Altec Lansing iM7 iPod Boombox

I bought my im7 last year about this time, and have been extremely pleased with its sound quality. Unfortunately, after about 6 months of very light use (all indoors), the carriage into which the ipod fits became difficult to open and close, and after a year it would no longer close at all. I have been very pleased with A-L's customer service, who informed me that they have had repeated problems of this sort and were pullling the im7 off the market because of it. They offered to replace it with an im9 or other product, and I am in the process of mailing the im7 back to them. Bottom line, given the reviews that the new im9 is getting, you are probably better served going with it over the im7.

Simple the best

We like to do lots of outdoor activiteies and the iM7 speaker system from Altec Lansing works great. It has the best sound for a portable speaker system. Also the look is very sleek. The price is a bit high but if you look around you may be able to find a deal to make this more affordable.

I particularly like the the method that Altec uses to secure the different generations of iPod into the unit.

If you have the money this speaker system is the way to go. You will not be disappointed.

Overall, this is a great unit.

It does however have it's flaws. With the larger IPods the cradle can be sometimes difficult to close, but seems related to the 'catch' mechanism rather than an overall design defect.

Sound quality is good, however, don't expect earth-shattering bass. The speakers are well done, although not as big as you'd like. Overall volume is great, letting you really use it as a decent boom-box.

Controls are good, although a bit unresponsive. It comes with a good remote and a slot for storage of it when transporting. The buttons are of the 'bubble' design, which is great for environmental concerns, but can occasionally be hard to press if you don't use a consistent pressure.

The 6-D Cell batteries can make this unit quite heavy, however, it seems justified considering it not only plays the unit, but is also quite capable of fully recharging the IPOD at the same time.

Features include the ability to display photos from an IPOD on a TV, in addition to an auxillary input to use it with other sound devices too.

Overall this is an excellent, albeit heavy and expensive unit, but as of yet, unmatched for features, flexibility, and quality.