Altec Lansing T612 Ipod Speakers

The Age

Thursday August 21, 2008

David Flynn

Altec Lansing T612 iPod speakers

$399

alteclansing.com

3/5.5

Two factors set this apart from the mass of other iPod speaker systems lining the shelves.

First, it's from a company with a heritage of quality sound rather than a maker of computer accessories. And it's designed with the iPhone in mind with the speaker cabling and other circuitry shielded against the iPhone's radio waves. This means you can enjoy music on your iPhone without those annoying pulses of interference bursting through the speakers when the iPhone and your local mobile phone tower exchange signals.

The dock responds elegantly to an incoming call by fading out the music before pausing the track with playback resuming from that point when you've finished the call.

The drawback is that answering the call doesn't automatically put the iPhone into hands-free speakerphone mode. Altec Lansing blames Apple, saying this is an oversight in the design of the iPhone and its docking interface.

With a decent pair of midrange speakers and tweeters, this has plenty of clarity and depth, although at the highest volume settings the midrange gets muddy and the bass distorts. There is no battery power but the unit is easily moved between rooms and the AC adaptor has a generous 2.8m cable. Your iPhone also recharges as it sits in the dock. But wrestling it into the device is a finicky process that often throws up an error message on the iPhone's screen as the connection is only partially made.

But what hurts most about these speakers is the local price compared to the $US199 ($230) for which it sells in US. That isn't fair mark-up, it's gouging. -- DAVID FLYNN

© 2008 The Age

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