Sunday, May 26, 2013

Logitech S715i Portable 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock

Right out of the box and plugged in the unit produced very good sound. At first I thought the kickstand was flimsy and was not supporting the unit well. Another review here helped resolve this by pointing out that it needs to be pushed in harder than one may think, and then it really does lock in.
Appearance/design
I find that Logitech iPod speaker systems generally lack some elegance, but S715i looks a lot better than the previous attempts. Those searching for a more elegant system may wish to look at Altec Lansing products, but in my opinion Logitech beats Altec in sound quality. The trayless doc is a good new feature for Logitech.
Price-to-performance
The unit could have been priced higher and would still attract attention of many - it is really inexpensive for what it does.
Sound quality
The box produces full and clean sound with impressive for the size bass. Logitech "has got it going on" in the base area. On certain tracks the bass may feel a little too pounding. Also, at times I found the mids slightly lacking. Some listeners have compared the sound of this unit to that of Bose. It is a fair comparison. After listening to this Logitech unit for a few days I went to a store to listen to Bose SoundDock Portable, and I could not say that Bose sounded better. Listening in a store, where there is a level of noise, is not the same as at home, so it wasn't a good test.
The two gripes
Another reviewer said this already - why, oh why did Logitech decide that long run time on battery was more important than the sound quality? When unplugged, the sound deteriorates. The base and the fullness go away. It is not just the volume - it feels like the sub-system responsible for the lowest notes shuts down. I can imagine it takes quite a bit of power to drive those notes out of the box, but at least there could be an option to keep the same sound at expense of run time. Make no mistake - it is still better than OK sound, and there is quite a bit of bass left, but it's not quite the same. I like to carry these things from room to room, and I think this is a notable flaw. My second gripe is about remote control lacking full functionality - it is not able to control iPod menus. Logitech already had this in Pure-Fi Anywhere 2, why give it up now?
Bottom line
Very good unit which earned its place on my home office desk. It is bound to surprise some guests with the sound quality for the size and keep me and hopefully other family members good company from time to time. Big compliments to Logitech, this system does represent progress in small-size inexpensive sound systems.

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