Eton AM/FM iPod Dock Review

Eton AM/FM iPod Dock Review
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Eton iPod Dock

The Eton AM FM iPod Dock is an all-inclusive iPod player, radio and alarm clock. The Eton Sound 100 is available in either black or silver. Eton no longer manufactures this product, but you can still purchase it for a deep discount from online retailers. The iPod dock originally sold for around $200.

Body (4 out of 5)

The Eton iPod dock looks extremely stylish, especially in the black. The silver speaker and dial really stand out in black. The dock has a

Eton 100

blue screen, which displays the settings, including the radio station and time. While this screen looks nice, you may find it hard to read, and you can’t adjust the backlighting. Also, the screen is extremely bright in a dark room, which means that you may want to turn this device to the wall to keep it from waking you up at night.

The setup of the iPod dock is pretty simple. The speaker is located on the front of the device. It also has sleeper timer, alarm clock and clock buttons. Unlike traditional iPod docks, however, these buttons are extremely small, which make the device look better. It may, however, prove to be hard to use if you are used to the larger buttons.

The snooze button is located on the top of the device, and it is long like standard snooze devices. It has a 3.5 mm auxiliary line. This allows you to hook up either a CD player or a different type of MP3 player. The dock is reminiscent of older radios with its boxy look.

One problem with the device body is that it doesn’t have any type of external speaker, RCA or subwoofer jacks. You only have a line out jack.

Compatibility (3 out of 5)

Unlike most iPod docks, the iPod slot is not physically built into the device. Instead, it’s a square box that sits next to the device itself. The dock itself is small at 4.53 inches high by 8.27 inches long by 5.1 inches deep. This extra piece, however, means that you need to find more space for the side dock. It would have been better for the company to combine the two pieces together. Not only does it save space, you are more likely not to knock the dock off of your side table. While this is an annoyance, it’s not a huge drawback.

The Eton dock is compatible with all iPods that have 30-pin dock connectors. These include the following types of iPods:

  • Standard iPod
  • iPod mini
  • iPod video
  • iPod nano

The fact that it works with the nano is especially attractive since many iPod docks are not compatible with this device.

Remote/Radio (4 out of 5)

The Eton device comes with a small remote, which has a lot of buttons that you probably won’t use. You’ll probably just stick to the Power, Play and Stop buttons, but you do have the other options if you need them. The problem with this remote is that the buttons are small, and you can easily scratch the surface of the remote. Plus, since it is so small, you may find that you lose the remote in the cushions of the couch.

The AM frequency coverage range is 522 to 1620 KHz, and the FM RDS frequency coverage range is 87.50 to 108 MHz. The internal AM radio antenna is a bit of a disappointment. It’s not very powerful at all, and many users find that they can only pick up one or two radio stations. You can, however, purchase an external AM radio antenna, but it also means that you have to spend more money on the device.

Presets/Speaker (3 out of 5)

Another disappointment is the number of presets, which is 10. This means that you can only program 10 radio stations into your dock, and you can only add up to 8 characters at once for the RDS data. Further, you can adjust the treble, equalizer or bass.

The internal speaker, however, sounds great. Music plays quite well on the device despite the fact that you can’t add additional speakers to it. It has a battery backup, which ensures that you don’t have to reset the clock every time you move the device or if the power goes out.

Bang for Your Buck (4 out of 5)

Overall, the Eton AM FM iPod dock is quite affordable, especially since you can now get it on sale. The sound quality is great, and it comes with a lot of features. It does lack some advanced settings, including the ability to adjust treble and bass. Some people may find the external iPod dock takes up too much space.

This device, however, is well worth the money, and it is quite stylish for an iPod dock.

References

Amazon.com

Eton