Altec Lansing ACS54 - BANG for your buck!
Written: Oct 04 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Right price, crisp sound, deep bass...YEAH baby!
Cons: Can't use 'em for a house party without some distortion.
The Bottom Line: You can't find a better set of speakers for the money!
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| fm_hunter's Full Review: Altec Lansing ACS 54 4 Speakers |
More and more these days, people are turning to their PC’s for listening to and managing their music. With the advent of MP3’s and the price of hard drives falling like David Carusso’s career post NYPD Blue, using your computer as your home stereo isn’t such a bad idea. Except for those $5 piece o’crap speakers you’re using (you know, the one’s that came with your monitor?) I think my am/fm spark-o-matic clock radio has better bass than those things…
Then again, after you plop down a few thousand for a computer system that will very likely be antiquated in a matter of a few short years, you may not be so eager to spend several hundred dollars on a top of the line speaker setup. So, is there any alternative we can turn to? Yes, my child, read on and ye shall see the light!
Go down to your local computer mega store and get yourself the Altec Lansing ACS 54 speaker system. Really, go get it now, trust me, you can read the rest of this later when you get back. Hurry, someone might get the last one before you get there, and then you’re really going to be disillusioned. Oh yeah, I got my set for under $50, so don’t let them charge you the MSRP, which I believe is around $65 or $70 dollars.
Simply put, these speakers are about as good as you can get for the price. The great thing is, they’re about as good as you can get for many speakers double the cost! Featuring four satellite speakers and a very capable sub-woofer, this setup is a gamers delight. The sub-woofer boasts 20 watts of power, as well as 20 watts for the satellites, which is an ample amount of juice for most of your computer needs. Heck, this is even enough power to crank out the tunes, unless of course your throwing a block party!
Now, if you have a sound card that supports true 3D sound, then this is where the Altec Lansing ACS 54 really shines. With the surround satellites setup behind you, get ready for some serious sonic movement as you hear sounds moving from front to back and vice versa. You won’t get digital Dolby or anything fancy like that, but then again, you’re not shelling out serious bucks for this system, remember?
Setting up these babies are basic as well, just connect the color coordinated cables to the respective color coordinated slots in your soundcard jacks and voila! There is one main volume knob on the right front satellite that controls the “master” volume, and there’s a bass level knob on the sub to adjust how much “thump” you like! I really like that the satellites are small and compact, but still pack some crisp and clear highs.
If your main concern for upgrading your speaker system is for playing music, then perhaps you should save your money and get a higher end setup. If you are mainly a gamer, and occasional stereo/computer aficionado, then this setup is perfect for you. The gaming sounds are absolutely awesome, from creepy growls in Quake II to massive explosions in Max Payne, it will sound like you’re there!
If you want to get all technical on me, here’s some information for you. The sub has a frequency range of 38Hz - 250Hz while the satellites boast a range of 250Hz - 18kHz. For the layman, that means pretty much everything you can hear as a homo sapiens sapiens. Bottom line is that for the money, you can’t buy a better set of computer speakers. Don’t believe me? Do some research, and you’ll find that these babies are highly regarded throughout the computer industry!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID: fm_hunter
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- Top 1000 |
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Member: Hunter Paschall
Location: Portland, Oregon
Reviews written: 254
Trusted by: 251 members
About Me: Denizen of the pacific northwest, purveyor of atypical music, & hacker of golf balls.
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