Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing iM-237 Orbit Ultraportable Speaker for MP3 Players (Silver)

I bought an iM-207 and an iM-237 at the same time, curious to see what the difference was.
The 207 is roughly 25% smaller and comes with a 1/8 to 3/32 stereo adapter, is designed to function sitting with the speaker pointing upward or will sit at a slight angle back on its side. I think it is money well spent- compared to the same amount I spent 3 years ago on one of those fold-up cube type dual speakers. In comparison to that fold-up cube, I think the sound is like 3 times better: quality-wise and volume-wise. The iM-207 lacks an LED that lets you know if the power is switched on, so you might drain the batteries out if you forget to turn it off after you unplug your player unit. It turns on and off by rotating the outer chrome ring-not a smooth switch at all compared to a rocker, slider or push button. Now on to the iM-237: a bit more stylish than its predecessor the iM-207 and at a price that is 130% more. It comes with a swanky padded and zippered carrying case with a mini carabiner clip and a tether that can be attached to the speaker to secure it to your wrist or hang it on the wall, it doesn't have a 1/8th to 3/32 adapter. the sound is cleaner than the 207, more defined at both ends and easier to listen to and has more volume. I wouldn't say the sound is twice as good though- I'd say more like 40% better. I'm not an acoustical engineer and don't have the audio equipment to evaluate the quality on any emperical basis. The iM-237 does have a nice green LED to let you know the power is on and a simple push button on/off button (which is vulnerable to accidental activation) the cord conceals neatly in a winder molding in the base and secures the plug well- a little too well, it's hard to get it out if you don't have long fingernails! I'd say value wise the 207 has a better quality to dollar value, however if you prize sound quality then go for the iM-237.

When I first opened the IM237 I was dissapointed. I could not believe that the new orbit was about 50% bigger than the old one -IM207. When I listened to it though they did improve the sound. The new one does have improved bass. While its great that they added a light to show if the unit is on or off, the switch sticks out too far when it is off. This can cause it to accidentally turn on. The could easily have been fixed if they simply had it on when it was out and off when it was in. The second flaw is the cord is the same short lenghth as the old one when it could have been 6 or 12 inches longer without effeting anything. Infact I was able to wrap a 3 foot extention in addition to the actual cord in the bottom. There is plenty space for a longer cord.
While I still think the original is a great speaker the new one is improved. If you are on a tight budget or you want a really small speaker that will fit in your pocket buy the old one for $15. If you want better sound and dont mind carrying a bigger speaker get the new one. Its a shame about the 2 flaws which could have easily have been fixed.

I bought one of these to play music from my iPhone during a vacation. I used it outdoors by the swimming pool for about a week. Went through only one set of batteries (AAA). My friends and I were consistently impressed with the sound that came out of this little speaker; it's surprisingly loud and clear.

I figured when I bought it that it was basically a throw-away. Not so. It's a good little speaker that fits the bill.

Okay, so I'm a mild-mannered easy listening/jazz type -- alternative at my edgiest -- and if this speaker isn't loud enough for my taste, you rock and metal and hip-hop types had better beware. I carefully lowered the volume on my iPhone before hooking up the speaker, prepared to have my ear drums blown out as some reviewers had warned, and was pretty much underwhelmed by the volume. Oh, this is not to say you can't turn the volume all the way up to an almost sufficient degree of loudness -- it's just that near the louder extremes, the music gets distorted and broken up. Do you or I or anyone else really need to have the Beatles break up yet again? Yes, at the lower volumes the sound is, I'll admit, awesome for something so tiny. And yes, the design is totally cool and the great carrying case will make this a great travel partner. So for twenty-five bucks, you can't go wrong if you keep your expectations realistic -- but if you want something compact and battery-operated that'll fill, say, an entire bedroom with sound that's loud and exciting, I believe Amazon also sells the Pocket Rocket vibrator.

I could mirror all the comments on here - the on-off button issue, that it sounds better than the iM-207, the better styling than it's baby brother. For all that, I'd probably give this 5 stars. But, for why I give it 3 stars, consider this:

I'm a music fanatic who, for years, was looking for a way to take a lot of music out on backpacking trips with a minimum of weight. Enter these Altec speakers (coupled to a Sansa 4 gig Clip). I'd stumbled onto the iM 207 in a local store and really enjoyed it. Great sound, long battery life and small enough to carry anywhere. Then, after a couple of months, I noticed the insulation on the cord was starting to rip right where it exits the housing. There's no stress relief whatsoever. On the 237 it's no different. On the 207, it appears like the wire at least exits the housing on a slight angle as it goes around the housing to lay into the storage channel. On the 237, it appears to stick straight out - something almost guaranteed to tear the insulation in time, even with the TLC I give to all my electronics. I'm about to open the 207 to see if there's a place to put a mini jack so I can solder one in. I see me needing to do the same with the 237 one day.

All this is to say, I can't rate any product with what I see as a design flaw as anything but average. If it's destined to break, it "ain't all that".