JBL On Stage 200iD review

The remainder of the On Stage 200iD's controls are found on the included remote, which offers an impressive array of buttons: volume, mute, play/pause, and track forward/reverse. There's also a menu key, up/down arrows, and an enter button, which are all handy for navigating throughout the iPod's menus--surprisingly, few speaker docks offer this functionality, so we appreciate it here. One thing we didn't like, however, was the lag of the remote, especially for the volume keys--we blasted our neighboring cubes a few times. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that the mechanical power button must be activated before the remote is usable.

We were not unimpressed by the JBL On Stage 200iD iPod speaker during testing. Overall, we thought music sounded very nice. It's not the best-sounding speaker we've ever heard, but given the compact size and competitive price, it certainly stacks up. Audio came through crystal clear with plenty of detail and no background hiss or distortion at moderate volumes. However, this speaker can also really pump with the volume, and music does have a tendency to get harsh and distorted at top volumes. In general, mids were warm and mellow, and bass was mildly present, though certainly not thumping. If you're looking for lots of low end, best to look elsewhere, as the 200iD has no bass adjustment option.