Altec Lansing inMotion iM500 Ultra-Portable iPod nano Speakers

Reviews: Multimedia

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Altec Lansing
Apr. 16, 2007

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General Usage

Using the iM500 isn't rocket science!once you figure out how to open it anyways (hint: push the only button on the thing when it is "folded up.'). Place one iPod nano on dock, plug in power supply, fully depress the power button, and last but not least, jam to the Pussycat Dolls to your heart's content.

The folding feature for me is worthwhile for the sake of portability, and it feels reasonably solid. The buttons on the front of the device could be a little easier to push in my opinion, and for the price I can't help but wonder why there isn't a wireless remote included.

The only other thing really to talk about here is the USB connection on the back of the iM500. I'm a bit confused as to its purpose, considering the requisite USB cable was not included and oddly enough I don't own one (I had several of these cables but threw them out a while back when cleaning the closet, of course). I assume the USB cable allows you to sync your iPod while it is docked in the iM500, but obviously I can't actually test this to make sure.

Sound Quality

I could go into the good and the bad in regards to sound quality on the iM500 like I normally would, but it's really pretty simple. The sound quality is decent. It's not great by a long shot, but in a package this small, you shouldn't be surprised by the very weak bass and alarm-clock-radio'ish level of sound quality. I suspect I don't need to tell audiophiles to look elsewhere.

Now, so far things probably don't sound too good, but in all honesty if you have realistic expectations these speakers really aren't half bad from a sound-quality standpoint. For casual listening they're certainly more than sufficient. Compared to the Kensington SX 3000R which I recently reviews, and which is still on my desk next to the iM500, sound quality isn't as good. While the SX 3000R isn't exactly a bass machine, it does seem to have distinctly better lows and overall more accurate sound reproduction.

Funny thing is, when I actually run some audio test files on the two sets of speakers, they're actually basically the same in terms of tones they can produce (~100 - 1500Hz). What sets them apart is the size of the speakers. While the iM500 uses two small rectangular drivers, the SX 3000R uses one much larger flat panel speaker. You're going to get deeper and more powerful lows with a 20" subwoofer compared to an 8" subwoofer, so the same concept holds here.

So there's really a trade-off at play here. If you want smaller speakers, sound quality will suffer to some degree. While the SX 3000R speakers without a doubt sound better overall, I really honestly can't say the iM500s sound bad.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Impressions
Page 2: General Usage & Sound Quality
Page 3: Conclusion

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