When these speakers work, they put out nice sound. Unfortunately, you can't depend on them to work reliably long-term. Plus, the volume control arrangement is awkward at best, and generally frustrating in day-to-day use. I've now replaced my defective ACS45.2's with a new set of Monsoons.

I purchased the ACS45.2 speakers in November of 1999 from BestBuy. Just after the 90 day in-store warranty period, the amplifier blew. The speakers were turned on, but the PC was off when they went bad. There was a sudden loud hum, followed by silence. At that point the speaker system could not be turned back on.

I took them back to BestBuy, which was good enough to exchange them for a new set, even though it was after the 90 day exchange period. Interestingly enough, I had to unpack the new speakers in the store, as they had to have original packaging to return the defective set to Altec Lansing. A small annoyance, but they were very nice about it.

In December of 2000, just a week after the one year anniversary of the original purchase, the same situation repeated itself. Be aware that Altec Lansing has a one year warranty.

I called Altec Lansing customer support, and after the usual interminable menus of their voice response system, I got a customer support representative after a very short wait. I concisely outlined my history with these speakers and asked about the repair or exchange cost. He responded that they had neither. The best he could offer was for me to purchase refurbished speakers. Hardly what I wanted to hear.

I'm a reasonable person and understand the realities of repairing and refurbishing low-end electronic gear. But to not even offer an exchange program of any sort at all is ridiculous. I will *never* buy another Altec Lansing product.