SRS Labs iWOW-3DF Audio Enhancement Adapter with Multicolor Faceplates for iPod, iPhone and iPad

Over the past few years, I've went back and purchased some MP3's of single songs I loved in High School and College (H.S. Class of '82). After purchasing them, I usually thought - "that wasn't as good as I remembered it" (Blasting through the Sansui in my college residence hall room). As I ran through my playlist of purchased songs (with the IWOW), I found myself listening and immediately thinking - "That's what I loved about this song," - then the same for the next song, etc., etc.This device will make any song sound "brighter" as well as bring out the bass. Not sure if it was the device or my imagination - but I swear I could hear the live buzz from a bank of amplifiers coming from a stage as I went from one song to another.Most of my music is downloaded from CD's. I found the IWOW gives the most dramatic improvement/performance to mutli-layered, heavy bass compilations. My 70's funk - Curtis Mayfield; War; Ohio Players; Funkadelic sounded PHEONOMENAL. My playlist of "good" Disco also really was dynamically improved - Donna Summer, etc. "Fly Robin Fly" has never sounded this good to me since it originally came out.My Boston, Bob Seger, Kanasas, REO, Pink Floyd - ALL sounded greatly impoved - louder, brighter, more dynamic. Same with my 80's metal.Where I saw the least change (but is was a slight change for the better) was in acapella and acoustic music - i.e. acapella Gospel, "Seven Bridges Road" (Eagles). However in acapella with a bass part, this was definitely brought out in the IWOW.Again - there was implovement to the sound of everything I listened to, however all songs were not improved equally. The purchased MP3's saw huge improvement in sound.I HIGHLY recommend the IWOW for the sound improvement alone over what I had been accustomed to listening to (MP3's through my IPOD Classic) - 5 Stars.I can already see that this thing will go through my/your battery rather quickly. Having used it one day, it may reduce battery life up to 50%. This would not be a device one could listen to for extended periods of time - i.e. hours in a car or plane. For me, listening an hour or 2 at a time - this thing is great. It is hard to go back to listening to the IPOD without this device - it is that much better.Having been "wowed" by the sound - I could not personally see myself paying full list (I'm a professional educator with a kid in college and a second to start next May)- the IWOW was WELL worth the under $19 I paid for it through Amazon. Felt like I took a gamble on this and definitely won. (About a month ago, I picked up a FILO E3 Headphone Amp through Amazon - while it did help my Ipod sound, it did very little compared to the IWOW.)In conclusion - I would just go back to the 1st paragraph in this review. This device (for me) brought out the dynamics of music in MP3's that I had forgotten was there. Sure they were great songs - but this device took me back to hearing them almost the same as I heard them originally. One possible analogy - from the 70's - the sound with the IWOW is to what FM Stereo Radio was to AM. (but probably better).IWOW recieved and reviewed 12/22/12(Equipment used to review: 80G IPOD Classic; Koss PortaPro, Skull Candy Titan, and JBuds J3 headphone/earbuds)

I have been using the iTunes iWow app on my computer and have been very impressed with it, so I ordered the iWow adapter for my iPhone 4 and iPad.First thing you have to do is download the iWow app from the app store, this was easy to do and installed fine. In the app store there are a fair amount of negative comments about the app not recognizing the adapter (the older version of it, none using this version of the adapter as I type this). I had no problems, it recognized the adapter immediately. It is not a "plus" app so on an iPad it's a small window.Sound quality is greatly improved using the adapter. It does boost volume (which can give you a false sense of improvement), but if you compare with and without the adapter at a similar volume level you can hear the difference. It boosts the bass, treble, etc, and it makes the music far less tinny while giving it more depth. Bass especially sounds much better.The adapter itself is very light, made of thin black plastic. Plugs into the phone easily enough. It doesn't come off as cheaply made, but the quality didn't blow me away either. What I don't like is the on/off button is a little bright and distracting. A simple small red LED would have been preferable. One negative, but it's expected, is that if you are wearing headphones as you plug it in there are some loud cracks as it recognizes the adapter, even with the volume down. The face plates are easy to change, and look ok. One of the face plates arrived with a scratch across it.The earbuds are very cheap. I didn't like them much more than the ones Apple provides, but at least the Apple ones have volume buttons on the them. The only plus is that since they are in-ear buds, so they keep out a little more outside noise, if you like that. Also the rubber on the buds is one size fits all, so may not fit everyone (nice earbuds include different size and shapes for a better fit).It would have been a nice touch to include some kind of case. Now I have 4 face plates and the earbuds lying around.I would definitely recommend the product. It does what it says it does. Also as I write this you can can get the Windows or OSX iWow software for $10 (usually $30 (PC) or $25 (OSX) when you register the adapter.