Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing XT1 Laptop Speaker System

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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

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.

I bought these speakers for my wifes laptop(dell 9300).First I must say that they are very attractive and very easy to carry.Also the fact that they do not need any additional power source other than the usb port makes them even more portable.

However the volume of the sound from these speakers was not any louder and only a little better in quality than what my wife's

Dell 9300 was capable of. If you have a laptop that is probably 3 years or more old or a very basic laptop these speakers could be an upgrade for you.Howevr if you own a newer multimedia type laptop these speakers are not worth it.

The Altec Lansing XT1 speakers are absolutely great! They have a small footprint yet fill a room with sound. They are nicely crafted and come in a well-designed padded case that fits perfectly into my laptop's carrying case. USB powered is the way to go, no external power supply needed! Sets up in a flash!

If you enjoy watching DVD's on your laptop, or listening to music, but hate the tiny sound from the stock built-in speakers this is the perfect set-up for you!

Shop around for the best deal on these as the prices vary significantly. I picked mine up for about $79.00 to give you an idea. I am not affiliated with the site, but www.pricegrabber.com is a wonderful tool for comparison shopping. I use it for just about everything.

Bought a pair of these, last ones on the shelf and already opened and found that the bass was incredibly distorted and unlistenable for some songs. Likely one of the speakers was blown and was promptly returned by a customer and then quickly returned to the shelf. Returned them and I tried out a newer looking pair with updated packaging. Bass distortion mostly gone with the exception of some recordings. Otherwise superb mid to upper range with excellent clarity and depth. Imaging unbelievably good with proper speaker placement giving a surround sound like effect. Overall the bass is fine but lacks punch but that would be almost impossible with such a small USB powered speaker. Packaging and design are very clever, well thought out. Very high end and classy in presentation. It would easily possible to get a better sounding powered system but given the benefits of portability Altec has done extraordinarily well with these speakers.

For comparison I tried out the Logitec V20's. Initial impression not bad but soon realized that the bass that was being offered was overpowering and thick as molasses without offering much clarity or restraint. Actually preferred the bass coming from the smaller speakers in the Altecs. Other problem was the lightness of the Logitec combined with the larger bass speaker resulted in a huge amount of vibration causing the speaker to flail about like a Mexican jumping bean. Lowering the bass output with the iTunes equalizer did not cure this. Hugely annoying and decided to go with Altec. Haven't regretted it. Word of caution to not overpower the speakers in view of the first pair I bought that had likely been previously damaged.

Portable, excellent audio quality, USB-powered (only two cables, one from a USB port to a right speaker, and a second from the right speaker to a left speaker). There are small but usable on/off and volume up/down controls on the right speaker, along with an aux input port.

A case for the speakers and cabling rounds out the package.

Highly recommended!

If you are seeking portable speakers that can deliver decent sound and a eye catching add on this are the speakers for you, they sound very well but if you would like bass power and clarity you should try perhaps a 5.1 speaker set...Fast delivery from amazon, the box and the case of the speakers are beautiful and very stylish, the cable kit is very impressive and they are very easy to use, but remember if you want power this are not for you...

I purchased these speakers so that I could bypass the lackluster integrated speakers on my laptop, and I have to say, I'm impressed with their performance. The mids and highs sound outstanding, and the bass is reproduced very well, although it's not a hardcore thumping bass. Definately leagues ahead of my laptop's speakers, but if you have a laptop with an integrated subwoofer, or the name brand of your speakers is advertised anywhere on your laptop, then pass these up.

The build quality is excellent. The case, the housing, the wire quality- all excellent. When you pick them up, they have a little bit of weight to them, so they certainly don't feel cheap. Definately no complaints about that.

All in all, these speakers performed the way I expected them too, although personally, I thought the cost was a bit steep for them. Still satisfied, however, and I would recommend these to a friend.

Lastly, I use these speakers in conjunction with my laptop to play games, watch movies, and occaissionally listen to music. I travel a lot (I'm in the military) and wanted some good sounding speakers that I can pack up and easily stow, that didn't require any external power, and that could take a beating. These speakers definately sound better than any integrated TV speakers I've ever heard, but not quite as good as a 2.1 system. So, conclusion: if you don't intend to bring your speakers with you everywhere you go, then get a cheaper 2.1 system instead. And if you do decide to get these speakers, keep the volume reasonable. As you turn them up, the sound quality worsens, so if you're looking to fill a room with sound, so that you can hear your music from 30 feet away... Look somewhere else.

Now, the reasons that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5:

-They have a built in sound processor. I find this bad because my onboard sound processor is better than these speakers. And it also bypasses the headphone jack on your computer, since the headphone jack is wired to the onboard sound processor. So if you want to switch to using headphones, you'll need to select your onboard sound processor as the default (which you can do through the menu located in the "volume control" icon in your systray, if you're using Windows- or, simply unplug the speakers and then plug your headphones in)and then plug them in.

-Considering the previous statement, there is no headphone jack on the speakers.

-These speakers stand up by using the jack-ends of the wire that connects the speakers together as the support legs. Which is actually pretty ingenious, but it doesn't offer a lot of stability if you're on a vibrating surface.

If you travel a lot and want to listen to music or watch DVDs on your computer, you will either use headphones, tolerate the built-in speakers on your laptop, or take along some kind of external speaker system.

While you could travel with some nice desktop speakers like Cambridge Soundworks, you will have to carry: two speakers, a subwoofer, an AC adapter, and several wires. It's a ton of stuff, a pain to carry, time-consuming to set up and take down, and unless you travel extremely "heavy", there's just no way you can do it.

The Altec Lansing XT1s provide a huge improvement in sound quality and volume, and gets the number of wires down to pretty much the bare minimum: two. No batteries and no AC adapter are required, because it's powered over USB, and the sound goes digitally over USB, so one wire goes from your USB port to the left speaker, and the second wire carries the right channel audio from the left, with that cable kind of doubling as a sort of speaker stand.

It also includes a stereo mini cable so you can play your iPod or whatever through the speakers, but it is not a standalone iPod solution as it can only be powered by USB.

Everything fits into the included semi-rigid zippered carrying case that's 2" x 8.5" x 6.5", which is quite manageable, and with the price drop from $150 when it came out to $75 now, the main barrier to purchase has been removed.

The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because some next-generation technology will add the solid bass thump that is still missing. Highly recommended.