Low-End 3-Piece that gives lots of Bang for the Buck!
Written: May 23 '03 (Updated May 23 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean highs, deep and tight lows
Cons: No mid-range, no EQ, no headphone/line output, short satellite cabling, annoying volume knob
The Bottom Line: Huge improvement over OEM or internal computers speakers with a small investment.
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| cinemafia's Full Review: Altec Lansing ACS 33 2 Speakers |
I got these speakers for free when my father-in-law upgraded to a set of Altec's ATP 3's and gave me his old ACS 33's as hand-me-downs. What a deal! These speakers do not sound cheap at all, especially considering their online price of $45 and less.
The satellites put out some crisp highs, though at the cost of having little or no mid-range response. This makes the satellites sound cold, and since there's no tone control of any kind, you need to have a way to boost the mid-range frequencies in your compter's audio output. I use a program called AudioHijack, where you have access to a 10-band EQ that effects everything that comes out of the headphone jack. With this kind of program, you are able to make the satellites sound much warmer.
Where the system really shines is the subwoofer. It's hard to imagine a 4" driver putting out bass that tight and deep! Of course, you're not going to get any room-shaking bass out of it, but since it is made for a computer setup, the idea is that you'll have the subwoofer very close to you at all times. Best bet is to put the sub low and as close to the wall as possible. Mine is at the bottom shelf of my computer desk, about 4" off the ground and maybe 6" from the wall. It would be best to have it flat against the wall, if possible, though.
The problems with this system, other than the lack of mid-range, are that there's no output of any kind. Most computer speakers have an easily-accessible headphone jack for when you quickly need to hear you sound but not disturb anyone around you. Also, the cables for the satellites tend to be short, so you're somewhat limited as to how wide a sound stage you can create by placing the satellites farther apart. I also hate the volume control knob...it's very difficult to control, especially when trying to turning it all the way up or down.
As I mentioned in another product review, I have often used the ACS 33's together with my set of of my Yamaha YST M7's. This makes for a 5-speaker system that sounds amazing, especially since I paid $5 for all of it (:D). The M7's make up for the warmth and mid-range that the ACS 33's lack ten times better than EQ tweaking can ever hope to. Although most people aren't going to invest in two sets of speakers systems and an audio splitter to use both of them at the same time, I think it's a good idea. No one says you have to use only one system at a time, well, other than your number of electrical sockets and desk real estate.
One last word, I've thoroughly compared the ACS 33's to a set of JBL's recent Creature speakers, and the JBL's sound no better. The creatures are priced almost 3 times the average cost of the ACS 33's, and for the difference you get a subwoofer that looks like a storm trooper's cod piece, LED's that glow in time with your music and somewhat ineffectual tone control knob. You do the math.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cinemafia
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Member: Alex Wichman
Location: Los Angeles, California
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 4 members
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