Altec Lansing 641 4.1 Speakers
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- Number of Speakers: 4 Speakers + Subwoofer
- Connection Type: Cable
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That's a SUBWOOFER?! ;-)
Pros
* Amazing sound * Includes remote with headphone jack * Sturdy construction
Cons
*HUGE subwoofer *Speaker wire is not replaceable *Can't adjust front speaker volume separately
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A good deal at twice the price, these speakers will keep even fairly demanding users happy. The sound is crisp&clean and the bass, while loud, does not overpower the highs.
Notes About This Review
I've taken the liberty of posting some pictures of several products I'll be reviewing for Epinions, including the Altec Lansing 641 4.1 speaker set. Sometimes seeing the product can help even more than reading about it.
You can find the pictures here:
http://homepage.mac.com/aric/epinions/PhotoAlbum55.html
Please note that I am using these speakers with a new PowerMac G4 dual 1.25 GHz. machine, so I am currently unable to test the "gaming" mode of the speakers. If Creative Labs ever gets around to releasing a sound card for the Mac that actually works and is supported, then perhaps I will update this review.
Packaging and Initial Impressions:
The first thing you need to realize about these speakers is that the box they ship in is LARGE and HEAVY! If you have to pay for shipping, you may end up paying quite a bit. The speakers weigh about 60 lbs. shipped.
The speakers were shipped to me in a large Altec Lansing shipping carton apparently specially designed to protect the inner (display) box.
The inner box JUST fits inside the shipping carton, so it can be a bit of a pain to get the heavy inner box out. Your best bet is to open the top and then flip over the whole thing so the bottom faces up and slide the shipping carton off the inner box.
Opening the inner box and removing the various components is much easier thanks to the way that Altec Lansing designed the packaging. Everything is very well protected. Almost everything is encased in form-fitting styrofoam.
When you open the box the documentation is on the very top, carefully taped down inside a plastic bag. Altec thoughtfully provides an illustrated setup page that shows how the whole system should get put together.
Under that is the optional subwoofer front grill. If you prefer the "raw" look of the subwoofer then you can leave the grill off. The grill is included for purely aesthetic reasons.
After you lift the first layer of styrofoam out of the box you come to the 4 magnetically shielded satellite speakers and the cables you'll need to hook things up. The 4 satellite speakers come with grey cloth grills on them, but you can remove them if you prefer. What you can't remove is the speaker wire attached to the back of each speaker. This is a problem, because if you need more wire than Altec provides you are out of luck (without splicing on extra wire). Thankfully, they do provide a good amount for most uses. The rear speakers have extra long wires since they will likely be placed further away from the subwoofer.
Once again, the speakers are all carefully wrapped to protect them and the wire attached to them.
Under that layer of styrofoam we discover the subwoofer, lying on its side. My first impression of the subwoofer is just how HUGE the subwoofer really is. As you can probably see from the pictures I took, it is larger than my PowerMac G4 tower case and very heavy.
Unless you have a desk with no drawers or your computer is on a table, you'll probably be hardpressed to fit the subwoofer under your desk as the manual suggests.
Reading the manual is recommended, though, since the manual clearly states that you should not plug the system into a power outlet until ALL other connections have been made. Presumably, this is to avoid the buzzing and clicks that could occur while you are working with a powered system that might damage the speakers (however unlikely).
The basic setup procedure is fairly easy, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
* All of the satellite speakers get plugged into the back of the subwoofer, so you need to put the subwoofer somewhere that can be reached by the speaker wire from each satellite.
* The remote is wired, not infrared and it also plugs into the back of the subwoofer. The cord is fairly long, but you'll have to take it into account when you are placing the subwoofer. The remote control really isn't optional, because ALL of the controls (volume, fade, treble, bass, power, mode and a headphone jack) are on the remote. This certainly beats the heck out of most multimedia speakers that seem to think that putting the controls on the subwoofer is a good idea.
* The satellite speakers are fully shielded, so they won't cause color shifting problems with your monitor. The sound, though, is directional, so you'll need to play with the speaker placement to obtain the best sounding results.
* The rear channel speakers can be mounted on the wall, if you desire. Altec includes plastic mounting brackets if you decide to mount them on the wall.
* The bass coming from the subwoofer is non-directional. This means you can put the subwoofer anywhere you want and it will sound good. However, Altec rightly suggests placing the subwoofer near a wall and slightly elevated off the carpet to help improve the bass.
* The subwoofer IS NOT SHIELDED. It will cause problems with your monitor or even hard drive if it is too close (less than a few feet away in all directions) to them. Altec has a good reason for not shielding the subwoofer - It improves the bass response and overall sound. Since you are likely to keep the subwoofer on the floor, this probably won't be a serious issue.
Altec includes all the cables you will need to set up your speakers and then some (they include adapters for console gaming systems and the like. In fact, since there is an extra sound input on the top of the subwoofer, you can keep your computer AND console game system plugged in at the same time to these speakers.
The Remote CONTROLS:
The remote is well designed and makes this system a joy to use. If the remote were not wired, it would be even better, but the cord is fairly long, so this isn't a serious issue.
The remote is black plastic that feels very solid and comfortable in the hands. It also comes with a separate heavy metal stand that holds the remote at a good angle for everyday use.
At the top of the remote is the hardwired cord that connects to the subwoofer and a 1/4 inch stereo "pin" headphone jack. On the face of the remote are 3 green mode lights (more on modes in a second). Under the lights is the MODE button and under that is the bass and treble buttons. Next, there is a knob that controls system and fade volumes. Just above the volume knob is a set of 5 green lights that display volume, bass, treble, or fade levels, depending on what you are changing at the moment. Under the volume knob is the power button that turns the entire speaker set and subwoofer off.
Let me explain the 3 modes that these speakers have:
1) Stereo: This mode uses ONLY the front channel speakers for left and right channel stereo sound. The rear left and right channel speakers remain silent.
2) Stereo X2: This pumps standard stereo information through both the front and rear channel speakers. Most people will probably use this mode, unless you have a sound card that supports different front and rear channel sound. All 4 speakers are used in this mode, but you still only get standard 2 channel stereo (left/right) sound.
3) Gaming: This is the mode to use if you have a home theater system or if your sound card supports separate front and rear channel stereo. You will need to use the included cables and hook up one stereo pin plug into the front and one into the rear audio out ports on your sound card. This will provide true 4 speaker front/rear and left/right stereo sound so that in games or DVDs that have sound that is supposed to come from behind you, it really will. :) If you turn on gaming mode when you do not have a sound card that supports it, the rear channel speakers will turn off and only the front speakers will emit sounds.
Pressing the mode button will instantly switch between all three modes.
Pressing and holding the mode button for a few seconds until the green lights above the volume nob change will allow you to access a "hidden" feature (it's not hidden if you read the manual, but it's not immediately obvious like the other functions). You can then use the volume knob to raise or lower the volume of the rear speakers which are by default set to be slightly softer than the front speakers. After a few seconds of not touching the knob the controls will switch back to standard master volume mode.
Please note that there appears to be no reciprocal feature to raise or lower the front channel speakers separately from the rear speakers. This is unfortunate.
Holding down the mode button even longer until the volume lights go back to master volume mode will reset ALL settings to their factory defaults.
Pressing the bass or treble buttons on the remote will light a small green light next to the appropriate button. You can now use the volume knob to individually adjust the bass or treble response. Not moving the knob for a few seconds will return the remote to master volume adjustment mode.
The volume knob is not "analog" - meaning you can not set the knob at any position you want. The knob has discreet positions and the volume or base or treble is adjusted according to a mathematical formula. This means that the volume "jumps" up and down in steps. I will say that the steps are usually pretty fine, but not always.
The power button just turns the speakers and subwoofer on or off. It doesn't do "double duty" like the other buttons on the remote.
Yes, but How do They Sound?
Sound is a very subjective thing. What sounds amazing to one person may have obvious flaws to another. The only real way you will be able to tell if these speakers will really "do it" for you is to go out to your local store and go listen to them. What follows is my own personal impression of the sound so YMMV (your mileage may vary).
I think these speakers sound INCREDIBLE, better than the stereo I own (a Sony bookshelf system if anyone cares). Treble response is clear and clean. Bass response is deep and not "muddy." The speakers don't distort no matter how loud I turn up the speakers... and believe me they can be cranked up painfully loud!
My feeling is that unless you are a die hard audiophile, you will not find any fault with these speakers, but then if you are a true audiophile, you'd never even consider a set of consumer multimedia speakers, would you? ;-)
One thing to note is that while Altec Lansing trumpets the "400 watts" which might make you think that it is twice the power of a "200 watt" system. Keep in mind the 400 watt number is really just marketing-speak and that doesn't mean you get 400 watts per channel.... just 400 watts TOTAL for the entire system as I understand it. Still, the system is more than a match for almost anything you might want to use it for.
The Bottom Line:
A good deal at even twice the price, these speakers will keep even fairly demanding users happy. The sound is crisp and clean and the bass, while loud, does not overpower the highs. I doubt I will ever want or need another multimedia speaker system.
I've taken the liberty of posting some pictures of several products I'll be reviewing for Epinions, including the Altec Lansing 641 4.1 speaker set. Sometimes seeing the product can help even more than reading about it.
You can find the pictures here:
http://homepage.mac.com/aric/epinions/PhotoAlbum55.html
Please note that I am using these speakers with a new PowerMac G4 dual 1.25 GHz. machine, so I am currently unable to test the "gaming" mode of the speakers. If Creative Labs ever gets around to releasing a sound card for the Mac that actually works and is supported, then perhaps I will update this review.
Packaging and Initial Impressions:
The first thing you need to realize about these speakers is that the box they ship in is LARGE and HEAVY! If you have to pay for shipping, you may end up paying quite a bit. The speakers weigh about 60 lbs. shipped.
The speakers were shipped to me in a large Altec Lansing shipping carton apparently specially designed to protect the inner (display) box.
The inner box JUST fits inside the shipping carton, so it can be a bit of a pain to get the heavy inner box out. Your best bet is to open the top and then flip over the whole thing so the bottom faces up and slide the shipping carton off the inner box.
Opening the inner box and removing the various components is much easier thanks to the way that Altec Lansing designed the packaging. Everything is very well protected. Almost everything is encased in form-fitting styrofoam.
When you open the box the documentation is on the very top, carefully taped down inside a plastic bag. Altec thoughtfully provides an illustrated setup page that shows how the whole system should get put together.
Under that is the optional subwoofer front grill. If you prefer the "raw" look of the subwoofer then you can leave the grill off. The grill is included for purely aesthetic reasons.
After you lift the first layer of styrofoam out of the box you come to the 4 magnetically shielded satellite speakers and the cables you'll need to hook things up. The 4 satellite speakers come with grey cloth grills on them, but you can remove them if you prefer. What you can't remove is the speaker wire attached to the back of each speaker. This is a problem, because if you need more wire than Altec provides you are out of luck (without splicing on extra wire). Thankfully, they do provide a good amount for most uses. The rear speakers have extra long wires since they will likely be placed further away from the subwoofer.
Once again, the speakers are all carefully wrapped to protect them and the wire attached to them.
Under that layer of styrofoam we discover the subwoofer, lying on its side. My first impression of the subwoofer is just how HUGE the subwoofer really is. As you can probably see from the pictures I took, it is larger than my PowerMac G4 tower case and very heavy.
Unless you have a desk with no drawers or your computer is on a table, you'll probably be hardpressed to fit the subwoofer under your desk as the manual suggests.
Reading the manual is recommended, though, since the manual clearly states that you should not plug the system into a power outlet until ALL other connections have been made. Presumably, this is to avoid the buzzing and clicks that could occur while you are working with a powered system that might damage the speakers (however unlikely).
The basic setup procedure is fairly easy, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
* All of the satellite speakers get plugged into the back of the subwoofer, so you need to put the subwoofer somewhere that can be reached by the speaker wire from each satellite.
* The remote is wired, not infrared and it also plugs into the back of the subwoofer. The cord is fairly long, but you'll have to take it into account when you are placing the subwoofer. The remote control really isn't optional, because ALL of the controls (volume, fade, treble, bass, power, mode and a headphone jack) are on the remote. This certainly beats the heck out of most multimedia speakers that seem to think that putting the controls on the subwoofer is a good idea.
* The satellite speakers are fully shielded, so they won't cause color shifting problems with your monitor. The sound, though, is directional, so you'll need to play with the speaker placement to obtain the best sounding results.
* The rear channel speakers can be mounted on the wall, if you desire. Altec includes plastic mounting brackets if you decide to mount them on the wall.
* The bass coming from the subwoofer is non-directional. This means you can put the subwoofer anywhere you want and it will sound good. However, Altec rightly suggests placing the subwoofer near a wall and slightly elevated off the carpet to help improve the bass.
* The subwoofer IS NOT SHIELDED. It will cause problems with your monitor or even hard drive if it is too close (less than a few feet away in all directions) to them. Altec has a good reason for not shielding the subwoofer - It improves the bass response and overall sound. Since you are likely to keep the subwoofer on the floor, this probably won't be a serious issue.
Altec includes all the cables you will need to set up your speakers and then some (they include adapters for console gaming systems and the like. In fact, since there is an extra sound input on the top of the subwoofer, you can keep your computer AND console game system plugged in at the same time to these speakers.
The Remote CONTROLS:
The remote is well designed and makes this system a joy to use. If the remote were not wired, it would be even better, but the cord is fairly long, so this isn't a serious issue.
The remote is black plastic that feels very solid and comfortable in the hands. It also comes with a separate heavy metal stand that holds the remote at a good angle for everyday use.
At the top of the remote is the hardwired cord that connects to the subwoofer and a 1/4 inch stereo "pin" headphone jack. On the face of the remote are 3 green mode lights (more on modes in a second). Under the lights is the MODE button and under that is the bass and treble buttons. Next, there is a knob that controls system and fade volumes. Just above the volume knob is a set of 5 green lights that display volume, bass, treble, or fade levels, depending on what you are changing at the moment. Under the volume knob is the power button that turns the entire speaker set and subwoofer off.
Let me explain the 3 modes that these speakers have:
1) Stereo: This mode uses ONLY the front channel speakers for left and right channel stereo sound. The rear left and right channel speakers remain silent.
2) Stereo X2: This pumps standard stereo information through both the front and rear channel speakers. Most people will probably use this mode, unless you have a sound card that supports different front and rear channel sound. All 4 speakers are used in this mode, but you still only get standard 2 channel stereo (left/right) sound.
3) Gaming: This is the mode to use if you have a home theater system or if your sound card supports separate front and rear channel stereo. You will need to use the included cables and hook up one stereo pin plug into the front and one into the rear audio out ports on your sound card. This will provide true 4 speaker front/rear and left/right stereo sound so that in games or DVDs that have sound that is supposed to come from behind you, it really will. :) If you turn on gaming mode when you do not have a sound card that supports it, the rear channel speakers will turn off and only the front speakers will emit sounds.
Pressing the mode button will instantly switch between all three modes.
Pressing and holding the mode button for a few seconds until the green lights above the volume nob change will allow you to access a "hidden" feature (it's not hidden if you read the manual, but it's not immediately obvious like the other functions). You can then use the volume knob to raise or lower the volume of the rear speakers which are by default set to be slightly softer than the front speakers. After a few seconds of not touching the knob the controls will switch back to standard master volume mode.
Please note that there appears to be no reciprocal feature to raise or lower the front channel speakers separately from the rear speakers. This is unfortunate.
Holding down the mode button even longer until the volume lights go back to master volume mode will reset ALL settings to their factory defaults.
Pressing the bass or treble buttons on the remote will light a small green light next to the appropriate button. You can now use the volume knob to individually adjust the bass or treble response. Not moving the knob for a few seconds will return the remote to master volume adjustment mode.
The volume knob is not "analog" - meaning you can not set the knob at any position you want. The knob has discreet positions and the volume or base or treble is adjusted according to a mathematical formula. This means that the volume "jumps" up and down in steps. I will say that the steps are usually pretty fine, but not always.
The power button just turns the speakers and subwoofer on or off. It doesn't do "double duty" like the other buttons on the remote.
Yes, but How do They Sound?
Sound is a very subjective thing. What sounds amazing to one person may have obvious flaws to another. The only real way you will be able to tell if these speakers will really "do it" for you is to go out to your local store and go listen to them. What follows is my own personal impression of the sound so YMMV (your mileage may vary).
I think these speakers sound INCREDIBLE, better than the stereo I own (a Sony bookshelf system if anyone cares). Treble response is clear and clean. Bass response is deep and not "muddy." The speakers don't distort no matter how loud I turn up the speakers... and believe me they can be cranked up painfully loud!
My feeling is that unless you are a die hard audiophile, you will not find any fault with these speakers, but then if you are a true audiophile, you'd never even consider a set of consumer multimedia speakers, would you? ;-)
One thing to note is that while Altec Lansing trumpets the "400 watts" which might make you think that it is twice the power of a "200 watt" system. Keep in mind the 400 watt number is really just marketing-speak and that doesn't mean you get 400 watts per channel.... just 400 watts TOTAL for the entire system as I understand it. Still, the system is more than a match for almost anything you might want to use it for.
The Bottom Line:
A good deal at even twice the price, these speakers will keep even fairly demanding users happy. The sound is crisp and clean and the bass, while loud, does not overpower the highs. I doubt I will ever want or need another multimedia speaker system.
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