GINI iTube & iConec First Impressions

I approached the review with an open mind and a ton of curiosity.  But from the minute I opened the box, I found this to be a product of contradictions.  First, let's start with the concept of a tube based audio system.   High-end, right?  It conjures up images of snooty audiophiles sitting in uncomfortable chairs occupying the sweet spot of acoustically treated rooms, listening to overrated jazz music, debating the sonic qualities of tubes and ridiculously overpriced interconnects.  But then you say "iPod-based desktop speaker system," and I think low tech, or even computer speakers.  At its worst, this can fall into a category I call "Flea Market Audio."  So, on the one hand I feel that GINI wants to position this product for audiophiles who have iPods, yet as I began to unpack the system, I started to worry that I should have been looking for the word “DIGITAL” printed in a bad sci-fi font on the box somewhere.

First Impressions

In agreeing to review the system, some emails were exchanged with the kind folks at GINI, and we were told that "It'd take at least a week to have a system properly broken in," but they would send it out as soon as they had one ready.  And I must admit, I was relieved, because I would really hate to be forced to review a brand new $350 product right out of the box.  (Not to mention the fact that my minions are busy breaking in my new iPod earbuds, which will take them several weeks.)

After a week or so of anxiously waiting for the system to arrive, I finally received an email that it was READY and was being shipped!  I got home one night and there it was, all boxed up just sitting in the foyer waiting for me. After dinner, once the kids had gone to bed, I cleared the kitchen table.  There was no way I was gonna wait another day until I could transport it to my secret underground Audioholics testing lab lair to dive into this.  It was go-time.

GINI sent me two products: the iTube, which includes the sub and two satellite speakers, and the iConec, which is an iPod docking/charging station.  The iConec comes in very typical Chinese packaging - cheap, thin cardboard.  Oddly, it has an AC adapter packaged outside of the box, placed next to it in a brown cardboard box.

But once I took it out of the box, I found it to be a nice unit with good build quality and overall appearance.  It was heavy, which means it must be good, right?  (If I ever decide to produce a piece of A/V gear, I will make sure that it is HEAVY.  Heavy is good.)

Next up was the iTube box.  This packaging looked much better, although the box is very thin cardboard, and the styrofoam inside the packaging is not custom fit - it is just thin pieces cut and fit together to give the unit protection (which it does a fine job doing).  Just don't ask me to figure out how to pack it back up for shipping.  The power cord was bundled up and stashed up against the tube in the top of the subwoofer, which was funny, because as I opened the box I was curious to see what type of packaging was going to be used to protect the "fragile" tube.  Not what I was expecting!

After setting the system up on the kitchen table, my wife immediately commented that it looked like a bad middle school science fair project.  As for aesthetics, it should rate NEGATIVE points. It is styled to look like a white ipod.  (A first generation iPod, to boot!)  That seems to be limiting.  I mean, sure, it would look okay next to your iMac, but what about the 95% of people out there who have a black or beige PC on their desk?  But then I considered that it probably is my age - I am getting too old to understand what is hip with the kids these days.  Sadly, even my 12 year old daughter made fun of the way this thing looks.

And there lies the contradiction - GINI seems to want to position it as a pseudo high-end product, yet it looks and is packaged like a Times Square electronics store Chinese knockoff.  The plain-looking, white plastic speakers have big gold five-way speaker posts on the back, but GINI supplies 22 gauge micro-thin speaker wire with no way to determine which lead is positive and which is negative because the other end is terminated with an RCA connector.  There are remotes for both the iTube and the iConec.  Both are incredibly lightweight and, well, very plastic.  The sub/tube/amp unit has a power button on the rear, and on the front has volume up and down, and bass up and down controls.  These are arranged in an iPod scroll-wheel style, with a mute button in the middle.