nc10's Full Review: Logitech 984-000057 Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 Compact Spe...
The Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 is one of the newest in Logitech's seemingly endless line of iPod and iPhone speaker docks. Logitech has done a great job of providing a speaker dock for every iPod owner, from a small $60 set of travel speakers to a $200 motion sensing "premium sound system" called the Pure-Fi Dream. The Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 is in the middle of the pack, a straightforward compact speaker dock listing at $129, with street pricing as low as $100. Light on features (no FM radio, alarm clock, or Bluetooth wireless), the Pure-Fi Anywhere looked like a good fit to fill my wife's Christmas present request, a simple, decent sounding, easy to handle speaker dock for her 1st generation iPhone.
Close inspection of the Pure-Fi Anywhere 2's feature list, a few 3rd party reviews and hands-on store test convinced me that the Anywhere 2 was a good choice for my wife. While I feel I'm paying a bit of a premium for the Apple compatibility (a 3rd party Apple tax, so to speak), the features that convinced me to make a purchase (from Best Buy for $100) were:
- compatibility with a wide range of models, all docking iPods, the iPhone, and a 1/8" aux port for accepting inputs from other brands of mp3 players - rechargeable battery rated for 10 hours playback (not user replaceable, though) - 2 year warranty - Infrared remote - Carrying case included - 4 speakers (two 2" and two 3" speakers)
We've sinced used the Anywhere 2 extensively with the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G. The experience reported here is exclusively based on using the Anywhere 2 with iPhones, though I would expect my comments to apply to iPods also.
In the Box
Included with the Anywhere 2 is the speaker dock itself, the infrared remote, 12 (!) dock adapters for various iPod models (Apple must drive 3rd party accessory manufacturers crazy), a single large fold-out user guide, carrying case, and 110/240 V AC adapter. The cloth carrying case seems fairly well padded, and includes a storage slot for the remote. I'd prefer a storage slot for the remote on the Anywhere 2 itself.
The power adapter block is 1.25" wide, 2.75" high and 2.5" deep, and plugs directly into 110 V sockets, but is small enough that it won't block more than one socket on many power strips and wall sockets. The prongs on the power block fold up for storage, and there's a ring on the block that you can wrap the cord around to ease storage. It's a nice design that indicates that Logitech made some intelligent design choices.
Using theLogitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 Our black (white is also an option) Anywhere 2 speaker dock is about 14" long, 4" high, and about 1.5" thick. Designed to set lengthwise with your iPod docked in a slot in the middle of the dock, the Anywhere 2 is supported by two metal "feet" that fold out from the bottom edge. On either side of the docking slot are two speakers, a 2" and a 2.5" speaker. With the feet folded out, the Anywhere 2 is very stable, and the docking slot provides secure support iPods and iPhones. You will need to pick the correct docking adapter from the dozen included. If the Anywhere 2 is plugged in, it will charge your iPhone or iPod, even the iPhone 3G.
To the right of the docking slot, along the top edge are are 6 buttons and a battery level indicator. The battery level indiciator is 3 LED's indicating full, 1/3 or 2/3 charge. The buttons include power, shuffle, repeat, up and down volume, and a button that activates Logitech's StereoXL technology, a fairly effective feature that boosts the sound coming out of the Anywhere 2 so that it more effectively fills a room, simulating a system with speakers separated by a few feet.
The best way to use the dock is to first turn on your iPhone, start something playing, and then insert your iPhone into the the docking slot. The Anywhere 2 recognizes the mp3 player, turns on and starts playing. From there you'll want to use the remote to navigate your iPhone or iPod's menu.
When I'm using my iPhone with the Anywhere 2 running on battery power, the iPhone screen locks and then goes dark, just like listening to headphones. Tapping a button on the remote lights up the screen, but the iPhone is still locked. You can see track information and album art at this point, but not the progress bar which shows where you are in a track. I like to see the progress bar when listening to podcasts and forwarding through commercials, so I have to unlock the iPhone's screen. If the Anywhere 2 is plugged in, however, the iPhone display doesn't ever go dark (unless you turn it off with the iPhone's button), but only dims, and you can see the track progress bar all the time.
Using the Remote
In most ways the remote works well with the iPhone, you can navigate the iPod menu, change volume, pause, select the shuffle option, or turn on the StereoXL option. You can FF/REW also, but I find the those buttons are a little touchy to use, occasionally, if I'm not careful, when I FF or REW, the iPhone resets the file to start playing from the beginning, or go to a different track, because the Anywhere 2 thinks I touched the button momentarily rather than hold it down.
Once the screen on your iPod locks, you loose some of the remote's abilities. You can still adjust volume, pause, or FF/REW, go to the next track, all the things you normally do while listening, but if you want want to go the menu to choose a different track or podcast, you need to swipe the iPhone's screen first to unlock it.
Audio Quality
The Logitech Anywhere 2 provides surprisingly good sound for a portable $129 iPhone/iPod speaker dock. User's won't confuse the quality with a full stereo system, and you won't really feel the bass from your music, but users will find the sound tight, accurate and balanced across all frequencies. The Anywhere 2 can easily fill most rooms with sound, dorm rooms, dens or or fairly large classrooms. Stereo separation is lacking since this dock is only 14" wide, though turning on Logitech's StereoXL technology provides a noticeable improvement for music. You likely won't forget that you're listening to a small speaker dock on your table or desk when you're using the Anywhere 2, but I expect most listeners would rate the sound quality as quite good when they take into account the size and price of this speaker dock.
The iPhone TDMA shielding in the Anywhere 2 must be pretty good, I don't hear any of the hiss or interference I often get when I try to use my iPhone 3G with older iPod speaker docks.
Battery Life The lithium battery in the Anywhere 2 is rated for 10 hours playback, though that's based on how loud you play and other factors. Our experience indicates we get 6-8 hours. The initial charge took 6 hours, subsequent charges have been quicker. Since then, we charge the Anywhere 2 when we see the battery level get low, and take it off the charger when we need it, not worrying whether the unit is fully charged.
The Anywhere 2 senses when you plug in a MP3 player and turns on, so I don't believe the Anywhere 2 ever turns off fully. That means you can't charge the unit, store it for a week or two and expect a full charge to be available. We usually keep our Anywhere 2 plugged in when not in use, a practice Logitech says is OK.
The battery is not user replaceable, but is covered by Logitech's 2 year warranty. After 2 years, Logitech's plan is to replace units for 50% of the list purchase price, though I'd guess few would want to do that, and model availability might be a problem.
Conclusion There are iPod and iPhone speaker docks for just about every market niche. The Anywhere 2 is a small portable speaker dock that supports both generation iPhones and is powered by a rechargeable battery. It is one of the better sounding units in this price range, and is backed by a 2 year warranty. There are few extra features, though, no alarm clock, no radio, no Bluetooth, or scrolling display. But, the Anywhere 2 does everything it claims, and usually quite well.
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