Altec Lansing VS4221 - PC multimedia speaker system

Summary: I was fooled in buying the Altec Lansing VS4221.
The reviews in Cnet are usually dependable and with the speakers' average rating of 8 (before my personal rating), i couldn'
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Summary: I was fooled in buying the Altec Lansing VS4221.
The reviews in Cnet are usually dependable and with the speakers' average rating of 8 (before my personal rating), i couldn't help but give this product a shot. I was really excited in buying it and when i opened it, my initial impression made me extremely pleased with the purchase.

Altec Lansing products usually look great and this was no exception. The sleek, silver and black design was one of the reasons why I wanted to get it. I quickly set it up on my laptop but from then on, it quickly disapointed me.

First of all, the sound is terrible. I'm not kidding you, IT'S REALLY TERRIBLE. The complete package sounded like 2 generic computer speakers with an extremely loud subwoofer. I was really sad that i was fooled into getting this product especially that i tested it first. I'm an audiophile and i'm very very very particular about sound quality and buying the VS4221 made me feel like i failed myself as a critic. The midrange is nonexistent and i literally spent 2 days trying to figure out an equalizer setting that might fix it but to my dismay, none of it worked. I realized that the midrange isn't only nonexistent, but if you try to increase its output, it's distorted, it produces fuzzy sounds and it's very muffled. Meaning, no kind of setting can really fix it.

Don't get me wrong, I still gave it a shot (that's why i still had it for 2 days) but it really was terrible. I tried to cope with an "acceptable" EQ setting and it made my techno, r&b, hip-hop songs sound decent. However, when my player started with my rock songs, i realized there was really no way i would keep this thing. The distorted guitars were too much for the speakers and made them sound like crap (again, this is because of midrange's poor quality). This is what i want to point it, its overpowering bass easily covers the mid range frequency and deceives you in making you think that the music sounds good. The moment you stay far from the speakers, the only ranges that you can hear were the high and low frequencies. Again, the other frequencies overpowered the midrange making it sound disappointingly hollow.

Another thing that disappointed me about this product is its remote. I didn't realize that all the controls of the speakers were found only there. There was no way to increase the treble or the bass on the satellites or the subwoofer so if you lose your remote, you're screwed. But to be honest, this is something i can adapt to and just be wary of. It's not so difficult to lose your remote if you just leave it in your room but i wanted to point this out just for objectivity's sake. I honestly wouldn't mind if the sound was great but unfortunately, it wasn't.

What really baffles me is that other people think that this product is great. How can they not point the poor quality of the speakers? Maybe they thought that the louder it is, the better? But i tell you that great speakers sound beautiful even at low volumes and don't let this product deceive you.

I strongly do not recommend the vs4221. To those who still are considering getting it, i suggest that you bring your mp3 player and play rock songs. It doesn't have to be metal and it can be alternative or pop/rock just as lock as the song is heavily dependent on guitars. The party songs can deceive you into thinking that it sounds great but by doing what i told you earlier, you'll understand what i'm saying and realize that the VS4221 is a piece of crap.

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Summary: Good for the price, etc etc.. however the deal breaker here is that the sub hums like a beast. Gives everyone a headache. Input isn't properly insulated from the ...

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Summary: Good for the price, etc etc.. however the deal breaker here is that the sub hums like a beast. Gives everyone a headache. Input isn't properly insulated from the ac, and the sub just pumps out a low frequency buzz that drives you insane.

Altec Lansing even try to claim that this behavior is normal. Audiophiles out there know better. It's simply unbearable.

Don't purchase this product.

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Summary: This is an awesome 2.1 system. I could have got 5.1 surround, but 2.1 is perfect for music, and that why i needed new speakers. These guys ...

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Summary: This is an awesome 2.1 system. I could have got 5.1 surround, but 2.1 is perfect for music, and that why i needed new speakers. These guys have deep, clear bass and the treble is very precise. The remote makes it super easy to adjust the EQ. These are the speakers to get. Go buy them now. NOW.

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Summary: I bought these speakers based on the price and overall sound. I have to rate them a nine for a few reasons: there is no distortion at high volume, they ...

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Summary: I bought these speakers based on the price and overall sound. I have to rate them a nine for a few reasons: there is no distortion at high volume, they were priced very competitively, and I tested them against much more expensive JBLs in Best Buy and they were clearly superior.

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Summary: Go ahead and buy it, instead of thinking about some other speaker system, this one beats creative, cyber acoustics, logitech and any other speaker system you might be thinking of ...

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Summary: Go ahead and buy it, instead of thinking about some other speaker system, this one beats creative, cyber acoustics, logitech and any other speaker system you might be thinking of buying (except Bose systems)
I love the speakers

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Summary: its a excellent speaker for music,movies and games..sound is crisp,clear and bass is perfect without having any distortion...it has sleeker and contemporary look.speakers' excellent clarity ...

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Summary: its a excellent speaker for music,movies and games..sound is crisp,clear and bass is perfect without having any distortion...it has sleeker and contemporary look.speakers' excellent clarity in the low-mid-high frequencies, even at maximum and minimum volume..both front speakers and subwoofer sound great ,complementing each other..some movies and music may require little adjustment in pc audio operating system which gives the listner more flexibility to change sound range[in my view it is not disadvantage as other says that mid range is weak]...all controls are only by remote so it needs few days to understand the system..remote is really powerful and having full function mode..after a week i could easily control the sound trough this small remote..there is no visual contol available in system except volume..one can use this speaker easily with pc,ipod,tv and games..there is no doubt its a great speaker with total 7 drivers[including front speakers and subwoofer] on a 2.1 pc audio system.

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Summary: I purchased these, originally looking at Logitech, however I could not find any, in ANY stores here. So I settled on what was the highest prices set of speakers at ...

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Summary: I purchased these, originally looking at Logitech, however I could not find any, in ANY stores here. So I settled on what was the highest prices set of speakers at Staples, which happened to be these. I hooked the system up to my HP Pavilion laptop (which never leaves its spot) and it has been working great for what I need it for. Also I began to do a little bit of music making, just some minimalist techno stuff, and these reproduced the sound well enough for what I needed..but not perfectly. For the price, it's definitely a great system, so if you have $100 to spend on desktop speakers, I would advise you to spend it on this.

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Summary: Hey you wont be sorry you purchased these great pc speakers !!!! My guest love the sound !

Summary: Hey you wont be sorry you purchased these great pc speakers !!!! My guest love the sound !