Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing VS2521 2.1 Powered Speaker System

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Purchased these on impulse for my wife's notebook. They sound excellent. I like having separate treble and bass adjustments on the satellite speaker; wish the power button was there too instead of on the sub-woofer. Satellites are large enough to produce pleasing mid-range tones that are often neglected on PC speakers.

I'd buy another set of these before either of the logitechs I've purchased over the last year for my PC or the kids'... (x-240 or z-2300)

I had to replace my old Altec Lansing acs45 because the cable/plug broke and [I thought] wasn't worth repairing. The acs45 was such a great 2.1 system, so I thought I'll stick with AltecLansing and ordered the vs2521.
I use a speaker system only to listen to music, no gaming etc..
What I liked: plenty of power, bright high tones, kind of stylish.
What I didn't like: overwhelming sub woofer (hard to adjust to reasonable levels), very poor mid-tones, awkward wiring and on/off switch.
NOTE: the acs45 10-year old speakers were MUCH better than these! Ironic. Couldn't Altec just use the same circuitry in a new shell?
I returned these speakers mainly because of the poor midtone range.
I guess I'll have to spend about twice as much or even more if I want better music playback quality.

I purchased these speakers based on Amazon reviews. For the money and free shipping they are worth it even with some short comings. Treble is not very good, but the Bass is very good. Wires could have been more lengthy for better separation. Even though these are for the computer, you still need separation for better sound as I do not like my speakers right next to one another. The pisser for me was that they incorporated the speaker for the Sub Woofer on the bottom with no grill or cover and I almost put my finger right through it when I picked it up, so "Be Careful When Handling". Also there are no info sheets other than warranty info, so I give it a 4.

Altec Lansing makes excellent computer speakers. The VS2521 2.1 computer speakers with powered subwoofer delivered what I need in my PC speaker. Excellent bass sound, very solid, excellent treble and tweeter sounds that compliment the subwoofer's very solid bass sound. It is outstanding. I am very satisfied with my VS2521 2.1 computer speakers with powered subwoofer. I would definitely recommend this speaker to my friends.

We wanted speakers to work off our family room's laptop so we could listen to Pandora.com in the public end of the house. The space to fill is large and includes the kitchen and dining room - we didn't want just LOUD, we wanted good sound, good fidelity. When we hooked the unit up and turned it on we totally could not believe our ears! For about 20% of what we spent for our big stereo speakers alone, we got terrific sound. We're primarily jazz listeners, but enjoy other genres as well. Instrumentals? Voice? Perfect in every way. At Christmas, the English choral music was heavenly. (It's plenty loud - we've never turned it up to 11.)

These speakers get the job done, and for under 50 bucks, I'm not complaining.
1. The wires are WAY too short. The two speakers are hard wired together, and the wire is about 4 feet long. The 3.5mm stereo jack wire is also ridiculously short (3-4ft), so short that I had to buy a 6ft extension.
2. Sound quality is good, and with good equalizer settings, you can get great sound out of these. However, these speakers are weak in the middle range, but it's nothing an EQ won't fix.
3. These speakers can get loud. No problem there. Bass is good, although it tends to overpower.

Overall, these are good speakers to keep on your desk for everyday use, but don't expect awesome sound out of them, especially if you're an audiophile like me, and don't expect to get spacing of more than ~4ft. Expect dependable speakers with good sound for the price.

lots of volume, excellent controls and easy set up. Best subwoofer I have had. Highly recommend this one.

At the time I got this set, it was one of the top selling speaker sets in the price range. The other was the Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer. I didn't make a side by side comparison, but one reservation I had about the Logitech was that I was using these to replace a set of Logitech X-220 speakers. Reviewers of the S220 who formerly owned the X-220 tended to be disappointed so I decided to give these ALs a try instead.

I did not compare these to the X-220s extensively, but during my limited comparisons I found that the Altec Lansing were more transparent. The Logitech had a punchier, fatter bass sound. The latter might sound more impressive to many and gives the speakers more presence upon initial listening, but is less tonally accurate. That might be the sound that some people are going for who complain that the Altec Lansings do not have enough bass.

Speaker ratings are subjective and I can't expect these to sound like something in the $15,000 price range. I expect something that will sound good in the $60 price range, or whatever the discounted prices tend to be. For my purposes, these give excellent sound for a desktop speaker system and are more than good enough for a personal computer environment. I tried them in several rooms, and found that they blended better when the subwoofer was in a less constrained area than when I had it in an enclosed area under a desk. The front firing Logitech had some advantages in the latter environment, but I still could have been quite comfortable with the ALs.

These speakers also allow for adjusting the bass and treble from the desktop rather than the subwoofer alone using a knob on its back as with the Logitech. That makes it easier to refine the sound, and also easier to get it wrong. Take the time to get it right and it should blend well.

I'd also reiterate a point made by others: The cone on the subwoofer is unprotected, so be careful when unpacking it. Once in place, that should not be an issue, but it's an uneasy feeling when you unpack it and your fingers brush against the cone.

Pros: Nice looking, good quality construction, easy to set up.

Cons: Poor sound quality, subwoofer distorts and pops even with low levels of bass. (no this is not at excessive volume) Satellites were ok, but lacked a fullness of sound.

Comments: I compared these side by side with the Altec Lansing BX2321 and they were not even close. Don't spend your money on these, spend a little more and go with the BX2321's. They are not much more expensive, but you will not be disappointed with the sound quality. The VS2521's would likely be better as just a 2.0 system or just for listening to talk. I would highly discourage these speakers if you want budget gaming or theater speakers.

This is an average speaker system at an average price. We did shop the Bose speakers for around $100. and these are comparable if not an edge better. It wouldn't compare with the Bose upper end computer system, but if you are looking for a not bad speaker set with an ok price; this would be for you. They are much better than the Dell speakers that they replaced.