Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere portable iPod speakers review

Will these give you music on the go?

16 May 2008 16:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Yes it's another iPod speaker dock to compete against the mountain already available on the market, so what makes Logitech believe this one will stand out from the already crowded crowd? We get listening to find out.

This time Logitech have played the portable card, although weighing in at 726 grams and measuring 9 x 33.5 x 4cm it's going to take up a fair bit of space in your bag.

Size aside, the Pure-Fi Anywhere is a no fuss iPod dock that comes with four speakers, a docking station that will fit virtually every variant of the iPod, a battery life of around 10 hours, and a protective travel case to store it in.

With its glossy black design, the Pure-Fi is simple in its approach. The front is buttonless, instead just sporting the speakers. The base offers two swivel out metal stands for propping it up on your desk, while the top right-hand side of the unit sees a couple of shortcut buttons for power, adjusting shuffle and repeat and a Stereo XL mode to improve sound.

There is a battery gauge too with three lights so you have some idea when the music is going to stop due to lack of juice.

Once plugged in you have full control over your iPod as well as the ability to access menus via the included remote.

The remote is fairly comprehensive, especially compared to the main speaker unit and is straightforward, very much like the Apple Remote shipped with the company's laptops.

Of course as always there is a 3.5mm plug at the back for connecting other devices like your mobile phone or MP3 player, but if you are going to do this then why not simply buy a speaker set without the docking functionality?

When it comes to sound the Pure-Fi is loud, but the sound was muffled and with no subwoofer, lacked any real depth although bass considering was better than we expected.

The Stereo XL feature promises to "widen the sound field" and in practice while it does, it's not going to massively improve your music listening.

Verdict

As a travel speaker this will be too big for most, however a simple no fuss approach complete with rechargeable battery means this isn't as bad as it could have been.