Altec Lansing VS3121 2.1 Speakers

I sought computer speakers with good sound for music. While I was willing to spend up to $200 for something that pleased my ears, I wasn't eager to spend more than necessary. I was replacing some cheapo speakers that had an annoying habit of faintly picking up a radio station.

Listening tastes are quite individual, as I was reminded when I auditioned some highly reviewed models in the store. I wasn't out for the most earth-shaking bass or the crispest highs. What I always disliked about most computer speakers I heard in the store was that their midrange was awful, making singers sound hollow. I spent several hours in a variety of stores with my MP3 player hooked up to various speakers, and decided that I liked the mids on these as well as speakers costing $300, though they obviously lack some of the niceties of pricier models. Many would no doubt disagree with my listening preferences, and that's why I spent the time to actually listen (with my own set of tunes) before buying. If you care about that, you might want to do the same. I spent about $70 in 2005. I've owned them about 18 months now.

When I got them home, I did a quick test and they sounded very good, though with a noticeable background hiss when nothing is playing. They sound decent loud, too, though I'm not sure it would be comfortable for extended listening.

I was quite pleased to discover that they have two inputs that are mixed together, so I was able to plug in an MP3 player at the same time as my computer. There's no way to vary the volume level of one input versus the other, however, besides adjusting the output level of the two devices. That wasn't really a problem for me, and I considered it a bonus feature because the mixing feature wasn't mentioned on the box or the specs that I saw.

There is a control box which has the knobs on it - power/volume, treble, 'sub'(aka bass). This box also has a headphone jack, which works fine except that I have to turn the volume up when I have them plugged in to get a reasonable volume. This is probably just my low-sensitivity headphones. The control box has a button to enable a 'sound field expander' feature which didn't impress me.

For those that care about power consumption, they use about 20 watts when idle, by my measurement. I don't believe that the 'off' position on the volume knob really shuts it off completely; I think there's a phantom load still, but I didn't measure that.

The problem began when I did the "proper" installation. I have a large 6-piece corner desk, and I hid the subwoofer behind the corner section, ran wires in hidden places, and generally went to alot of fussing. And when finally it was done...well, remember way back up there in the first paragraph when I said why I was replacing my old speakers? Well, the new ones picked up the radio too! It clearly had something to do with the location, as they hadn't done it in my quickie test.

I did several hours of web research on this interference problem, and talked to some electrical engineers at work. As advised, I re-routed all wires on the unit to minimize crosstalk with other cables, and placed ferrite cores on every single wire I could (about a dozen cores in all). Victory! The problem disappeared, and I enjoyed the relative silence all summer and into the fall. And then came the winter of my discontent...you may be aware that the behavior of radio waves changes in the wintertime, as the seasonal changes in the atmosphere affect their propagation. Come wintertime, they picked up the radio again! I tolerated it through one winter, and in spring it went away, only to return this winter. I can't stand it anymore, and I am looking for new speakers.

It seems clear to me that the possibility of this radio interference is very location-specific. You might never have this problem, and if you haven't already experienced it, you're probably OK. On the other hand, if you have had this problem and have found a product that solved it for you, take pity on those like me and say so!