The Bottom Line: At $50-$99, how can you go wrong? High Fidelity sound. Anyone considering a BOSE or GRIFFEN should first check out the AUDIO STATION.

UPDATE: After much listening, I have some added opinions on the Audio Station.

When playing music at louder levels, there is some muddying of the midrange. This is due partly to the smaller woofers working hard to reproduce the bass, thus interfering with their midrange (voice) output. It is also a problem with bi-amp systems, as opposed to 2.1 systems. As mentioned below, there is a difference.

The bi-amp system sends the bass and much of the midrange to the woofer. If the woofer works too hard, the extreme movement of the woofer may cause problems in the midrange area.

On the other hand, in a 2.1 system, the subwoofer more or less plays only the bass output. A good portion of the midrange and beyond is delegated to the satalite speakers. This set-up allows the satalite speakers to remain clear at louder levels, if they are of good quality and have sufficient amplifiers driving them.

Plus, if I decide to make use of the IPOD's internal tone controls, that also makes a difference. When I engage the DEEP (bass) tonal control of the IPOD, the IPOD sends the signal with the boosted lower end to the speakers. This causes the woofers to pump harder, and may cause unwanted distortion in the midrange area.

In a 2.1 system, using the same DEEP (bass) control may not affect the system so negatively. The low end bass boost may be sent to the subwoofer only, thus eliminating any effect on the satalite speakers and the midrange area of sound.

Overall, when dealing with smaller drivers, the chance of audible distortions is more likely.

The Audio Station puts out substantial bass. It is very deep. As deep as any small subwoofer, whether that subwoofer is meant for IPOD use or simply a small subwoofer of a home theater system. The bass is very impressive. But, it still comes at a price. FYI.
__________________________________________________________
I have been looking for a portable type speaker system for my newly acquired IPOD.
I found a great deal online. I purchased a LOGITECH AUDIO STATION.

I've owned many audio/video components over the years. While I prefer to stay with name brand equipment by Pioneer, Sony, etc, I will try others from time to time.

My first Logitech purchase was a model X-540 computer speaker system. The sound is very good, especially given the dimensions of the speakers and mini-subwoofer. The quality of the speaker drivers themselves is very good as is the amplifier circuitry. I've been very impressed.

So, I purchased the Logitech Audio Station. Reviews were mixed on this item. I believe this is an excellent item, especially considering the price I paid.

The Audio Station retailed for about $300. I purchased it online for $50 after rebates. For $50, you can't find anything in local stores, except for possibly a few cheap IPOD speakers with tiny 1-inch speaker drivers designed to provide minimal sound quality at close range. This Audio Station is brand new, not refurbished, not used.

QUALITY:
Definitely above par. The woofer speakers are 4-inch high excursion poly drivers with large butyl rubber cone suspensions. The tweeters are genuine fabric soft dome types. I have always had a soft spot for soft dome tweeters. Their acoustic characteristics are smooth and clean, and dispersion excellent. Honestly, the speaker elements alone would cost more than what I paid for the entire system.

DESIGN:
This is a bi-amp system. Meaning, separate amplifiers for each tweeter and each woofer. But it is somewhat different from a 2.1 mini speaker system. In a 2.1 system, there are a left/right speaker, each of which receive the majority of the audible frequencies. The subwoofer receives only the lowest bass octaves.

The bi-amp design sends the bass and midrange to each woofer and the treble to each tweeter just like you'd find in a standard audio multi-speaker mini system. However, because of the bi-amp design, the crossover from woofer to tweeter is an active type, meaning it is electronic. This crossover type is controlled much better than the passive types found in standard multi-speaker systems. Passive crossovers must be complex, with many coils and high-quality capacitors, or the crossover will be too vague, allowing too much blending of the bass and treble frequencies. Also, the passive types absorb some of the power output of the amp. There is no such thing as something for nothing. Bi-amp systems generally sound more powerful than their single amp counterparts. With separate amps for the woofer and tweeter, there is less likelihood of distortion in the all important midrange area. Highs stay clean and undistorted.

The speakers are loaded into acoustic suspension cabinets (sealed). This provides a tight sound with less muddying of bass and midrange. These speakers actually remind me of the original Minimus 7s which started the mini speaker revolution so many years ago. The Minimus 7s are still among the best performing mini speakers you can buy, especially the older original models.

According to the manual, there is DSP circuitry which may be active at all times, as well as bass/treble and STEREOXL user adjustable controls. As stated many times, I always prefer bass/treble over preset tonal controls. The bass control on the Audio Station sounds very smooth and does not cause a lot of midbass boom. The treble control is equally smooth, not strident or distorted. The STEREOXL control will turn the simulated widening circuit on or off. It works pretty well. The sound is more diffuse, spreading out away from the physical dimensions of the speaker system, but does not sound overly processed. The sound stays smooth and well balanced.

This speaker system is small, barely a foot wide by only a few inches deep and perhaps a half-a-foot tall. It fits nicely just about anywhere.

There are rubber pads on the bottom left and right side, instead of feet. These pads prevent vibration and will protect your fine furniture.

Speaker grilles are black cloth and are removable. I prefer the cloth grilles. They lend a certain amount of elegance to the system. Also, cloth grilles do not add their own sounds due to vibrations.

The speakers are angled slightly upward, throwing the sound into the room more efficiently.

The display is large and easy to see from a reasonable distance. You can change the display to indicate the time, the mode and/or radio station or a spectrum analyzer display with seven bar graphs.

Others have said the spectrum analyzer is useless. I don't agree. One, it is visually attractive. Two, it will indicate to some extent, what is going on with your system. I believe it indicates the input signal, from either your IPOD, radio or whatever source you connect. In the case of the IPOD, for instance, you can adjust the output level, bass level, treble level, etc. When doing so, the bar graph will indicate the difference. When I set my IPOD to DEEP EQ(meaning only the deepest bass being boosted), only the lowest bass bar graph increased and gave me a visual indication that its output was boosted, bringing it more in line with the rest of the audio input. What I could hear, I could also see via the analyzer. So, it can be useful in a very general sort of way.

The face of the Audio Station is touch sensitive. A mere touch changes the volume, mode, etc. Each touch control is illuminated. You can adjust the brightness.

This system features AM/FM radio, IPOD dock and auxiliary input for an external device.

This system also features video output via a composite (yellow single cable) or S-video cable.

In order to make this system so small, yet powerful, the power supply is built into the power cord. It is similar to power cords used for laptops, mounted in-line. It is a high performance switching power supply. This allows the power cord's plug to be easily plugged into any outlet like a standard plug. The power supply is very clean. There is no noise or hum of any kind.

OUTPUT:
Power output is a hefty 80 watts total. 32 watts per channel to each woofer and 8 watts per channel to each tweeter. From what I can hear, the power is clean and smooth. This speaker system can fill a room with sound with no problems. The quality of sound is quite good. Detail is excellent. Again, Logitech has impressed me with their amplifier circuitry. It is definitely a cut above other such units.

SOUND QUALITY:
Even at low volumes, I can hear some bass. This is a great sign of a well designed speaker and amp set. Typically, low volumes will make a poorly designed speaker sound terrible, with no bass and a lack of fullness and detail. You shouldn't have to crank the system to hear good sound.

As mentioned, detail is excellent. Highs are clear and unrestrained. Bass and midrange are smooth and tight. Compared to the ILIVE IHS3 sound bar which I have, this system offers much more musical detail and intricacy. I didn't realize this until I played some of the same pieces on both units. The amplifier circuitry of the Audio Station is clearly a better, more high fidelity design and it shows. I would have no trouble comparing the quality and sonic characteristics of this Logitech system to big name brands such as Pioneer, Sony and so on.

FAULTS:
About the only fault I might mention is the remote's inability to control all the IPOD functions. You can maneuver through the PLAYLISTS, but not control all the IPOD functions, as can be done with other IPOD speaker systems such as the ILIVE STUDIO IHS3, which I reviewed as well.

BEING REPLACED:
For those interested, Logitech is replacing the AUDIO STATION with a newer version, which I believe is called the PURE-FI.

From what I know, the new version is slightly different, some for the better and some perhaps not.
I believe the amp output and speaker elements are the same. I hope they are. They did not require improvement.

The REMOTE of the new system is supposed to feature ILLUMINATED BUTTONS. That is a nice feature. Ultimately, you may be able to order the new remote and use it on your Audio Station. I can't see why Logitech would change the infrared design.

The speaker grilles are still removable, but are metal. I don't like the metal grilles. I think they will tend to vibrate, thus disrupting the pure sound of this system. Also, I'm not at all convinced that the metal grilles will not inhibit the output of the speakers. I think the appearance is less classy, more techno. I like the cloth grilles of the Audio Station.

This Audio Station by Logitech is a great little sound system. I believe it outperforms the BOSE Sound Dock. Bass is full, deep and clean. Midrange is clean and well defined. Treble is very unrestrained. Power is clean all the way up. This system can easily entertain a room or patio full of friends. And it is about the same size as the BOSE, ALTEC LANSING and other better quality IPOD mini speaker systems available today.

If this is the type of equipment being produced by Logitech, then I have high hopes for this company. Their quality is comparable to the higher end PC manufacturers. Logitech seems to have their sights pointed in the right direction.