor is HUGE -- 9 by 6 by 11cm, presumably to keep the size of the main unit down. We plugged it in, turned on the power button at the back and there it was -- the obligatory cool blue neon light, now required by UK law for all iPod accessories.

All the units felt plastic and tacky, and the speaker cables didn't exactly scream hi-fi. We plugged them in and popped the adaptor in. The iPod fit snugly into the central unit, and we held our breath and pressed play.

Music at ear-splitting volume played so we tried to turn it down using the iPod's scroll wheel. No dice. We then searched the main unit for a volume control. No luck. Then we went back into the package and spotted the itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny remote control. About the size of a credit card, this finally allowed us to turn down the volume.

We took the unit for a spin and its sound was disappointing. It was muddy, there wasn't much detail, and although more powerful it seemed to be in the same world of sound as the Intempo product, despite costing five times more. Just to check we weren't going crazy, we played the same source through the Denon D-M35DAB and the difference in sound quality was embarrassing. The Denon mini-system costs around £240 without speakers, but for that you get a CD player, DAB radio and some hi-fi street cred, and any old speakers you've got lying around are going to hold their own against the iDeck's unimpressive system units.

We gave it another chance, but then the remote stopped working -- probably because the watch-style battery inside wasn't connecting properly, and a new battery wouldn't coax it into life either, so once again we were unable to control the volume. Then we remembered the remote was wireless, not infrared, so we turned the system on and off again, and it worked (networks, don't you love 'em?) Back in the real world, we know toddlers who like to hide small remote controls in lavatory bowls and fish tanks, so this seems a high-risk investment for people with kids or anyone likely to lose the remote (ie everyone). Crave reckons you should buy something cheaper and more cheerful, or something really hi-fi, but if you're not fussy about sound, and you don't lose remote controls, the iDeck might be for you. -MP