( 34 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 27 2009
I purchased this item about 10 months ago. I guess it lasted enough for the money I spent on it. Although it enhances the sound of my laptop, I had several problems with it: 1. Sound from the right speaker died. I was told by the customer support that I need to pay to send the item back to them, which will cost me over 10 dollars (about 75 percent of the purchase price!). I will throw these speakers away and I am not going to buy this brand anymore. 2. No bass!! 3. It does not stand still unless it is placed on a hard surface. Please do not waste your money and pay a little bit more to get a better speaker system.
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Posted: May 6 2009
I got these thinking I would get real Altec Lansing performance, since the brand is known to be really good sound equipment maker. I was looking for good quality sound, deep bass response, but not excessively loud. I would not buy this set again. The sound is clear and crisp, but the bass is not existent. Even for a 2.0 system (not to be confused with 2.1 with subwoofer) there are better speakers out there for the same price, or even just paying $10 more, you will get way better sound. Make the Altec Lansing VS2420 your first choice over this ones and you wont regret spending your money on this.
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Posted: May 4 2009
I've been looking for an affordable way to use my iPod Nano at work since I have no access to iTunes on my office computer. I didn't want an expensive dock, so when I saw these speakers, it looked like the solution. First, for $20 I doubt you're going to find better sound than you will from Altec Lansing's budget speakers. Come on--they're Altec Lansing technology for twenty bucks! Seriously--the sound quality is excellent, even though there are no significant adjustments available on the speakers themselves. You can adjust the volume and you can set the tone (the low-tech version of bass and treble), but so far, that has been perfectly sufficient, and I listen to rock, jazz, harmonic trance for relaxation, classical, and other types of music where tone really matters. The speakers provide plenty of sound to fill my 150-square-foot office. I also have a second set of speakers I use in my jewelry studio at home. That's a corner of the finished basement, and the speakers do a fine job of filling the entire 400 sf area with music without any distortion when the volume is turned up high. It took me a few uses before I figured out that the volume control on the speakers is minimal, so at first, it seems weak--You are supposed to use the volume control on the iPod as the primary method of adjusting the volume! Aha! It's much more effective and much, much louder. That being said, if you're looking for speakers for gaming or for music that you want to vibrate through the soles of your shoes, these are not the speakers for you. They're great for an office, a bedroom, a kitchen, a garage, etc., but they are not big, powerful speakers. They still have a plenty big voice for normal applications where causing yourself permanent hearing damage is not the goal. The speakers are very lightweight and that can make them somewhat "tippy." I put both sets in areas where they won't get bumped around at all. Ergonomically, Altec Lansing has some work to do. The three control knobs are very tightly spaced on the front of the left speaker. The knobs do not have any kind of ribbing or ridging for "finger traction" when you use them, so making adjustments--or just turning the speakers on--is quite a challenge. The little sled-like tray for holding the iPod is practically useless. It puts the iPod at an angle that isn't very practical and the iPod slides around if you touch it, but this piece of "equipment" isn't necessary, anyway, so I just skip it. All in all, I like these speakers a lot. The sound quality is excellent--not tinny or muddy--they are loud enough for most normal applications (don't forget to use the iPod's volume control!), the price is very right, and the design makes them look like a high-end Altec Lansing speaker (sharp). Things get stolen from our offices all the time, so I fully expect someone will pilfer these eventually, but at least I can afford to replace them if that happens, and I won't be out a bundle of money. I bought two sets and I have no regrets. I'm sure I couldn't have done better at this price for this purpose. Seriously--this is $20 you won't regret spending to get your iPod out of your ears--unless you're looking to blast out your timpanic membranes either way.
