Altec Lansing VS4121 2.1 Computer Speaker System, 3 piece

I was looking to upgrade my computer speakers from the 3 pc Yamahas I had. The Yamahas were good, much better than the 2 pc HK's that came with my Dell. But I wanted SIGNIFICANTLY more bass response. I narrowed my search to the Cyber Acoustic A3640, the Logitech Z2300 and these Altec's. My initial concern was the Altec VS4121 is only rated at 31 watts with a 19 watt sub. The others in my selection were significantly more powerful. The Logitech is powerful and has a great balanced sound, but to my ears it didn't sound as good or as "bassy" as the Altec. The Cyber Acoustic sounded good. Good bass, but I need something that will fit under my computer desk. I already have a Home Theartre system with a 150 watt sub. The Altec sub is compact enough to fit either under the desk(without constantly kicking it) or on the desk. The sound is great. The bass is unbelievably good, deep and loud. I don't know how this can be with only 31 watts, but it is totally excellent. At only 1/3 volume the desk is rumbling and the bass is pounding!! Highly recommended.

I researched these speakers EXTENSIVELY before purchasing them. As is the case here, the vast majority of the user reviews on the various online merchant web sites are all extremely positive. The professional reviews, however, are more accurate. Read on if you want to know why this system is getting RMA-ed. Most professional reviews that I located viewed this 2.1 speaker system quite favorably, but ALL mentioned one significant fact - the speakers have NO mid-range....and, in my experience, it's true. The idea of a down-firing mid-range on each satellite was sheer genius. The approach allows the speakers to be small and elegant with a stealth mid-range that also provides a low center of gravity so that the sats do not tip over (a common problem for tall and narrow sats). Yes, sheer genius...in the design phase. In practice, the down-firing mids do not work as advertised. The design leaves the mid-range completely empty and you are left with a WAY overly aggressive bass sub and bright, BRIGHT tweeters. No amount of fussing with the bass and treble controls will solve this problem. I constantly found myself reaching for the controls trying to tone down the aggressive bass and the PIERCING tweeters...all to no avail. Okay, I knew this was going to be a problem when I purchased them...these facts were clear in all the professional reviews. "So what?", I figured. These are not very expensive and they just look so darned good. So I gave them a shot. They arrived and I was incredibly impressed with their design. The wiring is ingenious (and unobtrusive) and the controls are within easy reach (and that's a good thing because of the aforementioned issues with the sound range)....and yes, they looked FANTASTIC next to my flat panel and small Shuttle cube. So, after I finished fiddling with the knobs, did I decide to keep them? Absolutely no way, and it had nothing to do with the mid-range. As another reviewer pointed out, the sub emits a constant low frequency signal whenever the speakers are turned on. This is not a defect in one or two pairs...it is a design defect. Altec would have you believe that it is normal and states as much in the user manual, but I have never heard another sub do the same. The noise is not just distracting, it is maddening. The actual problem is that the sub design did not adequately insulate the input power source from the input audio source...so you end up listening to a gut-penetrating version of your house's AC current when you are not putting an audio source through the system. I leave my speakers on all the time when I am using my computer...regardless of whether or not I am listening to music. In fact, they are on the same power strip and come on automatically. That way, I get to hear all the other windows feedback (beeps, new mail tones, etc.). I found myself constantly turning these speakers off lest I start to go insane from the hum. BTW, I am not an audiophile and these issues still stood out. The hum was noticed by others the moment that they walked into the room. "What the heck is that?" was a common response. Without the hum, these are 4 star speakers. No mid-range is an issue, but hey, they look great and are not very expensive. With the hum, however, they are one star at best. Now where is that UPS man? Today, I have a package for HIM. :)

I just received these speakers today and the sound quality really isn't that great. I'm listening to various types of music (high bitrate MP3s - but still high quality encodings) and none of it really sounds special. Everything sounds really affected. The base has to be turned VERY low so it doesn't over power the rest of the sound. The mid-range sounds are almost non-existent. I expected a little better (in spite of the low price) just b/c I had great luck with my previous set of moderately priced Altec Lansings (ACS 45.1) that I had for over 6 years until they took an apparent electrical spike recently. I probably should have spent the extra money and went with something like the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's so many people rave about. Oh well, I guess sometimes you actually get what you pay for.

I have used these speakers for over a month now and I have had no problems with them at all. The sound is perfect for computer use.I used to play Battlefield 2 a lot so they got quite a bit of usage. NOTE: If you are an audiophile, you will take issue with these speakers. They are not perfect and will not recreate the intricate details of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York. They work fine for gaming, but will not come close to any higher end (and therefore, higher priced) speakers.

I wanted to buy a decent sounding 2.1 system for my computer, but I didn't want to spend more than $100. I narrowed my choice down to the Creative Labs I-Trigue 3300 2.1 System vs. the Altec Lansing VS4121 2.1 System. I went to a local Circuit City and a local Best Buy to listen to both systems side-by-side. After listening to the Creative Labs and Altec Lansing systems I decided that, despite the higher power rating of the Creative Labs system (and the fact that it can pump out more raw volume than the Altec Lansing system), the VS4121 sounded cleaner and and more balanced (probably because it includes larger mid-range speakers, and because its subwoofer is not so overpowering). As an added bonus, the price of the Altec Lansing system was about $20 less than the Creative Labs system. I've had the VS4121 system for a couple of weeks now. I'm very happy it's performance for the price. My only gripe is that the subwoofer that came with this apparently "new" and "factory-sealed" set of speakers, which I ordered from J&R Music and Computer World (via Amazon), was dented right out of the box. The system works fine, and the woofer is hidden under my desk anyway, but I was still a little disappointed. In any case, these are very good speakers for the price.

I've had (and loved) Altec's ATP-3s for years, but after thousands of hours I think a tweeter has gone south. So naturally, I turned to these -- the successor to the ATPs. But compared to the ATPs, the vs4121s are like a bull in a China shop. 1. The bass is overpowering and muddy. Altec increased the power to the sub and lengthened the port without doing anything to rein in the boomy, inaccurate low end that results from such a move. The ATPs had the perfect amount of bass response with a flat setting. I've got the bass knob on the 4121s turned down to 1/4 of the range and it's *still* boomy and not the least bit accurate. 2. Not quite bright enough flat -- but the ATPs also suffered from this. I have to nudge the treble a little bit. HOWEVER, doing this on the 4121s produces a clearly audible hiss from the sats, while the ATPs have no such hiss. 3. Hum. The sub does produce a humming sound. However, it's not as bad as some other people say. (Note: I've got the speakers plugged into the same high-quality surge protector as the rest of the computer -- the recommended setup to avoid ground loop noise.) 4. No second input? Come on... every other speaker sold today has an auxiliary input. (The headphone jack is a nice addition, though.) In conclusion, Altec took a well-balanced, nuanced speaker system (that could be loud if you wanted it to be) and replaced it with a menacing, overpowered system that can't be subtle or accurate to save its own life. Recommended only for mindless bass-heads. (FYI, I used an M-Audio Transit external sound card in these tests, which I recommend highly to anyone who listens to a lot of music on a laptop.)

What a wonderful surprize. It took about ten minutes to install them to my HP Media center computer. They replace speakers that came with my 19" monitor which were lousy to say the least. (speaker make with held) But the vs 4121s surpassed all my expectations. While I am not an audiophile, I do admire and expect good faithful sound reproduction and these speakers more than do the job. I don't understand how the more expensive ones can do any better. Suffice to say I am completely satsfied and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for their moneys worth.

These speakers certainly live up to the positive reviews they've been getting at Amazon. Great sound, and plenty of volume if you want it. The controls are all very conveniently located on the right speaker, and include volume, treble, bass, on/off switch, and the headphone jack. Excellent bass sound. Another plus is the connection cables are heavy duty, much better than I've seen on other computer speakers. For about $50, these speakers are an excellent buy.

Vorab: Hier wird die helle Version der Boxen dargestellt, ich habe sie aber in schwarz bekommen. Macht mir persönlich nichts aus, sollte aber erwähnt werden. Staub ist nun mal deutlich sichtbar auf schwarz. Das System sieht in schwarz meiner Meinung nach nicht so gut aus wie die hellere Version, aber was solls. Innerhalb von drei Minuten war es ausgepackt und angeschlossen, einfacher gehts nicht. Zumal der Ablauf sogar auf der Verpackung mit Bildern illustriert wird. Dann die Überraschung: Es gibt ein deutlich hörbares Rauschen. Ich habe die Boxen einfach etwas weiter weggestellt, damit es nicht nervt. Habe mich auch relativ schnell dran gewöhnt, es rauscht eh viel bei mir, ob Fernseher, Rechner oder sonst was. Trotzdem gibt es einen Stern Abzug dafür. Es ist einfach zu laut. Der Rest stimmt allerdings. Man kann laut genug aufdrehen um die Nachbarn in den Wahnsinn zu treiben, wobei es sich immer noch sehr gut anhört. Der Klang ist schön sauber und der Bass wirklich gut. Damit kann man die Bude zum Beben bringen. Ob bei Spielen, Filmen oder Musik, der Sound ist sehr überzeugend. Besser als alle anderen Systeme der Preisklasse. Man bekommt viel Sound für das Geld. Ein Teufel-System ist natürlich besser, kostet aber auch deutlich mehr. Wer mit dem Rauschen leben kann, wird sehr glücklich mit dem Teil. Ich bin sehr zufrieden, schließe das System je nach Bedarf auch an meine Playstation oder Fernseher an, geht ohne Probleme. Kurzum: Bis auf das Rauschen durchweg positiv!

Imaginez, deux tweeters et un médium à droite et à gauche de l'écran plus un caisson de basses sous le bureau et l'on se croirait presque au cinéma en visionnant un film. Ces enceintes sont de très bonne facture, pas de ronflement, pas de bruit parasite si l'on ne pousse pas le volume au dela de ses limites. Un produit impeccable à recommander !!!

Excellent