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A great sound for this speakers, and a very low price. What else can you want?

Let me preface this by saying the ipod connectivity has taken average boomboxes and then jacked up the price by about half of what it really is worth because of the demand for the new but relatively cheap feature. For instance, try buying a stereo system with just a CD player and you will find that you will get better sound for the price. Also, I am not an expert and so my assumptions about a products design may not hold true for every single unit of the same model. This is my opinion only. There, that's my piece. On to the review.


IPOD DOCKING: Now here is a GLARING problem, which I feel is VERY VERY poor design. My ipod nano 3rd generation just didn't work on the dock with any kind of adapter. To make it work you had to tilt the ipod forward with your fingers and only then sound would play. Let it go, bang, no sound. Terrible design. We have returned it because of that and I don't know if they will give me a refund or a replacement (asked for refund) and I don't know if the replacement will exhibit the same problem as well. I googled this and found that people had similar problems with my ipod nano. On two different ipod systems including the logitech purefi, my ipod had no problems playing (and one was on a $60 dollar system).

We purchased this for my wife's teacher's classroom (which is about 15x15). So if anybody is wondering about volume, let me tell you this thing has it. We also tried it in our living room and it played reasonably loud. If you bought this, for it's size it definitely has volume and low distortion. The bass was great for those tiny drivers in the cones. I can compare this to the logitech pure-fi anywhere express 2. The bass was better and had lower extension and the unit went louder. However, at maximum volume there was a little distortion (but only at maximum). The logitech played softer at maximum (about 20% less) but still had sufficient volume where you didn't feel it was lacking. The logitechs exuded a smoother mid-range and in general had less distortion (I would say again by about ten to twenty percent better in terms of mid-range) . However, I suspect this was the trade off for the decreased bass response. Having said that, in terms of sound quality I was satisfied for the unit size and specs, I don't know if it COULD do better.
This will not replace a stereo system and if you didn't compare about having an ipod you could definitely find better systems for the same price, but it definitely satisfies and the volume is quite loud.

I played it to some friends and every one of them was shocked at how loud the thing goes without (much) distortion and it was also devoid of rattling etc.

If people want to know more about volume level I have the Cambridge Soundworks megaworks 510D 500 watts speaker system and it is outputting to the subwoofer and the front channels only which gives an effective of about 240-250 watts of usable horsepower.
The Altec Lansing played at about 30% of the same volume as my megaworks did at max power. It had nowhere near the same bass extension (not even in the same city) (8 inch sub rated down to about 40hz usable bass compared to tiny drivers which I estimate goes down to about about a 100 hz) but what it had it did well and you didn't feel anything lacking.
In terms of sound quality the highs were there but not great. And you have heard about what I said about the bass and mid-range. The feature of rechargeable


Portability, this thing is slightly heavy. It is slightly bulky too but it gets the job done. When it is setup right, it's rather stable. But when you move it you can push on the the bottom which can cause the thing to fold up at the bottom and this is a problem. See the thing folds out and where it folds out, that's where you put the ipod and also the ac power (in the back) and any aux input. So it can feel very awkward to have it fold up with everything connected. So if you want to pick it up and move it over distance, you have to disconnect the ipod and the power. This is a hassle for my wife as she moves classes every forty five minutes.

I did not try the radio. Also appreciate having the LED screen. The remote ease of use isn't quite as great in ease of use and features as the pure-fi express.

So in short: For the Price: wonderful (LOUD) sound, low distortion. Good bass. Decent portability as long as you are not moving it around constantly. Like the rechargeable battery a lot. TERRIBLE IPOD dock, does not do what it was bought to do (play my ipod nano 3g). Owned two ipod systems and auditioned about 9 of them (none were more expensive though) and this played louder than all of them with more bass. I don't recommend buying it if you have nano 3g. If you have an ipod it actually works with then this is actually a good buy. Also, have a look at the return policy of the company you are buying it from as the fine print can be tricky in terms of returning it for a refund if the box has been opened (which makes no sense to me!)

Battery doesnt last very long, maby an hour or 2 max! But still perfect for a portable docking station, pumps the tunes at hostels good while travelling and it's not to heavy!

Extremely disappointed in this product. I bought this for my girlfriend for Christmas just over a year ago. The player just died on me just when the warranty was up...how ironic! I paid $149.00 for the inMotion im600, which happens to be a lot of money for me, and support said they could not anything after the 1 year warranty was up.

The machine was never dropped, or exposed to any un-ordinary circumstances to cause it to fail. We just simply used it for a docking station and player for our itouch.

I will never buy another product from Altec Lansing and I strongly suggest you do the same.

This is a great speaker system for the ipod. I love the clarity of the sound, although the volume doesn't go that loud. I used the speakers for about 3 weeks and then I used it in the bathroom while I was taking a shower (away from any water of course). After the shower, the dock was no longer recognizing the connection to the ipod. I have used portable ipod speakers while I was in the shower before and never had an issue (logitech mm50). I called Altec Lansing customer service and they told me they could replace the speakers but I would have to pay for the shipping of my current speaker to them and they would cover return shipping. It was my only option, so I payed $17 for the shipping and received the replacement speakers 6 weeks later. It was really inconvenient. I haven't even tried the new ones in the shower because I do not want them to break again.

Other than that, they are pretty awesome speakers.