Altec Lansing IM600
I’ve been shopping around for an iPod dockable portable speaker system for awhile. Some friends have Altec Lansing boom-boxes that they are pretty happy with so I looked to see what they have available. For $150 I ordered the im600 from the Apple Store and after figuring out my new address, they had it here in a couple of days.
Like the marketing copy says, it has surprisingly big stereo sound in a fairly small package. It comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery making it a true portable. In case you don’t feel like listening to your iPod for some reason, it also has a built-in FM tuner and retractable antenna.
I tried the IM600 with my 5G iPod (video) and my iPod touch and it works great with both of those. I had an earlier iPod I plugged in that did not work. I was hoping to just leave the older 4G model docked all the time but it was not meant to be. The dock format changed from iPod generations 4G to 5G to accommodate video output and there is a composite video jack on the back of the Altec Lansing in case you wanted to plug it into a television which had a broken speaker or something. I can’t really figure out why I’d do that, but whatever! It’s there. Just in case. No S-Video output though, if we’re going to be picky.
Other connectors on the back of the unit are an auxiliary input jack in the form of a stereo mini plug and a subwoofer output jack for connecting to … a subwoofer! I couldn’t find a link on Altec Lansing’s site for their subwoofer, but they make the BB2001 which you can add to the IM600 to improve the low-end at the expense of portability. The compact design of the IM600 which folds up for travel make it a great portable speaker system you can move around the house or pack up and take with you on the road. The included remote works well and lets you play/pause and skip tunes on the iPod or tune to a radio station. It’ll also control your volume, so turn it up!
Note: The Altec Lansing IM600 is not waterproof, but it may float.
4 Comments
I bought the exact same model a few months ago and it has quickly become one of my favourite things ever. It replaced some rather highfalutin plans to attempt to wire up the whole house to be able to play music anywhere.
I think that the only thing that would make it complete would be some sort of timer option so that it could also become an alarm clock. As is, I’m tempted to cart the thing with me to all future travels. Silence is over rated.
Posted by alice on 16 June 2008 @ 6pm
Altec Lansing support is beyond horrbile. After sending a unit in for warrenty repair six months ago I have recieved every possible story about why I have not recieved a repaired unit back. Basically flat out lies to get me off the phone with the people at Plantronics. Numerous stories of not having recieved the unit even though I have confirmed delivery with USPS, back ordered, shipped, you name it .
Never buy from this company since they do not support they product and their warrenty is worhtless
Posted by John Yelmgen on 8 July 2008 @ 9pm
i got the im600 at http://www.consumerdepot.com the price was perfect and so is the item.
Posted by Jason on 18 July 2008 @ 2pm
[...] use their service here. In any case, I spent dinner listening to last.fm hooked up to my portable speakers in the dining room, enjoying some recommended tunes over the wifi. The ribs and corn were extra [...]
Posted by n3wblog » Blog Archive » iPod Touch wish fulfillment on 22 July 2008 @ 11pm