Altec Lansing inMotion 7

iPod speakers usually have all the sonic beauty of a supermarket PA system bleating muzak through tiny rusted grills. But the inMotion iM7 from Altec Lansing throws convention to the wind and proves that iPod speakers don’t have to sound bad. The key to the iM7’s impressive sound is the subwoofer built into the chassis of the unit — this bolsters the output where small speakers usually fail most dramatically: in reproducing low frequencies.

The iM7 takes eight D-size batteries — in case you’re not familiar with these, they’re the biggest batteries you can hope to buy from the average shop. They’re bulky things, but they need to be to drive the iM7’s impressive speaker array. There are two speakers in the iM7 covering the left and right audio channels, and a subwoofer to provide low end punch.

Sound quality on the iM7 was extremely well defined and, most importantly for a boom-box replacement, very loud. Though the system errs naturally towards a more bass-heavy sound — perhaps it wants to show off that sub — you can adjust equaliser settings to obtain a more natural tone from more dynamic music.