Altec Lansing Three-Piece Speaker System for Computers/MP3 players

5 comments

1. 

   Darcy on November 11, 2009 at 4:54 pm

   I bought a set of these recently after testing for a few days I had to return it. The main factor I had to return it was the hum/hissing noise from the speakers. They are not from my soundcard as I disconnected them and the hum is still there. I tried to move them to different rooms using different power outlets, the noise stayed the same. These noise are very noticeable as they are louder than my computer fans. I called Altec Lansing and their tech support told me it was normal. And from what I can find, I’m not the only one complains about this.

   Other issues:
   
   - the speakers are connected using non standard wires.
   
   - the control is not very intuitive to use
   
   - sound quality is sub bar, well, it’s OK compare to my old Logitech z560, but it starts to crack/pop when I turn up the volume.

   Apparently, pretty much all computer speakers at $200 range are mediocre. I finally decided to spend some extra money and got Blue Sky’s MediaDesk 2.1, which is simply amazing. Yea it’s 3 times the cost of this speaker, but I think it worth every penny.

2. 

   Garrett J. Lynch on November 11, 2009 at 5:22 pm

   I have to say that this product was a love-hate relationship but ended up being boxed back up and returned. I’ve been spending quite some time researching a good speaker system for my office and this model came up. It’s a new model (Sep’09ish) and was purchased in October and very few places have reviews out for this let alone pictures (thanks to the person who submitted photos on Amazon!). The looks of this system along with the touted quality side of this is what sold me. I come from an audiophile up-bringing so I will say that my ear is a bit more tuned and I have certain expectations on sound. My first computer speakers were Altec Lansings and by far the best speakers on the market at the time let alone I got a lot of “wow” out of them. I’ve owned most brands of computer speakers (Logitech’s top of the line, Creative’s, Klipsch) and saw these and thought they’d be perfect for the style of my office (very modern). I opened them up, set them up accordingly, plugged them in and powered them up and immediately hear the familiar hiss that my first Altec’s had had (their only fault) in ‘98. I kept thinking “there’s no way a model this expensive and new would be like this” and changed everything from the inputs (removed the 3.5mm jack all together) to the placement of the speakers (shielding issues, etc) and still the same hiss all the way until you turn the volume down to zero. At max volume there is an electrical hum that, yes, you definitely will not hear this is you have music playing, but it’s noise, and noise in my books is a no-no. I wanted to love these speakers but looks cannot out weigh their performance.

   With this, I’ll be moving on to a much more expensive option, reference monitors and balanced audio, yes a little bit more money but worth it. For a cheaper solution then this, i would recommend the M-Audio AV40’s.

   The Pros:
   
   - Beautiful Modern Look
   
   - Simple Hook Up
   
   - Easy-to-use Volume Controller
   
   - Sound Quality is “Ok” to the casual listener

   The Cons:
   
   - Consistent Hiss even at near-off levels
   
   - Electrical High-Pitch Hum at near max levels (no sound playing)
   
   - Proprietary PS/2 Style Speaker Plugs Making it Difficult to Do Extensions if Need-be
   

3. 

   plasticlizard on November 11, 2009 at 6:22 pm

   I needed to replace my old 2.1 desktop speaker system with something new and improved. After searching and reading reviews I got Altec Lansing’s MX6021. Here’s my thoughts after having played around with it for a few weeks.

   Placing my order online the box arrived a few days later. I opened up the original box and noticed that the system was packaged really well. The sub-woofer’s driver was covered over with a heavy piece of plastic. Then the entire sub was covered in plastic. The satellites were packaged the same way. The wired remote control, RCA adapter and audio cable were wrapped too. The entire system is then housed in heavy styrofoam. There’s also a complete setup diagram located on the box. It’s nice that Altec Lansing went to that much trouble with the packaging.

   What you get…
   
   1 – sub-woofer with a 6.5″ driver with a paper cone, foam surround and a forward firing vent hole.
   
   2 – Satellites have a 1″ aluminum horn tweeter driver. A 3″ midrange driver with a paper cone and a foam surround.
   
   1 – Wired remote that controls power, treble, bass and volume. It also accomodates 1 headphone and 1 auxiliary input.
   
   1 – 3.5mm audio cable to connect your computer or audio device to the sub-woofer.
   
   1 – RCA adapter to connect to a TV.
   
   1 – Safety instructions and warranty card

   The sub-woofer is made of particle board and feels very solid. The midrange on the satellites are housed in plastic tube canisters. The tweeters are housed in plastic too. Each driver has it’s own protective cover to keep your fingers out. Inspecting a little closer I noticed that the sub-woofer and satellites have rubber feet. The sub-woofer has four large ones in each corner and the satellites have three. Two up front and one large one in the rear. Even the wired remote has four small ones. The satellites and wired remote are all hard-wired. The sub-woofer has the AC cord hard-wired also. The plugs themselves are a proprietary ps/2 type mini-din except for the 3.5mm audio cable. You plug in the satellites, wired remote and 3.5mm audio cable into the back of the sub-woofer. Plug the other end of the 3.5mm audio cable into your computer or audio device. Then plug the sub-woofer into the AC outlet. Hit the wired remote to turn the system on and your done. Btw, all of the connections are good and tight. This includes those leading to the back of the sub-woofer, headphone and auxiliary inputs.

   It’s nice to have a 2.1 system with a small foot print and a wired remote. However, that doesn’t make for a good sounding system. I tested the MX6021 while playing games, listening to music and watching movies.

   Gaming with this system is simply awesome! You’ve got the highs from the tweeters for those high cracking sounds. The mids from the midrange when tweeters and a sub just ain’t enough. The low lows from the sub-woofer for the boom boom effects. I really like the fact that the sub-woofer’s speaker and vent are front firing. You can put it in any corner or tuck it away and still have the speaker and vent facing forward.

   Music is pretty good and better than average. I mainly play DTS and FLAC files and I like what I hear. The system is not reference monitor quality costing hundreds more, but adequate for what this system is and how much it costs.

   Movies pretty much fall into the same category as gaming. Great for a 2.1 arrangement, but certainly not equal to a 5.1 system or greater for ambiance.

   With a signal to noise ratio of 75db the system can pull a maximum of 200watts. You have the ability to get alot of sound out of these. However, you can get a great deal of clarity too. Having seperate amplifiers for seperate drivers helps. This means you can send different frequencies to different drivers at the same time. At higher volume the drivers won’t drown each other out. Tuning in the bass is no problem either. You can have a little or alot. When I say alot I mean alot! These speakers have the ability to shake walls and windows if given a chance. For a desktop system I was really impressed.

   The wired remote is very interesting. You can control the entire system from here. This includes the power, treble, bass and volume. The treble and bass buttons act as toggle switches. Hit one or the other to activate then adjust accordingly. You can fine tune or rapidly adjust all three functions depending on how long you hold down the adjuster. There’s also audio, visual and sense feedback for all three functions. The remote makes a slight clicking sound that you can actually feel when you make fine adjustments. Located at the base are these very tiny amber led lights. About the diameter of a sewing needle. They visually tell you what the treble, bass and volume are set at. The lights range from one to seven. Seven being the highest setting for these three functions. If you want to fine-tune then you can place the led’s at half points. Lets say three and a half or six and a half or whatever. The led’s will actually dim at the half point letting you know. During inactivity the led’s loop through a five pattern led dance. Now I don’t care much for large or bright led indicators on hardware. Luckily, the leds are neither large or bright. As long as the remote isn’t sitting right in your face you won’t notice them. There is also one headphone and one auxiliary jack located near the base. Overall, I found the remote very convenient and very easy to use.

   The warranty is a standard one year parts/labor not including return shipping.

   The MX6021 is a really good 2.1 desktop speaker system. Nothing about this system feels cheap or poorly made. It produces good sound with a quality build and excellent functionality.

4. 

   Robert Michon on November 11, 2009 at 6:54 pm

   I still have an old Dell computer that I’d bought in 2002-2003. The speakers that came with it were made by Altec Lansing, and even today, they sound better than most of what you’ll hear in the < $100 category.

   Listening to several other brands in the $90+ category (including Bose), they all SOUNDED like computer speakers.

   I’d been waiting for Amazon to carry these and when I saw them last week, I immediately ordered them.

   They showed up on Friday and I held my breath, hoping that they actually sounded as good as expected.

   I plugged ‘em in, fired them up and was VERRRRY pleased.

   In addition to the sound, they really look great- even better than the pictures. They look like small trophies on my desk.

   The high end is just a tad more than I’d like, so if you don’t have a graphic equalizer, you might want to upgrade your sound card to tweak it.

   While these speakers ended up costing $50-60 more than the models I’d listened to (except for the Bose, which cost MORE than these), the sound of these speakers is off the charts in comparison.

   It doesn’t cost that much more to go first class, and the quality of the speakers far exceeds the price. If you have a demanding, fickle ear, and you want speakers that don’t sound like computer speakers, I suggest you give these a shot.

5. 

   J. Lloyd on November 11, 2009 at 8:01 pm

   I am a long-time fan of Altec Lansing and have bought three of their systems. This new one is outstanding in every respect- looks great, excellent mid-range and bass with plenty of power.

   Shopped around pretty carefully and could not find anything better in this price range. Highly recommended.