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Altec Lansing iM510 Portable Sansa Speakers
First Looks
Glossy black indeed. The Sansa inMotion speakers are as pure black as the iPod inMotion speakers are pure white. The iM510 is a black boxy blob of speakers and not much else. The slim design employs rounded corners and flush, rubbery buttons along the top. Rubbery button #1 on the left side powers on the unit while two right-side buttons control volume. Four miniature drivers are barely noticeable behind the finely perforated metal mesh that surrounds the face of the speaker unit. A gloss black notch resides conspicuously between the speakers and below an equally conspicuous black oval button. Press the oval button and that notch lurches forward to become a shelf fitted with an input connector suited to the Sansa c200 and e200. The eject button is cool and all, but the sliding dock feels a bit flimsy and is easily pushed forward into place by hand, no button required. Around the back of the iM510 are a few extra inputs and outputs. To accommodate MP3 players outside of the Sansa c200 and e200 series Altec Lansing has included a 3.5mm AUX line in. Also in the back panel is a subwoofer output that can be used with an optional Altec Lansing BB2001 bass box. The rear end also houses the DC-in jack and two snap cover AA battery boxes.               Plug the iM510 in, press the power button and there is no question it was designed for the Sansa series of players. Glossy black and neon blue are the Sansa trademarks and the same holds true of the iM510. A glowing blue ring surrounds the power button to let you know the speakers are ready to rock. But truth be told, the blue light on the speakers is a shade darker than the Sansa blue. Picky, picky. Included in the iM510 kit is the speaker unit, a power supply, 2 Sansa docking adapters, an 11" 3.5mm input cable, a really cush protective carrying case and a user guide and quick connect starter sheet. Now really there isn't much call for the starter sheet. About the only thing that requires any amount of instruction is the placement of the docking adapters. A pictorial install guide handles any of the set-up worries with ease. The input cable works with the previously mentioned AUX port to connect up a non-Sansa media player and the power supply pretty much just supplies power!via electricity mainly. The super squishy carrying case is a great addition. Inside the pouch contains several small hide away compartments for various wires, adapters and batteries in addition to a large compartment for the iM510 speaker unit. With the attached wrist strap the bag looks more like a shaving kit and less like an audio accessory but it is well constructed and keeps things nicely in place. The outer embroidered and stylized "I and M" lettering doesn't do much for me though, mostly because I'm a font snob. Don't get me started on bad fonts!Comic Sans throws me into a fit of serif-less rage.
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks Page 3: Testing: Sound Page 4: Testing Sansa e260 & c240 Usage Page 5: Conclusion 
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