Altec Lansing Octiv Air review

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Verdict:

The Octiv Air works well, but the entire concept makes it a bit of an expensive oddity.

Review Date: 21 Sep 2009

Price when reviewed: £270

Buy it now for: £195
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.play.com

Reviewed By: Alan Lu

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

User Rating

This small, wireless iPod dock and speaker set doubles as an FM radio and has a 3.5mm audio input for other devices, such as a PC.

The dock broadcasts music wirelessly to the speakers, so you can place them on opposite sides of the room or elsewhere without running cables between them.

The remote lets you adjust the volume, treble and bass and skip tracks, but it can't change playlists or albums. It's an infrared remote, so you can control your iPod only from within line of sight. This means it's not as flexible as the more expensive Sonos wireless system.

In our offices, the Octiv Air had a wireless range of around 40 metres through partition walls, with no interference or drop-outs. Music was loud and clear, but we had to turn down the bass.

The Octiv Air works well, but will appeal only to people who want to transmit music across a large room, or who don't mind not having control over what's playing.

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