Kicker iK501 Digital Stereo System for iPhone and iPod (Black) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I have listened to both the imt810 and i just bought the ik501. Listening to classical, jazz, big band and easy going music, the imt810 was about 5% better. Listening to Katie Perry, Black Eyed Peas, Carly Rae Jepson, etc. both the imt810 and the ik501 was about even. Listening to country it was about even. Now where the ik501 comes ahead is when your turn the volume up. The kicker is clearer and almost no distortion.I would have bought the imt810, but it's plagued with major reliability, QA, and customer service issues. Therefore the ik501 does well for me.A lot of the reviews here make it sound that this item came down from heaven and it was signed and approved by Jesus Christ himself, not so.I have been doing sound for a lot of bands and studio work for about 15 years, so i have a trained ear.At low volumes the imt810 is better, at hi volumes the kicker is better. Not by huge margins. The normal person might be able to hear the difference.The BAD:1. The dock is not angled back therefore the iPhone or iPod flops back and forth and it will eventually break. Reviews prove this. My work around was to buy and extension cable.iTeck Dock Extension Extender Cable for iPhone and ipad- Charge Data Sync and Audio Play Control Music from Bose SoundDock iHome Sony Logitech Philips and Car Stereos etc- Thinner Female Connector to Fit all case2. The look is plain and I would suggest buying skins for this product.3. There is no storage slot for the remote.4. The menu function on the remote does not work on my 4s but works great on my iPod Nano.5. If you have poor audio quality mp3's, this unit will bring it all out in the air. You should use a minimum of 192k bit rate, anything less is irritating to me.The GOOD:1. The forward and pause buttons on the remote work for Pandora.2. The rev forward and pause buttons work for the music on my iPhone.3. The remote has a mute button.4. Nicely packaged when it arrived.5. Charges your device even in standby mode (off).6. You can adjust bass and treble. If listening at low levels I crank bass all the way up and treble at about 2 or 3.If you end up buying this item, all I can say is, you will not be disappointed.I brought it to some of my friends (sound engineers) at the studio and they were impressed on the quality of sound at higher levels. Now they want one.I also compared this to Bose. To make it simple, the Bose is twice the money, but in NO WAY does this give twice the better sound. At low levels the Bose sounds a little better. The kicker, once again comes ahead when playing louder. Bose is a good product, just overpriced (worst bang for the buck product out there). If the Bose was the same money, I would probably still buy the kicker, because I like to have the option of cranking it. I can't wait to take it to my brother's house; he has the Bose SoundDock series II. My kicker will play cleaner and produce more bass at high volume than his at half the cost.Please feel free to ask any questions, leave a comment.***UPDATE***Its been about 2 months and I had this annoying sound comming out from the unit when playing loud when the bass hits. It almost sounded like it was distortion or the voice coil is bottoming out, or better yet the power supply was resting against it and would vibrate when the bass hit. I could reproduce the sound when using a tone generator between 50hz to 70hz.Well I took it apart and right behind where the volume/lcd is, there is a plastic plate with 4 screws holding that together. I took that apart and siliconed it together and screwed it back together and no more rattling sound. I have been using it for a couple of weeks of hard playing and it has not come back and it sounds great.***UPDATE***Its been a year and 2 months and this thing is still going strong. I take it to work durring the summer and gets a lot of playtime. I also bought a 6s lipo battery and the charger I already had. Now my Kicker is mobile.

Had to replace my Zune version I purchased a few years earlier as one of the speakers blew out. Got this refurbished but it was worth the risk and has treated me well in the last two years since I have had this particular model.I wish they would continue to replicate this model design. I have used it so often and it does so well for such a small system. I once DJed a small wedding with this beast when the power went out at the outdoor reception. Phenomenal sound from such a portable system.I use this with a Optoma Projector and a Chromecast and Plex and I can carry my entire movie library and a full 60in screen with theatre sound in one hand.

I was a bit concerned about buying a refurbished product for the first time, but I had just had a great experience with Amazon Warehouse deals (I got 2 pairs of open-box Westone 3 earphones for only $150 apiece! I highly recommend them at any price by the way) so I decided I'd give it a shot. I was not disappointed! Blinq delivered a speaker system that cost nearly $300 3 years ago for $75 to my front door. I'm used to Prime shipping so it felt a little slow, but it was free so I can't complain.The box it came in says Kicker Certified Factory Remanufactured on the side, which gives me some confidence as a buyer that someone is standing behind their refurbished products. When I opened it up, everything was very well-packaged. It makes sense, considering it was probably sealed by the Kicker factory before being bought in bulk by BLINQ. The sound is great! I wouldn't buy it for $300, but at the refurb price point this thing is a beast. It's a little larger than I expected - you wouldn't be able to fit it in a standard backpack, but it's certainly small enough to put on the passenger seat of a car and bring to a friend's house.Now, a few minor gripes. The rear-facing square subwoofer came slightly dusty. It isn't affecting the sound, just a small note. Again, for the price I have no complaints. Second, since this is an older product, none of the universal dock adapters packaged with the device fit my iPhone 4S. I ended up buying a third-party Lycos adapter that I hope will allow me to relax about docking my iPhone in the cradle. And if you've got one, you'll want to dock your iPhone in the cradle. Not only does it look great, but the remote works well and the sound is improved by a moderate degree with the direct connection.The supplied audio cable is crap, but that's to be expected - t's just a bonus. I recommend a Mediabridge 3.5mm cable if you want to connect a laptop, android, or an iPhone in one of the heftier versions of the otter box. Again, though, the sound is improved when using the dock connection.The volume is phenomenally loud, but the bass won't challenge a stationary subwoofer over $50. Still though, as a package deal, the speaker is bumping! I prefer to leave the tone controls set to 0, but I believe the bass control only effects the subwoofer, as turning it up didn't seem to distort the front speakers. Good call, kicker.So, more about the sound. If you want to play DJ when you and your friends hang out, this'll do the trick, and admirably. But I would at least combine the Kicker with a decent home theater/computer speaker subwoofer if I was trying to throw a house party or something. The quality, as a Westone 3 and Audioengine A5+ owner, is good but not phenomenal. If I remember correctly, it's better than a similar product from Altec Lansing, the iMT800, that I owned a few years back (the AC. The bass is quieter on the Kicker, but it's tighter, too. And I like the Kicker's aggressive design. It really seems to echo Kicker's background in car audio.Overall, I'm extremely happy with BLINQ, Kicker, and of course Amazon for bringing me such a great deal on a killer product. Highly recommended!