Altec Lansing inAir 5000 Wireless AirPlay Speaker

Altec Lansing's inAir 5000 ($499.95 direct) was introduced back in September 2011, but as with other Apple AirPlay wireless speaker systems, like the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air ($549.99, 3.5 stars) and the Audyssey Audio Air Dock ($399.99, 3.5 stars), there were delays in the product's release and it's only now making its way to stores. The system looks and sounds fantastic, with powerful bass at moderate-to-high volume levels paired with clear, articulate highs. Some digital signal processing prevents distortion, but also cuts bass down at higher volume levels. Overall, the inAir 5000 is a graceful, easy-to-use speaker system, and less hobbled by AirPlay's tendency to drop a signal than others.

Design
Like most Airplay-certified speakers, the prevailing look of the inAir 5000, which measures 7.5 by 19.0 by 7.8 inches, is black speaker grille cloth paired with brushed metallic accents and minimal controls. In fact, all of the controls are situated on the side panels of the oblong, triangular, 8.5-pound speaker system. On the left panel, there's a button for DIM mode (which basically puts the system to sleep), an Aux input button, as well as the actual 3.5mm Aux input and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right panel, there are three buttons: two for Volume, one for Mute. The rear panel houses the Power switch to the left of the power connection (a 19-volt adapter is included), a USB iPhone/iPod/iPad cable connection (the cable for this is not included so you'll have to use your charging cable when setting up the system or playing directly from a dock), an Ethernet port (cable included), a Wi-Fi connect button to reconnect with AirPlay out of sleep mode, and a recessed system Reset button.

The grille cloth hides two three-inch midrange drivers and two tweeters. A rear-firing four-inch subwoofer works in concert with a passive radiator to deliver serious bass response. The system is driven by three dedicated internal amplifiers for each range. There are status LEDs under the grille, on the far left and right of the front panel, while a glowing light under the device flashes or shines different colors depending on different connection statuses. Flashing blue indicates that the system is connecting to your Wi-Fi network, steady blue means the connection worked, while other flashing colors like green or red tell you when there are updates, or when there's a system error.

Also included is a good-looking, very simple remote control. The brushed metallic surface houses a control panel similar to the controls on old iPods, with Play/Pause in the center of surrounding buttons controlling volume and menu/track navigation. The remote is a bit superfluous for most iOS devices, as they act as their own remotes when streaming via AirPlay, but it's still nice to have when a device is physically connected via cable.

Performance
Audiophiles might not love what happens to the signal at higher volumes?if a track has deep bass frequencies, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," digital signal processing is employed to prevent distortion. The net result is a thinner sound at maximum volumes, with the bass response toned down enough that it sounds like someone seriously tinkered with the equalization. However, the speakers would distort without the signal processing, so the signal is, at least, always clean?a trick also used by Bowers & Wilkins' MM-1 ($499.95, 4 stars). Additionally, the bass response at top volumes would likely rattle frames off your walls if it weren't limited to some degree. As noted earlier, the inAir 5000 gets quite loud, and before the bass is rolled back at top volumes, it provides tremendous thump.

At moderate-to-medium-loud listening levels, the bass is smooth and robust. The Knife's "Silent Shout" thuds along with its thunderous electronic kick, but John Adams' classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," also has a surprising amount of low-end presence. Audiophiles looking for flat response may not love the serious bass boost provided by the inAir 5000's powerful sub, but it has an articulate, never muddy, presence that enhances rather than detracts from the overall performance. That said, it's probably most ideal for modern pop, rock, hip hop, and electronic music. While the mids and highs are clear and bright, bringing out the attack of strings and higher percussion, the signal processing at top volumes not only drops the bass, but also makes the treble sharper and less pleasant. Honestly, though, there is no need to listen at top volume with this system. It sounds excellent a medium-level, which is still quite loud, and beyond that, there's still some wiggle room before the signal processing kicks in and starts to change the sound in ways that aren't spectacular.

Set-up is a breeze, which cannot be said for all AirPlay docks. Where Audyssey's Audio Air Dock, for instance, makes you initiate the connection of the dock to your Wi-Fi network via a computer browser, the inAir 5000 immediately prompts you to download an app once you connect your iOS device via a (not included) 30-pin-to-USB charging cable. The app walks you through the set-up, which takes only a few minutes. You'll need a Wi-Fi network, and you'll need to know the password in order to complete the process. Once complete, the inAir 5000 shows up as an AirPlay option on the playback menu for your device.

Alas, as with most of the AirPlay docks we've reviewed thus far, like the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air, getting a steady connection is sometimes challenging. However, among the most recently-tested docks, the inAir 5000 generally fares far better. The Klipsch and Audyssey docks have some serious issues with staying connected via Wi-Fi for long periods of time?an issue that, hopefully, a rumored-to-be-in-the-works iOS update will fix. The inAir 5000 is not flawless, though, and if you live in a large building with several competing wireless networks, prepare for some signal losses, and even occasionally going through the entire set-up process again?which is annoying, but thankfully not a time consuming ordeal.

At this point, Apple's AirPlay, while wonderful in its simplicity, is undeniably hampered by these streaming issues. The inAir 5000 is, by far, the least compromised AirPlay dock of the current new crop, but with fantastic-sounding Bluetooth options like the Editors' Choice JBL OnBeat Xtreme ($499.95, 4.5 stars) available, $500 is a hard sell until these issues are fixed. That said, the inAir 5000 sounds excellent when devices are directly connected or streaming is not interrupted?and it stays connected for much longer periods of time than the Klipsch and Audyssey models. Apple will likely update iOS at some point, and murmurs within the industry imply that the update will fix AirPlay's streaming issues, but until then, the inAir 5000, like its Klipsch and Audyssey peers, is a great speaker system at the mercy of a buggy central feature.

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