Altec Lansing FX6021 2.1 Speakers

Reviews: Multimedia

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Bradford Day
Kurtis
Altec Lansing
Oct. 13, 2004

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Packaging

Well, right off the line Altec Lansing is twitching to go. The FX6021s packaging is subtle while at the same time almost daring you to deny their greatness. Exclaiming and commanding you to "Feel it! Live it! Turn it up!" while gracefully displaying barely there graphics and product shots. Turn the box around and you're greeted with a complete list of features and specs, in 4 languages no less.

Opening the box reveals the standard foam tomb in which most audio components travel. Smartly packed inside you will find your speakers (a woofer and two lanky satellites), satellite stands, copious amounts of high quality cabling, as well as wired AND wireless remotes. A simple user's manual with few pictures is also stashed inside, again written in 4 languages. The standard list of warnings adorns the first page, warning you that electricity and water don't mix.

First Looks

Once again, the FX6021s aren't fooling around. These are not your typical 2.1 computer speakers. The narrow satellite speakers are thin and shallow, and yet they house six 1" drivers each. These puppies win immediate style points in my book for the far from standard layout, as well as the basic silver theme. Another nice touch that few people may appreciate is the lack of obvious logo display. Altec Lansing could have emblazoned their corporate logo in bold black lettering, but rather embossed it shallowly into the plastic speaker housings. Nice touch.

The slim-line satellites can be place on your desk with the included stands. Or, if you are trying to conserve space, the heavy bases can be removed and the speakers may be attached to a wall. I liked the tall, narrow design and had plenty of room for them on my average sized computer desk. The speaker grills are made of silver colored metal and can't be easily removed, nor should they need to be. The tiny 1" drivers have nifty silver cones but are mostly hidden behind the grill.

The Subwoofer isn't nearly as fit and trim as the satellites, nor can it be. Encasing a 6.5" driver as well as a power unit simply won't allow for it! The speaker is stylish nonetheless. As the subwoofer will in all likelihood need to be placed on the floor, it need not be as fashionable as functional. Just don't expect the whole speaker unit, sub and all, to fit nicely on your desktop.

Inside the woofer, should you feel like taking it apart, you will find...well, not much really. Of course the driver is hiding in there somewhere, but by removing the plastic access panel which houses the bass port and input jacks, all you'll really get a good look at is...well, the back side of the bass port and input jacks and maybe some PCB and a capacitor or 2. The rear of the speaker box does warn against removing the panel and mentions that there are no user-serviceable parts back in there. But I bet with a little recklessness and disregard for your own safety you could find something to solder and/or melt. Don't remove the panel. There's a reason 12 little screws are holding it in place.

As this speaker system is attempting to cater to the above average computer user, more features abound. A wired volume and sound controller is included sporting an easy to use knob-adjust for sound levels as well as bass and treble response. Also included is a wafer thin wireless remote that does essentially the same thing as its wired counterpart. Although, the infrared receiver port for the wireless remote is located on the front edge of the controller. Proper placement is essential to the wireless remote's successful operation. At times I had problems getting the remote to work if the little port was blocked by a mouse or at an extreme angle.

I mentioned early the high-quality cables that accompany the speakers. As thick as most keyboard connection cables and plenty lengthy (about 8 feet), it is obvious that Altec Lansing is stepping up to offer audiophiles something worthwhile. Now, let's be honest, 90% of the time, connecting computer speakers to a machine is a relatively easy task. Altec Lansing makes it utterly foolproof with color-coded speaker-wire ends and input ports. If you hook these up wrong, well, frankly you don't deserve to listen to them. Around the back of the subwoofer you will find your input jacks for left and right satellites as well as auxiliary RCA jacks meant as inputs for gaming consoles such as the PS2 and XBOX. And as a very thoughtful and useful extra, Altec Lansing includes 2 speaker cable extensions (another 8 feet of cord). A very classy idea in my opinion as you won't be left with miles of extra cord if you don't need it, yet won't be left wanting for more should you require.

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Packaging & First Looks
Page 3: Setup & Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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7 User Comments

1 - Posted by EmoMakesMeCry on October 13, 2004 - 6:34 pm

ooooo, those are pretty

2 - Posted by Rich on October 14, 2004 - 10:09 am

Oh yeah, and they sound great too!

3 - Posted by handrail on October 14, 2004 - 1:49 pm

indeed, they do rock. i'm pretty impressed with altec lansing's new products.

4 - Posted by Guest on December 24, 2004 - 6:03 pm

Really crumby. I just got some for christmas and I am very disappointed. The packaging was awful; a really long tedious process followed by furthur disappointment at the uglyness of these speakers. They really are not as nice as they seem. Once plugging them in, I was greeted with less than adequate sound and really yuky base. I dont lik heavy base personally, and you can turn it down but in doing so the music sounds silly. Dont buy these speakers, I'm taking them back tomorrow.

5 - Posted by Guest on April 27, 2005 - 7:07 am

The major problem with these speakers is that they delivers a very high-pitched treble wich becomes annyoing after a while. I tried tweaking them (i own a Audigy 2 ZS) but in vain... The only thing i can do is set the bass and the treble manually track (!!!)...
Over-all: dissapointing... The In-concert technology is the one to blame , because it adds an echo to the sound, making it be like youre in a concert...

6 - Posted by handrail on February 2, 2006 - 3:45 pm

well, this comment might be a year and a half late, but i am still using these speakers i and think they sound great. i listen to music on them constantly and i never had a single problem as mentioned above.

high pitched treble? try using an equalizer. less than adequate sound and yucky bass? i've not experienced either. i stand by my original assessment.

7 - Posted by guest on February 12, 2006 - 2:07 am

Sound good to me. Mostly music. The bass booms if sub-woofer is in a boxy area - have put mine up on a bookshelf, instead of in the bottom of computer cupboard, now very happy. I am going to buy a second set for the kitchen - subwoofer on top of the fridge, satellites wonderfully thin to hang on the wall out of the way.

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