iGet The Best Out Of My iPod (Logic3 iStation 3)

Member Name: Great_reviewer07

Product:	Logic3 iStation 3
Date:	11/09/09 (197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sylish, durable, compact, great sound quality, battery or mains operated

Disadvantages: Could take a while to set up in some cases

When I got rid of my stereo in my bedroom a while ago I wanted something to replace it but as I don't buy CD's anymore I wanted something that would connect to my iPod to play music through speakers. There's no end of products designed exactly for this purpose on the market today so I had a very wide selection to choose from but I finally decided on this which is a Logitech brand of speakers called the I-Station.

I purchased this stylish device about a year ago now and haven't looked back since. At the time of purchase it cost me £49.99 from Argos however a couple of weeks later I found it on play.com for only £17.99 which I wasn't happy about so it definitely pays to shop around because that's a massive difference!

Although the £49.99 price tag may seem a bit steep to some you need to consider that there are other speakers on the market today that can cost somewhere in the region of £200 so I think I've found myself a bargain with these excellently designed speakers.

The speakers will fit any iPod Nano, Classic iPod or iPod Video however I'm not too sure whether it will support the new iPod Touch so if you're planning on purchasing this it's best to check beforehand to save yourself a lot of time and money.

Setting up I found to be a little difficult on first use, I read the very vague instructions but ended up having to figure the majority out for myself however when you know how it's incredibly simple. The speakers will arrive packed neatly together in the box, all that needs doing is to push down the middle part of the speakers and you'll reveal the slot for the iPod to be placed in. Behind the iPod will be a plastic transparent screen which slides into place behind the iPod and makes it look a lot more stylish and modern. The great thing about this device is that it can be powered by both batteries and the mains therefore it can be taken with you if you go on holiday or camping and with the size of it it's easily transported around and you may even forget it's there! The battery compartment is located at the back of the player and is very stiff to open, it took me a good few minutes to prise it open with a knife, this was a little annoying as I was planning to use batteries to power it but as it was so difficult to get the compartment open I decided to use the mains instead which is a lot easier. Of course if you're planning on taking this away with you it may be something to think about whether this is the right device for you, unless that is if you find it easy to open the tricky compartment. The device requires 4 AA batteries.

So that's the device set up, you'd think you'd have to read up about how you use it but no, all you do is slot your iPod into the compartment where it fits nicely (it slots into the USB slot) and you're away. If the speakers are turned on then the iPod will automatically turn on and begin charging which is one of the reasons why I bought this device. I lost my mains charger whilst on holiday therefore the only method I have to charge my iPod is either the computer or this simple and easy option. I sometimes charge it while I'm watching TV or occasionally not even in the house, you simply switch the device on standby and your iPod will charge instantaneously which is fantastic because not all iPod speakers have this feature. I've even found that after leaving this device on standby for a prolonged period of time wont cause the device to overheat. Either side of the iPod slot you'll notice two lights, when the iPod is playing these will light up blue and will illuminate the iPod which looks fantastic with the lights turned off and when the iPod is being played using 3D surround sound you'll see the same effect but this time in a bright orange colour.

Using the device couldn't be simpler, you have only 4 buttons in a very handy position on the device, these are right at the front below the iPod and consist of (from left to right) power on/off button, volume up, volume down and a 3D sound button. 3D sound is supposed to make the system sound like it's playing through multiple speakers around the room which sounds a lot better than it is as it really doesn't make much of a difference to the sound quality to be brutally honest and I prefer keeping the 3D sound turned off.

The picture above could be quite misleading as it appears that there are only two speakers when it actual fact there are three. The two that are visible are what's described as Dynamic Tweeter Speakers (don't ask), then there's a speaker behind the iPod which lies parallel to the floor, this is a sub-woofer which is larger than the other two. These three speakers combined produce a fantastic sounding machine that even the most musically inclined of us couldn't dismiss. The sub-woofer at the back is great for tracks with a heavy bassline as it has more area to cover and project the sound giving it a rich and crisp sound with no interference whatsoever. The speakers go very loud too which is a bonus if you're having a party, on the face of these speakers don't appear big enough to be blasted round an entire house however I've tried it and from my bedroom I can hear the music in every room very clearly, luckily when the speakers are on the highest volume you don't start getting the crackly sound that you can sometimes from other speakers. They'll also go to a very low volume too which is great if you just want to relax with a book or a magazine with some background music.

Speaking of interference, this wont interfere with your TV, radio, or even your mobile phone signal and vice versa which I was pleased with because I often place my phone next to the speakers and if you've ever left your phone beside a TV or a computer while in use you'll know what I mean because you'll get a lot of interference whilst making/receiving calls and texts which sound similar to an old modem connecting up to your phone line.

The speakers even come with a little compact remote control which is a very handy thing to have to save you having to get up and manually change the song on the iPod. The control wont do everything for you though, you can skip songs back and forth, fast forward and rewind, pause and play but you can change the lists in the iPod so if you have lots of play lists that you want to switch to on a regular basis you'll have to get up and do it using the iPod itself. You can also turn the device on and off using the device as well as switch between regular and 3D sound. To make use of the control you will have to be at a relatively close range, the control works at a distance of around 10 metres which is great considering the size of most rooms.

My one bugbear with using this product is that when the iPod is fitted in the dock connector port you need to be very gentle when pressing the buttons on the iPod, when the buttons are pressed the iPod will tip back slightly which puts pressure on the dock meaning that with some force it could snap off and both the speakers and the iPod will be deemed useless therefore be gentle when operating the product.

This is the best iPod accessory I've ever bought and even though the price was a bit high when I purchased it I don't regret it one bit as there are no substantial downsides to this device. The speakers produce a fantastic sound, it looks very stylish, it's reliable and extremely easy to use. Setting it up may take a bit of getting used to but unless you're planning on taking it away with you then you should only have to do this once. These speakers are also available in black if that's your preference but I personally prefer the white option. Upon seeing mine my friend actually bought the exact same device and they too are extremely happy with it. I can't recommend this product enough and it deserves all the praise it gets.

Summary: A fantastic speaker device for your iPod.

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