The Bottom Line: The Altec Lansing 251s are not high quality speakers for audiophiles. They are cheap, but good quality starter speakers for the DVD or music enthusiast.

I remember seeing the Altec Lansing 251 5.1 system at a local electronics store. I asked to test out the speakers, and I was impressed. $150 CAD for a half-decent 5.1 system. I buckled, and bought them.

I got home and set them up with my TV, my iPod, and my Dreamcast console. I especially wanted to test out its subwoofer capabilities because this was my first system that included a subwoofer.

I watched many DVDs with these speakers, and was quite impressed. They can get fairly loud, and the surround sound works quite well. Although I realised that if I wanted true surround sound, I would have to place the speakers in the right positions. This proved difficult because of the limited wire lengths. Sure, they may seem long, but if you are at all interested in surround sound, you may have to extend the wires, or just overlook these speakers. When I played music through my iPod, I had to fight a little with the equalizer settings, but I finally found a good setting. The bass is quite accurate, but can be distorted easily if the music becomes "too loud." Dreamcast games are played well through the speakers, but nothing glorious.

I knew that for $150 I wasn't going to be getting the greatest system in the world, but I was sure surprised at the quality. It was great for the price I paid.