Altec Lansing Inmotion IM4

Packing to go away rarely leaves regular-sized holes in your luggage, so something that’ll fold down into roughly the space of a slim hard-backed book is not to be sniffed at.

Like the SanDisk Gold Award winner this is still a bit over the odds in terms of size but it’s a pay-off we’re prepared to cope with for its improved performance. We were particularly impressed with its bass output – particularly since it doesn’t have a subwoofer – and the fact that it has a nifty retractable lead to connect to your MP3 player, so if you run it off four AA batteries you don’t need to remember anything other than the speakers and your player. If you want to power it from the mains it comes with a host of handy international adapters to help you on your travels.

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