Logitech S715i and Z515 portable speakers hands-on (video)
You're sick of audio docks, we know. So are we. But as much as we wanted to skip merrily along beyond Logitech's S715i set, we couldn't help but note that it's something of a rarity. Whereas most other iDevice speakers tend to keep themselves safely tethered to the nearest wall plug, this unit claims it can get an ambitious eight hours of music playback from its battery, while boasting a whopping eight drivers (two rear-firing ones on the back) in total, including a pair of "laser-tuned" neodymium 3-inchers for midrange delivery. We could hardly gauge audio quality in our noisy environment, but we'll say this much: Logitech isn't fooling around with the volume the S715i can put out. Even our video after the break doesn't do justice to the surprising roar you can generate from this otherwise compact package.
A standard 3.5mm audio input will let you stray outside of the Apple product family if you wish, and there's a bundled remote too. Yet, in spite of all these goodies, we still can't recommend this as a sage purchase at Logitech's lofty $150 price. Don't get us wrong, the S715i looks neat, just not that neat. We also managed to grab a few images of its family mate, the Z515 Bluetooth speaker, which similarly rolls on its own power (for up to 10 hours, it's claimed) and captures tunes from your nearest Bluetooth-equipped device. It's another well built and easily portable little thing, priced at $60 $100 by Logitech.
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