Home > Consumer Reviews > Acoustic Authority A-3780RB Black 2.1 180 Watt Pro Series Subwoofer Satellite System

I bought these speakers based on many recommendations I read around the Internet, most of which made reference to the amazing volume levels you can achieve. However, once I unpacked the system and tried playing some of my music files I immediately noticed two problems: First, the bass produced by the subwoofer is quite "muddy," and makes the bass drums basically indistinguishable from bass guitar. Secondly, the satellite speakers have noticeable distortion in the midrange frequencies, so much so that I had to stop playing one particular song because I was getting headache from it.

I eventually sent these back and picked up the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers and I've been very happy ever since. I don't know if the ProMedias can generate the sheer volume levels, but they definitely reproduce the audio much more accurately.

Too bad I can't give these 0 stars. I thought these would be good speakers based on all the positive reviews I read, but I guess I was wrong. The sound quality of these speakers makes me want to throw them out the window. The bass is weak and distorted, the midrange is missing, and a loud buzzing noise comes from the subwoofer. And guess what happened after a couple weeks? The sound just started breaking up altogether. These speakers look good but clearly they suck. If you're looking to buy quality PC speakers, DO NOT get these unless you like wasting 100 dollars.

This is not a high-end audiophile set-up, and it is best suited to applications that don't require quality sound, such as gaming.
I was looking for a cheap replacement for my 10 year-old Speakerlab junk.
I was originally considering the Acoustic Authority A-3640, but decided that the extra power of the 3780 would be worthwhile. Extra power should mean the electronics are not working as hard at normal listening levels.
Ideally, this might mean you get sound at lower distortion levels, but as these Cyber Acoustics systems are all rated at 10% THD, there's plenty of ugly to go into your ears at any volume. This seems to come principally from the mid-range, but listening to music for more than a few songs starts to make me feel ill.
I find all subwoofers to be muddy, so I have that setting turned all the way down (It's still very, um, "exciting").
If you can get music playback software that offers the opportunity to cut the bass further via equalization, then you might be happiest.
The speakers are OK, and they would offer reasonable value if not for the mid-range distortion. Imaging is well above average for this type of product, offering good value.
What makes this unit stand out is the remote switch - you can vary the volume on Subwoof and on master volume, plug in headphones (no more cable swapping, which was a pain), or - best of all - turn the unit off for when you are not using it. This is a super convenience feature.
The master volume knob is of reasonable quality, and in using it to adjust volume settings, the sound crackles and surges under adjustment in the very low end of the volume-engagement range.
The cabling is great - wires are all long enough for about any desk I can imagine, and they thoughtfully include an adapter if you want to feed in the input via RCA connectors. Set-up is fairly idiot-proof as long as you understand what "source" means.
If you want a lot of bang for the buck and don't have ears made of gold then this might be your ticket.
I wouldn't buy it again - I'd go for something more expensive. And although I suppose in a pinch you could port this this to a party to play an iPod through, I would not consider this to use to listen to my CD collection - I'd end up with a headache.

These would be excellent value speakers. Fro under 100 bucks they provide a wide range of sound. From crisp highs to thumping lows. For about a week. First off, I got the speakers and a corner piece on the sub fell off. Yep, just fell off. Cheap glue. No biggie. The speaker is under my desk anyway but it does go to show you that these are sub 100 buck speakers for a reason. They are not put together with any degree of quality workmanship. I could live with that however the satellite speakers beginning to crackle in just under a week. That of course was unacceptable. I listen to rock mostly. Throw in a little techno, which I did to see how it sounded on these speakers. I did not however overdrive these speakers. Not with power or volume control. They simply blew without any real provocation. If you only ever listen to music at extremely low levels these are pretty good speakers for the money. If you turn your music up at all then I would steer clear of Acoustic Authority alltogether.

I have had these speakers for over a year. They are fantastic. I use them for showing slide shows with music in the background in large areas. They can really fill a room. Make sure they are the 180 version, they are hard to find.