ivplay's Full Review: Altec Lansing IM413 Speaker System
Altec Lansing is a trusted name for audiophiles everywhere, producing quality electronics for the home and computer applications for a number of years. With the advent of smaller and smaller mobile audio products capable of handling more and more media, the consumer demand for products to blend home stereo and portable MP3 players has grown. Bose put themselves out in front in this market by catering to the iPod generation with high quality sound reproduction, but Altec Lansing seems to be holding their own in the market with some additional specialized product releases in recent times. Enter the IM413, designed specifically for use with the Sandisk Sansa line of MP3/video players.
Recently I decided that I wanted a radio for the office that would play FM as well as my entire music collection. I looked first to the iPod, falling into the media frenzy that Apple has created. I soon realized that with sound reproduction at near the same quality and a much better bang-for-the-buck $/GB of storage I was leaning towards a Sandisk Sansa View with 16 GB of storage. Looking over the options for docking stations I found the Altec Lansing IM413, and after previewing it at my local Best Buy store decided that it with the View was the combination for me.
Why I chose the IM413
I chose the IM413 for a variety of reasons, first and foremost due to the fact that the cost of the total package (Sansa View 16GB and IM413) was significantly less than the alternative of an iPod and a Bose SoundDock. Additionally, the fact that the IM413 can be powered for up to 24 hours with three AAA batteries was attractive to me. Bose has SoundDocks now that are battery compatible, but for much higher costs than the normal Bose systems let alone the Altec Lansing offerings. A third primary factor for me was that the IM413 has a built in FM tuner, as there are days that I want to just put the radio on the local station and listen to the music of the day. These three reasons, coupled with what I consider to be good sound quality for a unit of this size, sold me on the IM413.
Description of the Altec Lansing IM413
The Altec Lansing IM413 is a docking station for the Sansa line of MP3 players, specifically designed for this line in that it has the exact mounting plug for the Views (and other Sansa MP3 players) built right into the front of the unit. The majority of the IM413 is the speaker housing that sticks up behind the horizontal ledge that houses the connection for the MP3 player as well as the control buttons. The speaker itself is a crisp looking enclosure with a punched metal grille, adding the contemporary look to the unit. The remainder of the IM413 is black, rounded plastic with responsive, slightly raised buttons that have a good tactile feedback to let you know that you have pushed them far enough.
On the front of the unit is the indigo backlit LCD screen with indicators for Surround Effect, Bass Boost (more on that later), and FM stereo on the left and source indicators (FM, Sansa, and Auxiliary) on the right. In the center of the LCD screen reside the typical digital numbers used to tune the unit in FM mode and let you know which song number is selected in Sansa mode. The volume adjustments will be shown on the screen as well, between 0 and 30 on the scale.
The round buttons are on the horizontal ledge and available for selection are the following: Power, Volume up/down, source, and fast forward/reverse tracks. Pretty sleek and simple to use and very intuitive.
The back of the unit houses the auxiliary input for CD, tape and other MP3 players along with the power input jack and battery compartment. The auxiliary connection is made by a double male 3.5mm audio jack, one into the unit and one into the player of choice. While in auxiliary mode all changes need to be made with the player as the IM413 will not control them, either with the included remote or the buttons on the front of the unit.
The IM413 comes with an accessory remote control, which is very small and thin. This remote reminds me of the credit card remote that accompanied our Bose SoundWave that we have been using in our home for over ten years, and the feel of the remote is very similar. The remote can control the same functions as those on the front panel of the IM413, meaning that you can select between sources, turn the unit on and off and adjust the volume. The only downside of the unit is that the remote can’t navigate the menu systems of the Sansa View, so while you can move forward and back among the tracks selected you can’t select specific artists, albums or tracks without using the Sansa track wheel itself. Not a big con, but one I bet will be eliminated in the next generation or so of audio docks.
Sound
While all the features in the world can make a good product great, if the primary function is to reproduce sound and the unit does a poor job of that, the sales will probably never take off or plummet quickly. The Altec Lansing IM413 doesn’t need to worry about that, however. While in the office I generally listen to the IM413 with a volume setting of between 5 and 10, and the sound is great from highs to lows. Everything is reproduced and you don’t need to blast it to get the full enjoyment of the whole range of sound. This is great, as I have had radios in the past that would do a fine job of total range reproduction at high volume settings yet many of the subtleties of the music would disappear with the lower volume settings. Not so with the IM413!
When I take this camping or bring it home to the asylum known as three young boys, obviously the sound needs to be turned up. I was disappointed to hear that at settings above 25-26 the speakers started to develop crackling distortion. This was mostly with the lows, but was annoying enough to where I don’t think anyone would listen at these sound levels. While I wouldn’t recommend turning it up past 25, this is sufficient noise level to override the three kids or entertain a large group. Don’t get me wrong, this will not replace a system costing many more dollars with larger speakers and a wider range, but it is very acceptable sound reproduction that I (and others) enjoy listening to.
The Bass Boost function is a proprietary method of enhancing the bass without the benefit of a woofer, and I would say that it does this very well. The IM413 does a nice job of putting out lows, although again this is not going to (and wasn’t meant to) compete with a system complete with it’s own stand-alone woofer. It does add to the listening enjoyment, but don’t expect it to reproduce the whole spectrum of tight bass that is present in some of today’s rap and R & B offerings.
Overall, I would rate the Altec Lansing IM413 sound reproduction as a step below the Bose offerings, but above the other competition I tested. The sound is good enough that I was willing to sacrifice slightly here for the additional dollars in my pocket!
Overall
Would I recommend the IM413 to folks who enjoy the Sansa-compatible line of MP3 players? Absolutely. Would I buy it again over the comparable iPod/Bose offerings? A resounding yes. Good quality sound reproduction, sleek design, battery powered ability and an FM tuner are all reasons to buy this unit, and I recommend it for your listening enjoyment.
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