LAYEN i-DOCK - Bluetooth Music Receiver

I submit this review fully aware of the number of 1 and 2-star reviews posted and duly note the general theme of users having generally had good performance for a while before running into issues. I have been using the Layen I-dock Bluetooth 4.1 adapter for a few weeks now so cannot comment on Longevity. What I can comment on is ease of use and the sound quality from my Bose Ipod dock which is excellent! The adapter means I can now use my iPhone or laptop to stream music from my iTunes library easily without having to sync my iPod first. Set up was straightforward and repeat connection has been particularly fast and reliable. I have to say, so far, the adapter does what it is supposed to, and does it well and I am rather hard pushed to find fault. The range is very good and many are the times I have been caught out by this, when I have been in a different room and forgotten my iPhone is still connected. I play back a sound (usually some WhatsApp attachment) on my phone only to hear the sound coming from the dock in the other room! The adapter does have a minor con (not a flaw) and that is the flashing blue light at night when I can't be bothered to unplug it (I leave it plugged in) or switch off the dock at the mains. It is quite bright and can be distracting, especially if it reflects off the ceiling, but I am not going to deduct a star for that - this time. All said, this is a very good product and notwithstanding longevity comments raised by others shall certainly be looking out for Layen products. Based on my limited use so far, I am recommending this product!

Very happy to find that this worked for my Hitachi AXM204UK, even though it wasn't listed. Nice, neat little device that just slots in to place and almost looks like part of the sound system. Instructions were clear, but it was so easy to pair you probably won't even need them. Sound came through well too - overall just really happy this worked out so well.

Smaller than I thought - about the size of a snuff box or 3x AAA cells. Would be nicer in silver/gray to match my iPod/Bose Sound Dock II but the black is fine really and pretty smart. I did some time ago try an external Bluetooth adaptor thru the dock's aux connector, which worked well, but was a bit of a faff, and needed another power supply. The iDock is perfectly convenient. I found it while looking for Bluetooth adaptors for old midi systems, was amazed and bought it almost immediately. It really does give old but quality iPod docks a new lease of life! (if you have a cr@ppy iPod dock then... don't bother/ buying cr@p). I normally play FLACs thru my Bose via MediaMonkey xfer to my iPod @ AAC 320Mbps, which sound great. The iDock sounds much the same - great! It is possible to use Bluetooth with very high-fidelity systems, where you might identify deficiencies due to various components, but for this use case, the quality of the source material and iPod dock are the only limiting factors - the iDock is fully transparent. Pairing is very quick and easy, and thereafter the iDock is greedy to connect, i.e. bring a paired device nearby and it will automatically connect with no need to select on the phone/tablet etc. (this might be a minor problem if you are in a household with numerous devices). Volume is adjustable via both phone/device and Bose remote control. Apart from that, the ability to play not only my own digital audio/music library but also streaming services and Internet radio etc. through my dock has given it a new lease of life! When disconnected, the iDock does needily flash its blue LED (reflected on the Bose Sound Dock II grille), which I thought at first was a bad thing, especially since my Bose dock is in my bedroom (and I don't want flashing lights while I'm trying to sleep), but actually it's a good thing: it reminds me to unplug when not using, and thus avoid unnecessary E/M radiation.

Spent a long time deliberating if this was the right piece of kit as I have the SoundDock 1, but guessed it was the second revision of the series 1. Item arrived next day after ordering, pugged it in and within 20 seconds had it paired up with my Android (Galaxy S4) and iPad. All works a treat. Very happy with the sound quality, bluetooth and usability. It's saved me a good couple of hundred quid. Only reason it's 4 and not 5 stars is you need to remember to disconnect bluetooth from the presently paired device (from the iPad or handset) before you start streaming from the other device. But I'm more than happy to accept that extra step in the process considering this little device was less that £20.

Plug and play, what can I say. Replaced a old one that came with a Bose ipod dock I purchased for less than the price of this. Own some quality speakers at a fraction of the cost of new all down to this little gadjet. The neighbours hate me but they have started banging on the wall in time with the drum and bass I like to listen to via this little Bluetooth adapter. They have mastered Chase and Status's boiler room set. I'm made up getting quality sound very cheaply but they get it for free. Some people, eh. Cheek of it

What a brilliant piece of kit. Very easy to pair, played music on an old Bose ipod docking station brining it back up to date. Now we have a Bose bluetooth speaker for a few quid.

Amazon, it's story time. Once upon a time there was a young man named Jimmy Pops. He had a nice little setup with his 4th generation iPod Touch and his Altec Lansing imt800 Boomboox. One day, Jimmy Pops dropped his iPod touch right on the pavement of his local Planet Fitness Parking lot. Upon purchasing a new iPod Touch, he discovered that Apple changed the stupid connectors from the 30 Pin to the Lightning Adapter. Alright so being serious now, I was in no mood to cough up another couple hundred bucks for another sound system. Everything always has to change doesn't it? A new connector type, a new cable needed, it's never easy; at least not until I discovered this thing. This Layen i-Dock allows you to immediately turn any "obsolete" sound dock system into a wireless Bluetooth speaker compatible with any device that has Bluetooth. This forty buck gem will save you from having to buy another sound dock more or less ever so long as the dock itself continues to function and you continue to like the sound it has. The device itself is pretty much what you see in the picture. It's a matte black device that has a 30 Pin connector on the bottom. It has a small button on the top to initialize the Bluetooth search to connect to a device and a little blue light to let you know it's either searching (very fast blink) or active (slower blink). The blue light, while nice to know it's operational, is a bit of a con for me. I have my sound system in my room so when I go to bed, if I leave the Layen connected to my Altec Lansing there's a pretty bright blue light that doesn't stop blinking as the light will blink so long as it's plugged in. It's a simple fix though. Unplug it. I really can't justify taking off a star for laziness. Sound quality over the Layen is fantastic. Does my iPod sound better than it would if it were plugged in directly? Probably not, but the difference is so indiscernible to be honest I'm not sure I could tell the difference. What I will say in regards to sound quality is that over Bluetooth there's a lot of volume loss; you either need to crank the iPod or the sound dock it's wirelessly hooked up to. Once you find the right combination that floats your boat however, it sounds great. Plus I'm willing to make some sacrifices for the wireless capabilities. It's so nice to be able to walk around my room and play music from wherever I'm at. I am sure this will be nice for when I'm...you know what never mind. This adapter is a fantastic buy. Honestly, this is the best forty bucks I've spent in a long time. I'm thrilled with the Layen. It works well, it looks pretty inconspicuous, and it gives me plenty of freedom. If you are looking to make your sound system wireless or need to compensate for a 30 Pin to Lightning discrepancy, the Layen will fit the bill great!

Tengo un receptor AV Sony str-dh810 con el dock tdm-ip10 conectado al DM port. Con este aparato, ya puedo disfrutar de música por bluetooth desde mi móvil o incluso desde mi Echo Dot. Se empareja en cuestión de segundos, y listo. Incluso se puede cambiar de pista, pausar y reanudar con el mando del Sony. Lo único en contra es que mi móvil se conecta automáticamente al Layen si el receptor está encendido, aunque no esté en modo DM port, y tengo que estar pendiente y desconectarlo porque no se oyen notificaciones del móvil. Este puede ser problema del móvil, pero no encuentro la manera de que no se conecte automáticamente. Por otro lado, a pesar de que la descripción pone que no es para automóviles, sí funciona en mi MINI Countryman R60, (el mismo sistema que todos los MINI R56, 57 etc y los BMW E90 etc) conectado al cable Y, pero no se detecta como iPod, sino que tengo que seleccionar entrada aux en la radio y controlar todo menos el volumen con el móvil. Aún así, esto es un plus bastante interesante. Probablemente funcione igual con cualquier modelo BMW / MINI de la misma época que tenga para cable Y con 30 pines (R50, E46 etc.) La calidad de sonido es muy digna. No es de audiófilo, pero por 20 pico euros, qué quieres? En resumen, estoy encantado. Por muy poco dinero, tengo música por Bluetooth en el salón y también en el coche!

Old iPod Classic now obsolete, so needed something to connect to my 30 pin dock of my Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin. Bought a new iPod Touch & Layen i-dock , paired iPod to the Layen attached to the 30 pin Zeppelin & hey presto, works like a charm. Great product, compact, no more trailing wires. Sounds good through the Zeppelin.

It was a guess, but works perfectly with my old JVC RV-NB52B boombox.

works as advertised - really easy to pair. setup within 1 minute of unboxing. Sounds great (aptX!), and works in my car (MB) which is all I wanted it to do, since BT audio doesn't work for music in the f'ing thing. sound quality is great, sounds a little better than CD quality (320kbps mp3's or flac audio), proper reproduction of sub bass, bass, mids, and high end. was almost overwhelmed how well it sounded, but then again, I've never really used aptX before. FWIW, the price is right, get it... you won't be disappointed, as long as it works in your 30-pin Apple connector.