Logic3 - i-Station25 review
iPod video-dock with an intriguing twist (26/01/2009)
The Logic3 i-Station25 is yet another stab at the iPod dock market, but don't switch off just yet because this particular speaker has a few tricks up its sleeve to make the most of Apple's newer devices, like the iPhone and iPod Touch.
It wraps four full-range speakers into a two-channel arrangement with 4W of output per channel, and features a tidy if rather bland design that houses your iPod at the front between the speakers. We were quite impressed by the solid feel and particularly by the spring-loaded clips that hold an iPod or iPhone snugly in position. This is a much better system than providing a range of docking adaptors and something we'd like to see more of in the future, but there's an ulterior motive behind this design.
The headline feature of the i-Station25 comes in the form of a built-in accelerometer. This is the same technology used by the iPhone and Touch to rotate the display to landscape mode if you flip it onto its side, which is a far more comfortable way to view widescreen video. The purpose of this within the dock is to change the stereo speaker positioning, so when flipped it'll output the left/right channels from what were previously the top and bottom speakers, depending on which side you rest it.
This seems to work well and there's an LED atop the device that lets you know the change of angle has been detected. There's also a power LED that dims or flashes when the device enters standby and sleep modes after being idle, which in these environmentally conscious times is a welcome addition.
Volume and power buttons are the only controls on-board but you'll find a lot more on the supplied remote control, which is surprisingly responsive based on past experience with these sorts of devices. Here you'll be able to adjust volume, bass and treble from afar, as well as browse the iPod's menu (provided you're close enough to see the screen) to select media and skip back and forth through tracks.
There's also a 'video output' button here, which remotely enables the iPod's TV-out mode. A composite video-out port at the back of the speaker means you can connect it to a TV with the appropriate cable to view any clips you have stored on the player on a big screen. This again works nicely, though bear in mind that the low resolution of iPod-encoded video means it's not going to look great on a large TV. The only qualm we have here is that you can't output audio through the TV speakers, so must do so through the i-Station25.
This brings us to the all-important sound quality, and we found it to be a bit of a mixed bag. When listening to music at a reasonable volume we were actually quite impressed; the device offers clean mid-range and high tones and distinctive, though not overly punchy, bass. Dial things up high, though, and audio does deteriorate, particularly if bass is a priority, and things become a lot more convoluted and far less enjoyable. The moral of the story here is that it's not a 'party device', or something you'd expect to fill a large room, but since this isn't Logic3's intent we're inclined to be lenient.
Finally, an auxiliary line-in port at the back will allow you to plug in any other portable audio device using the adaptor cable supplied.
Logic3 - i-Station25 features - Verdict
Overall we were fairly pleased by the performance of the i-Station25, which has one up on many other docks by offering complete control of your player through a decent remote, and makes good use of the ability to switch orientation for viewing video. Sound quality could be better, but will be adequate for most, and the solid build and snug fit for your player is reassuring. If you're after a tidy, portable way to get the most from the video capabilities of Apple's new devices, the i-Station25 is certainly worth a look.
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