Sony SRS-GD50iP iPhone / iPod Dock / PC Speaker System

Bought this just over a year ago and it has now become faulty. Speaker sound has become "tinny" and sounds like there is a loose connection. Took it to a Sony dealer and was told it is uneconomical to repair. Neither Sony or Play.com are interested in repair, replacement or refund. Expected a Sony product to have lasted much longer than this has and am very disappointed & out of pocket.

I bought this item thinking they will do... They are awesome, powerful and solid sound. Look good and the dock is quality really impressive product.

The design of the speakers is amazing, with the sub looking so good its now on display, and the satellites look very inconspicuous, but the mid-range lacks large depth, and the treble is understated, but this is just nit-picking. The treble does however match my altec lansing im500s, but that is hardly a fair test as they are low powered and designed to be used off batteries. The bass is really what should set this system apart from other systems; as its almost big as a 200W KEF sub, but at any volume above a third, it starts to rattle, which in my books is unacceptable. (FIXED) Whether this is a fault or not; needless to say they are being returned as i like quite bass heavy songs. (I HAVE FIXED THE RATTLE: there was some hard foam like the stuff used for packing in the back of the air outlet of the sub. Once i removed it with hangars, the rattles completely disappeared even at maxx volume)
The docking unit is very well thought out, with the orange volume ring becoming extremely attractive in low light conditions. I suppose that this unit is the point of this system; a neat ipod docking station, with strong bass, but, the treble really is too disappointing to give these speakers anything above 4stars. If i was just rating the dock, the system would have got an easy 5 stars because of the excellent value. But because of the quality control (rattling sub), and the not in your face trebble, it will get only get a very good 4.
The included remote is excellent, with full control over the ipod (not just back next and volume but full menu, enter, up, down e.t.c), but you have to point it directly at the dock as the receiver points slightly down for some strange reason. Bass control is also very fun to mess around with !
They arrived overnight, so no quibbles with shipping at all.

Good:
-Design, easiness of use and setup .. THE DOCK (worth 5 stars) Sound quality is back up in the good after foam removal

Bad
-Those sony signs really shouldnt have been put where they are !, not much distortion, but slightly noticeable on bad quality mp3s - short cables, and finally, no dock adaptors for older ipods (2nd gen nano in my case).

After having numerous sound systems, (some 50quid sonys, some 150quid altec lansings, and some 600quid kefs,) these sonys easily make the most sense, and what they want to achieve is perfectly pulled off through the dock and sub. The satellites prevented a full 5 star rating.
If i was fully factoring in cost, they would definately recieve a 5 star rating, but i suppose im just like that!

the system also includes 'travel' adaptors for the whole of europe which is nice, although id highly doubt you'd take that monster sub in your suitcase.

Price: excellent for the money, blows ANYTHING away for the same price.

Conclusion : Perfection for the price, amazing dock and super beefy sub. A must buy.

Audio 4/5- the one setback is the sony logo in the middle of the speakers which can distort the audio at very high sound levels but you rarely notice it overall and the quality of the audio is very good. I would recommend using an output with some kind of graphic equalizer (itunes) as I found playing music directly from your iphone is good but sounds better when you can adjust things like treble via your computer

Design 5/5 - The design is really good. The control dial with the orange light looks a treat on any desk. It takes around 5 mins to set up and the controls are very easy to use. The Infra red signal from the remote can sometimes be difficult to pick up from a far distance but overall it isn't that much of an issue. One setback is the speaker cable length, I wanted to place the speakers either side of my room but there is only enough cable for them to be placed on your desktop, but I have a relatively large room and the audio is still loud enough to fill the space

Value 5/5 - At this price it is very good, generally online it sells for 100 quid plus after some research. I was trying to replace a pioneer 100w system with had an amp and subwoofer so was looking for something good in quality and sound and this certainly hits the mark. You will be pushed to find a 2.1 speaker system online of this quality at this price.

Overall - If you are looking for a good quality speaker system at an amazing price definitely make the purchase. And don't bother paying the extra for the Harmon Kardons in my opinion just because of the design, these are more powerful, look sleek and come with all the features you could need

These speakers are 199 pounds in the Sony centre, a fantastic price from Play.com. The sound is very good, maybe a little rich and contrasty for purists, but a quality Sony sound even at high volumes. The woofer is big enough to send a nice base thump around the house :)

Speaker leads are only 1 meter long, so this is really designed only to sit on a desk with a PC. Plugs into the PC via usb, syncs the iPhone/iPod and has one other 3.5 mm jack input. You can switch between the thee inputs via remote control or by pushing a button on the dock unit. Fantastic value!

this sony system puts similar ones to shame,fantastic at full price but at 69.99 on play it`s a bargin.superb sound easy to use and one of it`s best features is that you can listen to your ipod without turniing on the pc,also got my tv hooked up to it as well!