Altec Lansing T612 iPhone Speaker Dock

Tag : Speaker


iMusic for the iEars
By Aloysius Low
With the iPhone hysteria due to hit the region pretty soon, it'sprobably a good time to go into the accessories that you'llprobably want for your spanking new phone. Seen here is AltecLansing's T612, a iPhone speaker dock that's also compatible withyour iPods and of course, the newest iPhone 3G.

iDock

Setting up was definitely easy to do, just plug in the power cableand the unit's good to go. There's no real need to assemble thedock for your iPhone as it already comes set up, though you willhave to switch the dock connector around if you want to use eithera iPod or the iPhone 3G (as the 3G is slightly thicker).

While the overall design is good to look at, the unit did have somestability problems as we found out when testing. Rest assured thatit's not as bad as it sounds: the T612 won't topple over whileyou're using it, but it's still strange the unit wasn't actuallylying flushed on our table top.
iUse
Using the T612 was definitely a simple affair, just plug in youriPhone or iPod, hit the play button and you're all done. Volume andtrack controls (limited to stop, play, forward and rewind) wereconveniently located on top, and glowing blue LED indicator lightsdisplayed the current settings. Bass and treble settings can alsobe adjusted using the same controls.

The included remote control is basically a rehash of the controlsfound on the unit, and unfortunately doesn't offer any option tonavigate the iPhone's more complex menu options. If you need tochoose a different playlist or select a specific song, you'll haveto walk over to the unit and manually interact with your iPhone oriPod.
iHear
Design and usability issues aside, the real crunch test of the T612comes down to how well it handles music playback and we're glad toreport on a job well done on Altec Lansing's part. If booming bassis your cup of tea, then the T612 will come with sugar added.

Even at the lowest volume, the bass was still audible and clear,though the middle setting for the bass sounded flat while themaximum setting was too "boomy". We found that a settingof four lights gave the best bass performance overall.

Being designed for the iPhone, the T612 also comes magneticallyshielded from the iPhone's signals and switches off when a call isdetected. While this doesn't actually work that well seeing as howyou'll have to walk over to physically answer the call, it's asoptimal as can be, given the circumstances.
iBuy
Given its retail price of S$329 , the Altec Lansing T612 is asomewhat expensive product that does its job well, albeit with someminor flaws. If however, you have the spare cash and an urge toenjoy decent music playback via your iPhone, then the T612 may bethat high-end digital music player for you.
Product Specifications
System Specifications: Sound Pressure Level (SPL): 100db Total Continuous Power: 60 Watts RMS Total Peak Power: 120 Watts System Response: 60Hz - 20KHz (-10db)

Speakers: Drivers: (Per Satellite): Two 3" Full-Range Drivers and TwoSILKDOME 1" Tweeters

Dimensions: 14" (W) X 5.4" (D) X 8.2" (H) 354mm (W) X 137mm (D) X 208mm (H)