Being a reviewer of mobility products means that you are necessarily an iPod and iPod accessory products reviewer. Its inescapable, not that its a bad thing. However, there are loads of really crappy iPod accessories out there and I really, really don’t want to have to crawl through all of them. Of course, its always been the goal of The Dojo to provide details on only the best of breed products we can collect for our readers, and the Logitech’s new Pure-Fi Anywhere iPod portable speaker system is one of those.

I was already impressed in late 2006 when Logitech shipped me their first model, the mm50, which looks a lot like the new model, the Pure-Fi Anywhere. They also sound much the same; great. For the units size, portability, compactness, and utility, the Pure-Fi Anywhere is a phenomenal gadget. There are some differences, though. First, the remote on the mm50 was minimal, only offering remote access to the functions on the speakers and not of the iPod. The PFA adds the ability to control the entire unit, including the iPod. Logitech also added buttons on the speakers to control looping and randomization.

Where there seems to be some change is in the sound. Yes, they both sound great, but the PFA seems to be able to handle more output, where the mm50 would start to strain at the higher ends of the power band. The bass output is still very strong with its paid of mass drivers, the two larger speakers next to the iPod dock. When you play the unit quietly it maintains a subtle, low bass impression. Crank it up, though, and it starts to apply more bass and you can really feel it. The PFA, like the mm50, seems to be designed for the single user, though since that bass starts to fade as you move away from it.

The physical controls on the unit are still stiff and hard to press. They also don’t give much tactile feedback. Volume control is also a little weird in that it seems to step more increasing the volume and steps smaller when reducing. The remote, which now is able to control the entire iPod, takes some time to get used to. I would have preferred they implemented a jog-dial approach, but it works well when you get used to it. What I can’t get used to is the very loud clicking any of the buttons make when you press them. The batteries are easily replaceable, though, not that I’ve needed to yet.

In the end, however, its all about the sound and I’m really pleased with the evolution of these speakers. They were fantastic in their first iteration and they are even better now. Now for some basics. The Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere speakers for iPod are portable speakers. It comes in a nice, zipper case with included remote control and a power supply that has a wrapper for the cable. It is available in black or white, and ships with a string of adapters for various models of dockable iPods. If you have another kind of PMP (Why?) there is an external source port (1/8th” standard stereo headphone jack). Finally, there is an integrated rechargeable LiIon battery pack which genuinely runs for 9-10 hours.

The Logitech PFA is priced at US$129, which is pretty reasonable for speakers of this quality, portability, and functionality. Interestingly, its exactly the same price the mm50’s were released at.

written by Tyler Regas