Pros: Excellent sound quality, high volume, good value, nicely styled
Cons: No controls on the sub, plenty of wires to hide
The Bottom Line: The Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers are perfect for a music lover who already spent all of his or her money on CDs. I recommend gamers skip these.
noangels's Full Review: Altec Lansing VS2121 2 Speakers
Today I purchased new computer speakers to replace my Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers. I was very sad that these speakers didn't last longer, but they performed well for the duration of their short lives.
Why I Purchased The Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers
Dearest friends, I am ashamed to admit this was a near-thoughtless purchase. When I live in a dormitory, I settled for the Dell factory speakers that came with my Dell Dimension 4600 c desktop computer. With 1 roommate, 45 floor-mates, and 1,100 people living in my residence hall, blasting music was strictly prohibited. My factory speakers were sufficient for plugging my headphones in to study to music. My homecoming during the summer made it clear that these were not sufficient for anything else. At the time, I was employed at Best Buy and took a walk over to the speaker aisle at the end of my shift. My requirements were simple. I wanted 2 speakers and a subwoofer, at a reasonable price (at $8.75 an hour, the last requirement was non-negotiable). The selection included a $199 4-speaker system, a 2-speaker system from Bose at $129, and this set at $79.99. I decided against any of the lower models as I remembered hearing them hooked up to display computers and thinking they sounded terrible. I purchased the Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers and a 2-year replacement plan (extended warranty) then headed home.
Usage
For the past three years, these speakers were used very heavily. Almost daily I play music (rather loudly). These speakers are also frequently used when I have played video games (The Sims, Everquest, and City of Heroes). They have also been used when watching DVDs or just surfing the internet.
Connection and Power
These speakers are connected to your sound card using a standard audio cable; for those who are nervous about being unable to properly connect them, it is color-coded (aka dummy-proof). The speakers are plug-and-play. The main speaker connects via audio cable to your PC with an additional wire running to the other speaker and a third to your subwoofer. The speakers plug right into the wall.
How Do They Look And Operate?
The speakers are relatively small and flat, mimicking the style of a flat panel monitor. The official dimensions are 8.3 inches H x 3.2 inches W x 3.1 inches D (at the widest point: the base). They are very sleek looking, silver and black in color. The volume knob is located on the right side of the base of the main speaker. This also controls the power, with a click (and a green light) indicating when the speakers are turned on. Under this is another knob which clicks in or out to control the "SFX" feature. This is said to "widen the sound image for a bigger sound." Not sure if many of you get an accurate idea of what that is from that description, but in my experience when playing music, the vocals sounded far away when the knob was clicked in and in the out position it sounded as if you were sitting in the studio as the vocals were recorded.
The subwoofer is also relatively small, measuring 5.7 inches H x 9.9 inches W x 8.2 inches D. The two speakers did not receive much abuse so I cannot comment on their durability, but the subwoofer took being kicked, repeatedly by my careless feet, well. The wire connecting the subwoofer to the speakers did become a little loose from time to time after being kicked around. My only complaint about the look of these speakers was the number of wires. It was a pain managing and hiding four wires (2 connecting the speaker components, 1 connecting the PC, and the last providing the power). Although it is unlikely that you will be moving these once they are situated on your desk, they are relatively light and easy to carry.
Sound Quality
The sound quality on these speakers was excellent; very clear with no static or tin-yness. The bass is powerful, possibly overly so (at least for me as I don't appreciate a great deal of bass in my music). I would have appreciated a control on the subwoofer to turn the bass up or down. This was a problem I worked around with music, since I had no problem equalizing my music in my media player. The music sounded incredible, no matter what genre I played. These speakers did well with anything from classical to rap to pop to metal. At some points, they may easily have been accused of being too clear, with live performances being limited to low volumes to avoid the annoying sound of an audience's applause in the background. With music being my primary use for my computer (I got rid of my stereo), these speakers exceeded my expectations and I could not have been happier with them.
Other audio was a bit more of a problem for me, especially video games. I couldn't equalize the sound outside of my media player therefore the bass was often too high when I used it for tasks other than music. Several of the video games I play actually depend upon audio, with music or sound effects being crucial to completing certain tasks. For example, in City of Heroes, some missions will say "find the files." When you get within a certain distance from these files, a sound will alert you to an object you must click on to complete your objective. I had to keep the speakers at low volumes to ensure I would hear these types of sounds, but to keep from becoming irritated by too much bass in the background music or associated with other sound effects. At higher volumes, the bass seemed to drown out the rest of the audio. I eventually decided to keep the sound muted when playing and turn it up only when I couldn't find the object to click on and needed the audible cues.
Volume
The maximum volume of the Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers was sufficient for my usage. These babies were actually pretty loud. I was able to successfully drown out the racket produced by my German Shepherd Dog barking and my Welsh Corgi howling at the mailman. Didn't work when the UPS guy came, though. They really don't like him for some reason.
Tech Specifications
In an attempt to be as thorough as possible, the following information is for the audio-tech geeks out there. My love (and knowledge) of technology is mostly limited to digital cameras, digital camera accessories, and computers so this review will probably be best appreciated by the layman who just wants a good set of computer speakers. For those of you who know what these mean, here goes…
Max Power Output: 28 Watt (RMS)
Frequency Response: 50 – 18000 Hz
THD: 10%
Subwoofer:
Frequency Response: 50 – 180 Hz
Body Material: Wooden
Only The Good Die Young
I purchased the Altec Lansing VS2121 Computer Speakers in June of 2004. I had no problems with them until December of 2006. I always turned the volume knob into the off position when I was finished using the speakers for the day. I didn't want to accidentally leave them at a high volume, so my poor mother could be scared silly when she hears the computer roar "You've got mail." One day, I powered them off and at 3 AM I was scared half to death by a loud roaring "You've got mail." I checked the power button (off position, no green light) and all of the connections. Somehow the off position was now the highest volume setting. This happened off and on a few times, more frequently toward the middle of the month. I turned the volume all of the way up and left it there and starting controlling the volume directly from my compute, hoping to salvage my lovely speakers. Unfortunately the 1 year manufacturer's warranty and the 2 year extended warranty were both up. Shortly after the holidays, the left speaker started randomly cutting out, eventually not working at all unless you held the volume button in a certain position. I fidgeted with it for a while and eventually taped it into the position. This solution worked for about an hour. The speakers continuously cut in and out (both the right and left) and at some points both adjusted themselves to a low volume playing only parts of the audio. I decided it was time to put them out of their misery. Today I went out and purchased the Altec Lansing VS4121 Computer Speakers. I promise I'll review them as soon as I feel I've had enough experience with them.
Recommendations
These were great speakers for playing music or just everyday use (sounds of your operating system, and surfing the internet). I highly recommend these, especially considering how reasonably priced they are. Not recommended for users who need them primarily for video games (I would recommend 4 speakers and a subwoofer for you guys, anyway).
* A note about the rating: I would actually like to give these speakers a 3.5 star overall rating (which isn't an option), but opted for 4 stars because my overall experience with these speakers was mostly positive. For gamers, I would actually rate these speakers only 2 stars and consumers who are looking for speakers to play music: 5 stars.
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