Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere review

Rather than the stale, unimaginative ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mantra of many tech companies, we’re fans of the ‘take a really good thing, and make it much better’ approach. Judging by the Pure-Fi Anywhere so is Logitech, master of the portable speaker.

We loved – and continue to love – this product’s predecessor, the mm50. But this little beauty is something else. For starters, Logitech has revamped the basic design, making the ‘Anywhere’ into a sexy little number. Its compact dimensions are perfectly complemented by that smart-looking four-speaker array.

Ten hours playback

The improvements aren’t purely aesthetic either: there’s now a battery-life indicator that displays how much power is left. Not that you’ll need to consult it that often – the rechargeable battery lasts for an impressive 10 hours making this a genuinely reliable unit to take with you to the great outdoors.

The remote has been improved as well, with a clever and simple design with handy touches like one-touch shuffle and repeat buttons.

There’s also a nifty travel case with room for the remote, the AC adaptor and even your iPod Nano. The dock works with Apple’s universal connector, so all iPods are compatible.

That’s all you Apple-loving techies out there catered for, but there’s also a line-in connection on the back: if you own a non-Apple MP3 player you can still use the Pure-Fi Anywhere, though it won’t look quite as cool as it does with an iPod parked in the middle of it.

Room-filling sound

Of course, what you really want from a portable speaker is good sound, and the Pure-Fi Anywhere pumps out a surprisingly broad and weighty sound that can fill a big room happily.

Many docking systems sound thin, reedy and coarse – as if your entire collection was being sung to you by an asthmatic Bob Dylan – but the Pure-Fi Anywhere is an expansive, well-balanced and full-bodied listen.

Logitech has taken a really good product, made it loads better, and in the process conjured a portable iPod system you could really love. So the moral of the story is: if it ain’t broke, fix it anyway.