Modern digital music players sporting 60+ GB hard drives allow music lovers to travel the world without being parted from large portions of their album collection. But listeners still remain tethered to their gizmos by cumbersome earphones, enjoying tunes in forced solitude. Until now, so-called “portable” speakers tended to consist of small, heavy, ungainly boxes – cumbersome to pack and messy to set up and take down.
But Altec Lansing, maker of high quality audio systems for over 75 years, has changed the formula for portable audio systems. Altec’s inMotion iM4 sports speakers that are not miniaturized but rather arranged into a flat, folding profile. With the whole unit weighing under two pounds, you can take it anywhere. Every feature was designed with travelers in mind: a protective storage bag, retractable audio cable, rubberized non-slip surfaces, batteries for wireless sound and a universal power adapter with snap-in plugs for international use.
As for the audio quality… the iM4’s four neodymium speakers using MaxxBass technology can pump out 92 dB at 12 inches (about as loud as a blender) while still delivering true, crystal-clear audio – the iM4 will put laptop speakers and headphones to shame.