Crank Your iPod with Altec Lansing’s M602

Altec Lansing aims for the high end of the iPod speaker market with the M602, offering custom drivers, bass enhancement, and "universal" MP3 player cradle.

It’s not like the market is experiencing a dearth of speaker systems designed to convert Apple’s iconic iPods into boomboxes and home stereo systems—heck, even Apple itself has gotten in on the act. Now, Altec Lansing (who itself is responsible for a good portion of the market’s clutter) is aiming at the upper echelons of the home stereo market with its M602 high-end speaker system for iPods (and, coincidentally, for other portable music devices), promising crisp, clean sounds, deep bass, and an elegant look which will “add flare to any home or office décore.”

The M602 is 14 inches wide, just under 5.5 inches deep, 8.2 inches high and weighs about five pounds, and was designed to deliver high-quality in-air audio using a 60 watt amp, custom-designed 3-inch drivers with 1-inch tweeters, and patented XdBTM bass enhancement technology pumps the low notes without a subwoofer. Altec Lansing says the unit will put out a plenty-loud 100db, and offers a system response of 60 Hz to 20Khz.

A universal iPod dock handles any third, fourth, and fifth generation iPod (that includes the mini and nano models, but omits the shuffle), charging the iPod while in use, and comes with a “universal” dock which enables uers to put non-Apple MP3 players “front and center” in the M602’s staging area. The M602 is wall-mountable, but can also be lifted and easily moved from room to room, and the system features a wireless remote and built-in controls for managing iPod and speaker functions. There’s even a composite video output for pushing video content on your iPod to a television (though you need to supply your own cabling).

The Altec Lansing M602 is available in the U.S. market now for a suggested price of $199.95.