Altec Lansing BXR1121 2 Speakers

I've got a set of the BXR1121 2.1 speakers for my desk at work, and they really are quite nice.  I needed a set of speakers that were cheap, and the difference between these and other lesser-known brands wasn't a whole lot, so we went with them.  Wow, was I blown away!  I don't expect much from little speakers, let alone little cheap speakers, but they really aren't bad.  Most speakers of this variety are very tinny, and don't reproduce bass well, but this 2.1 set does a tremendous job if you're at your desk.  It won't play bass drops that will shake your body or rattle your desk, but there's a noticeable bump.  The mids don't seem very well fleshed out, but that's probably just because there are small drivers in the two satellites and a larg(er) driver in the subwoofer trying to compensate.

The right speaker features a volume, bass and treble control, all of which are very smooth and consistant.  There is also a headphone jack, and an auxilliary input, which are pretty handy for those who don't want to unplug the speakers to plug in headphones.

I do have a few small complaints about these, though.  First, the power is located on the subwoofer.  This makes sense, as the amplifier is also built into the sub, but if I want to turn the set off instead of just turn it down, you'll either need to reach under your desk (the most common placement) or put it on your desk, which isn't the optimal placement.  Additionally, instead of separate cables for everything, the power cable goes to the sub, and then there is a fat cable that goes to the right speaker.  From there, the right speaker has a wired connection to the left speaker, and a standard stereo jack to connect to your audio source.  This would be fine, except that because the speakers are wired directly, you can't extend the length (without splicing in another wire), thus limiting the placement.  This isn't a big deal-breaker though, as it's still got a fair amount of cable length.  Lastly, the satellites are very light, and have a strange circular bottom.  This means they're tipped over very easily.

Overall it's a very good set of speakers, especially if you're looking for something that has good performance on the cheap.  It can be had for less than $20 at online vendors, and $30 at your local stores for those who don't want to wait and/or pay for shipping.