Loud Enough To Wake The Dead
Written: Jan 01 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound, great design, remote included
Cons: speaker cords may need to be extended.
The Bottom Line: This has been and all around great system for me. The sound is great, and I have no complaints.
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| scarphace's Full Review: Altec Lansing 641 4 Speakers |
As my quest to make the ultimate computer was wrapping up I had on last major choice to make. What kind of sound system will I buy? Whether you are an avid gamer, an audiophile, or just the average computer user who enjoys listening to music on their computer, your audio system will affect your computing experience. For me, nothing but the best, for the best price, would do. This is how I happened to come across the Altec Lansing 641 sound system.
While perusing the computer audio sections of online vendors and Best Buy, two systems caught my eye. The 641 and the Z 640, made by Logitech. Both systems boasted similar specs, and they were the same price. I liked the appearance of the 641, but to me what was important was the performance. Unfortunately, At the time I couldn’t find a comparison between the two sound systems so I decided that I would have to goto Best Buy and conduct one my self.
Before leaving for Best Buy the one technical difference between the two systems was the rage out output sound. The 641 had a larger range of sound output on both the high and low ends of the spectrum. I brought one of my favorite CDs to Best Buy and proceeded to conduct my test. My test consisted of two parts: each system’s performance at regular volume, and full volume. When both were at regular volume each system was pretty much comparable, although the 641's bass was a little crisper than it’s counterpart. Then I cranked the Z 640 up o full volume, and that was quite impressive. I didn’t expect that these systems could make as much noise as they can. A sales person came running over and told me to turn it down. So I did, but I was only half way doe with my experiment. When he left, I turned to the 641 and cranked it up. The response was the same this time, except I found myself outside, and wondering whether it was the level of the volume or the numerous curse words that got me kicked out. (It didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to buy my system from them)
Even though I got kicked out of the store the experiment was a success because I learned that the regular out put of the 641 was hardly better than the Z 640, but at full sound the 641 noticeably had better sound quality than the Z 640. With the 641 there was little static in the high frequencies, and little slurring of the bass. With the Z 640 high notes were accompanies with a staticy noise that indicated that the system had been pushed beyond its limits. So I decided on the 641.
The current retail in a store (when I was shopping for them) for the 641 system was 200 dollars, so I turned to every thrifty shopper’s best friend pricewatch.com. If you’re buying electronics from any other source then you’re prolly paying too much. Here I found the 641 for 100 a staggering 40 dollars for shipping, but when I saw the delivery man struggling up my side walk with a monestrous package I realized why it cost soo much to ship it. The package was 60 lbs and contained four nice sized satellite speakers and a sub-woofer the size of a mid-tower computer case.
Some of the features which prompted me to buy the system follow: The 641 sound system boasts 237 watts of RMS power. The 641 is a 4.1 surround sound which is the second best system that you can get. These systems include 4 satellite speakers(left front, right front, left rear, right rear), and 1 subwoofer (hence the 4.1). All of the satellite speakers are shielded so you don’t have to worry about placing them too close to your monitor or computer. The system also has a handy little remote which plugs into the back of the subwoofer. With this you can adjust the volume, bass and the treble level, and switch between three built in modes: stereo, 2x stereo, and gaming. The Stereo mode only utilizes the left and right front speakers. The 2x Stereo mode uses both the front and rear channel speakers. Even though all 4 speakers are used in this mode, you still only get standard 2 channel stereo (left/right) sound. The Gaming mode allows true 4 speaker front/rear and left/right stereo sound so that in games or DVDs that when sound is supposed to come from behind you, it really does.
This system has been great over the past 6 months. It was documented well and easy to set up. The sound is as full and crisp as it was in Best Buy. The only problem that I have had with the system has been minor. The rear satellite speaker cable was not long enough to snake around my floor boards, so I had to head out to Radio Shack and buy some extension cable.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
scarphace
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Location: Washington DC
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 12 members
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