JBL On Stage Micro II Speaker System for iPod / iPhone (Black) 30 Pin Connector

I ran a series of experiments using 3 different Apple devices: 1> IPhone4 (iOS 5.1.1) [16GB], 2> IPod Touch 3rd Gen (iOS 4.2.1)[8GB], and 3> IPod Mini (Software ver.1.4.1.)[4GB]; and with all three of these devices I attempted to play the same song via a> the dock mode, b> the auxillary audio port mode, and c> through BOTH modes at the same time. All of this was done using AC power mode; I did not attempt the experiments using battery power or remote control. Here are the results:1a> IPhone4 plugged in the Dock: Although the IPhone4 is properly accepting charge (shows the battery with lightning bolt logo on the top right showing that it's charging), it also appears to be "confused" when plugged in. It constantly thinks that I'm pressing the Volume Down button and thus lowers the phone ringer volume all the way to zero (doesn't actually affect the sound level coming out of the Micro II). The "Speaker with no volume bars" logo will stay on the screen forever, but at least the screen is operable, and other than that, everything plays fine. Sound quality is great.1b> IPhone4 connected on the Auxillary Port: As expected, the volume is not as loud as in Dock mode, but sound quality is still good.1c> IPhone4 plugged in the Dock AND connected on the Auxillary Port: OK, this is where it gets weird. Trying to play from both inputs at the same time will result in, well, nothing at all!! If you dock the IPhone4, hit Play to start playing through the dock, and then connected the Aux - the IPhone4 will instantly switch to "headphone" mode and pause the song, then when you hit play again to continue the song it will then attempt to play from the Aux. However, because of the "confused" response I mentioned in 1a, the volume instantly goes down to zero. Conversely, if you connect the Aux first, hit Play to start playing through the Aux, and then docked the IPhone4, etc. - it'll do the same thing.2a> IPod Touch 3rd Gen plugged in the Dock: The IPod Touch accepts charge just fine and is not "confused" like the IPhone4. No other idiosyncracies. Sound quality is for some reason not as good as the IPhone4. I hear a little bit of static and noise, but it's otherwise tolerable.2b> IPod Touch 3rd Gen connected on Auxillary Port: It sounds about as good as the IPhone4 on the Auxillary Port. Nothing else to note.2c> IPod Touch 3rd Gen plugged in the Dock AND connected on the Auxillary Port: Well, this is physically impossible because the audio out is on the bottom of the IPod Touch...3a> IPod Mini on the Dock: Accepts charge and no "confusion". However, sound quality is utterly TERRIBLE. Constant crackle, pop, crackle, pop, hiss, scratch, pop... This occurs at ALL volume levels loud and quiet.3b> IPod Mini connected on Auxillary Port: The sound quality was even WORSE than the Dock. Crackle, pop, hiss, sizzle, crack, scratch, screech... I can barely hear the song itself.3c> IPod Mini plugged in the Dock AND connected on the Auxillary Port: To my complete surprise, having the IPod Mini docked AND connected to the Aux for some reason cures it of all of its ailments. If you have the IPod Mini docked first and playing (terrible sound), and then connected the Aux, all of the noise instantaneously go away, and the sound quality is about as good as from the IPod Touch. Conversely, if you have the IPod Mini connected to the Aux first and playing (worse sound), then docked it, again, all of the noise disappears spontaneously. I even tried having it docked and connected before I tried to start playing the song - got the same good results. This completely baffled me; I still can't think of a good explanation for this...Other Notes:I. The user's manual is largely useless; it tells you everything that you would have otherwise figured out by yourself in the first 5 minutes. I wish it would discuss all of these idiosyncracies I'm writing about above...II. The USB port is just a signal port between the MicroII and your computer so you can sync and w/e while your iDevice is docked. It does NOT provide power into the MicroII (you must power it via AC or battery), nor does it provide power out of the MicroII into some other USB device.III. The dock will power/charge the device that's docked to it on AC mode, even if the power is turned off on the MicroII.IV. The volume level will reset to a "medium" state everytime the MicroII is turned off and on. It does not remember what volume level you left it at when you were playing the last time before it's turned off.

I did a lot of research before buying this unit. I basically wanted something to plug my 4th-gen iPod Touch into at night, to use as a sound machine. I've just been using the iPod's own internal speaker for this purpose, but it's pretty tinny and the iPod discharges quite a bit overnight. I figured the better frequency response, and overnight charging provided by a unit such as this would be a good solution.I really wanted to like this unit. It is elegantly designed, and looked good on my nightstand. Unfortunately, it was next to impossible for me to plug my iPod Touch into it. I had to work very hard to get the Touch into the unit the first time (after which it worked fine, though the speakers in the On Stage only sound as good as a decent AM/FM desktop radio). However, I knew I would need to be able to get the Touch in place in the dark and without fiddling, so I tried again, in order to practice. The second time, I COULD NOT get the Touch plugged in on the device. At one point I decided I was being too wimpy, and man-handled it a bit. Well, the Touch didn't mount, but I did manage to bend a very thin piece of metal inside the Touch's port (I was able to bend it back into place with a pocket knife). Sigh.On the other hand I was able to plug an iPod Classic into the unit with no issues whatsoever. I was *also* able to plug my Touch into my B&W Zeppelin unit with no issues. My theory is that the dock port on the Touch has tighter tolerances than other devices, and perhaps that is only an issue when trying to plug it into the JBL On Stage device. Or possibly, my own Touch's port has an issue I've created in plugging it into the USB cable (though I'm a pretty careful guy in general).The sound quality, in my short evaluation, struck me as basically that of a clock radio, or a little better. That would have been just fine for my purposes. I could tell immediately that I would have been satisfied with the better frequency response of this unit compared to the Touch's own speaker. That's a pretty low bar to clear, but for the cost and design of this unit the sound quality is fine.So, in essence, YMMV.

I wanted a small speaker/docking system for my iPod touch 4th gen (released Sept 2010). Apple upgraded the charging system on this model making it incompatible with other speaker/dock systems. I found it very confusing to understand weather my iPod would work on this system or not. I took a chance, and it does indeed work!The unit is about the same dimension as a 15 pack of dvd's. For such a small form, it has excellent sound. I wanted something to sit beside my computer but not take up too much real estate, this works well for this!Some of the problems I have noticed with it are minor. One issue is it requires a mini-b usb type connection. It does not come included with one, I happen to have a bunch of them laying around. However due to the molding of the base you require a cable which is perfectly round as it is inset into the base. I had to mutilate my available mini-usb to make it fit into the space provided. Not a big deal really!The controller is very odd, I doubt I will really use it much and haven't used it so much yet. It needs direct line of sight.A final issue is my iPods have protective cases. My iPod touch has a Skullcandy case with a smaller lower portion that I need to slide off to dock. Slight inconvenience, but I can live with this. Likewise with my iPod classic.Overall I am very satisfied with this product. If you are reading this and Apple has released another iPod, take a look at the charging parameters of the iPod touch 4th Gen (release September 2010), compare this with the new specs to determine if it is compatible with this product.Glad I purchased it for $55 on April 23, 2011!

Speaker is nice and small and convenient. Couple problems: it is not nearly as loud as I thought it would be. I have newer generation iPods that have the small hookup and does not work with an adapter. So it only works with the older generation direct large plug in. (which is as described)

This is my second one, wore the first one out!

exactly what i wanted !

Great sound