Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing Music Speaker

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(77)
3 star:		(41)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

This is a great little speaker for it's intended purpose. In my case, I love listening to podcasts over my iPhone when traveling. Without headphones the iPhone's external speaker does OK, but is clearly not up to the task if you have to raise the volume in a hotel room.

Altec-Lansing to the rescue; the diminutive iM207 works flawlessly in this regard. All the previous reviews are correct -- it is unnecessarily challenging to load the batteries and turn the thing on and off and there is no glowing LED to confirm power status, nor is there any way to run the speaker from an AC source.

All that aside, the iM207 does a great job at reproducing podcasts -- or any other source where you're not looking for top-notch sound reproduction. Since I'm a bit of an "audiophile snob" I never listen to music via this speaker and always default to my high-end headphones for this purpose. Why? Well, the size dictates that there is no actual bass to speak of, the frequency range is limited (but well-suited to the human voice), and there is (of course) no stereo effect whatsoever.

Battery life seems to be good; so far I've used one set of AAA batteries (it takes 3) and have used the speaker for over 24 hours (in 2 hour bursts).

How would I improve the product? Well, it would be nice to have battery replacement and the on/off switch be both more intuitive and positively actuated. I'm not sure I need an LED to confirm the power status, given that I turn the speaker off while my iPhone is playing to confirm that I've switched it off completely. It would be nice, I think, to have a small case to protect the little guy when I toss it into my suitcase...

Beyond that, I think this is a great little speaker at a nice price, that does quite a good job when used appropriately. It does NOT go to eleven, but is, nonetheless, highly recommended!

I was skeptical that one single small speaker could sound good, but really wanted a portable speaker for my Zune and it was Altec Lansing which is a brand I trust. Sounds great, still not sure how one little speaker can sound so clear and loud.

Tough, small speaker. It's hard to open the case to install the batteries, and it's hard to turn it on and off. But when it works, it's fine.

It is a nice little speaker but our hope was to use it to listen to audio books in the car. It does not have quite enough power. With the MP3 player turned up to full volume, you can just barely hear it without straining even in a new car in ideal road conditions. I do use it on the deck to listen to books and it works great there. The mono speaker makes for poor music quality but that was expected.

Altec forgot to include the rubber thingy you use to open jars. That's the only way I was able to turn it on and off. Who was the idiot that designed this? The sound is not bad, once you can get it on.

******UPDATE*********

I got tired of breaking my hand trying to get this thing on, so I fixed it. Here's how (this might void your warranty!): Take the sharp tip of a utility knife and gently pry the grill off. It comes off pretty easy. Then take the tip of a very small flat-blade screwdriver and from the INSIDE of the silver ring, work around the ring and gently pop it off. You'll see after you remove the grill how the switch works and how it lines up. Next you find three or four small "nubs" on the black ring area of the speaker. These stick out just a little (I assume to give tension) take a small file and gently go over each nub once. Just barely file them. Then, because I had some, I took a Q-Tip and put a little white lithium grease and coated some of the speaker ring area. Then you line up the black switch line on the silver ring with the "off" on the speaker and snap it back on. Then paying very close attention to the "cutout" on the grill (the cutout goes over the switch area) gently push the grill back on. Wow! What a difference! (Your milage may vary)

I picked up 2 of these speakers for my kids to use with their iPods. The speaker turns on/off by twisting the silver ring which runs around the entire top of the speaker. It's hard as hell to twist!!! It feels like your gonna break it if you continue twisting with full strength! Once turned on they sound great. I'm a 45 year old man with a pretty good grip and even I find it hard to turn on/off. Because of on/off issue my kids no longer use these speakers. Don't buy this product!

There is simply nothing that can touch the sound of this speaker for the money. Since iPhones don't work w/Bluetooth stereo and don't work in the car w/out one an FM transmitter, this is a great solution for listening to an iPhone in the car.

Here is the workaround for the two problems alluded to in other reviews. The on-off swtich is simply the worst I have ever seen and battery replacement isn't much better. Maybe Altec's engineers designed the unit as an exercise program to help people develop strong hands.

I removed the back cover (permanently), set the on/off switch in the on position and flipped one of the batteries so its backwards and withdraws power from the unit. When I want to turn it on, I put the battery in the correct way. It's obviously also easy to change the batteries when there is no cover.

The designers at Altec Lansing must have been stoned when they engineered this product. They were so taken w/the music they forgot everything else.

the sound is very loud, even in a 20'x16' room with 10' ceilings.
so, use it in a conference room at work or at starbucks with your iPhone or iPod.

there will be zero bass for rap songs, but vocals, country, and even solo piano can sound wonderful with the im207. i played beethoven's 5th symphony 1st and 3rd movements recently and the sound was quite accurate, just do not turn the volume of the iPhone pass 8/10. für elise sounded wonderful with the tiny speaker and even moonlight sonata was enjoyable. so, if you don't mind buying fresh aaa batteries every 2-3 weeks, get this tiny speaker. it will sound way better than the internal iPhone speaker, for starters!

i actually prefer this over my apple hi-fi as it has an excitingly bright sound and the hi-fi can be heavy in the mids. for the road, the im207 cannot be beat. it is way better than those that sits on top of iPods and much smaller than the smallest panel speakers.

it seems tough too as i have already dropped it 3 times...

paul

The IM207, for its price and size really is a fantastic speaker system. Like most of the other reviewers, my only issue is with the design of the on/off switch. It's a design idea that probably looked good on paper but was poorly implemented.

I haven't had any problems with the battery compartment as some seem to have had, and in my opinion, the battery life is reasonable.

However, I got so fed up with struggling to turn this thing on and off that I almost tossed it in the trash. Then I thought; what if it just needed some lubrication.

I remembered I had some machine oil left over in the 1/2 oz tube that came with hair clippers I bought some years ago. I squeezed a tiny drop of the oil at three or four points along the circumference of the speaker, right in the seam where the shiny outer ring and the black plastic housing meet.

I turned the switch on and off repeatedly to work the oil in then I left it alone. The following day, I picked up the unit and to my surprise, I was able to turn it on and off with remarkably less effort. It's still not smooth as silk by any means but the difference is really significant.

I used machine oil that came with my hair clippers but any all purpose machine oil from a hardware or craft store will do. I hope this helps someone.

This speaker is a poor substitute for the far superior Altec IM237. Wanting to save money, I ordered this IM207 which stopped working properly about a month later. It came as something of a relief since the on/off switch is nearly impossible to use - very poorly designed. I should have heeded other reviewers' comments on this feature! My daughter owns the IM237 and it is a wonderful speaker. Great sound, durable and easy to use on/off button. Do yourself a favor and spend a little more for the IM237. This speaker is going back to Amazon.