After trying several portable iPhone speaker systems over the years, I pretty much gave up finding one ideal for my needs. I still tested portable speakers now and again, of course – for professional reasons – but all left me wanting. The best I’ve found was the Altec Lansing iMT702, and it was released over three years ago. Since then it’s been disappointment after disappointment.
So when word came that iHome, one of my favorite iOS speaker companies, was releasing a sleek new portable speaker, the iD55, I was encouraged. Surely this reasonably priced system would perform better than its current, lousy competitors. iHome had never really let me down before.
No such luck.
While well designed and constructed, its poor performance and lack of obvious conveniences left me, once again, looking for a wall outlet.
Design
The iHome iD55’s design is the best thing going for it. It’s small, light and cleverly designed with a leather-textured cover that slides out to expose the system’s dock and controls, and shuts to cover and protect those components for easy storage and travel (shown below). Also, when the sliding cover is extended, the system has a larger, arched form factor for added stability – particularly useful when docking the heavier iPad.
The Universal Dock has iHome’s handy brace bar (which folds down when the slider is closed) which makes any docked iOS device or Dock Connector iPod stable and usable. The hardware controls are located just below the dock near the front, but are limited to power and volume up, volume down buttons.
Underneath you’ll find a compartment for 4 AA batteries, a connector for wall power, and a 3.5mm audio-in jack.
Using the iHome iD55
On wall power, the iD55 will charge your Dock Connector equipped iPhone, iPad or iPod while connected. To use, simply power the unit on, select the audio or video you want, and the audio is piped to the unit’s two Reson8 speaker chambers.
Disconnect the iD55 from a power outlet, and the system continues on internal power supplied by 4 AA batteries (not included). On battery power, the system will not charge your device, even a small 5th Gen iPod nano.
All controls, other than volume, are left to the Apple device. There are no hardware controls for forward and back, or play/pause on the iD55. There’s also no remote control included with the system, or an IR port for an optional add-on remote.
Performance
The iHome iD55 doesn’t sound bad – but it produces very low volume, particularly on battery power. This is surprising given its size, which while not large comparatively, is still a respectable 10.5 inches wide and 4 inches deep. To illustrate, the sound quality from the new iPhone 5’s tiny onboard speaker isn’t as good as the iD55’s, but at max volume the iD55 is only about 40% louder.
Produced sound can be nice, though bass is unremarkable; this is normal, and to be expected with a speaker system of this size. But, at highest volume you get pretty substantial audio distortion, and lower volume is unacceptable unless you want to listen to your audio at close range in an otherwise quiet, small space.
iHome expects 6 – 8 hours of use from the iD55 at medium volume on battery power. In my testing, this was true, but at medium volume the system is almost useless. At high volume with regular alkaline batteries, I got about 4 hours of use. With rechargeable NiMH batteries at high volume, I was able to get nearly 5 hours.
Other Thoughts
If you were to use the iD55 with regular use-and-toss batteries, you could easily go through 8 or 12 AAs during a day at the beach. Rechargeable batteries make much more sense here, and a built-in battery – or better still, a charger for third-party rechargeables – would have been a welcome addition.
Also, because of its portability, a longer power adapter cord would be useful. The included adapter’s cord is the standard 5 feet.
Finally, this new product has a 30-pin Dock Connector, which is largely useless with the iPhone 5, the latest generation of iPod touches and nanos, and the upcoming iPad mini (unless you have a 30-pin to Lightning adapter). Not iHome’s fault, just something to keep in mind.
Conclusion
Portable speaker systems for iPhones, iPads, etc. remain the of the few parts of the iOS ecosystem with much work left to be done. This opinion is as valid after using the iD55 as it was before. A stylish, functional design and a reasonable price point (MSRP $79) mitigate the disappointment, but if true portable audio is your want, the iHome iD55 won’t fill the bill, and you’ll have to spend well over than $79 to make it a reality.
iHome remains one of my favorite Apple accessory makers, and they’ve hit several homeruns in the past few years (see here and here).
The iD55 simply isn’t one of them.
M. Nichols, Products Editor
The iHome iD55 was provided by the manufacturer for this review.
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