Just look at it. Everything from the Altec Lansing IMT800 screams 80’s retro. It’s as though Altec Lansing wanted the generation of today to lug this boombox over their shoulders to the beat of their music, the only difference being that the mix tapes are replaced with their iPods.
As mentioned, the IMT800 does its best to honour the nostalgic aesthetics of the retro boombox. The black casing is accompanied by gold speaker rims and silver handles situated at the top and to the speaker sides, with the LCD display taking the top part of the front face, above the iPod dock. At the top are two 3.5mm aux ports, with an extendable, old-style wand antenna. At both sides are the 5.25” subwoofer and passive radiators.
While 80’s junkies might laud the design approach, the overall package feels rather out of place. Some of us like its retro feel, but some find its aesthetic mash-up to be plain weird. It doesn’t help that the casing looks plasticky. We suppose it’s a love-it-or-hate-it design.
Looking away from the looks, however, you’ll find that the IMT800 is easily one of the best iPod speakers systems in the market. We’re talking about fantastic, literally thumping audio quality. Even without fiddling with the equalizer, the IMT800 was already capable of playing music with enough bass and clarity to impress. Needless to say, when we started messing around with the bass, treble and eventually the 7-band graphic equalizer, audio quality is bliss in heaven.
The IMT800 is one of the very few devices to feature three device input ports; via the iPod/iPhone dock at the front and the two aux ports at the top. The aux input works incredibly well, though there is noticeable reduction in audio volume and quality, something we’ve expected. Navigating through the IMT800 is done through the buttons and volume dial at the top, as well as a clip-on remote control.
Running on 8 “D”-size batteries will give it up to 30 hours of playback, though you can always use the power adapter.
Conclusion, it’s expensive surely, but you’ll be hard pressed to find an iPod digital boombox with the audio quality of the Altec Lansing IMT800 MIX. We just hope you like how it looks.
Pros : Fantastic audio quality, Multiple device input
Cons : Love it or hate it design, Plasticky encasing
Altec Lansing IMT800 MIX Digital Boombox Specifications :
Interface : iPod, iPhone Dock, 3.5mm input
Highs : Dual 1” horn-loaded polypropylene tweeters
Mids : Dual 3” mid range drivers
Lows : 5.25” subwoofer and 5.25” passive radiator
Battery Life : 8 x D (LR20) Batteries – 30 hours
Dimensions (W x D x H) : 19.7 x 9.3 x 7.7 inches
Popularity: 10% [?]
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