What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
21 JAN 2009
Epoz AktiMate Mini
Anyone who sneers at the description of iPod as 'hifi' needs to hear a pair of these
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It's a bit of a rubbish pun, but we can't deny that if we were an Australian hi-fi manufacturer who enjoyed a degree of input from respected British speaker manufacturer Epos, we'd probably be tempted to call ourselves 'Epoz' too.
Besides, when a product is as out-and-out impressive as these AktiMate Minis, any number of wince-inducing wisecracks can easily be overlooked. Though – while we're puzzling over names – if these substantial (30x19x21cm) speakers are Minis, we shudder to think how much space a regular-sized pair would occupy on your desktop.
There's nothing unique about the AktiMates' configuration. The left-hand speaker is an active design, housing amplification rated at 40 watts per channel and featuring an iPod dock on top, stereo RCA and 3.5mm inputs around the back, and a volume control and IR remote sensor on the front.
This speaker also powers its right-channel partner, via a length of speaker cable. Plug the left-hand speaker into the mains, press home your iPod and away you go.
Punchy, well controlled and eloquent
Sound quality impresses across the board. From Elliot Carter's Mosaic to Julian Cope's Fear Loves This Place, the Minis demonstrate fine levels of grip and go – they're punchy and well controlled at the bottom end, eloquent in the midrange and crisp at the top without any hint of splashiness.
There's plenty of dynamic heft available, smooth integration between drivers and impressive stereo imaging. In short, this is about as good as your iPod can be made to sound without chucking a fair bit more money at it.
As well as the refrigerator white of our review sample, the AktiMate Minis are available in shiny black or shiny red – so there's a little scope to make the Epozes blend in with their environment.
The question of environment raises our only note of caution, though: they may be equipped with soft feet to make them easy to site on a desktop, but they sound (as most speakers do) far, far better when parked on some dedicated speaker stands.
Click here to watch our video review of the Epoz AktiMate Minis.
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