Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing ATP3 3-Piece Speaker System

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This system has everything you need and sounds absolutely breathtaking. The subwoofer's sound, which is extremely rich and deep, not the "boom boom boom" sound you hear from cheaper systems, is perfectly integrated with the sound from the satellites. They look great on any desk (they hover about an inch above the surface of the desk with their little stands, so they really look futuristic) and I have to tell you, they sound AMAZING. The subwoofer actually sounds like a real instrument, not a "thump box". The sound positioning is really great, too... turn the satellites to face towards you, put the sub on the floor, and you'll have better sounding music than you thought possible in a 3-piece set.. for under 100 bucks. The people at the store I bought this from were really trying to discourage me from getting these, wanting me to buy the Harmon/Kardon Soundsticks instead (I have a Mac), because these Altecs are probably the best-kept secret in computer audio. Anyone who tries them out is amazed by them and wouldn't think of buying a more expensive set, and that's exactly what the stores don't want you to know :)

Upon purchasing this system, I was a little skeptical of what it would sound like. I had never seen speakers with such a design and down-firing midranges. However, these speakers produce a great sound for the price. The bass is deep and clear, and the trebel, a bit tinny at times, is not overpowered by the lower ranges. The unique three way design of the satellite speakers provides great quality, and exceptional bass response for 3" speakers. Great deal, you will not be disappointed.

hunting for speakers for 2 months now, i landed upon these beauties. Needless to say, they sound great, but you can get a 5 piece surround sound set for cheaper, if you have a sound card that supports 5 piece speaker systems. But you will be hard pressed to find a better 3 piece speaker system for those of you with stereo sound cards. the control on the right sattalite speaker consists of volume/power knob, treble, and bass. It has a downfiring speaker design which i have never seen before but is surely not a bad thing, sounds are crisp, bass is low, and the highs are clear. The best 3 piece system you can get.

When I read reviews about this system, I was a bit cautious because people weren't giving good reviews on the mids for this system. Well, I say this system rocks. I live in a college dorm and I would say there's only one other system that sounds better than what I've got, and he paid over...for his. The bass is truly awesome for what you pay. And the rest of the sound spectrum is there, too. I love these things. In fact, I'm going to buy another set of them for my surround. That will be sweet. Anyway, everyone that has heard these speakers have been either amazed or impressed. Heck, after buying these, my roommate and another guy down the hall bought them too. That says something.

Good Luck with your shopping

For around [price] street price, these are remarkably good speakers. That would be true even at double the price.

The best feature of the ATP3s is a balanced sound with reasonable lows and clear, distinct highs. For instance, listening to John Coltrane' s "Spiritual" (Live at the Village Vanguard) the cymbal strikes are clear, the sax and clarinet solos are smooth, and the acoustic bass line is unmuddied. The whole effect is brighter and cleaner than from most mid-priced computer speakers, which mostly seem designed to reproduce thudding explosions and Tyrannosaurus stampedes.

The next best feature is the convenient volume, bass, and treble controls on the right satellite. A knob is so much handier than a menu.

Finally, the slim, black satellites are a nice combination of interesting-looking and inconspicuous.

For very high volumes, the ATP3's are not the choice. They wouldn't be loud enough to drive a dance party, for instance. And at high volumes the speakers sound somewhat strained. But for personal music listening, especially if your library includes jazz and classical, these are the best mid-priced speakers I found.

Let me start off by saying that if you are looking for speakers that are going to produce an amazing amount of bass, then look no further. You have found your speakers. Click on Add to cart and you are good to go. However, if you are looking for well balanced speakers for vocal driven music (i.e. musicals or opera, or even some pop music) then these aren't the best bet. All music sounds good with these speakers -- if you are listening to it loudly. I get up really early and don't want to disturb my wife who likes to sleep a bit later. I found that if I listened to a CD or Mp3 quietly, then the lyrics got lost. If I turn up the volume - an encourage my wife to leave - then everything is fine.

All and all, I think these are great spreakers if you are looking to listen to music loudly or music with a lot of bass, otherwise, I would recommend going with something else.

Let me start by saying that yesterday (4/29)I was perusing sites in search of a decent, reasonably priced speaker setup. I ran across this model, and scoped it here at Amazon. After a bit of research, I decided to take the plunge ... and I placed my online order at 2 in the afternoon.

Talk about fast and efficient ... they arrived this morning (4/30), no less than 18 hours after I submitted the order. I didn't even request overnight delivery, just the standard 3 day shipping. Kudos to Amazon for the lightning quick delivery.

I just hooked the speakers up a half hour ago, and right out of the box I can only say ... WOW! The design is even sleeker than I thought, and the subwoofer is also as streamlined as possible. A very handsome unit, with space economy at a premium.

Ok ... so, they arrived in the blink of an eye, and they look fantastic... but, how do they sound, right?

The sound surpasses the delivery and style raves! I decided to test drive the speakers by spinning one of my favorite discs: Blondie's "Parallel Lines" I felt one song in particular, "Fade Away And Radiate" would be as accurate a barometer of the capabilities of the sound as I could find. And I'm pleased to report that the ATP3 kicked major butt. The song has a very deep bass line, and thundering bass drum hits during the intro. I left the bass and treble controls at the neutral (middle) position, and turned the song up. The subwoofer handled the drum and bass quite well, and the clarity of the highs and vocals was outstanding. A very neat balance, with nothing getting overwhelmed or drowned out. I am a musician, and the great majority of my work on the PC centers around music... and these speakers are definitely CAPABLE of delivering the deep, rich sound one would expect to find on a more conventional stereo setup...

After that song, I decided to crank up the volume, bass and treble. The results were nothing short of outstanding. This system can handle it, I assure you. I purchased mine yesterday at $64.00 ... I see that now the price is even lowewr. My advice to those who are considering buying this is GET THEM! They perform as well as speakers you might pay twice as much for.
These are a frickin' STEAL at the current price. Go for it, you will NOT be disappointed.

These speakers are absolutely wonderful, they sound better than our living room surround sound setup! Don't let the size intimidate you, the speakers themselves are very small, and very professional looking, I specifically use them in my home office. The sound is superb from Mp3s, DVDs, CDs, to anything else that would make a sound out of your computer speakers. I keep the subwoofer on the floor, works well there. The volume and bass controls are well-placed on one of the flat panel speakers. The cords are a good enough length to position the speakers and subwoofer anywhere around a large desk. I must say that I recommend these speakers to anyone that asks for a quality 3 piece set such as this one. The quality surpasses any other sets that I've listened to, especially in this price range.

I'm a college student and I had been doing a little research on which kind of speakers to get for my laptop (because the ones that come integrated on the laptop are lousy), and I finally decided on the Altec Lansing ATP3 set. I am extremely pleased with the quality of this product, its sound, and especially with the subwoofer--it has great bass. They are extremely easy to install because the cords are color-coded. The first time I turned them on in my dorm room, my roommates thought it sounded like a club in our room. You could hear it all the way to another floor plus they are really small that they fit anywhere. Several people came into my room to check out my speakers and now some of them have the same exact ones. Our room is so cool now, because we have a small disco light, and my speakers make it sound like a club, so we have parties from time to time. These are the best speakers I have heard, and was surprised to get them for such a cheap price (I had had my eye on them for quite some time and decided to buy them when the price lowered). You won't be disappointed with these speakers....BUY THEM!

Some Background: I have a year old pair of Altec ACS 45.2 speakers that I have always thought sound phenomenal for the price. The only problem I could find is that they sounded so much better at ear level....I had to raise them up. I saw the ATP3's and thought...wow....tweeters at ear level. I can't imagine why I didn't realize that a downfiring 3" midrange would be worthless. What really gets me is that the "experts" at Altec Lansing didn't figure it out...after all, midrange sound is certainly directional. Firing midrange sound straight down into my desk is useless. Anyway, I received my ATP3's today and I am genuinely unimpressed with the sound. They do sound a bit better at rally high levels, but the 45.2s sound A LOT better overall, with better balance and much better imaging. If you pick the speakers up and aim the 3" at you, they sound a lot better. I now know that midrange makes a huge difference; more than I thought it would make in a computer speaker. To make a long story short, save your money and get the 45.2s.