Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing 5100 5.1 Computer Speakers (6-Speaker, Black)

I just received these speakers, they are great. They sound like audiophile speakers and the control is great. I love how they look and what they are made of. They are not loud enough for parties but great for wathcing dvds, playing games and listening to music.

I purchased these speakers back in September 2003. I had previously owned the Altec Lansing ATP3 3-Piece Speaker System and was immensely pleased with it. I wanted to upgrade, go surround-sound, and add more speakers for larger sound. Since I'd had good experience with Altec Lansing before, I chose them again over Logitech and Creative, and expected good quality from them.

My first gripe: too much bass. The subwoofer is overpowering. These speakers come with the ability to adjust both treble and bass. I have the bass set all the way to zero. I also set my bass through the Windows sound settings all the way to zero. I adjusted my media player equalizer the best I could to eliminate bass. The bass is still overpowering, to the point where, unless I am sitting directly in front of the central speaker, that is all I hear. I can hear/feel it all the way in my bathroom. It detracts from my audio enjoyment, as well as worries me that I'm disturbing my roommate and neighbors. The speaker volume has 5 points (with 'ticks' in between). I cannot play my speakers over 3, or the bass becomes floor-shaking. It seems that the default bass setting (ie 3 out of 5) should be an average bass output, while 0 should make it barely there and 5 should give it this intense bass that I'm getting now. This is the main reason I'm giving these 3/5 stars.

My second gripe is: distortion. At around volume 3, I will begin experiencing distortion. The audio begins to vibrate and warble just slightly, but it's enough to be noticeable and distracting. An audiophile (which I'm not) would be very unpleased, I think. Also, these speakers come with three 'sound schemes': Stereo x 2, 4.1 Gaming, and 5.1. Most noticeably when I'm in Stereo x 2, but also in 5.1 if my equalizer isn't set at default (ie. +0dB across the board), I will get ticks and squeaks during audio playback. Sometimes this doesn't happen, sometimes it happens constantly throughout a song, unless I turn the volume down. I haven't figured out if this might depend on the recording quality/volume of the mp3.

Overall, they have good sound, if kept at low volumes. But they don't seem to sound any better than a 2.1 system would, and they're definitely not of the quality I expect from a set of 130 dollar speakers. My recommendation: pass them up for something different. I really am more disappointed than pleased with these speakers. The bass really bothers me and, because of that, I'm probably gonna be looking for another speaker set sometime soon, unfortunately.

I'm running these speakers alongside a Creative SoundBlaster Live! audio card and only begin to notice distortion when listening at volume levels exceeding 80%. If you like to BLAST! your speakers, these are not for you. However, if you listen at reasonable volume levels the theater sound will blow you away! Alot of sound for a small price.

I waited to place an online review until I had use these speakers for a while. With my pleasure I am telling you that this speaker system rivals the much higher price ranged speaker systems. They are very pleasing to the ear with much room for sound ajustment on the remote control with the only draw back with the remote that it's not wireless. The only other draw back is the rear speaker wire lengths. Other than that your sure to get pleasing sounds from this system. By the way I upgrade to these after my Z560 Logitech System lost its Subwoofer.
These are much better sounding.

Whether you're watching movies, playing games or listening to music on your PC, you demand big sound. Two- and three-speaker systems just don't cut it. The Altec Lansing 5100 was designed for audio fanatics like you. This highly stylized, six-speaker system features five sets of 1" neodymium drivers for thrilling highs. A dynamic center speaker makes you feel like you're part of the on-screen dialogue. Plus, the subwoofer cranks out deep, rumbling bass that makes action movies and gaming truly intense. If you have a 5.1 Video card, this is what you were looking for. With 73 watts of total continuous power (100 watts peak), get ready to strap yourself in for a wild ride.

-73 Watts Total Continuous Power RMS (4x7 W/Satellites; 22.5 W/Center; 22.5 W/Sub)
-100 Watts Total Peak Power
-Ported, Dual Subwoofer Drivers
-6-Speaker Surround
-High Performance Micro Drivers
-Full-Function Digital Controller
-Headphone Jack
-Auxiliary Input Jack
-Total Connectivity
-Tri-Mode Selector
-Cast Alloy Stands
-Color-Coded Cables