Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing VS2421 2.1 Music and Gaming Stereo Speaker System with Microphone (Black)

I'm an audiophile, I listen critically to every nuance of music and enjoy faithful reproduction of it. That said, I'm quite surprised that these speakers actually create a decent image in a nearfield setup. Voices are palpable and details are presented nicely.

I've certainly heard worse for 10 times the price, that's for sure. The sub is rich and full and easily overpowers the satellites. It's not overly boomy, maybe a little 'wooly' but nice. Just keep it turned down to a third or fourth on the sub's volume control.

I'm thinking with some break-in the sats may dig a little deeper and the whole system will integrate a little better. My only criticism at this point is there is a bit of a mid-bass dip... or a hole between the midrange and deep bass... And again, I'm hoping this fills in as the speakers move more freely after more use.

I'm very impressed with this little system at any volume. It gets plenty loud for my office and you can really rock out if you want to... And it sounds good at low volume too! I'd suggest a simple placement, with satellites left and right of the monitor and do whatever you have room to do with the sub.

This system comes with a volume control that includes main volume, treble control, and a microphone in one easy-to-use unit. The main volume knob is nice and big with a light so it's easy to find and adjust quickly if the phone rings.

I haven't tried the microphone yet but my system did not come with the microphone cable (nor did it come with any instructions). You'll need a male-to-male headphone-type cable to connect the main controller and mic to the PC.

Great system for the price, highly recommended.

Very good sound for the price and size. I went to a store and did a side-by-side sound check of this system vs. the similarly priced Logitech x-230 (both have good sound for under $40). While both were decent, the Altec Lansing VS2421 was slightly more crisp and true, but the sound diff between the two is not huge and the Logitech is slightly louder at 32 Watts vs. 28 Watts RMS. The Altec Lansing has independent subwoofer and treble levels, while the Logitech only has a subwoofer level adjustment. Finally - the Altec Lansing has more input / output options from the remote (mic out, aux in for ipod, and a wired remote that you can put near your keyboard). Due to the slightly better sound and the interface advantages, I bought this system over the Logitech, but need to return it for a few reasons: 1. - this unit experiences lots of wireless interference. I should have realized this because while I was standing in front of the display wall which contained about 15 types of PC speakers all powered on - I began to hear lots of buzzing from this unit only. I had my blackberry with me, which was probably the culprit. Oddly none of the other units seemed to be reacting - just this one. 2. I planned on putting the satellite speakers alongside my monitor and placing the subwoofer next to my desk. There is about 6ft of cord length from the remote to the PC (just fine) and about 6ft of cord length from the remote to the subwoofer (also fine). This means that the subwoofer can effectively be about 12ft from the PC. The issue is that there is only about 3 - 4 feet of cord length from the satellite speakers to the subwoofer, and each must connect independently. This made it impossible for me to locate the subwoofer anywhere but directly under my desk in order to plug in the sats. This is where the big design difference comes into play between the Logitech x-230 and the Altec Lansing VS2421: The Altec Lansing has a slightly bigger subwoofer leaving less room for under the desk installation and also has a completely unprotected speaker skin which you are very likely to damage by kicking if you place it under your desk. The Logitech subwoofer has a nicely protected speaker with a strong metal mesh grate that you can kick all you want without damaging the sensitive speaker skin. Due to the unprotected sub-speaker and the RF interference - I'll be exchanging this for the Logitech. Too bad because I preferred the sound of this unit as well as the remote interface.

This speaker system is great. You may be doubting it because of its cheap price, but it really does deliver. PROS: Low distortion on high volumes, the bass is not boomy like other systems (bass is tight instead), cool look and free mic. CONS: the mic could be better and the satellite speakers could be smaller. ALL IN ALL: a great buy. I have no regrets.

I was at F--'- E---------- today, in the market for a speaker system costing $50 or less. No, I am not a cheapo when it comes to sound, but I bought them for use in the datacenter noc where I work, to replace the dinky little 2.0 speakers someone apparently thought would be an improvement over the in-monitor speakers (they really aren't). So, I didn't want to spend much, in the event that they became damaged or, God forbid, stolen, but I wanted something far better sounding than what we had.

I have them wired up at my computer and am comparing against the Creative T3000 2.1's I bought for my parent's computer, which sits against the wall adjacent to mine. Stiff competition, considering how highly rated the T3000 model is, and in the same price range.

I'm playing the music via VibeStreamer and using the on-board sound unit of each computer (no fancy Soundblaster).

Unless the sub is packed underneath your desk close to a wall, you're going to want to turn it all the way up in order to get a decent amount of bass. Actually, I prefer NOT to situate the sub in this manner, as the sound reflections off the underside of the wood desk add a slight reverb creating the "boomy" effect. Usually, one wants a nice, tight bass. To this effect, I keep the subs out from under desks, with their drivers pointed away from the near walls.


First, the Altec Lansing speakers:

The natural dip in the mid-range is actually preferable to me, as I love more emphasis to the punch of the lows. Granted, this doesn't lend itself so well to certain types of music, most probably classical, but as long as you can find an EQ to adjust (Winamp, Itunes, WMP), you can compensate the midrange as needed.

Now, Hardcore Techno sounds very good (those synths will always come through, regardless of the mid-range dip, anyway). The concern with techno music is that the sub can handle those hard and frequent low kicks without distorting or the sound "blowing out". At moderately high volumes, I can happily say that the sub seems just fine, and only punches harder.

Ah screw it. You know what? Let me just cut to the chase. The Creatives are probably twice as good, to be honest. The sound is brighter, fuller, and the sub easily dishes out fuller, punchier bass than the Altec is ever going to. I have the Altec sub all the way up and it's not as impressive as the Creative sub turned only about halfway up. I mean, just search up T3000 here on Amazon and read the bloody reviews. Nearly every one is a rave. Besides, the Altec's DO produce occasional static sounds picked up from other electronics, which is somewhat annoying. You'll never hear that from the Creatives though, which I've had around for a few years now.

Bottom line, these Altec speakers sound "good" for the money, despite a fairly flat tone and somewhat diminished mids. You are very likely to experience occasional static blipping and I'm betting you can find better speakers for about the same or less money, means that there's a decent chance I'll return these and give the X-230's a test drive. No wonder it was an "open box buy". -_-

Cheers

Great speakers for the money but plagued by wireless interference. Normally the speakers sound great and a heck of a lot better than my expensive Creative system which had extermely muddy bass. However I started hearing a low level clicking/popping sound which I traced to my Linksys wireless router. Unplug the router and the sound goes away. You do not hear the clicking sound when the music is playing, only when it's off and fairly quite. The volume control does not increase the noise level although turning the volume control can have an effect on starting or stopping the noise. My router is very close (aprox 2 feet) from the sub/amp so I'm going to relocate it farther away and hope the stops the annoyance. But the speakers when playing music are great and well worth it!