The Sharper Image EC-A130 Hardwood Speaker System for iPhone/iPod

• Charges, plays and displays your iPhone/iPod
• Natural wood cabinet for premium acoustics
• Built-in subwoofer for richer sound quality
• Gorgeous high-gloss piano finish
• Blue backlit controls with chrome accents

I give this item 5 stars for the price. The build quality of the hardwood is very good, and it looks great in the living room. I have a Sony Dream Machine (ICFCS10iP), and the audio quality of the EC-A130 is noticeably better especially at the lower end (great bass). Also, there seems to be a better incremental range in the volume. With the Sony, level 4 is too quiet, and level 5 is too loud. This was particularly annoying when working directly in front of the device. I'm picky, so your experience may differ. If I were to have a criticism, it would be that the remote has a plastic feel (perfectly comparable to the Sony). I did test the remote at over 30+ feet. It functioned normally.

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I had to upgrade my dock when I upgraded my ipod. I bought this one and think it has an overall good sound. It charges quickly. The remote could have a farther distance but it is fine for the range in my room. I am very happy with the purchase.

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despite the slightly annoying "may be incompatible" popup when I plug in my iPhone 4, it works and charges totally fine. The default sound is okay but becomes drastically better when you max out the bass and treble settings via the remote (which you have to do every time you power off and back on). speaker shielding is pretty good, I haven't experienced any cell phone buzzing interference when my iphone is plugged in. the 2" integrated subwoofer makes a big difference on the lows vs. most other docks in this price range, but don't expect table-shaking bass you probably can't throw a party with this but it'll work well enough for a small get-together because the sound will clip (as expected from lower wattage) at higher volumes. the two tweeters are decent, highs are much better than average docks once you set a high treble setting. mid-range is about average, but overall I'd say the sound is great for a living room device (this has a full 20Hz-20KHz range!) and leaps and bounds over the sub-$100 stuff you find in the aisle of a Best Buy. doesn't hurt that the glossy black finish looks good with most furniture

1 star knocked off for the popup message even though the box explicitly says "compatible with iphone 4." 5-star device based on sound & looks for a $70-100 dock

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I bought this and got it home to find out that it is not optimized for IPhone4. Beautiful little cabinet, I'm really disappointed that it doesn't work. : (

We purchased this product from a brick-and-mortar retailer. When we got it home, we found the following missing from the box: (1) the remote control; (2) the speaker cable; (3) the instruction manual; (4) the warranty card; and (5) any protective padding. The same evening, we emailed Sharper Image's customer support department for assistance. Five weeks passed without a reply from Sharper Image. We again put in a request for support through the web site and also separately emailed customer support directly. A week has passed and there is still no response from Sharper Image, nor has it provided the missing remote and cable.

On the upside, the unit works okay, although one wonders if the sound output would be better using the cable. The instruction manual (available on the Sharper Image web site) indicates the cable is for connecting an iPod to the unit, but we are able to get sound without it.

It is annoying that both the box and the instructions picture a remote control, yet none was provided. However, it is outrageous that Sharper Image provides no support for this product and completely ignores customer requests for assistance.

This is our first and last purchase of a Sharper Image product.