Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing 251 5.1 Computer Speakers (6-Speaker, Black & Silver)

All my previous sets of speakers were Altec Lansings and I was extremely satisfied with them. When I saw that they had a 5.1 system, I was very excited.

The Good: You're getting a 5.1 system ... The subwoofer is extremely small and will not take up too much space under your desk. The satellite speakers are also very small. When watching a movie or playing video games (such as Counter-Strike), the surround sound is great. It puts you right in the middle of everything. You can even hook these up to a PS2. The center channel speaker is adjustable, allowing you to tilt it up or down depending on its placement. There is even a headphone jack on the Right Front speaker. It's quite convenient.

The Bad: These really aren't made for music IMO. There's no bass/treble control and the only way to adjust the bass is on the back of the sub, which gets pretty hot. As you turn up the bass and the volume to higher levels, the bass starts to sound distorted. The bass is enough to vibrate but isn't very heavy or deep. Imagine hitting a punching bag and hitting a wall (thud vs. bang). You get the bang. If you don't want your bass to be too deep and heavy, then disregard what I just said. The sound quality is also different with each song. FYI, I have been listening to songs ranging from Celine Dion to Britney Spears to Eminem. In addition, the rear speaker cables aren't very long. You'll get about 7-10 ft. so you better make sure you'll have something behind you within that limit to mount the speakers.

To sum it up, if you're a hardcore gamer and movie lover, go for these because you won't find anything cheaper with this kind of quality. It's great. If you're more of a music lover I believe you'd be better off w/ a different set of speakers. I give this item 3 stars because it's hard to make use of the surround speakers w/ such short wires and because of the sound quality when listening to music. The Cambridge Soundworks DTT3500 does a better job of making all three areas sound incredible while the 251 excels only at movies and games.

First off i'd like to say that yes i'm and audiophile, i listen to every genre of music, watch movies, and am also an avid gamer. I'm also a big fan of keeping everything together on my computer. Anyway, these speakers have a very good quality sound, a bit dull in the deep end, but for the price they were a truly great find. And so I marveled at my great buy for a couple of months. To my suprise however I began getting a horrible crackling noise. Upon closer inspection 3 of the sats have tears in them. This came as a great suprise as i have never turned the volume up past 60%. Also i run all my equipment through an audio surge protector. So i'm quite baffled by how this happened. Also I've been given the run around by Altec customer service.

however despite my less than glowing review so far, i would recommend these speakers. yes i've had problems, but i'm willing to chalk that up to bad luck on my part. just thought i'd put this warning out.

After my last pair of speakers died, I had sought out a set of surround-sound speakers with Dolby Digital 5.1 that would not cost more than [$$]. Fortunately, I happened upon this speaker set. I am very happy with the performance of the system.

Bass: Since I live in a house with other people, I desired a good amount of bass, but not so much that others would have to feel the ground shake around them. I agree with the previous reviewer that excessively deep bass can sound hollow or distorted, but I believe the cause of that problem is that the sound is outside of the subwoofer's range. I have experienced the same, if not worse, performance from other speaker systems that are twice as expensive. On the other hand, if you turn the volume up all the way on both the master and the subwoofer, you will be definitely feel a breeze emitted from the subwoofer as it pounds away. I rate the bass at a 4 out of 5.

Treble: The treble range of these speakers is incredibly good. I have found them to deliver near-perfect output. They are very responsive to equalizer fine-tuning, and the sound is rich and full. I rate the treble at a 5 out of 5.

Surround: In all truth, I am not sure how to comment on surround, other than that it delivers the same surround effects that I have experienced in my home theater set. There is no squeaking or distortion of any kind. My rating is 5 out of 5 for surround.

Features: I have to give Altec Lansing credit for making this system very convenient. While it is true that the rear speakers cannot be more than about 10 feet from the subwoofer, I have found this to be more than reasonable. Additionally, the convenience of having three separate volume controls (center speaker, surround speakers, and master) and a headphone jack right in front on the right speaker is quite nice. Kudos for that bit of engineering.

All in all, an excellent system for the price.

I give this one 5 stars. The sound is truly amazing. I couldn't believe the clarity on this 5.1 system. Whether I'm playing a video game or just listening to music on my computer, these speakers make me feel like I'm truly there in the action. The one thing I love about these speakers are that you can "plug and play." It can be plugged into virtually any device that produces sound like an MP3 player and the sound quality is great. I would definitely recommend this company to others and I would buy from them again!!

I have had this speaker system for 7 years. That is a long time to ask for electronics to last, even longer for a pretty cheap set of speakers to still sound good. Amazingly enough, this set has withstood my gaming, turning it up to max while cleaning house, and even my two children snagging and pulling on the wires.

Of course, there are some downsides that come with the cost. There are no controls for treble and bass. Oh well, I use the equalizer on my sound card software. The biggest downside is the proprietary connections for the speakers. When one finally dies, that will be it for the system. However, I plan on getting many more years of use out of these.

Just like the manufacturer states these are great speakers for 5.1 surround sound gaming. If you are looking for something more for movies or music, you might want to look elsewhere.