Altec Lansing XT1 Laptop Speaker System

by Altec Lansing

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 2 x 8 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0006GBD5O
• Item model number: XT1
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

It's a fact of life that built-in laptop speakers are pretty underwhelming. Sure, they're good for a beep here and a ping there, but if you've ever tried to share your favorite song, watch a movie, or make a multimedia presentation using your laptop speakers, you're familiar with the problem. Enter the Altec Lansing XT1 speaker system, with a thin, innovative design that delivers superb audio and surprisingly deep bass thanks to its four full-range neodymium micro drivers and bass enhancement technology. Each of the two flat-panel, magnetically shielded satellites features a removable stand, making it extremely portable, especially when combined with the deluxe carrying case for on-the-go applications. And because the system is USB powered, listeners don't need to bring along a power supply or batteries. Simply plug it into your USB port and press play, and you'll enjoy the best portable sound you've ever heard from a laptop. The stands fit conveniently inside the carrying case, which includes an extra mesh pocket for the retractable USB cord and other laptop necessities. The speakers also come with built-in power and volume controls and feature an auxiliary input jack for connecting an additional audio source, such as a portable MP3 player.

What's in the Box
Two speakers, retractable USB cord, two removable stands, deluxe carrying case, user's manual.

Product Description

It's a fact of life that built-in laptop speakers are pretty underwhelming. Sure, they're good for a beep here and a ping there, but if you've ever tried to share your favorite song, watch a movie, or make a multimedia presentation using your laptop speakers, you're familiar with the problem. Enter the Altec Lansing XT1 speaker system, with a thin, innovative design that delivers superb audio and surprisingly deep bass thanks to its four full-range neodymium micro drivers and bass enhancement technology. Each of the two flat-panel, magnetically shielded satellites features a removable stand, making it extremely portable, especially when combined with the deluxe carrying case for on-the-go applications. And because the system is USB powered, listeners don't need to bring along a power supply or batteries. Simply plug it into your USB port and press play, and you'll enjoy the best portable sound you've ever heard from a laptop. The stands fit conveniently inside the carrying case, which includes an extra mesh pocket for the retractable USB cord and other laptop necessities. The speakers also come with built-in power and volume controls and feature an auxiliary input jack for connecting an additional audio source, such as a portable MP3 player.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the mobile laptop user, December 9, 2004

By 

David Benson "dave_benson" (Aberdeen) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altec Lansing XT1 Laptop Speaker System (Personal Computers)

I travel a lot, and need music. This means that I feel the need to take a mobile sound system with me. So I was very interested when the Altec Lansing XT1 speakers came on the market, and got them days after they first appeared.

My setup consists of a 15" Apple Powerbook running Mac OS X and iTunes, into which I have imported a large fraction of my CD collection, and the XT1 speakers.

Here are some comments on the XT1 speakers.

1) They plug directly into the USB port of the computer, and draw their power from it. So there's no need for ugly wall-warts and international plug adapters.

2) They come with a very compact carry case, roughly half the top surface area and twice the thickness of my computer. Very light for travel.

3) The sound is superb, given the physical size. Of course, they don't put out a huge amount of power or bass volume, but for that you'd need speakers ten times the size. What they do put out compares very favorably with other speakers of similar size.

4) Setup is easy. Just plug them into the USB port. That's all. I haven't tried them on a PC, so I don't know whether the situation is the same there.

5) The distortion is very low until you turn up the volume to the point where they overload, and then you hear some clipping.

6) Amazon doesn't seem to sell these speakers, even though they have them listed, but go to your nearest Best Buys, where they're on the shelf for about a hundred and thirty dollars.

7) You can also plug other sound sources into the XT1, but you'll need them plugged into your computer anyway because that's the only source from which it is able to take power.

8) I had a curious incident, where the speakers seemed to be panning most of the way to the left, and the stereo pan control disappeared from the audio system preferences. It turned out that this was caused by the speakers somehow going into mono mode; the solution was to get out the Audio Midi Setup tool from Applications/Utilities, and switch from mono to stereo. I think this is the fault of Mac OS X, not of the speakers.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Portable Notebook Speakers, August 8, 2005

By 

Daniel Stewart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Altec Lansing XT1 Laptop Speaker System (Personal Computers)

I recently purchased these speakers on Amazon.com and I'm very happy with the purchase. As always, Amazon.com delivered promptly and their packaging is very good.

Now onto the speakers themselves. As a previous reviewer has mentioned, these are only relatively small speakers, so if you're after full bodied audiophile quality sound, then these speakers will surely disappoint. But if you use them for what they are intended (eg; a dorm room, home study, hotel room, small business conference room, etc), these are a fantastic pair of speakers. For their size the sound is actually very good and well balanced.

I am also very impressed by the quality of the various cables. They appear to be strong and of excellent quality (not like the usually super low quality cables that normally accompany electronic products). This is encouraging as I will be packing and unpacking these speakers on a regular basis and it appears that the cables should be able to stand up to the stress.

The carry case is also of strong and sturdy construction, and there are no external pockets, buckles, buttons, or other protuberances to get caught on or broken off. So when packed away in the carry case the whole speaker set can be easily placed into your overnight bag, maybe even a notebook carry bag (though I think you'll get an even slimmer fit if you carry the speakers and cables loose in your notebook bag, but don't expect them to last as long).

On the right speaker is an "AUX" input, so you can plug in your iPod, MP3 player, CD player, etc. But since the speakers are powered from your computer's USB port, you'll have to at least have the computer in "standby mode" (my ASUS notebook has power to the USB port in "standby mode" but I can't speak for other brands of computers) or "ON" so you can listen to your external device. Supplied is a 3.5mm plug stereo cable to connect your external device to the speakers and it is made of the same high quality as the other cables.

For me the major benefit of being USB powered is that I now have the flexibility to take my speakers with me anywhere in the world and not worry about blowing them up because of the wrong voltage. I've only seen portable speakers that accept one voltage, either 100/110 V or 220/240 V (I use a quality AC-DC adopter for my notebook that can convert 100 - 240 AC into 19 DC). Additionally this product means one less power cable (or "wall wart") and power-plug converter to carry.

Volume can be controlled from your computer or external device and/or from the volume control buttons ("+" and "-") on the side of the right speaker (above the "AUX" input). There is also an "ON/OFF" button, located above the volume buttons.


I hope this review has been helpful to you.

Daniel

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding quality, May 14, 2005

By 

Mike Kircher (Angel Fire, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altec Lansing XT1 Laptop Speaker System (Personal Computers)

I purchased a set of these speakers from the Amazon Marketplace. Despite some problems with the shipping, I am blown away by the quality of the sound from such a tiny set of speakers from MP3 files on my PC. If you enjoy music, these speakers can definitely increase the utility of your PC for a small investment.