Altec Lansing ACS 45.1 2.1 Speakers
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- Max. Power Output: 6 Watt
- Number of Speakers: 2 Speakers + Subwoofer
- Connection Type: Cable
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Depends on how picky you are about sound
Pros
Inexpensive, decent sound for games and music, excellent value, powerful bass.
Cons
Noisy, bass is sloppy, auto power on/off makes annoying "pops" and "fizzes".
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you're an audiophile, you might be disappointed by their sound quality. Otherwise, I expect that most people will enjoy them and find them to be an excellent value.
Whether or not I would recommend these speakers to you depends on what you're looking for and how critical you are of sound quality. If you're an average joe, you'll probably be quite happy with these. If you're an audiophile or you already own nice speakers, you'll probably be somewhat disappointed by these. At this price, they sound impressive and they're a good value for a lot of people, but you have to realize that there's no way that you're going to get three really high quality speakers and an amplifier to drive them for under $100! This doesn't mean that you definitely won't enjoy these. If this isn't clear, read on...
I bought my Altec Lansing ACS45 speakers about 5 years ago at a local store for around $85. I wanted some speakers I could hook up to my computer for games, but mostly for listening to audio CD's on my computer. This system consists of two small 6 watt satellite speakers and a somewhat larger 20 watt subwoofer. There is a small amp built into the subwoofer so no external amp is necessary. This means that you have to plug these speakers into an AC outlet with a standard two-prong plug.
Tip: Try to place the satellite speakers at ear level, reasonably far apart, and angled slightly inwards toward the listener for better stereo separation. Placement of the subwoofer is not as critical since bass frequencies are not very directional. I keep mine on the floor, in between the satellites.
Great for games
Initially, I remember being very pleased with the purchase (can you tell that my opinion changed a bit over time?). My first memory of them was bringing them home from the store, hooking them up, and playing Quake with my roommate. I was really amazed at how much they really improved the game playing experience. The subwoofer made every gun shot was thunderous. Monster's shrieks were much scarier. Even when I went to the bathroom and my roommate continued to play, I could feel vibrations through the walls.
Pretty good for audio CD's
As time went on, I played less and less games and used the speakers more for listening to audio CD's. For this, I was quite pleased too. They had a certain "power" that made them sound much better than headphones or boomboxes. I realized that this was due to the extra bass pumped out by the subwoofer. As an experiment, I tried turning the subwoofer down to zero while listening to CD. It sounded like crap. The satellite speakers on their own sound very "nasally". Lots of midrange, very little treble and bass. With the subwoofer, however, the frequencies blend together and produce a much more balanced, pleasing sound.
Another thing I had noticed is that these speakers produced a pretty fair amount of background hiss. You don't notice this so much while playing CD's, but it's very apparent when the speakers are silent.
Popping is annoying
My first annoyance with these speakers is that there is no on/off switch. They automatically power on and off by detecting whether there is input or not. Besides the lack of control, this annoyed me in another way. You can hear them "pop" when they turn on and you can hear them "fizzle" when they power down. They seem to do this randomly sometimes when I'm not even using them.
Comparison with a more expensive speaker
I was very pleased with the way these speakers sounded on audio CD's until I bought more expensive speakers for my bedroom stereo. The speakers I bought were B&W DM602 S2's and you can read my epinion of them at http://www.epinions.com/content_14522486404. After listening to the B&W's for a while, the Altec Lansing's started to sound much worse to me (keep in mind that the Altec Lansings cost me $85 and they include a built-in amp. My B&W's were around $600 and I had to buy a $350 amp to drive them too $80 vs. $950. I had BETTER hear a difference!). The Altec Lansings were nasally and the stereo imaging was not as good. It was also at this point that I realized that they produced a lot of background hiss and although the subwoofer produces lots of bass, the bass tends to be "sloppy". This is human nature to me. Here's an analogy that you might identify with: I happily used a computer with a 386 processor all throughout college and never found it to be slow. After college, I bought a faster Pentium computer. Suddenly, the 386 was unbearably slow. Anyway, the point is that the Altec Lansings were great until my ears got accustomed to higher quality speakers. If you already own quality speakers, your ears are going to be disappointed by the Altec Lansings. Otherwise, you're much more likely to enjoy them.
Complaints
The Altec Lansings produce a lot of background hiss. It's very obvious when I'm not playing anything through them. This means when I'm playing music, that hiss is eating away at my signal to noise ratio and coloring the sound. The popping and fizzing sound that occur when these speakers power up and down are mildly annoying. The bass produced by the subwoofer is quite powerful, but also "sloppy". It lacks definition and if I listen close to the subwoofer, I can hear a lot of ugly vibration sounds coming out of the plastic cabinet. When listening to rock music and comparing these to my other speakers, the basic difference is that with the Altec Lansings, a bass guitar sounds bassy but it doesn't sound as much like a bass guitar.
Conclusion
I realize that the end of my review took on a negative slant, but we have to remember that I LIKED these speakers a lot when I first got them. I got a good 4 or 5 years of enjoyment out of them for $80. That is a pretty good value to me. In fact, I still use them for listening to MP3's and for listening to mixes of my own music. These are not terrible speakers. It's all relative to what you're accustomed to and how much you're willing to spend. If you're an audiophile, you'll probably be disappointed by the sound quality of these speakers. Otherwise, I expect that MOST people will enjoy these speakers and find them to be an excellent value. Best for you to give them a listen if you are unsure.
I bought my Altec Lansing ACS45 speakers about 5 years ago at a local store for around $85. I wanted some speakers I could hook up to my computer for games, but mostly for listening to audio CD's on my computer. This system consists of two small 6 watt satellite speakers and a somewhat larger 20 watt subwoofer. There is a small amp built into the subwoofer so no external amp is necessary. This means that you have to plug these speakers into an AC outlet with a standard two-prong plug.
Tip: Try to place the satellite speakers at ear level, reasonably far apart, and angled slightly inwards toward the listener for better stereo separation. Placement of the subwoofer is not as critical since bass frequencies are not very directional. I keep mine on the floor, in between the satellites.
Great for games
Initially, I remember being very pleased with the purchase (can you tell that my opinion changed a bit over time?). My first memory of them was bringing them home from the store, hooking them up, and playing Quake with my roommate. I was really amazed at how much they really improved the game playing experience. The subwoofer made every gun shot was thunderous. Monster's shrieks were much scarier. Even when I went to the bathroom and my roommate continued to play, I could feel vibrations through the walls.
Pretty good for audio CD's
As time went on, I played less and less games and used the speakers more for listening to audio CD's. For this, I was quite pleased too. They had a certain "power" that made them sound much better than headphones or boomboxes. I realized that this was due to the extra bass pumped out by the subwoofer. As an experiment, I tried turning the subwoofer down to zero while listening to CD. It sounded like crap. The satellite speakers on their own sound very "nasally". Lots of midrange, very little treble and bass. With the subwoofer, however, the frequencies blend together and produce a much more balanced, pleasing sound.
Another thing I had noticed is that these speakers produced a pretty fair amount of background hiss. You don't notice this so much while playing CD's, but it's very apparent when the speakers are silent.
Popping is annoying
My first annoyance with these speakers is that there is no on/off switch. They automatically power on and off by detecting whether there is input or not. Besides the lack of control, this annoyed me in another way. You can hear them "pop" when they turn on and you can hear them "fizzle" when they power down. They seem to do this randomly sometimes when I'm not even using them.
Comparison with a more expensive speaker
I was very pleased with the way these speakers sounded on audio CD's until I bought more expensive speakers for my bedroom stereo. The speakers I bought were B&W DM602 S2's and you can read my epinion of them at http://www.epinions.com/content_14522486404. After listening to the B&W's for a while, the Altec Lansing's started to sound much worse to me (keep in mind that the Altec Lansings cost me $85 and they include a built-in amp. My B&W's were around $600 and I had to buy a $350 amp to drive them too $80 vs. $950. I had BETTER hear a difference!). The Altec Lansings were nasally and the stereo imaging was not as good. It was also at this point that I realized that they produced a lot of background hiss and although the subwoofer produces lots of bass, the bass tends to be "sloppy". This is human nature to me. Here's an analogy that you might identify with: I happily used a computer with a 386 processor all throughout college and never found it to be slow. After college, I bought a faster Pentium computer. Suddenly, the 386 was unbearably slow. Anyway, the point is that the Altec Lansings were great until my ears got accustomed to higher quality speakers. If you already own quality speakers, your ears are going to be disappointed by the Altec Lansings. Otherwise, you're much more likely to enjoy them.
Complaints
The Altec Lansings produce a lot of background hiss. It's very obvious when I'm not playing anything through them. This means when I'm playing music, that hiss is eating away at my signal to noise ratio and coloring the sound. The popping and fizzing sound that occur when these speakers power up and down are mildly annoying. The bass produced by the subwoofer is quite powerful, but also "sloppy". It lacks definition and if I listen close to the subwoofer, I can hear a lot of ugly vibration sounds coming out of the plastic cabinet. When listening to rock music and comparing these to my other speakers, the basic difference is that with the Altec Lansings, a bass guitar sounds bassy but it doesn't sound as much like a bass guitar.
Conclusion
I realize that the end of my review took on a negative slant, but we have to remember that I LIKED these speakers a lot when I first got them. I got a good 4 or 5 years of enjoyment out of them for $80. That is a pretty good value to me. In fact, I still use them for listening to MP3's and for listening to mixes of my own music. These are not terrible speakers. It's all relative to what you're accustomed to and how much you're willing to spend. If you're an audiophile, you'll probably be disappointed by the sound quality of these speakers. Otherwise, I expect that MOST people will enjoy these speakers and find them to be an excellent value. Best for you to give them a listen if you are unsure.
