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Review: inMotion iPod Speakers (updated)
Audio: First of all, understand that you are not going to get fantastic full-range audio from a speaker system that uses 2 pairs of 1" drivers. It's just not physically possible. This is not for audiophiles; it is just for travel/convenience listening. However, the inMotions use an interesting trick to make up for the lack of low frequency/bass response: they reproduce the higher frequency harmonics (which the little speakers can reproduce) that the lower bass registers would produce in real life if played over larger speakers. The resulting bass can sound a bit hollow and artificial at times, but it is impressive the degree I perceive it to be present is given how small the drivers are. You do distinctly perceive a fair amount of bass without any actual low-frequency thumping or movement of large amounts of air -- pretty cool.
The high-end response is good, as expected from the small drivers, and the midrange response is better than most small micro/travel speakers that use only one pair of 1" (or smaller) drivers. The simulated bass is surprisingly effective but subject to noticeable distortion if your EQ settings over-amplify the lower frequencies or if the unit is turned up too loud. I have found the "Acoustic" EQ settings seem to work well for the inMotions, luckily, on the iPod you have many EQ settings to play around with.
This bass-enhancement circuitry and/or the built in amplifier does add a bit of noise. You can hear it when you max out the volume w/o the iPod connected. It is not really noticeable at normal listening levels, though.
Because the speakers are located close together and cannot be angled outwards, stereo separation is limited, and music sounds somewhat "mono" and clock radio-like. However, putting a hotel menu or hard cover book opened to 90 degrees with the apex pointed at the midpoint between the speakers helped to spread the audio out a little.
Overall a good sounding set of speakers for less "bassy" music (great for guitar rock, jazz, acoustic and vocal pieces; not so good for techno/dance) at moderate to quiet listening levels. These would be great for Audio Books. Distortion becomes a problem when you turn the speakers up beyond what is reasonable for such small drivers, but you can provide surprisingly full and loud sound to fill a good-sized hotel room (try using the Bass Reducer EQ setting if you have to turn them up really loud).
Hardware/Build: The base station and speaker assembly are fairly well built, but still a bit cheap feeling for something that costs $149. The whole thing folds open/closed much like an oversized audio tape case to protect the drivers. The side arms are made of a brushed aluminum complementing the look of the iPod.
The docking connector for 3G iPods is exposed, and could use a cover of some sort. However, I have one from the firewire cable that came with the iPod that will do just fine, assuming it doesn't fall off and get lost too fast. There is a spacer that comes with the inMotion that is supposed to give a better fit with the 10 and 15/20GB models, as the slot has been made to fit the thicker 30/40GB iPods. I found that the spacer wasn't needed for the thinner iPod to fit well, so I suspect the thicker iPods will have a rather tight fit.
The volume buttons are a -/+ affair to the left of the iPod with a slider switch for power on the right and a power indicator. There is no volume level indicator and since the audio signal is taken from the line-out pins on the 3G connector, you cannot use the iPod's on-board volume selector/indicator. Not really a problem -- the non-amplified line-out's on the iPod reduce distortion to the signal that the inMotions have to work with anyhow.
Connections: On the back of the inMotions are line-in and line-out connections, both 1/8" headphone jack connectors. The line-in port is used for 1G and 2G iPods which don't have the new connectors to dock with. A short dual-male 1/8" cable is included for hooking up the iPod's headphone jack to the line-in port. There is also a little rubber platform that covers the 3G dock connector and recess so that an older iPod has a place to sit between the speakers. The little rubber thing didn't stay in too well, but it was a nice thought.
There is a connector for the included DC 9V/1.6A wall-wart power supply. Unfortunately, the sucker is a bit large and it would have been nicer if the prongs on the AC adapter collapsed for better stowing. Also present is a connector for the special firewire cable that came with the iPod, so you can recharge the iPod while it is still sitting in the inMotion.
However, plugging in the firewire cable with Apple's 12V/1A AC adapter (which is nice and small, and has collapsable prongs) does not also power the inMotion. It would have been a cleaner solution if the inMotion could have been powered off the Apple AC adapter so you wouldn't have to carry around 2 AC adapters, and it would also have meant less of a cable mess behind the thing.
Battery Life: The manufacturer claims 12 hours, this will be very dependent on the volume levels you select. I have not run the 4 AA's down completely yet, but it has lasted as long as the iPod's internal batteries have so far. And no, it does not re-charge the iPod from its 9V AC adapter when docked, nor does it charge the iPod from the 4 AA batteries it uses. That would have been nice too.
Summary: Actually pretty good sound reproduction for such little speakers, certainly much better than my TiBook's speakers. No more hotel clock radios for me, but bring a good pair of headphones/in-ear monitors for really critical listening. If you're willing to run on batteries alone, it is a nice compact way to go.
The inMotions are a bit overpriced and could use larger speaker drivers (it looks like there is still enough room to mount larger speakers) that better yet could be angled outwards for better stereo dispersion. Also, there could be better integration of the Apple AC adapter (maybe someone out there is handy with a soldering iron? :) ) so you wouldn't need to carry around quite so many cables/AC adapters.
I'm glad I got these, as they'll make my already indispensable iPod more useful when traveling.
An update from EverLurking:
I noticed that another review of the inMotions stated that the power adapter that comes with it does in fact recharge the iPod. I went and checked it out, and Yes, the included power adapter will power the speakers and recharge the iPod at the same time. My mistake; I guess my iPod was fully charged at the time I first briefly tested the inMotion's adapter, and I didn't notice that the iPod was drawing power from the inMotion. It does not recharge the iPod while running off of the batteries (which is reasonable, as this would drastically shorten the life of the batteries for driving the speakers).
So you only have to carry around one adapter -- Good. I still think using Apple's little white iPod adapter would have been nicer though. The sucker now gets a 7.5 rating in my book, 8.5 if it was priced near $75.
I used to travel a LOT. 200+ days on the road, 100+ different cities/hotels. I carried a pair of Bose self powered speakers (same driver and enclosure as the 151s) and I absolutely loved them. I wish I still had them. Too bad they weighed about 6lbs each and took up 6x9x4 inches. They were worth the space though. I don't even think Bose still makes them.
meh.
Dude, here's a tip about the American rich: they're cheap. They like deals. The American rich person care more about saving 10 bucks than spending 10,000.
That said, I'll say this: what crazy isn't so much the price but the fact that it requires yet another adapter to use. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm out of plug-in space. I'm not rich, and I don't have a house full of outlets, but I do have a few outlets -- and several power strips -- and I'm sick of adapters. I'm especially sick of the goddam adapters that are big. I've gotten to the point where I won't buy a product if it's got one of those fatass adapters that's so big that it blocks two other plugs just to get it to fit in my power strip.
Here's a tip for Apple, AltecLansing, and even Microsoft: work on something -- anything -- that can *REDUCE THE GODDAMN SIZE OF POWER ADAPTERS* and, if that's not possible -- work on something that'll reduce the *NEED* for adapters.
Power over ethernet? I dunno. Whatever that is, if it works and frees up some of my power outlets, I'm all for it.
Anyway, the fact that this gadget requires two adapters -- its own and the Apple -- is just dumb. It should be reviewd at 3/10 instead of 7/10.
Let's see some progressive, forward-looking thinking on the power outlet situation. I leave my house thinking a power surge is gonna come, fry up all my powerstrips, and catch my drapes on fire. My dogs are gonna burn, my beloved toaster over is gonna fry, and I'm gonna be standing by a heap of ashes, wondering what happened to all my photoalbums. And I'm gonna have some smartass fireman asking me why I didn't store the important stuff in safe-deposit boxes off the premises?
"Like I'll store a couple of beagles in a safe-deposit box?"
Gone because of some Altec Lansing speaker system?
No thank you.
I think the Apple iPod power adapter is _very_ well designed. I have a 2nd-gen iPod (20Gig) and the adapter is so thin, it only takes one power-strip slot, and the prongs fold for easy storage.
Also, when I'm travelling, I take a simple 1/8" to RCA cable -- most hotel TVs have RCA inputs on the back, if not the front, and I plug my iPod in there.
BTW, I never use the "brick" for listening -- that's the advantage of having a fricken 10 hour battery!
I have the Sony 77's but wanted more. Instead of spending $150 for the inMotion I bought the Griffin iFire ($40) which allows me to make us of my no longer used Apple Pro Speakers. Works great off of the iPod or my Ti. Shouldn't be a problem packing. YMMV
When I first got my Mac, I made the mistake of getting the Apple Pro speakers. These things look good and sound OK at low volumes. But when you turn up the volume, they start emitting buzzing sounds under all the bass notes. A pretty lousy product, since these speakers are designed for use with a Mac G4 and can't handle the full 10W power output of the proprietary speaker jack that they plug in to. (FWIW, I quickly replaced them with a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers, which are MUCH better.)
But there are many other kinds of distortions. Analog clipping doesn't sound like digital clipping, which doesn't sound like a speaker "bottoming out", which doesn't sound like the Apple Pro distortion. Some kinds of distortion are tolerable, while some kinds are not. Some kinds gradually increase as you increase the volume, and others appear in full force when the volume crosses a threshold.
I mention all this because the 1" drivers in the inMotion look very similar to the drivers in the Apple Pro speakers. (I am aware that they're not the same - Apple's speakers are made by Harmon Kardon, not Altec Lansing.) If they distort in the same way, then I wouldn't want to use them even if I got them for free.
On the other hand, if they distort in a less annoying manner (perhaps the way my clock radio distorts when I turn the volume up too far), and only do so at a relatively high level, then it wouldn't be a problem.