12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
as good as it gets
Date of Review: Mar 17, 2006
The Bottom Line: If you are in the market for a high-end speaker system that works well with iPods, look no further.
Overview:
The Klipsch iFi is a 2.1 active stereo system with two high quality satellite speakers and a beefy, heavy subwoofer, for dockable iPods. It comes with a dock that has a number of inserts to fit any dockable iPod that has ever been made by Apple, and with a minimal tiny egg-shaped remote that allows volume control, skipping titles, and stop/play functions. Not all functions of the iPod are supported by this remote, and I wish there would be a remote for browsing through the menu system available. However, for what it is, the remote works fine. For menu browsing, the user needs to access the clickwheel on the iPod, which is easy even when the iPod is in the dock. There is a volume/bass control on the dock, as well as two line-in-connectors, one on the dock, and one in the back of the subwoofer. The line-in, however, does not work with some HiFi-equipment. I tried to plug in a NAD DC-player, and it did not work well.
Sound:
After using the iFi for three months, I am still surprised about the exceptional sound quality of this system. The components are first class and it is no exaggeration to say that this sysmte comes as close to audiophile quality as you can possibly come with using an iPod as source. I keep hearing new details on pieces I have listened to for a long time, even on headphones.
Today, I listened to "Afro Celt Sound System", an excellent world fusion production from Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, and noticed the clarity of the percussion, the warm depths of the drums, cymbals that can clearly be localized in the soundscape, and an excellent balance of mids and lows. The highs on my system are just fine, without equalization, but I understand that some owners prefer a slight increase in highs. Especially the mid-range of the iFi is very strong and transparent.
I listen to classical music as well as to Jazz, Pop and New Music, and this system reproduces each genre with equal competence and clarity.
Check the Klipsch website for refurbished systems. I bought mine directly from Klipsch for $199, an excellent deal for these speakers, that imho are well worth their full retail price.
