Altec Lansing ACS 295

I've had my Altec Lansing 295's for two years now (and they're still working); however I can't give the best review of these speakers. They produce good sound for their cost (I don't remember how much I paid for them), but I've had a couple small problems with them. My first is with their wires; the connection of the main wire to the subwoofer evidently became loose, so that if I remotely touch the wire I'll lose the sound to the speakers (if I jiggle the wire a bit, I can get the sound to come back), but it's a pain and a half to do this. Another complaint is that they starting hissing and cracking quietly even if there was no sound coming through.
In the future, I probably will not get Altec Lansings. While they are decent speakers, I think other companies' speakers are superior. My brother and friend both have a set of Cambridge Soundworks speakers which are simple amazing. And my parents managed to buy a pair of Microsoft speakers (before they stopped production), which are unbelievable for their price.