Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing T612 - High End Speaker For iPhone/iPod - Black

I spent a lot of time considering what IPod dock to choose. Came very close to purchasing one of the new Bose models, but at between £200-£300 I decided against it. There's also a lot of confusion out there with regard to which IPod docks will charge the 2nd Gen IPod Touch and IPhone models. Thankfully, the Altec Lansing T612 will happily charge all 2nd Gen IPod Touch and IPhones.

The sound is deep and rich, and should satisfy even the most critical music lover. The remote control is very useful too, and will enable you to play, pause and skip each track, as well as increase/decrease bass and treble. Admittedly, it would be better to have a more comprehensive remote with more functions. However, for the size and convenience of the remote, it's perfectly adequate.

The Altec is very pleasing to the eye and will sit compactly and unobtrusively in a any room. It feels solidly built and also it's extremely simple to operate with the power, volume, base and treble buttons located on the top of the panel.

Personally I like the fact that the Altec will charge my IPod Touch even when the Altec is switched off. I presume the unit stays in stand-by mode when switched off to allow you to park your IPod and charge it.

Tip for IPod Touch users: The Altec comes with a black plastic dock installed. This is tailored for the IPhone, which is thicker than the IPod Touch. You can simply pop this out and replace it with the white plastic dock that came with your IPod Touch. Then you're all set.

I got a special offer from Apple, so picked up the Altec for £100. Even at full price, this is worth buying though.

After buying another unit previously as a present for someone else, I was little nervous at how this unit would work with the latest Iphone 3G (2.2) 16 gig. The previous unit I had bought (different manufacturer) assured compatibility with latest pod versions etc but it proved false which was infuriating. However the T612 works perfectly. Charges the Iphone as specified. iPhone does come up with and occasional message about it not being designed for Iphone, and prompts to set itself to aircraft mode. Despite the prompt it works perfectly.

As for sound I 'm pretty knocked out. very warm big sound. Plenty of Bass. Very well made. Being able to adjust the Treble and Bass is a nice touch. Remote works great. The seating is quite tight for the Iphone's you have to ensure its in firmly. My guess it's just a tad tight, however it works perfectly well. I get nervous about applying any kind of pressure to seat the phone hence my comment on it.

There is no interference at all from Phone signals. Crystal clear so a perfect match for the Iphone. to my surprise I received a Bluetooth hands free ear module in the box as well which a great bonus. Setting it to aircraft mode helps eliminate any possible interference which I often do, however I've not detected any so far when the iphone is not in this mode.

In all extremely impressed and very happy with the purchase.

This system oozes quality, rich deep sound wrapped up in a solidly built case - should last for years. Remote function works well with ipod. Very happy I bought this and not the Bose. Only downside is no radio function which would have been nice.

I've had the older model of this speaker dock since I first got an ipod, years ago. Unfortunately, the new iPhone 3GS didn't work with it, so I had to look around for something new. Despite being a bit annoyed at Altec Lansing (or Apple, more likely) forcing me to change it, I've been so pleased with the speakers that I didn't even think of getting anything else.

I'm not a sound techie, and I'm don't listen to loads of loud 'bass heavy' music - but when I first heard this thing I was really blown away. Let's face it, it's not one of those huge stereos with separate speakers and sub-woofers - it just looks like a stylish ipod stand - but it produces a really rich, balanced and textured sound that fills any room you put it in. The bass is deep, the trebles are clear and there's no crackling or 'buzz' (like I said, I don't listen to anything particularly loud, so I don't know if there any problems if you really crank it up). Maybe I just didn't listen to music 'properly' before, but I found myself listening to all my favorite tracks again just to hear how they sounded on.

It's worth noting that the picture seems to be showing the unit I used to have - the old model - with a sort of silver/grey mesh over the speaker. The new one (at least, the one I got) is jet black, and has a sort of 'rubberised' feel to it. It's not a criticism - I actually think it looks better - but I think Amazon need to update the picture.

Trying to think of downsides...The remote control only adjusts volume, track skip, play pause.. the usual. Looking at some of the other speaker docks around, it looks like they offer other remote functions like headsets for the phone and shuffle buttons. Personally, I think those sort of things are gimmicks that I probably wouldn't use - but take note if you're looking for something like that - this machine charges the iPhone/iPod and plays music really well...and not much else. If that's what you want - get this.

I bought this unit with an iPod classic for a relative. He wanted to use it in an office, After receiving it I decided to put it to test.

Bundled items are
Speaker Unit
Multiple iPod & iPhone attachments
Wall mount kit with screws
Separate Power adapter
Multiple power plugs for EU

The power unit separated from the speaker unit, the eliminates interference from electrical discharges like when switching it on etc (well thought of)
The manufacturer's claims it also eliminates interference from radio (GSM) signals. ideal for iPhone

I used my 3g iPhone, iPhone recognises it without going into airplane mode, Played some old R&B tracks like Kci & Jojo, I picked up every note flawlessly, the bass is awesome, I decide to test it with Prodigy -omen, the response from the unit was equally impressive.
The unit is Loud and Clear (60 Watts RMS) even at low volume is still clear.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars was that it has no radio receiver so I had to get a separate radio to plug into the 3.5mm audio port
Overall I would definitely recommend