Altec Lansing ATP 4 4.1 Speakers

It seems the first thing that everyone says about these speakers is the problems with the Subwoofer. Personally, I don't find that the sub is as bad as others have claimed. If you don't turn the bass down some, it is far too loud. That said, I don't think it distorts at all, at least not on my Hercules Game Theatre XP.

Overall sound quality on these speakers is extremely high. The satellites have a rich, realistic sound. I never find them to be tinny, like so many computer 2.1/4.1 systems. With the mid range drivers in the base of each satellite, they also don't have the far too common gap in the midrange. They sound pretty good at low volume, and in the basement I can get them loud enough that they shake the top floor of my house without them distorting at all.

Probably the most impressive feature of these is the digital controls on the front left satellite. With every other computer speaker system I have ever owned or experienced, the volume controls fuzz out and crackle as you adjust the volume. With these, everything is controlled with a digital knob, which never causes those kinds of problems. After over a year, no problems with it at all.

With the option to switch on the fly to 2 speaker output, these speakers are great for listening to music. I listen to a very wide variety of stuff, and I find these best for rock and other things that are designed to be played at high volume with lots of bass. When I am listening to jazz, I find they are a little lacking in detail, but they sound quite good with a little tweaking.

Gaming is clearly what these speakers were designed for. They sound great with them, too. They have great direction with 3d games, and each sound kicks you right in the gut. They have quality as well, which is clear when you are gaming, but the massive bass isn't as annoying as when you are listening to music.

I watch a lot of movies on my computer as well, and while I am kicking myself slightly for not getting a 5.1 system instead, I really don't have much to complain about. The surround sound using Powerdvd is quite solid, and the voices rarely get drowned out by other noise if the DVD is mixed well. If the mix on the DVD is done poorly, the dialog can get quite muddy, but not much more than on our home theatre system. Again here, the sound is of exceptional quality considering the price. The highs and mids are pleasant, each sound comes through clearly, and the bass tosses out a real punch in action movies.

There are a couple other minor complaints with the speakers. I wish the satellites had plugged in at both ends so that if the cord were to fray or get loose in the unit, they could be replaced. To be fair, they are solidly constructed and that has not happened yet, so perhaps it's unfair to mention. The satellites are also not easily wall mounted, which is a nice way of setting things up in some spaces.

There is not headphone jack on these speakers. While it isn't a problem for me, as my sound card has a separate headphone jack, this would be a real pain for people without a separate jack.

Overall, with the price of these speakers as low as it is right now, these are a great set to buy. If you are looking to buy speakers with dvd watching in mind, go find some 5.1 speakers instead. If you want a versatile set of inexpensive, yet powerful and good sounding speakers, however, this set comes highly recommended.