FIGHT!
DESIGN
We were afraid to leave the Eton Sound 100 iPod alone with the Altec Lansing IMV712. The big boy looked hungry, and the Eton is just so delicate…possibly tasty…

Eton Sound 100 iPod
The Eton is a cute system. It’s very small, yet has a feel of a bigger unit through its solid buttons and knobs. But we’d like to have seen video out along with the radio and line in/out options. And it’s tough to look past the fact that the Eton Sound 100 iPod is just Eton’s Sound 100 model with an external iPod dock. Is that bitchy of me? Maybe a little.

Altec Lansing IMV712
The IMV712 is more like a big SUV than a sleek Jeep. We’re not crazy about its appearance, even though a diagonally arching top spruces up the boxy form. We’ve already gushed over the massive screen, etc, but we wish that the screen could be put to better use than movies or the Altec Lansing logo. A little visualization could go a long way here.

AUDIO
Once again, we did extensive audio testing. Sure, we knew (as you should expect) that the IMV712 would take the sound category. But just how much better is Altec Lansing’s heavyweight than the little Eton…that’s the big question.

Eton Sound 100 iPod
This is a big stage in the competition, so it’s time to put away the baby music. We started out with the Boss, Springsteen himself. Human Touch sounded pretty solid. I can’t help but to underestimate the output of this little unit, only to be surprised each time I put it on. It actually hits a pretty high frequency range. Vocals are clear, while the highest range instrumentation can thin out (cymbals can get a bit tinny). Lows…I can’t quite explain. They hit without resonance, popping in an unnatural way in which a bass drum can resemble a snare hit. The sound is almost low enough, but it’s sterile.

Nonetheless, I’m impressed by this little machine.

Altec Lansing IMV712
Of course the IMV712 is more open, reproduces sweeter bass and…well, you get the point. But the even bigger difference between the two units, however, is distinction. Layers of sound, no matter the genre, can be appreciated in full. In Outkast’s Ms. Jackson, it’s absurdly easy to pick out the tracks and dissect the subtle complexities that make the song so freakin’ good. You won’t get that with the Eton. And the tendency only gets more obvious when venturing into classical.

Strings and horns are both brilliant on the IMV712. And the Eton, the excellent little BSer that it is, can’t begin to keep up.

I always separate sound quality in tiers, and maybe that’s completely unfair since it’s arbitrary and a bit meaningless in comparisons outside this battle. But you will hear a massive difference between the two units (or at least two tiers of quality). And it’s not because the Eton is a disappointment, because I don’t see many turning up their noses at the Sound 100’s audio quality given the form—it’s that the IMV712 transcends iPod docks and gives you a product that can be more of a home stereo than just a backup dock. It might not be perfect sound, sure, but it’s fairly luxurious for MP3 playback—a bit of caviar on your Ritz cracker.

WINNER: IMV712

Like its competition in the finals, the Griffin Amplifi, the IMV712 is a bit on the big and ugly. But it sounds good and is feature-rich. Would we give up the IMV712’s video for its audio in Eton’s form factor? Of course. We just aren’t there yet from a technological standpoint.

iHome iH52
All the ranges are well represented, with plenty of bass available. The guitar sounds pleasant, and the voice is OK, but not stellar. Nothing here will completely blow you away as no particular range really shines, but there’s nothing blatantly broken, either.

XtremeMac Tango
In the quiet opening, there is a noticeable buzz. It’s a high and faint, an almost digital-sounding overtone. And once you hear that, it sours the whole package. The lows seem to keep up with the iHome’s, though sounds sometimes become murky from lower ranges to the mids—it’s lacking control in its resonance. But the vocal track is actually surprisingly quite strong.

Eton Sound 100 iPod
The Sound 100 surprised me, nearly keeping up with its competitors in its overall frequency range. But overall, the experience is a little thinner than offerings from either the iHome or Tango. Still…

WINNER: Eton Sound 100 iPod
Admittedly, the Eton comes in third place regarding sound. The iHome takes that category. But this is the second round, and I refuse to put through a computer speaker system with a dock attachment and a big iHome slapped on the front.

iPod docks are superfluous tech, meant to have a level of sexiness that’s superior to our existing computer or surround sound system (and besides, could you imagine if Logitech and Altec Lansing entered their computer systems in the competition). Meanwhile, the Tango just doesn’t sound as good as its footprint would suggest. The bottom line: if we were choosing one dock of the three for our home, it would be the Eton. And even if we bitched a little about the sound, at least we wouldn’t have to look at another ugly pile of cords.

Who will win the battle? Design/Functionality

Sonic Impact

The T24’s design is stereotypical, so we’ll save you clichéd descriptions of symmetry and my takes on the finer distinctions of silver and gunmetal. The T24 has video out and is generally streamlined for ease of use.

Eton

Internet shots of Eton’s Sound 100 iPod (essentially their Sound 100 with iPod dock) never impressed me much, but the in-person effect is much less retro-wannabe and far more small and indiscrete. Plus, you get a radio, alarm with sleep timer and an LCD that has plenty of room for the song titles but doesn’t display them. Oh, well.

Sound
We just haven’t been able to shake Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing after watching the incredible Sopranos finale. So we looped that for a while.

Sonic Impact

The entire sound has a bit of an echo, but not obnoxiously so. On the contrary, it rounds out the sound. The vocals are very strong and, once again I’m left with that car stereo effect: strong mids with highs that that blend into an indefinable but palatable mixture. But there’s not much of going on the lowest ranges.

Eton

The sound feels more contained, but the highest ranges feel truer…if occasionally metallic. And believe it or not, this little machine performs better at the lowest ranges. It’s weird, the Eton’s downfall is its lackluster midrange playback.

WINNER: Eton Sound 100 iPod

We choose the Eton, not because of the sound (which is admittedly a half step better on the Sonic Impact), but for the small stature that still manages to keep up that is packed with practical features. Neither of these units should be chosen based upon their fidelity alone, so with a width of roughly half its competitor’s size, Eton’s Sound 100 iPod takes this round.