home stereo: Review: M602 iPod speaker system offers solid sound in compact design
Altec Lansing’s M602, an US$199.95 iPod speaker system for the home, is a portable, good-sounding unit. It won’t replace a home stereo, but then I’ve never listened to a portable speaker system that could (including Apple’s own iPod Hi-Fi; sorry, Steve).
Actually, though it’s touted for the iPod, it has a universal MP3 cradle that creates a stage-like docking system for a variety of MP3 players—though I own none except iPods. For those who own 5G (video enabled) iPods, the M602 comes complete with a composite video output that conveniently lets you watch iPod videos on TV.
One of the niftiest things about the M602 is its portability. Less than the size of a MacBook—more specifically, it’s 14 inches wide, 5.4 inches deep 8.2 inches high and weighs five pounds—it can be carried from room-to-room. My latest “honey-do” chore from my lovely wife Laura is working with my son and father-in-law to build a sun room on our house. A lot of the work is tedious, but playing my iTunes on the M602 has helped make the tedium more bearable. You can also mount the speaker system on a wall with a kit available for free on Altec Lansing’s web site (well, free except for the $3 for shipping and handling).
A top-located control panel offers fingertip adjustment of the M602 operations, including treble and bass. LED indicator lights, located behind the grille, provide instant visual of master volume, treble and bass levels. The lights fade after adjustments are made. The M602 has a wireless remote that you can untuck from its caddy and use from a distance (which I did repeatedly during my sun room work). The remote handles most of the iPod functions, including play/pause and back/forward.
Setting the base/treble settings was a little tricky. In order to adjust the bass and/or treble levels, you have to hold down the corresponding button, then press the plus/minus volume button to raise and lower levels. This isn’t exactly intuitive.
The M602 is a good-looking system. Its silver-and-white motif matches well with all iPods, especially the white models.
The speaker system boasts two 3-inch full-range drivers and two 1-inch silk dome tweeters and built-in XdB bass enhancement technology. The latter offers more bass oomph than I expected, and good treble and midrange sound, though, like most speaker systems of this sort, the M602 has little in the way of stereo separation. And if you crank it up all the way, there’s some distortion. The M602 is AC powered with 60 watts total RMS. It would be great if battery power were an option considering how compact and portable it is.
The Altec Lansing unit doesn’t quite dislodge the JBL On Time as my favorite iPod speaker system—see our April 27 review—but it’s $100 less expensive, sounds almost as good and is certainly worth the price tag.
Macsimum rating: 7.5 out of 10
Actually, though it’s touted for the iPod, it has a universal MP3 cradle that creates a stage-like docking system for a variety of MP3 players—though I own none except iPods. For those who own 5G (video enabled) iPods, the M602 comes complete with a composite video output that conveniently lets you watch iPod videos on TV.
One of the niftiest things about the M602 is its portability. Less than the size of a MacBook—more specifically, it’s 14 inches wide, 5.4 inches deep 8.2 inches high and weighs five pounds—it can be carried from room-to-room. My latest “honey-do” chore from my lovely wife Laura is working with my son and father-in-law to build a sun room on our house. A lot of the work is tedious, but playing my iTunes on the M602 has helped make the tedium more bearable. You can also mount the speaker system on a wall with a kit available for free on Altec Lansing’s web site (well, free except for the $3 for shipping and handling).
A top-located control panel offers fingertip adjustment of the M602 operations, including treble and bass. LED indicator lights, located behind the grille, provide instant visual of master volume, treble and bass levels. The lights fade after adjustments are made. The M602 has a wireless remote that you can untuck from its caddy and use from a distance (which I did repeatedly during my sun room work). The remote handles most of the iPod functions, including play/pause and back/forward.
Setting the base/treble settings was a little tricky. In order to adjust the bass and/or treble levels, you have to hold down the corresponding button, then press the plus/minus volume button to raise and lower levels. This isn’t exactly intuitive.
The M602 is a good-looking system. Its silver-and-white motif matches well with all iPods, especially the white models.
The speaker system boasts two 3-inch full-range drivers and two 1-inch silk dome tweeters and built-in XdB bass enhancement technology. The latter offers more bass oomph than I expected, and good treble and midrange sound, though, like most speaker systems of this sort, the M602 has little in the way of stereo separation. And if you crank it up all the way, there’s some distortion. The M602 is AC powered with 60 watts total RMS. It would be great if battery power were an option considering how compact and portable it is.
The Altec Lansing unit doesn’t quite dislodge the JBL On Time as my favorite iPod speaker system—see our April 27 review—but it’s $100 less expensive, sounds almost as good and is certainly worth the price tag.
Macsimum rating: 7.5 out of 10
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