Now this is what I call an iPod sound system. Most iPod speakers are pretty weedy. Not the Mix Boombox IMT800, a digital ghetto blaster released on Thursday by Altec Lansing. Available now for $300, the Mix Boombox promises to be loud and heavy.
Altec Lansing also announced a stylish — and loud — 200-watt computer speaker set: the Expressionist Ultra MX6021.
More images and details after the jump.
Mix Boombox IMT800
Costing $300, the Mix Boombox looks like something Radio Raheem might truck around. It features:
* Two 5.25-inch side-firing subwoofers
* Two 3-inch mid-range drivers
* Two 1-inch tweeters.
It certainly looks the part, and Altec Lansing makes good sound gear. The Mix Boombox is designed to be lugged around and play multiple iPods. It runs off batteries or AC, has carrying handles, and boasts three sound inputs — an iPod/iPhone dock at front and a pair of Aux In jacks on top to connect your friends’ iPods.
“Altec Lansing interviewed 50 people in six cities around the globe to gather information on people’s sound system needs, specifically in relation to their lifestyles,” the company says. “One important finding: People want to share their playlists. That’s why the Mix features dual auxiliary inputs—so two iPods or other mobile devices can be plugged in then turned on and off anytime by flipping a switch or using a remote.”
Expressionist Ultra MX6021
Available now for $200, the Expressionist Ultra boats is built for volume, clarity and bass, the company says. It will deliver 200 continuous watts of sound, which Altec Lansing claims is the most powerful in its class.
The 3-piece system has five digital amplifiers, five separate drivers, and a 6.5-inch subwoofer. It has a desktop controller and input jacks for Aux In and headphones.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
