JBL is among the biggest and oldest producers on the audio market in the world. The company (which is a unit of Harman International Industries) produces audio devices for the home users, for the entertainment industry and also for the automotive industry. Like we said is one of the oldest companies, and it appeared many years ago, in the 1940’s. Since that period the company evolved a lot, and recorded great sales all over the world. Like we said it is also making speakers for concerts and other type of public events, so you might already have enjoyed the sound quality brought by JBL when being on a concert or another big event such as the 2008 Olympics. For the home users it makes all sort of devices such as computer speakers, home cinemas, outdoor speakers, headphones and also ipod speakers.

So today we are going to focus on one of these products, and we’ll choose the JBL ipod speakers. If you don’t already know this, the ipod is a very popular music player. Actually it is the best selling portable music player, and it sold millions of copies all over the world. It is a small, easy to use device, which is also able to store hundreds of songs. Some iPods are even more complex, being capable of storing other files such as pictures, movies, calendars, documents and so on. Usually an ipod comes with included headphones, but sometimes you may want to share the music with your friends. And in this case you will have to use some ipod speakers or docks. These devices had become quite famous today, and any big audio producer is offering some type of ipod speakers or docks. It’s the same with JBL, which offers 8 different models of ipod docks. So let’s take some of them, and discuss more about each one.

Let’s begin with the one called “JBL on stage 200 ID” or OS – 200 ID. It is a simple docking device, with a grey and elegant design. You might think that it is a mono device, but actually it has 2 pheonix neodymium drivers in it. So it means it is a stereo device. The power for each speaker is 6 watts RMS, meaning that the total power of the dock is 12 watts. This is not so much, but it can be enough for a small hotel room, a picnic or for school. We said these places because you will probably want to take the dock with you when you are traveling, and not just use it at home. It is quite small and lightweight, making it easy to be carried around.  It has dimensions of: Width: 359mm (14-1/8") Height: 64mm (2-1/2") Depth: 110mm (4-5/16") and weighs about 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs). It has quite a good frequency response, which goes from as low as 40 hz to as high as 20 khz. This will mean that the speaker will have quite a nice bass, and also good high sounds. Other technical details are: an input impedance of > 10 kohms and signal to noise ratio of > 85 db.



Now let’s move on to another model, the JBL On Stage Micro Silver. This one is quite even smaller than the previous model, and it also runs both with AC or batteries. This means that you will easily be able to carry it with you, and use it anywhere you want, no matter if there is a power source around or not. But being small, does not mean that it won’t sound good. Actually it sounds really good, bringing a full spectrum sound for your ipod music. But you can also connect it to your computer, and combine it with the speakers that you already have. It is also compatible with CD and mp3 players, game consoles and other music devices. It has dimensions of Width: 150mm (6") Height: 38mm (1-3/4"). This one also has 2 included drivers, and a frequency response from 70 hz to 20.000 hz. The power is smaller  than the previous device – 3 watts for each speaker, so 6 watts of total power RMS. But the weight of this one is really small, just 0.5 kg (1 lbs).



A more complex ipod speaker from JBl is the JBL on time 400 IHD. This is also pretty small, compact and lightweight with dimensions of Width: 361mm (14-3/16") Height: 78mm (3-1/16") Depth: 127mm (5") and a weight of 0.9kg (2 lb). But beside giving a good sound, this one also has a display screen that will show you the time, the song that is playing and other information. But another feature that is not included on the previous ipod docks is that it also has AM and FM multicasting capability and also a clock with a dual alarm. The power is also bigger, with 12 watts for each speaker so 24 watts of total power RMS. The frequency response is from 75 hz to 20 khz  and the signal to noise ratio is > 85 db.



So these were just 3 models of ipod speakers from JBL, but as we mentioned before there are 8. You can find all the useful information about each model on the official site of JBL, but also on many other sites. It is recommended to make some research before buying a model, and see which one is the best, and also the cheapest. The prices can vary from one store to another, so always search for the best deal. Good luck!