The look of the new Logic3 iStation 8 is a real surprise with it sprouting more drivers and an LCD screen. Yes this is a step up for Logic3 and the price does rise from the bargain original and so therefore have our expectations of the new package. Our previous review of the smaller and cheap iStation was a blinder and we were frankly stunned that something made of  cost effective plastic could sound so good and outdo rivals costing many times more. So just what have Logic 3 gone and done, have they just pimped out iPod speakers visually and upped the price to pay for it or does it sound as beefed up as it looks.

First things first, this is an iPod speaker system and it will support  all manner of iPods from the Nano up to the largest Video iPod, the shuffle and other MP3 players will have to rely on the aux input in order to be heard. The 198 x 216 x 75mm design comes all folded up to protect the dock innards, however the soft eject is worth of the best 80’s cassette deck and provides an amount of entertainment  by itself. The whole package still has more than a hint of plastic about it but then it’s not claiming to be high end. The new and extra drives down each side of the dock are a set of tweeters, eight to be precise, that’s 6 more than the old model, there is also a 2.5mm woofer rear mounted with bass ports to provide the bass output.

Our tests with a 5G iPod started by sliding it into the dock and powering up the iStation 8, we were soon greeted by the backlit LCD display springing into life and also a cool blue glow around the iPod itself sitting in the dock. The control are basic but then they are also sufficient to gain full control over the iPod and the addition of the LCD display makes this much easier allowing us to sit across the room using the IR remote control to make track selections.

So time for our first listen to the new Logic3 unit, at a medium volume it sounds great, the test tracks from FatBoy Slim and also Jose Gonzales sounded sweet and not overly bright as we had feared that 8 tweeters might sound! Instead the whole package seems to work well together and is as good if not better than the outgoing model and more than an equal for systems costing at least £70 more. However the measure of the true travel systems is to crank up the volume past 60% and see if that old enemy distortion kicks in.

With the Black Rebel Motorcycle club loaded we set about trying to create a party in the office and much to our surprise and delight the Logic3 came to the party with a good rounded sound and a reasonable amount of volume for  device that claims only 24 Watts RMS. It’s not exactly nightclub level or even a decent home HiFi but for a set of battery powered travel speakers the sound is really quite impressive, enough to get any neighbours thumping the wall.

Power for the iStation 8 is provided from the supplied AC adaptor or via 6 x AA batteries which mean it can be truly mobile, there is also a connector on the rear that allows you to hook up your standard iPod cable and then onwards to connect to a PC or Mac both to charge the iPod and to sync its contents while in the dock. Also hiding on the connector panel is both an S Video connector and  composite video output allowing iPods that are Video capable to output to a screen or projector, worth noting that the user interface is not available via this connection. The Remote is basic yet nicely executed with all the controls we could have asked for and it slides away nicely with a firm click into a little cubby hole at the rear of the unit ensuring you don’t lose it on your travels.

It’s not all good news, the LCD display while nicely backlit and useful tends to be a bit like a chocolate teapot when you get the other side of the room, you’d need plenty of  carrots to be able to read what track you are on. Then possibly our main gripe which is a weird software bug, when you connect your iPod to the dock and it is already playing a playlist or album it can stop playback briefly and then switches to the first rack in your collection. You are then required to reselect where you were in order to stop playing your whole MP3 collection!  Clearly a weird bug and one that needs to be solved, however without any means to do so it will be difficult for early adopters to fix. Having said that we’re not sure how often you’d already have the unit playing and try a hot dock.

Overall the update of the Logic3 iStation is a resounding success, sure it doesn’t really need 8 tweeters but that is more of a style choice than a sonic one. Audio quality is remarkably good and easily better than its direct competitors and up there with some of the more expensive systems too. The CD screen is a nice touch but the time to connect and some strange software bugs stop us giving the iStation 8 a straight A instead for £99 the Logic3 iStation8 gets a B+, very good but could do better.

 Published - 25/06/2006

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