Back a year and a half ago, we reviewed Logic3’s original i-Station portable speaker system (iLounge rating: B+), a not so sexy but good-sounding $150 option that had two unique features - a dedicated, pop-out bass driver and a street price of only $85. It was popular with our readers, and convenient for home or travel use. Flash forward to today and you’ll see many newer i-Stations, including this one - i-Station 7 ($100), a straight replacement for the original model, but with even more features, an additional color choice, and a couple of other tweaks. While not totally new, and certainly no sexier than before, i-Station 7 is now an excellent value for budget-conscious iPod owners, and highly recommendable.

Now available in white and black, i-Station7 continues the original product’s tradition of including two total left- and right-channel drivers alongside an integrated “subwoofer” - just a 2.5” dedicated bass driver - to produce sound that skews bass-rich, but sounds impressively clean for the price. The sound difference between i-Station7 and the new subwoofer-less, cheaper i-Station3 is pronounced, with 7 delivering much fuller, deeper sound, less amplifier distortion, and slightly greater apparent volume. As before, a 3D Sound button is included on i-Station7’s body, but adds little to the audio when engaged - there is a tiny treble bump, and no noticeable distortion. Two nice lights alongside the Universal Dock indicate that power’s on; they change from blue to red when the 3D Sound feature is activated. Additional details can be found in our prior i-Station review.

One of Logic3’s tweaks insures greater compatibility: the company has added an Apple-standard Universal Dock to the unit’s center, along with iPod-specific adapters that color-match the black or white i-Station7 you purchase. This Dock is thereby compatible with all current and presumably future iPods, though Apple’s supplied adapters may not match your chosen system’s coloration. An iPod-to-computer cable (not included) can be connected to a rear Dock Connector port for PC or Mac synchronization, while an audio input port and an minijack-to-minijack cable are provided for non-docking iPods.

That criticism and our earlier notes on the design’s lack of sex appeal underscore how small the flaws are in this otherwise well-designed unit. As a total docking, remote, and audio package, i-Station 7 bests the current portable $100 offerings from companies such as Altec Lansing (iM11) and JBL (On Tour), and though its sound quality is not mindblowing - the only other reason we’d consider an A- rating here rather than a full A - there’s no doubt in our minds that Logic3 is pushing the affordable portable speaker category forward at a time when other companies are seemingly content to see it stand still. If you want superior overall audio quality and frills such as a rechargeable battery or nice carrying case, consider Logitech’s popular, excellent mm50 instead, but if you want a strong audio performer for the $100 price with a great remote and Universal Dock, i-Station 7 should be your top choice.

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