LAYEN i-DOCK - Bluetooth Music Receiver

I bought this to attach to a Gear4 "HouseParty" boom box device which I used thus far with line in. The Gear4 has an iPod connector which was no use to me as I have no devices which fit it. The i-SYNC was a frivolous purchase looking to use an otherwise useless feature on something I already owned, I didn't really need it. The killer feature for me is no need for a separate power supply. There are loads of BT accessories which require a separate DC supply or USB connection, or even worse a USB connection which won't work when the device is on. The i-Sync does not suffer from this shortcoming so it scores highly on convenience. I am pleasantly surprised though. It connects really easily with two different Android phones and plays music without trouble. It's hard to assess the sound quality because the Gear4 itself isn't great, but with the volume cranked up to 30 (who needs 11?) it sounds pretty good. There were no technical problems at all and it works really well. This is a tiny little box - smaller than I had expected. I was concerned about it fitting in the available aperture around the iPod connector but this worry was unfounded. It's really little and fits in easily. The downsides are minor but are worth knowing about: - there's a flashing red/blue LED which is on quite a lot of the time, even when not in use and in my case at least, where the device it's connected to is in standby. Fine, I covered it over with some black insulating tape and got over it. - the iSYNC will connect automatically to a phone maybe 50% of the time. The rest I have to select it in the phone menu and prompt it to connect. This is true for both phones I tried. It's fine but the unpredictability makes it slightly less of a delight to use. This seems to be common with Bluetooth generally. - it's not the cheapest. It's reasonably priced, but there are cheaper and very similar alternatives. Of course, the quality may vary! Overall I'm very happy and would certainly by another one if I get another item with a proprietary iPod input.

Excellent item, took less than 5 minutes from plugging it in to working , sound quality is excellent and brought new life to a Bose Soundock 11, that was rarely used . Much more convenient using Bluetooth which connected first time and easy to use, than the old cable connector . Hope it keeps working for a long time

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!

I've been using a Bose SoundLink Mini II for streaming during lockdown and rediscovered the joy of regularly listening to music. Having seen an advert for these Layen Bluetooth devices I thought it would be great to refresh my old Bose SoundDock 1 (Type A) with Bluetooth so I can stream to that too rather than the faff of using an early iPod. I received the BS-1 next day, thanks to Prime, and enthusiastically prepared to install it. The SoundDock was definitely working as I played a song from the iPod before I removed it to make way for the BS-1. Following the Layen instructions I inserted the BS-1 with the SoundDock switched ON. The blue LED on the BS-1 flashed, I held the button and performed the pairing with my iPad with ease. I got a solid Bluetooth connection and everything looked sweet, ready to play some sounds. I spun up Amazon Music and started a track playing but complete SILENCE from the SoundDock. I tried everything, including removing the BS-1 and reverting back to the iPod, which charged fine on the SoundDock, but no sound was to be heard. I emailed Layen and got a fairly curt reply telling me that my SoundDock was faulty and no way could the BS-1 have caused any damage ["Our receivers are only circuit boards, they have no power capacity themselves and do not send any back to the stereo, they only receive the docks power through the pins and run it through the circuit board. It’s not possible for them to do this (we have vast experience - we have sold hundreds of thousands over the past 9 years) "]. Of course not having "power capacity" doesn't prevent the Docks own power being routed back into it in an inappropriate way by the BS-1 so this explanation / excuse is rather disingenuous. After some Googling I surmised that the DSP board in my SoundDock was most likely damaged so I took a punt and bought a replacement PCB off eBay. Having fitted that my SoundDock was working with my iPod again. With great trepidation I decided to try the Layen BS-1 one more time. This time rather than follow the Layen instructions I installed the BS-1 with the SoundDock switched OFF at the mains. This time success! The sound quality seems good and I like that the remote control still works so I can change volume, skip tracks etc. Understandably I have mixed feelings, maybe it was pure coincidence, but there's no need to insert the BS-1 with the SoundDock powered-on so why tell people to do this and take an unnecessary risk. Overall it seems good kit but do be careful during installation.

I recently moved up from an iPhone 4 and the iPod with the same USB attachment socket to the next generation of iPod and an iPhone 6 with the 'lightening ' plug. This instantly rendered my docks obsolete - I have one standalone one in the kitchen and also a dock attachment to my Sony home theatre system. The Layen Bluetooth adapter was a fraction of the cost of replacing the docks so I thought I'd give it a try. It wasn't compatible with my Sony system (I discovered I had to buy the Layen chilli plug for that) but my dock in the kitchen works with this one. It's simple plug and play. I just leave it on the dock the whole time and when I switch the dock on it automatically connects to the Bluetooth on my iPhone. Simple as! Actually it's easier now than having to faff around plugging the phone or iPod into the dock - I can connect and listen to music or audiobooks or podcasts with the phone still in my pocket. As I said it wasn't compatible with the home theatre sound system dock but the Layen website has clear advice on this. I believe they even offer to exchange the device you purchased for a different model if there is a compatibility problem. I decided to keep this one for the kitchen dock and also buy the chilli plug for the sound system, since neither was particularly expensive and then I was good to go in both rooms. All round, very good value products, simple to use and effective.

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.

Great product. It linked via Bluetooth quickly and is of good quality.

When no music is playing there is static coming through the speaker. I tried it on a Bose & Roberts. My guess is it is poorly made with out the sufficient screening. I have another older brand that is absolutely fine. I'm sending it back :-(