What would the Apple accessory world be like if developers stopped producing speakers with Lightning docks, switching instead to device-agnostic Bluetooth? The answer can be found in iHome’s iBN97 ($100), a new universal Bluetooth wireless clock radio from the maker of ubiquitous Apple speakers. Coming in at the same midrange price point as most of the company’s best-known docking classics, iBN97 demonstrates what iHome can — and can’t — do when it removes all traces of Apple-specific device support from a product.
It should be noted up front that iBN97 is a slightly modified version of the iBT97—a functionally similar model that was introduced at CES earlier this year. iBN97 adds an NFC pairing option, which has no benefit for iOS device users, while preserving the same basic industrial design and functionality as its predecessor. Both are 10.75” wide at their fronts, tapering to roughly 9.5” in the back, with a 6.25” maximum depth and 3.4” peak height. As of the date of publication of this review, there is very little information about iBN97 online—no iHome web page, for instance—but quite a bit about iBT97.
One of the advantages of omitting Apple’s costly connectors is the ability to use the same dollars towards other components, which is exactly what the value-conscious iHome has done with iBN97. For the first time in memory, the company has given a $100 speaker a fully metal and seriously handsome front grille—a perforated set of six horizontal ribs that’s interrupted by a large LCD screen with an edgy, futuristic font.
While the rest of the unit is decidedly plastic, iHome has chosen a nice combination of metallic silver and gray materials that help to make iBN97 feel like a step up from many of the company’s past $100 offerings; most of the 15 silver buttons (and one gunmetal button) are internally illuminated with white lights, which change in brightness to match the eight dimmer settings for the screen. iHome even props iBN97 up using two metallic plastic front feet, which help bring the audio drivers upwards a bit from a flat surface. Aesthetically, there is a lot here to like.
Under the hood, iBN97 is a lot like a dozen other iHome clock radios we’ve reviewed, only reliant on Bluetooth for audio rather than an Apple dock. In addition to front-firing speakers, it includes two integrated alarms, sleep, nap, and wakeup timers, plus a strong but slightly staticky FM radio with permanently integrated rear antenna. The alarms work as expected, automatically playing FM radio, a progressively louder and more repetitive beep, or audio from your Bluetooth device at the appointed minute every day, weekday, or weekend day; iHome also helpfully includes four synthesized tones that range from a jackhammer-like bell to a sonar-like ping if you prefer them, letting each ratchet up in volume until small children would be scared by the noises.
Sonically, iBN97 sounds like iHome’s better $100 clock offerings. While the frequency response offered by the drivers isn’t up to snuff with the best-designed standalone speakers we’ve heard at this price point, iBN97 does a good job of delivering respectable highs, solid midrange, and just enough bass that most users won’t complain.
The major differentiator with smaller $100 speakers is the peak volume performance, which at level 40 is very close to small room filling and relatively low on distortion. Bluetooth streaming worked reliably from up to 50-foot unobstructed distances before audio drop-outs began, which is better than the basic Bluetooth 33-foot standard.
Beyond that, iBN97’s feature list will be somewhat hit-or-miss for iOS device users. On the plus side, the system not only uses Bluetooth for a wireless connection to any iOS device and the current iPod nano, but also includes speakerphone functionality for iPhones. Dedicated call answer and end buttons are found on the top, along with a microphone hole. Callers told us that we sounded fine, but we noted that they sounded overly filtered on our side—almost as if the edges of their voices were being smoothed out. There’s also a USB port on the back with 2.1-Amp output, and an included, unpadded dock-esque insert that slips onto the top to hold your choice of iPad, iPhone, or iPod—typically on their sides, unless you’re not planning to charge them while using the speaker.
iBN97 has some atypical pain points for Apple device users.
