9 comments

1. 

   Comment by Senor Zoidbergo on August 9, 2010 at 2:57 pm

   The Altec Lansing Octane 7 bills itself as a small compact unit with thunderous bass; it’s small and compact, but the bass leaves a bit to be desired.

   PACKAGING: The system comes in a lightweight ~ 27.5-lb box, with a subwoofer, left and right speaker towers, a warranty booklet, and all cables necessary for setup. Minus the box and packaging, the speakers weigh just 12.5 lbs. There is no instruction manual; the instructions are printed directly on the box flap, so don’t throw that box away! (although speaker setup is self-explanatory). Setup took all of 30 seconds to finish.

   OVERALL DESIGN: I was immediately impressed by the slender design of the left and right speakers. The speakers each have a vertical tower upper portion, which flares downwards into a circular conical shaped bottom which houses various speaker drivers. It’s a clean, compact design, which fits well on my small desk. The left speaker is the main control unit, which houses a sub-woofer cable connection, a main volume control button with power on/off light, separate treble/bass control knobs, and an auxiliary input. The volume/treble/bass knobs have a small, almost invisible ridge indicating dial position. The subwoofer itself also has a power button; the two power buttons seem redundant, but it’s convenient to have an extra power button within easy reach on the left speaker. The left/right speakers are made of a solid matte plastic that does not retain fingerprints, and the conical shape gives them a steady base that is unlikely to tip over. The speaker grille is a hard mesh that allows 180 degree output. The overall build quality seems excellent.

   SOUND: How does it sound? Bear in mind, this is a small system. The wattage is measured at just 28 watts RMS; for comparison, I used to own a set of Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 4.1 speakers, and those had 400 watts RMS! The Altec Lansing speakers do an excellent job of immersing you in a surround sound environment. The tower speaker design contributes towards this aspect. At the same time, the significant drawback of the tower speaker design with drivers stored in the flared base is that the sound emanating from the speakers is muffled and muddy sounding. Moreover, I was disappointed by the bass, considering that this is a fairly pricey mid-range speaker set ($75). It also sounded muddy, and wasn’t as clear and as crisp as I was hoping. I ran several test media files, including the lobby scene from The Matrix, various DVDs, and MP3s.

   For general music playback, the speakers are fine. The speakers sound best with the treble turned mid-way, and the bass turned to about 30-40%. When the bass is turned past 50%, there is an increased amount of distortion. On the bright side, I suppose the benefit of a less powerful subwoofer is that you won’t get complaints from the neighbors.

   For gaming, the speakers are terrible. I tested these with Bad Company 2, and everything sounds extremely muffled. Any surround sound advantages are diminished by the muffled sounds emanating from the unit. The bass is wooden and heavy. The performance is so bad, that I always unplug these speakers and switch to my headphones before playing any games.

   CONCLUSION: It’s an ok, but not great computer speaker system. I like the slender compact design, surround sound, as well as the auxiliary input on the left speaker unit. The price is reasonable, and for such a small package it is certainly impressive. However, the tower speaker design with hidden drivers creates a dampened sound, as if the speakers are always being muffled. Additionally, the bass response could be improved.

   If you wish to use these for general music playback and need a compact system, then they’re ok. If you want to use them for movies/gaming, then I suggest you look at a competing model.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5

2. 

   Comment by Turtle502 on August 9, 2010 at 5:30 pm

   For what it’s worth, this 2.1 system sounds better than most other 2.1 systems I’ve owned. The bass is typically decent, if muddy on only certain music types, and it produces excellent high-frequency response. The midrange is not as rich as I prefer, but it definitely doesn’t have that “sound in a cave” quality that many speaker systems seem to have these days.

   Out-of-the-box, however, the left midrange driver had a defect.

   The system is divided into three parts. The subwoofer box obviously contains the amplifier. It has a separate power switch. The power supply is permanently attached, and terminates in a standard prong — no wall-wart! The subwoofer has several inputs and outputs used to connect a source device and the two left and right channel speakers.

   The right channel speaker has controls for power and volume, bass, and treble. You connect this speaker to the subwoofer via a proprietary cable. The left channel speaker connects via a standard RCA cable. Unfortunately, most of the cables are too short for my taste. The length of the left-channel speaker is about 8 feet. The system is clearly designed to be used in a small space, probably around a TV or desktop computer. I would prefer longer cables so it can be used comfortably in a larger room.

   Once everything is connected, the subwoofer, unfortunately, becomes an unsightly mess of cables. I’m not sure how Altec Lansing intends the subwoofer to be positioned, but if you have it firing forward, the unsightly cables are all visible on the left side of the box. If you want the cables to face the wall so they are not visible, the subwoofer will fire to the left. This is really important to keep in mind depending on your space and setup. The package includes an audio input cable — one end connects to your device (PC audio out, music player, etc.) and the other end connects to an input on the subwoofer.

   The design of the left and right channels is unique. The midrange driver fires downward, but this ultimately allows a 360-degree sound field. Each left and right channel has a single midrange driver and two tweeters. The tweeters are mounted along the top, intended to face forward. Ultimately, I think this design provides exceptional high-frequency clarity.

   Oddly enough, there’s no grille over the subwoofer — the speaker is totally exposed. This might look great, but it exposes itself to potential damage. The midrange speakers, on the bottom of the left and right channels, also do not have any protection. The paper cones are totally exposed. This could explain the defective midrange driver I experienced out-of-the-box.

   One thing to point out, however, is that the perceived sound quality of the midrange driver will change depending on the surface on which they are placed. The subwoofer moves a lot of air, and is ported. The cabinet is wood-particle construction, and there’s little-to-no vibration. It’s really a good design.

   Overall, I was pleased with the sound quality. I listen to a wide variety of music. This system sounds best with electronic, rock, and pop. For those types of music, bass was accentuated and upper frequencies were crisp and clear. For dance music, the bass got a bit muddy but was bearable. Any music that has sustained bass notes, however, sounded less pleasing. There’s also a definite roll-off near upper-bass frequencies, so the higher the bass notes, the less emphasis there is. For me, this creates a slight “hole” in the bass frequency response.

   For general listening though, the system manages to fill my room with sound. This 26-watt system won’t shatter your eardrums. The sound field is clearly defined, and I can tell the difference between the left and right channels. At higher volume levels, you may get slight clipping or distortion, especially as the subwoofer driver bottoms out.

   I would definitely recommend this for a small space, in situations where a professional-looking installation is not required. The sound is good, and the design is modern. A few improvements, however, would make it stellar.
   Rating: 3 / 5

3. 

   Comment by Derek G on August 9, 2010 at 7:40 pm

   I preface by saying I have no bad history regarding Altec Lansing or any other speaker company. I’m simply stating my personal opinion regarding the VS4621 model speaker system. It’s not good sound and it’s not even close.

   First, Altec has made the unbelievable decision to point the mids straight down and into your desk. I pity the folks at marketing who try to explain away this head scratcher of an idea with terms like “sound dispersion” because the resulting sound is exactly what you’d expect; like someone is trying to talk to you through a wall.

   Second, the only speaker that should be firing downward, your subwoofer, is instead firing sideways. This is not necessarily a problem with proper placement but realize that the bass reflex port is going to need at least six inches of distance from an already cramped desk environment in order to prevent chuffing. Even when properly placed, I found the bass to be quite muddled. It sounds as though the crossover point was too high or there was no crossover at all so higher frequencies would resonate inside the enclosure.

   Third, no protective grills on either the mids or the subwoofer. Enough said.

   Fourth, while levels for volume, bass, and treble are included, there is no way to adjust the strength of the subwoofer. This becomes a problem as at medium to high volumes almost all of the sound comes from your sub and overpowers the rest of your system.

   I realize that computer speaker manufacturers in particular have a long history of overpromising, overcharging, and underdelivering, but this 28W speaker system is designed only for people who like muffled mids and a rattling, underpowered subwoofer with their tweeters. If you fall into this rare category then you’ve found your dream system. The rest of us will be much happier with Logitech Z523 or Dell AY410 speakers at this price level.
   Rating: 1 / 5

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5. 

   Comment by Shelley Gammon on August 9, 2010 at 10:20 pm

   This attractive speaker set takes up little room for a set with a subwoofer. While I tried this with my computer (with excellent results), I ultimately connected this to my 36″ television and this is far superior to the speakers built-in to the TV. Having the over all volume, bass and treble controls easily accessible right on the speaker itself is very convenient. Even when the room is dark, just by feel, you know what knob you’re turning.

   When we watch movies, especially those with explosions or sci-fi foley effects, the subwoofer does not disappoint – you can feel the bass like you would in movie theater – but it doesn’t rattle your rib cage and there is no annoying buzz from any of the components like there typically is in inexpensive speakers.

   The set-up was about as easy as can be with 2 satellite speakers and a subwoofer.

   I have never had a bad experience with Altec Lansing and this Octane 7 speaker system is another feather in their cap. For desktop computer use, the subwoofer stores easily under your desk without taking up all your foot room – and the satellite speakers take up little desk real estate. Instead of spreading out, the designers gained sound momentum by going vertical. The speaker set is elegant and almost has a space-age appearance.

   These speakers are great, with just about anything you can think of to plug them into. I tried them with my iPhone playing music and they still sounded awesome – as well as with an iPod Nano and my husband’s off-brand .mp3 player.

   For the price, you cannot beat this performance. This is a fantastic bargain and it comes with superb sound.
   Rating: 5 / 5

6. 

   Comment by Dan Casselman on August 10, 2010 at 12:59 am

   If you’re looking for a relatively portable, easy to set up system for your computer or iPhone, this is a strong contender. Set up is a snap and it’s a smaller, light-weight system. Nice treble and very strong bass. The down reason this is not a 5 star system is that the base tends to over power everything, particularly if you place the sub-woofer in any sort of confined space. You MUST keep the sub in an open area or it will be much to strong. It could also really use a mid-range control. But hey, this is cheap, so for the price, It’s a 4 star system.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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