Altec Lansing BXR1221 2.1 Speaker System (Black)

My laptop has XP Media Edition software, but really terrible speakers. If I want to take note to anything, I need external speakers or receiver. For the price, this Altec Lansing Three-Piece Speaker System does a excellent job. The bottom line is excellent, well balanced sound for a low price.

Now the caveats:

On speakers that require an external power source, I would have expected to be able to crank up the volume a bit more. When listening to modern CDs or MP3s on my PC I can turn up the sound high enough to fill a large room without distortion, but when watching an ancient movie (say 1930s vintage) I can turn up the volume all the way and the dialog is barely audible. Other speakers I’ve used don’t seem to have that issue, but they were more expensive.

This system may be compact for a shelf or desk, but it’s not tiny and don’t guess it to be portable. The set up is lightweight but rather bulky. The subwoofer is roughly the size of an elongated Kleenex Boutique tissue box; the satellites are approximately the size of Campbell’s soup cans.

There are lots of wires, too. The right satellite, the one with the on/off and volume control knobs, has four separate wires: 1) hardwire to the other satellite, 2) hardwire to the jack that goes to the audio source (notebook or MP3 player), 3) a jack to connect to the hardwire coming from the subwoofer, and 4) a jack for the wire to the AC adapter. That’s a lot of wire coming out of the back of one soup can size speaker!

The wall plug is on the AC adapter. Something to consider if you are already using outlets for the PC, watch, printer, and whatever other peripherals you need – a power strip may have multiple outlets, but this can easily use one and cover up another.

If none of these observations is a deal breaker for you, then the low price and excellent sound are a excellent value.

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Shelley Gammon “Geek” (Kaufman, Texas USA) –

  

  

  

With spending huge $ on Bose speakers for my notebook only to have the unit die in 2 years and Bose charging so much for out of warranty renovate, I’d be better off buying new ones – I vowed to by no means spend that kind of cash again. Excellent thing – because I no longer have that kind of dispensable income! Enter these Altec Lansing speakers.

I like having the blue-collar control right on the speaker if I need to suddenly turn down to hear if a phone is ringing or what the dog is barking about.

I hear no rattle when the volume is up – something you typically experience in cheap speakers. The cheap ones typically are a “you get what you pay for” experience… adequate for a small cube at work, but not much else. Not so with these small power-houses. Am I comparing these to Bose? No. These do not attempt to be in the same class as luxury end speakers. I’ve used a number of low-cost speakers before, but, and these are among the best I’ve used. I find these perform better than my JBL Duets, which tend to rattle if the volume is cranked up. The subwoofer lets you feel what you can’t hear… the base that is too much for most satellite speakers is loyally transmitted where you can feel it as much as you hear it.

For low-cost notebook speakers (or even for an iPod!), the landscape is FULL of competitors – but the cheap ones are typically just that – cheap. Altec Lansing did a excellent job in making a set-up that’s attractive, uses a small desktop footprint and has excellent sound that’s affordable.

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F. Gillett “Comparison Customer” (NW Kansas) –

  

  

  

I picked these up as a temporary solution to get some sound for my PC. My choice to buy these was primarily because of my prior experience with an Altec Lansing ASC 495 system. Not yet available at Amazon, the BX1221 speakers were bought at Walmart for $24.95.

When I first installed these I was horrified by the muffled, muted sound that came out of them. With fiddling with the equalizer software that came with my sound card I finally hit on a setting which provided much more crispness and ok bass. Then I went to work on the equalizer and WOW settings in Windows Media player. Once all the twiddling was finsihed I was really surprised by the excellent sound from this small budget system.

Altec Lansing says they are compact for a crowded desktop. Small, Yes. Compact, No. Due to the long design of the desktop units they really take up more desk space than any before speaker I’ve owned. They’re about six inches long so take that into account before you buy them.

Pros:
-Darn excellent sound once you adjust them to your preference
-Low Price
-Adequate power

Cons:
-Volume control is a thumbwheel on top of the right speaker
-On/Off switch is a rotory dial on the back of the right speaker
-Left Speaker is connected to the right via a small speaker cord, roughly 42″, not allowing for a fantastic deal of seperation
-No seperate volume control or adjustment available for the sub-woofer

Would I buy them again below the same circumstances? Probably. If you’re small on cash they’re a excellent value. They’re far from a premium system but the installation is simple; they’re just plug and play right out of the box. If all you want is an upgrade from 2.0 speakers that came with your notebook, you will most liable be pleased with the BX1221. Once I get went I’ll be going back to my ancient 5.1 surround system but until then I can still take note to my tunes without cringing at the sound quality.

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