JBL On Stage 400P Speaker Dock for iPhone/iPod (Black)

• Compatible with all docking iPods .
• Digital amplification and DSP(digital sound processing) gives you great sound.
• Includes an RF remote with full iPod navigation.
• Evercharge topology charges iPod even unit is switched off.
• Works with iPhone.

I read up about several iPod speaker docks before I decided on this one. The gizmodo ipod dock face-off helped a lot in my decision (http://i.gizmodo.com/5211025/ipod-dock-8+way-battlemodo). They tested several well known brand docks against each other including JBL, Sony, Bose, Altec Lansing, Klipsch, and Logitech. This JBL dock came out on top even over the Bose and after listening to it for a while now I can see why.

Crystal clear sound, deep clear bass, crisp mids and highs. What especially surprised me was the bass. I wasn't aware that such deep bass could be produced from a small ipod dock. I was able to listen to the Bose dock at Best Buy. Being in a huge store probably didn't help the bass but there was virtually no difference in sound between the two, and the JBL is less then half the price.

I personally like the design of the JBL over the Bose. A sexy silver and black oval shaped speaker with my iphone sitting on top. The speaker is shielded so there is no interference whatsoever from my iphone. And my iphone sits sturdy on the top with the correct adapter. The remote is also very useful as you can change volume, skip, pause, and navigate menus with it.

For me this is without a doubt the best ipod speaker dock on the market.

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I've been researching over a year for the perfect dock. Yeah it may sound crazy but im very fussy about the quality i want. So in the end, very difficult to find a perfect product, but JBL 400p is what comes closest. Here's why :

My requirements :

1. Crystal clear sound with clear bass.

2. Should be reasonably loud without distorting any elements and not only for laptop use

3. Shouldn't be crazy expensive

4. Should be portable (BTW i don't see portablility merely as a function of temporary power).

5. Should plug into alternate sources.

6. Didn't care about AM/FM.

Now with the above in mind, i zeroed in finally on Bose, Altec and Sony and did some serious research, to the point of going nuts and finally saw JBL winning. I will skip commenting on Sony cuz its not worth it.

Bose Sound dock: There is no doubt that this one produces the best and loudest sound out there, notwithstanding the gap between best and next is rather slim :) . I almost decided to buy this and then saw in the demo how it "completely" distorts the balance of sound at high volumes, especially the bass. So the value of loud music gets negated. Additionally, ive heard they are custom tuned to the songs that they play best at demos and hence made to sound awesome. And finally the price at 300/400 made it look ITS JUST NOT WORTH IT.

Altec Lansing imT620 and T612 : I think this product is overhyped. Its like one of those chinese products that try to give you as much as they can for as less money as possible. And this makes it the best choice for an economical product. I didn't find the sound clarity impressive at all. But just cuz i was fed up looking, i wanted to close the deal with this and be done.

JBL : While i almost got Altec, one friend of mine suggested JBL and i took a look at 200id. Didn't like as much and then just chanced upon 400p which i somehow left out of comparison totally, possibly because this wasn't rolled out then. This product clearly comes the "closest" to what Bose sounds like and for abt 200 bucks (on a deal) made great economical sense. I am amazed at how it retains the sound clarity even at high volumes, have never seen it distorting any elements. This is the only product that is impressive from the JBL camp for ipod and some serious competition. I have had it for abt 2 months now and completely satisfied. The only small issue is its not as loud as i wanted it to be, which is why the 4 stars and not 5.

Now i'm not suggesting this as a winner based out of only 1 or 2 factors. I had a clear set of requirements and this met all of them very closely. So i won't suggest you take my review at face value, rather go check it out yourself, cuz you may have a different criteria. But for sure keep this one in your comparison.

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I'm very critical of sound quality and I was looking for an iPod dock to take to Mexico with me on vacation. I looked and listened to everything available at brick & mortar stores.

The Bose was too expensive. I knew that. Long story short...The JBL On Stage 400P was a gamble-it lacked some bells and whistles that other docks had but I kept coming back to sound quality, which mattered most to me. I also hesitated with this purchase because it was available at WALMART of all places.

Finally! a purchase that really and truly made me happy. It was on 24/7 in Mexico. I had none of the issues other people had. It's not cheap/inexpensive but it was a great investment for me.

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JBL has made a very nice sounding device that, unfortunately, does not work out of the box with the 2nd gen iPod Touch. Even though this speaker dock was released in spring 2009 and the 2G iPod Touch was released in Fall 2008. Regardless that the product info says it works with "all docking iPods and the iPhone". The included iPod Touch 2G adapter does not allow the iPod to fit down snug enough to fully connect with the 400P so it is unable to play or charge. There is a bump noise from the speaker which may indicate it is close to connecting by cannot quite make it. I tried it several times but it was no go. I then took out the included adapted and attached the iPod without an adapter at all and it worked. I checked several times to see if I was using the wrong adapter but I was using the correct one.

My first inclination was to send it back, however it does sound nice so I really want to keep it. The problem is the connector may be in danger of breaking off if you don't use the adapter and not using the adapter probably voids the warranty.

But regardless, I used a couple small self adhesive rubber pads I had lying around to secure the iPod a little better than just not using anything at all (it seems all the adapters do is snuggle a bit with the iPod to prevent damage to the connector). While I myself will be careful with this solution I am afraid anyone else grabbing it or attaching/detaching it may break the connector off (especially the kids). If it broke inside the iPod it could be bad news for my expensive 32GB iPod.

I might still have given it 4 stars as it does sound good but the remote only operates the built in iPod music player but I use mostly Pandora for music listening so the other functions aside from volume do not function in Pandora or any other audio app.

Of course this, like all Apple related accessories, is way overpriced for what you get.

Maybe JBL will put out a new adapter that would actually work with the iPod 2G but I won't hold my breath.

I have over 30 years experience as a audio professional. I always seek out the best of the best and the JBL ONSTAGE 400P is the finest IPod/IPhone Dock product ever. The sound quality out performs Bose and any others. The high notes and low notes are clear and do not distort at full volume. The speaker shape sends the sound wave out in a stereo surround effect that fills the room. I want one now in every room. This product is absolutely awesome. I use it with my IPhone 3GS. I am buying more for Christmas gifts.

Paul McDonald/Memphis

Remember: What ELVIS did all over the world started in Memphis!