Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1016 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Gear 4
• Model: PG296
• Released on: 2008-06-03
• Dimensions: 9.39 pounds

Features

• 30W total speaker output from two 3" drivers
• Built-in FM radio with 10 programmable preset stations
• 7 preset EQ settings:Off, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Flat, Classic, Bass, Acoustic bass channel
• Easy iPod play - plug your iPod in and it plays automatically
• Fabric grill
• Backlit buttons
• Hidden LED display
• Hidden cable compartment

Manufacturer's Description
With HouseParty 4, experience great sound and design in one. The two 3” speakers pump out 30W of crystal-clear, bass-rich sound from your iPod, the inbuilt FM radio or other music players. Its acoustically designed bass channel enhances low resonance sound and, with 6 preset EQ settings, your music can be matched to different bass and treble levels.The design features include a fabric grill, brushed metal finish, backlit buttons and a hidden LED display, which all combine to offer a super-stylish speaker system for any room of the house

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Excellent value
I bought one of these for my other half, and I am so pleased with the sound quality of such a small unit. Initially I tried a Wharfedale dock from Argos for approximately the same price, but when I got it home, it sounded absolutely awful - no bass definition whatsoever, and a pretty puny sound all round, despite (allegedly) having 25W output.

So I swapped for one of these Gear4's. There is just no comparison - this sounds amazing. Great bass, but thats also coupled with very clear tones when listening to either quiet pieces or anything classical. You have a handful of preset equaliser settings, which all alter the sound pretty well. The inclusion of a radio is also a handy feature - not many of its rivals have the same.

All in all, I'd recommend this Gear4 to anyone - its a good price, nice looking and quality unit!

Excellent iPod Speaker Dock for those on a Budget!
I bought this Gear4 HouseParty 4 after much searching and comparison of similarly priced iPod Speaker Docks. Whilst eventually I would like to purchase a Bose Sounddock, at the moment I just need something to replace my CD player which has had it after many, many years. The criteria for my purchase was the best sound quality possible, whilst costing around £50 - £60. Which I felt was a reasonable price for a decent Speaker Dock.

I ordered this based on the number of high reviews here on Amazon, although I was a bit dubious about the speakers capabilities having never owned a speaker dock before and not having the ability to test one before buying. I took the plunge anyway and when the unit arrived I was amazed!

It's smaller than I was expecting, very simple clean design, will easily fit anywhere in a room and has a very slim credit card style remote control. Took me a few minutes to setup and even though the instruction manual was a few pages long, you don't really need to read it, this unit is really simple to use. I'm using this with an iPhone 3G and all I had to do was dock the iPhone, it'll ask if I want to turn on Airplane Mode so as to reduce interference from the phone and that's it away you go. If a song is already playing on your iPod/iPhone it'll keep playing when you insert it into the dock. If like me you're using an iPhone, as soon as you remove it from the Speaker Dock it'll automatically turn off Airplane Mode which is a nice touch, saves you keep going into the settings on the phone.

The sound quality of this unit is really quite good, better than I was expecting, bearing in mind that this is replacing my main CD unit. Initially there was some trepidation when I first played something through the speakers, it was obviously something I wasn't expecting when comparing to my CD player speakers. After playing various different types of music through the speakers, it became apparent that this unit will just take anything thrown at it! Low volume, high volume, anywhere in between and I get zero distortion. The sound produced is almost as good as my CD player speakers, good bass without being overly bassy. I was a bit worried about the quality of the sound, but my fears have been in vain it seems.

The unit comes with a built in FM radio which comes in handy. You also get a credit card style remote control which is very handy and seems to work quite well. It cycles through all the menus on my iPhone without problems, allows you to select songs easily enough. You can also shuffle and repeat songs, etc from the remote. The one thing that I didn't see the point of was the 7 EQ options. Turning any of these on and you'll wonder what's happened, to me they're a bit pointless and most users will probably use the unit with the EQ settings off. A minor quibble, but maybe something that needs work for the next model.

Overall, if you're on a budget and looking for a good quality iPod Speaker dock that gives good sound, easy to use, looks the part and works well with both the iPod and iPhone, then I can highly recommend this unit. Ultimately, if you can go in store somewhere and test one then I'd always advise before buying as different people prefer different units and everyone has a different ear when it comes to sound. I can't fault this unit for it's price and am very pleased with it, 5 stars!

great value
I bought this for the kitchen and I cannot fault it for £45!! It is not BOSE but for £250 less it is a great buy. The remote works well, for the best sound I fiddled with the Ipod settings before the Gear4 equaliser. More than loud enough, plus I am told my Iphone will also fit it!