i-deck Build Quality and Setup

Consumer gadgets come and go but few have much of a lasting impression. Then there are those few that do. Like the Sony Walkman before it, the Apple iPod has achieved iconic status in our pop culture. Every student both young and old wants an iPod. Both of my children and my wife have one along with myself. We are a 4-iPod family. Forget just any MP3 player, they are a distant second and likely to remain there for some time. When something achieves the status level of the iPod, it creates a ripple effect in the aftermarket accessory marketplace. From FM transmitters to arm bands there is a plethora of merchandise one can go broke on after you have purchased your iPod. One such category is that of amplified speakers and docking stations. There are many to choose from, and like anything else, there are good ones and then there is junk. One of these that fall into the "good ones" category is the i-deck from Monitor Audio . Read on to get the details.

Description & Build Quality

Having not previously familiarized myself with Monitor Audio's i-deck, I was expecting just another run-of-the-mill amplified computer speaker setup. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. This was designed from the ground up to be truly integrated with the iPod. Build quality was excellent; fit and finish superb. My father, who is retired from the plastic mold industry, commented on this fact. With the high polished white and light grey this is a nice looking piece of gear. My wife, who has some sort of plastic addiction hated to see me box it back up when I was done. Included in the box were two speakers, the amplifier/docking station, AC adapter, five interchangeable bezels for every type of iPod, remote control, 3.5mm stereo mini cable for older iPods with no dock connector and other music players, a manual and a quick start guide.

Setup

Manual? Who needs a manual? Really, with the i-deck you won't need to bother. Setup was a snap, literally. After unpacking everything, I picked out the correct bezel for my iPod mini and snapped it into place on the amplifier section. I then attached the speakers with the included wires, attached the AC adapter and plugged it in.

All that was left was to set the iPod into the base and pick out a song. Setups don't get any simpler than this. Once you have a song playing you can use the remote. The remote gives you control over play/pause, volume, skip forward and backward. If you are one those technically challenged persons, then the quick start guide will get you on your way. Speaking of the manual - well lets just say it's a good thing that setup is so straightforward and leave it at that! It does include Russian though which I thought was kind of neat.

One really nice feature the i-deck has is the 30-pin connector port on the back. When you attach your iPod cable to this port and then to your computer, your iPod will mount and you can manage it with iTunes. This is very handy and turns the i-deck into a massive docking station. The speakers are also threaded for an optional mount, for those who may wish to do so. I was surprised to find that the speakers do not attach to the base and the AC adapter is a separate piece. Overall this is a nice compact unit, but because everything is separate it is not well suited for portability.