What Separates I-Sonic From the Competition?
Four-speaker I-Sonic technology delivers a room-filling, stereo all-around soundstage 360° around the entertainment system. You will hear big life-like sound everywhere in the room, even if you are to the side or behind the unit. You are not always going to be directly in front of your entertainment system when you listen. That shouldn't prevent you from hearing full-spectrum stereo sound. With I-Sonic's four-speaker array you won't have to put up with sub-standard sound no matter where you are in the room as you would with 2 speaker entertainment systems. You'll always hear the clarity and spacious sound you expect from Polk Audio.
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| Features | Polk Audio I-Sonic |
Polk Audio I-Sonic 2 |
Bose® Wave® Music System | Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio® HD | Cambridge SoundWorks Radio 820HD | Tivoli Satellite Combo #154 |
AM & FM  |
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| Plays CDs | |
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| Plays DVDs | |
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| Integrated iPod Dock | |
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| iTunes Tagging for HD Radio | |
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| Number of Speakers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 360° I-Sonic Stereo All-Around soundfield technology | |
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| Satellite Radio | Yes, market-leader XM satellite radio with optional antenna and subscription | No | No | No | No | Sirius satellite radio with optional subscription |
| Video outputs | Yes, composite and S-Video | Yes, composite and S-Video | No | No | No | No |
| Aux inputs for connecting MP3 or iPod player | Yes, 2 | Yes, 1 plus Built-in Ipod Dock | Yes, 1 | Yes, 2 | Yes, 2 | There is one Aux input on rear panel but that is used to connect the outboard CD player, leaving you with no inputs for iPod or MP3 players |
| Dual Alarm Clock | |
Single-Alarm Clock Radio and Sleep Timer | |
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Yes, one alarm time only |
| Snooze/Mute bar | Yes, big, hard-to-miss when-you're -groggy Snooze bar | Yes, big, hard-to-miss when-you're -groggy Snooze bar | Not on unit, only on remote | Yes | Yes | Yes, pushing any front panel button will silence alarm tone |
| Headphone jack | Yes, on side | Yes, on top | Yes, on front | Yes, on back | Yes | Yes |
| AM and FM analog | |
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| Receives multicast HD radio sub-channels? | |
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| Number of radio preset slots | 30, any combination of AM, FM and XM | 30, any combination of AM, FM | 6 AM 6 FM |
20 | 30 | 20 for Sirius satellite radio only, no AM or FM presets |
| Text display for artist and song title, etc? | Yes for AM & FM HD stations and XM | Yes for AM & FM HD stations and iPod | No for AM and FM. Yes for "suitably encoded" MP3 CDs, displays artist name and song title | Yes | Yes, for conventional FM stations that support RDS and for "suitably encoded" MP3 CDs, displays artist name and song title | Yes, for Sirius satellite radio only |
| Can operate unit when remote control is misplaced or disabled? | |
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| Patented bass porting technology | Yes, PowerPort® | Yes, PowerPort® | Yes, Wave® | No, uses "Bass Trac®" electronic bass enhancement | No, uses standard bass port | No |
| Bass and treble controls | Yes, full +/- adjustment | Yes, full +/- adjustment | No | Bass trim only | Yes | No |
| Preamp output for connecting to an external subwoofer or component audio system | Yes, industry standard RCA jacks, variable output suitable for external powered subwoofer or external amplifier | Yes, industry standard RCA jacks, fixed output | Proprietary Bose® link output allows connection only to other Bose® products | No | Yes, 3.5mm stereo mini jack, fixed output (not suitable for external subwoofer) | Subwoofer output, 1/8-inch stereo mini jack |
| Product form factor | Convenient one-piece design | Convenient one-piece design plus external power supply | Convenient one-piece design | Two pieces plus external power supply | Convenient one-piece design | Three pieces including AM./FM/Sirius radio, outboard stereo speaker and outboard CD player. |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) |
4.75" x 14.5" x 9.75" | 5" x 14.3" x 10" | 4.2" x 14.6" x 8.6" | Main Unit: 4-3/8 x 7-5/8 x 6-3/4" Second Speaker: 4-3/8 x 4-3/8 x 6" |
4.5" x 13.25" x 7.5" | AM/FM/Sirius Module: 4.5" x 8.325" x 5.25" Outboard Stereo Speaker: 4.5" x 8.375" x 5.25" CD player: 4.5" x 8.375" x 5.88" |
| Return Policies (when purchased directly from manufacturer. Retailers set their own return policies) | 30 day money back including original freight cost, no restocking fee, Polk pays return freight | 30 day money back including original freight cost, no restocking fee, Polk pays return freight | 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Freight policy not specified on-line | 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Freight policy not specified on-line | 45 day money back | 30 day money back, customer pays return freight |
| Price (as published on manufacturers' web sites) |
$599 | $499 | $499 | $299.99 | $299.99 | $559.97 |
| cnet.com Editors Rating1 |  |
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1. Images courtesy of cnet.com.
As published on manufacturers' web sites.
BOSE® and the WAVE® music system design are registered trademarks of Bose Corporation.
Polk Audio, Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in the trademarks of other companies.
