Pioneer Electronics Audition Series XW_NAS3-K Docking Station for iPod (Black)

Share on :

Tweet

Product Description

High-performance audio in an elegant, compact design. With rich 2.1-channel sound (with a separate dedicated subwoofer) tuned by Pioneer's EX Speaker Engineering team, and a double-isolated enclosure to eliminate resonance at high volume, the Pioneer XW-NAS3 redefines what's possible in audio quality from an iPod dock.

---

Product Details

• Color: Black
• Brand: Pioneer
• Model: XW-NAS3-K
• Dimensions: 5.83" h x 16.54" w x 8.27" l, 11.02 pounds

Features

• Pioneer quality sound from a small cabinet design
• 2.1-channel iPod dock system with a dedicated subwoofer
• Double-isolated enclosure eliminates resonance even at high volume
• Component and composite video output
• Works with iPhone-certified

---

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Outstanding and impressive sound
By Lucy Cat
Overview: Pioneer's Audition dock is intended to appeal to the music enthusiast--someone who is looking for real impressive sound well beyond what the $100 iPod docks are producing. This dock doesn't have the extra bells and whistles that the small desk docks / alarm clock docks offer, but it provides unmatched sound quality with its robust, built-in subwoofer.

The Best Features: This dock provides standard composite video output (yellow only) as well as the higher quality component output (Red, Green, Blue) allowing you to watch video from your iPod on your television or monitor. It also has a stereo mini jack audio input (allowing you to connect a non-iPod audio source to the dock.) It provides a nice snug fit for your iPod touch or iPhone without causing the annoying error message "This accessory was not designed for iPhone." You can also plug in older generation iPods such as an iPod Video or Nano. The remote allows you to perform basic functions such as turning the dock on/off, navigating your music library, pausing and playing music and adjusting the volume. You can also manually control the volume from the top of the dock.

The Sound Quality: The sound quality is outstanding. The deep bass tones are clear and undistorted providing an excellent mix. This dock provides a much richer sound than the popular $100 price range docks.

The Cons: Unfortunately, this dock has a large footprint and therefore requires a fairly large home on your bookshelf or audio cabinet. It would not fit comfortably on the average nightstand, desk or dresser. The remote must be pointed directly at the front of the dock in order to function; it doesn't work well from side angles. Unfortunately, it's a great deal more expensive than some of the other nice, multi-featured docks on the market. This dock doesn't have any way to adjust EQ settings, bass/treble balance or a sleep/timer mode. For the price, you might expect to have a few more customization options. Truly, this dock is intended to provide great sound from your iPod but nothing more.

Overall: I would highly recommend this dock for music enthusiasts or individuals looking to replace speakers in their main entertainment room. It provides outstanding sound and multi-generation iPod compatibility.

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
I approve this Ipod/Iphone docking station.
By Sam Archer
THE GOOD: Charges Ipod/Iphone when on or off. Unobtrusive styling. Dedicated volume controls. Remote control.
Component video out to play videos from your Ipod/Iphone on a television or monitor. Video looks great on HD tv's. Audio in jack for non-ipod music players. Bluetooth adapter to play music remotely. Rich, full sound with a nice sub-woofer (even works for larger rooms).

THE BAD: Larger than many Ipod docks (such as JBL On Stage). Remote control only works when pointed directly at the front of the dock with 30' range. Bluetooth must be manually connected each time. No dedicated Bass/Treble controls (must be performed on the Ipod/Iphone).

BOTTOM LINE: Pioneer's Audition Dock for Ipod/Iphone provides rich, full, room filling sound with great extras like Bluetooth connectivity and video playback on your television.

Full Review:

DESIGN:
Sleek black plastic case with dock on top for the Ipod/Iphone and a dedicated sub-woofer underneath.
Although somewhat large in size (about the same as a large loaf of bread), the dock has clean lines and a smooth surface which should blend in well in just about any room.

Power and volume control buttons are on the top and can also be controlled with the included remote control.
Input button switches between the dock, video output, Bluetooth, and aux input. The input button blinks a certain number of times to tell you which mode you are in. Usually, I end up just pressing it until the sound comes out. There are lights on the front of the dock which glow faintly red also telling you which mode you are in (Bluetooth is on the left and slowly blinks telling you to connect).

CONNECTIVITY:
Comes with a large array of connectivity options.
Located at the rear of the dock are connections for Component video out, video out, auxiliary input, and an input for the optional Bluetooth adapter.

All connections are clearly marked and color coded to prevent connection errors.

FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE:
Has 2.1 channel sound which means two speakers and a sub-woofer.
The speakers deliver rich, clear sound with excellent bass and filled a 30'x 30' room sounding much better at high volume than any other Ipod/Iphone dock that I have used. Some speakers sound "buzzy" at high volumes but this one maintained perfect audio fidelity even when turned up all the way.

The music sounded great with a wide variety of music from Van Halen's Eruption to Sheryl Crow's First Cut is the Deepest, or Tribe Called Quest's Award tour. When docked, you can play music from apps like Pandora or Slacker as long as you have WiFi or 3G coverage.

The remote control controls volume, input, and skip/play/pause. The remote control range is 30 feet. Interestingly, the remote only works when pointed directly at the front of the dock. You can be literally right next to the dock and the remote won't work until you point it at the front.

The Bluetooth adapter works well and gives you the ability to play music (including Pandora or Slacker or any other music app) from around 30 feet away. You control the volume with your remote and switch the songs with your Ipod/Iphone. Connecting to the player takes around 10 seconds. Well worth the money for the added flexibility.

The video function works surprisingly well. I tried both the video and component video options with my TV and played movies and TV shows from my Iphone which looked fantastic. Picture quality is as good as regular TV and the sound comes from the Dock (not your TV). I could see this being useful on trips/ travelling or if you have a large collection of videos on your Iphone/Ipod.

The auxiliary input works as expected with other music players including my wife's Blackberry. Doesn't sound as good as when the players are physically docked.

BOTTOM LINE:
With the Audition Series XW_NAS3-K Docking Station for iPod (Black) Pioneer Electronics have created a superb Ipod/Iphone dock that delivers rich full sound and delivers the versatility of excellent Bluetooth and video playback. It's well worth the money for its performance, features and build quality.

34 of 46 people found the following review helpful.
A comparison done....update...
By An Educated Consumer
Docking stations have become an essential part of the home entertainment system.

The Pioneer is a solid, substantially weighted system. Althought a bit longer than I would ultimately want, it is modern in design.

The remote works beautifully and complements functionality with my Apple Classic 7th generation 160 GB Ipod.

Sound quality: this is the most interesting part of my assessment. In order to most accurately determine its depth and quality, I along with a number of music buffs, played a variety of genres. We played opera, jazz, smooth, rock, heavy metal, country, pop, latin etc. We also compared the sound to our almost 2 year old Bose "original" sound dock system. We wanted to compare our own personal assessment in volume, tone quality, bass and treble.

It was unanimously agreed on the following:
Both in a positive assessment: were producing clarity of sound.

Differences:
Bose seemed to have more volume, less treble. We started by placing the Ipod with the exact same settings back and forth. We then adjusted the treble for the Pioneer to compensate. It still had a more audible treble.

Bluetooth technology is a definite plus for the Pioneer. The 'original' Bose does not possess this ability.

The 'original' Bose is now more affordable than in the past, quite a bit so. It would still be my choice of the two.