inMotion MAX – Review

 

inMotion MAX
Company: Altec Lansing
Price: $199.95
Altec Lansing

The dimensions of the inMotion MAX are 12.2″(W)x2″(D)x7.6″(H). It is a very portable size, easy to pickup and take along on a weekend to the coast, to a different room of the house, and anywhere in between. In particular, the design feels very thin and sexy. Altec Lansing, as always, has spent a great deal of time designing a beautiful enclosure for their state of the art audio system.

With an LCD display on the front which scrolls the meta data of the content being played and beautifully backlit controls on the top which light up when touched, Altec Lansing has included some nice touches which make the inMotion MAX both elegant and practical. The glossy black case may indeed be a fingerprint magnet, however, it provides a classy chassy for this small wonder.

The controls are clearly marked and easy to activate. They are flush with the top surface and touch sensitive (very nice touch, no pun). I really like the fact that they are backlit. Nice addition for those “special” moments when it is dark and the remote is nowhere to be found.

Speaking of finding the remote, I am equally impressed with the Remote Cubby built into the inMoton MAX (see above picture). Too many manufactures of electronic equipment have failed to realize that remotes are easily lost. Kudos to Altec Lansing for their solution. Now if we could only remember to slide the remote in its home after using it.

Of course, what would an audio system be with out a docking station. Altec Lansing has come up with a nice design for the inMotion MAX. At the base of the front, there is a retractable docking station that allows you to retract the dock when it is not needed. Having the ability to retract the dock helps to maintain the thin profile of the inMotion MAX. All in all, a very nice design that does not sacrifice beauty for practicality.

FEATURES
With such a practical collection of features like: an FM Radio, Alarm Clock Functionality, an Enhanced Remote, a Li-ion Rechargeable Battery, and a Remote Cubby to name only a few, the inMotion MAX is indeed feature rich. Jump to the product page for the specs.

USABILITY
It is important not to get lost in the design of the inMotion MAX. After all, this is first and foremost an audio system. Built around two 2″ full-range drivers and two 2″ passive radiators, the inMotion MAX, on paper, is rather light on the hardware that would normally produce the deep bass we have all come to desire in our audio systems.

Like its sibling, the T612, the inMotion MAX relies upon Altec Lansing’s XdB technology to produce deep bass without a subwoofer. Unlike the T612, the inMotion MAX does not quite achieve the level of bass achieved by the T612 (see MyMac.com review of the T612). Instead, the inMotion MAX produces a more evenly balanced tonal quality.

No matter what type of content I played through the inMotion MAX, I received a pleasant and balanced tone sans the peaks and valleys of audio systems containing tweeters and subwoofers. High end audio is not, IMO, what this system was designed to achieve. Rather, this system was designed to produce pleasant audio on the go while including many other practical features which make this a very useful traveling partner and a great value.

It is indeed the feature set that made me stand up and take notice of this little wonder. As a, “Works With iPhone” compliant audio system, I tested the ability to seamlessly receive a call on my docked iPhone 3GS while listening to content. As expected, the inMotion MAX gently lowered the volume and with a quick selection of the speaker on the iPhone, routed the call through the audio system speakers. Once the call was finished, the music volume was gently raised to its previous level. Never could a hint of cell noise be heard.

Sporting a rechargeable Li-ion battery, I was able to take the inMotion MAX all around the house and enjoy my content wherever I happened to be located. Easily attaching the included antenna, I tried out the FM Radio. This is a nice option when you are minus your internet connection and need some local information or news. The enhanced remote is very nice. With the ability to control the speaker system functions, the FM radio, playlists, and song navigation, the remote was clearly not an afterthought for Altec Lansing. I know this is silly, but I just love the remote cubby. With the number of remotes I have, umm, misplaced, the remote cubby alone would be worth the price for me.

For me, Altec Lansing hit a home run with this product. It does not pretend to be something it is not. It is a great portable audio system that combines good audio quality with many practical features. All in all, a great value!

MAKING A GREAT THING EVEN BETTER

There is not much to improve here. If I could pick one area for improvement, I would like to have a battery that lasted a little longer than the 2.5 – 3.0 hours I was achieving in my tests. If one were somewhere without the ability to plug into a power outlet, it could be a little disappointing.

MyMac.com Rating:
The Altec Lansing inMotion MAX is a great portable audio system that expertly achieves the purposes for which it was designed and manufactured. I am awarding the inMotion MAX a MyMac super value rating of 5 out of 5 in our MyMac.com Rating System .

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