The Zeppelin from B&W will floor you. It’s almost a work of art. (I’m not exaggerating, take a look!). The seductive design makes the Zeppelin a tremendously beautiful decoration piece for your living room. It’s a compact music system that is astonishingly capable of delivering an incredible level of audio performance in any room it’s in. We’ve already cited all the technical details of this marvel (http://fillion.ca/blogue/manufacturiers/bw/bw-et-ipod-du-style-a-revendre/). And though we don’t want to overstate the fact, this really is THE iPod station of the moment. Even the demo doesn’t stay too long on our shelves. It’s a great investment for $650. It’s worth noting, in addition, that the electronics were developed by a Quebec company, Classé Audio, right here in Montreal. How about that!

But the elegance of the Zeppelin might not be as exciting to you as the “high tech” features of the Music Cocoon 4 from Roth Audio. The name speaks for itself! Roth has developed an iPod dock with an integrated tube amplifier. Wow! The design is mind-blowing and the sound quality is equally impressive. It comes with two auxiliary inputs for television and computer. The speakers are purchased separately and I recommend that you pay special attention when choosing them as they shouldn’t consume a lot of power. Take the advice of a professional and head straight for B&W or Focal/JmLab speakers amongst others. This station, in the $700 mark, is geared for music lovers. Your MP3 player might even become the weak link in your ensemble depending on the type of compression used for your digital files. Nonetheless, it remains one of the best options that I can recommend!

So, will it be the Zeppelin, or the Music Cocoon? Either way, hours of aural and visual pleasure await you.

It’s funny, but some of these mini systems remind me of the “boombox” style stereos that were popular when I was younger. You can easily bring them wherever you go, but when it comes to audio quality, needless to say, it isn’t always there. Nevertheless, mini stereo systems from Sony and Panasonic are good for listening to the radio, and they are generally equipped with a CD player, auxiliary input for MP3 and sometimes even a bluetooth connection. However, these types of units don’t have iPod docks. You can connect your MP3 player, but you won’t have the same user-friendliness nor esthetic of an iPod dock. On a positive note, the option for bluetooth in some of the Sony models, allows for the usage of wireless headphones.

In order to make the right choice in this entry-level price point, ask yourself the question of durability. Often, these systems have a pretty short lifespan. Better to invest a little more and keep your equipment for longer. There are many choices out there. We’ll go into more soon.