Altec Lansing

[Papahyooie]

Ok so I was under the impression that Altec Lansing was a big name in speakers, though I wasnt familiar with them. I just got a Asus G50VT, and the laptop is great but the speakers are God-awful (they are Altec Lansing speakers according to the box and literature). So I found some good deals on a 2.1 system for home and some small satellite speakers to travel with, as I was recently using a home theater system with my desktop but the head unit blew. In short, ALL of them suck. Terribly. Im no audiophile, but I can hear distortion more than most people because I used to build competition car audio systems. And really all three sets of Altec Lansing sets i have here are terrible. Distortion at 50% volume and the like (and i have tested the two external sets with alternate inputs, so i know its not drivers, soundcard quality, etc) So was I wrong, should I just avoid them completely? I suppose its a moot question, since I will be avoiding them anyway, but like I said I was under the impression they were a big name, and wondering whats up.

 

[kyle2020]

Avoid them and get a meaty 2:1 system like my Logitech Z-2300.

 

[Error 404]

The 2.1 system for my other computer is an Altec Lansing, they sound fine to me, but tbh from your report I don't think I'll be looking at any of their products in the same light...


For good quality speakers, Logitec seems very good.

 

[pantherx12]

Altec make great speakers, generally the ones that look crapper are actually better ha ha.

They've got a set that comes with a dual woofer sub box with mesh around the top, tis a good one.

 

[Evo85]

I have had my AL 2:1 speakers for over 5 years, and I wouldnt trade them for ANYTHING else! They are excellent on their own and when running with my 7:1 home theater system.

 

[PlanetCyborg]

Avoid them and get a meaty 2:1 system like my Logitech Z-2300.

z-2300 is way overprized!!! x-230 of z4 are good speakers for a good prize i had altec speakers for abouth 1.5 years then they broke(the sound quality was good but the build quality was not that great IT IS JUST MY OPINION!

 

[yogurt_21]

Altec lansing are not designed for high volume/wattage. it sound smore like you're pushing your speakers to the max then increasing the volume through a secondary software.

I've had 6 sets of altec lansing speakers in total (multiple rigs at once) and all of them sound perfectly fine except when you try and push the volume to the max and higher. you'd be better off with a high wattage logitech/klipisch from the sounds of it.

 

[CJCerny]

Ok so I was under the impression that Altec Lansing was a big name in speakers, though I wasnt familiar with them. I just got a Asus G50VT, and the laptop is great but the speakers are God-awful (they are Altec Lansing speakers according to the box and literature). So I found some good deals on a 2.1 system for home and some small satellite speakers to travel with, as I was recently using a home theater system with my desktop but the head unit blew. In short, ALL of them suck. Terribly. Im no audiophile, but I can hear distortion more than most people because I used to build competition car audio systems. And really all three sets of Altec Lansing sets i have here are terrible. Distortion at 50% volume and the like (and i have tested the two external sets with alternate inputs, so i know its not drivers, soundcard quality, etc) So was I wrong, should I just avoid them completely? I suppose its a moot question, since I will be avoiding them anyway, but like I said I was under the impression they were a big name, and wondering whats up.

Bad sounding laptop speakers are not the fault of Altec Lansing or any other speaker maker, for that matter. You can't make a speaker that small that sounds good--the laws of physics won't let you. That doesn't mean that the biggest speakers sound best, but you have to have at least some room and a resonate cabinet for them to work well. Headphones or a decent set of desktop speakers are always going to be necessary to get decent sound from a laptop.

 

[Stearic]

All laptop speakers are teh suck.
I hate laptop speakers...never heard a decent one in my life..I always use headphones.

As for Altec lansing...they are okay, nothing great IMHO. I had a pair of 2.1 AC330 (or something like that) for a few years in the early 2000s and they were passable. Currently, I use the cheapo 2.1 Logitech X230s due to lack of space for a better system, and i far prefer the Logitechs.

Most of my listening is done through my Technics headphones...my local environment is too noisy to permit nuanced listening from hi-end speakers.

 

[Papahyooie]

@CJcerny and stearic, I know about speakers and enclosures, i know that laptop speakers are going to suck, comparitively speaking, all I meant about the laptop speakers was that they suck even more than im used to with laptops (had a toshiba media notebook which was surprisingly good) . However I hate headphones. Dunno why, I just do. Im glad some people have had good experiences with them though. Maybe I just picked the wrong models or got a botched set or something. I have heard good things everywhere about logitec tho, so I think I'll look into those, I just couldnt find a set that was small enough to carry in my backpack (i take my laptop to work for music and such, and sometimes ride my motorcycle so thats why) And I havent used another software to increase the volume, just vista's built-in volume control, windows media player, and the volume knob on the speakers. I have tweaked with the EQ for quite awhile and found that is seems the speakers (with completely flat software EQ) are too bassy for thier own good. The bass is pretty rich, but even at 50% volume (vista and media player all the way up) and around 65-75% volume with vista and media player at 50% the treble starts to pop. So I think they are trying too hard for more bass when they cant handle it. I tweak the EQ for less bass and can get a little more volume out of them but they're still not up to par. Oh well, just wanted to get some opinions.

 

[yogurt_21]

, just vista's built-in volume control, windows media player, and the volume knob on the speakers. .

that's exactly waht I'm talking about

you're on low wattage speakers, pick 1 method , not 3 lol.

 

[Studabaker]

Altec Lansing DOES make good speakers, it'll just cost you more to get the same kind of power a cheaper Logitech setup can deliver.

 

[Triprift]

Id reccomend if you can find them Logitech V20's there ideal speakers for lappys and produce great punchy sound.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

I've been using a set of logitech z4 for a few years now, I'm happy with them.