Griffin Technology Amplifi Speaker System (1200-ITSPKR) for Apple iPod

I was looking for an ipod speaker system for a while and after extensive research settled on the Griffin Amplifi. I purchased my unit 3 months ago from BH for $119.95 and have since been very satisfied with it. Originally, I was looking at other systems in the same price range that featured an alarm clock but did not get the same great reviews as the Amplifi in terms of sound quality. In the end I prioritized sound quality and simplicity and have not looked back.

Just how simple is the Griffin Amplifi? Very. It features only one big dial surrounded by a classy blue light ring. This dial functions both as the power button when pushed in and as the volume control when turned either way. Aside from the power plug on the back of the unit there is only a line in input, which enables the use of pre-dock ipods or any other audio devices / computer etc. In terms of hardware, the Amplifi has two front-firing 2-3/4" neodymium drivers and a dedicated 5" down-firing woofer all in a black wood enclosure.

Edit: The Amplifi also comes with a very simple 6-button IR remote that allows you to control music playback but not menu navigation. In order for the control to work you need to be in a somewhat limited 15 degree angle of view of the IR receiver on the front of the unit.

The sound the griffin produces is very pleasant, yet slightly bass heavy. While its certainly produces nice warm tones, the vocals are still very clear and do not get muddled up which is nice. Considering the unit lacks separate bass and tones control, getting nice bass with clear and distinct mid-tones by default is crucial. Before I move on to discuss how the Amplifis with an eclectic mix of songs let me just make a quick note, which may be obvious to some but the Amplifi sound quality really shines through with high quality lossless files. It already does a fantastic job with medium-high quality files (most of my files are encoded at 192 or 256 or higher), but lossless files really add more depth which the Amplifi is able to take advantage of.

Daft Punk - Phoenix (heavy bass beats - subtle mids and distinct highs, medium-high AAC encoding ): Great for providing the music entertainment for a party in a small / medium room size. Not only did this song sound great, reproducing all ranges without losing any detail or muddling anything together. Even nicer, was the ability to crank the unit almost all the way up without any distortion.

Willie Nelson - America the Beautiful (clear mid-tones, clear highs, little bass, Apple Lossless file quality): Amplifi does a great job reproducing the beautiful steel string guitar mid-tones and varied vocals with utmost fidelity, and infuses a subtle warmth.

Guns 'Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine (Bass / Guitar solo midtones / clear vocals, Apple Lossless file quality): Sound production is fantastic for one of my all time favorite songs. Slash's intro guitar solo is amazingly reproduced. The mid-tones and highs are clear, and once the kick drum starts up the Amplifi delivers a pointed bass outputs that add some punch behind the kick drums.

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellancholie and the Infinite Sadness (like classical piano piece, medium high quality encoding): Not many people are familiar with this Smashing Pumpkins song which is also the title song to the same double-cd album. It's a beautiful no frills piano piece. The amplifi does a decent job of reproducing the mid and highs, yet adds perhaps a bit too much bass / warmth. For this song and classical music I probably prefer the sound profiles of my Shure E2C's headphones.

Overall, you can't go wrong with this 2.1 speaker system. Over at iLounge they compare it directly with the twice as expensive Bose Sounddock and actually give the Amplifi a higher rating (A- vs B+). The only ipod-speaker system that I found to be better in sound quality than the Amplifi thus far has been the Harmon Kardon Go+Play speaker system. However, this system also comes in at $350 and is in a whole different class.