Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Choice
Review: I was looking to upgrade my computer speakers from the 3 pc Yamahas I had. The Yamahas were good, much better than the 2 pc HK's that came with my Dell. But I wanted SIGNIFICANTLY more bass response. I narrowed my search to the Cyber Acoustic A3640, the Logitech Z2300 and these Altec's. My initial concern was the Altec VS4121 is only rated at 31 watts with a 19 watt sub. The others in my selection were significantly more powerful. The Logitech is powerful and has a great balanced sound, but to my ears it didn't sound as good or as "bassy" as the Altec. The Cyber Acoustic sounded good. Good bass, but I need something that will fit under my computer desk. I already have a Home Theartre system with a 150 watt sub. The Altec sub is compact enough to fit either under the desk(without constantly kicking it) or on the desk. The sound is great. The bass is unbelievably good, deep and loud. I don't know how this can be with only 31 watts, but it is totally excellent. At only 1/3 volume the desk is rumbling and the bass is pounding!! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Speakers
Review: I went into Best Buy to look at expensive receivers to replace my old broken down one, and decided to take a look at some computer speakers as I listen to all my music and watch all my movies through my PC. It took me all of 30 seconds to decide to buy these speakers instead. I couldn't believe the sound that was I was hearing. The Bose speakers positioned right next to them (that were the same price) didn't sound nearly as good. Both low and high sounds come off crystal clear. These speakers, combined with a Sound Blaster Audigy provide an incredible sound experience rivaling high end audio systems costing hundreds more. In other words, I would recommend these speakers.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the model they replaced!
Review: I've had (and loved) Altec's ATP-3s for years, but after thousands of hours I think a tweeter has gone south. So naturally, I turned to these -- the successor to the ATPs. But compared to the ATPs, the vs4121s are like a bull in a China shop.
1. The bass is overpowering and muddy. Altec increased the power to the sub and lengthened the port without doing anything to rein in the boomy, inaccurate low end that results from such a move. The ATPs had the perfect amount of bass response with a flat setting. I've got the bass knob on the 4121s turned down to 1/4 of the range and it's *still* boomy and not the least bit accurate.
2. Not quite bright enough flat -- but the ATPs also suffered from this. I have to nudge the treble a little bit. HOWEVER, doing this on the 4121s produces a clearly audible hiss from the sats, while the ATPs have no such hiss.
3. Hum. The sub does produce a humming sound. However, it's not as bad as some other people say. (Note: I've got the speakers plugged into the same high-quality surge protector as the rest of the computer -- the recommended setup to avoid ground loop noise.)
4. No second input? Come on... every other speaker sold today has an auxiliary input. (The headphone jack is a nice addition, though.)
In conclusion, Altec took a well-balanced, nuanced speaker system (that could be loud if you wanted it to be) and replaced it with a menacing, overpowered system that can't be subtle or accurate to save its own life. Recommended only for mindless bass-heads.
(FYI, I used an M-Audio Transit external sound card in these tests, which I recommend highly to anyone who listens to a lot of music on a laptop.)
Rating: 
Summary: Price may not be total spent...
Review: The Altec Lansing VS4121 is the epitome of a 2.1 speaker system.
I bought JBL's Creature II's before returning them for Altec's pieces of pure genius. Not that the Creature wasn't good... it was gorgeous just to look at and complimented my iPod quite nicely! I just didn't feel as though it was giving off the sound as intense as I would've wanted it to.
I don't know much about speakers, I only know whether what I hear is acceptable or not. I listen to alot of classical music, alternative, trance, and new age, so clarity and versatility is an issue with me.
I've these for my iPod, my PS2, my PC, my DVDs. The VS4121 actually has the flexability and performance to excel in all aspects of usage. However, be warned that the listed price above may not be the total amount you spend on these fine speakers.
What you may have read in the other reviews is, to many people's dismay, true. There is a buzz when there is no audio input. And, to me, it is, under no circumstances, ignorable.
There is, however, a solution. Since this buzz is caused by "ground loop", inherent in a household's electric grid, one may purchase a funny little device called a "ground loop isolator" to vanquish the evil buzzing that is a byproduc of ground loop. There are more expensive, gold-tipped isolators for about 30 dollars, however, I just bought the not-so-fancy RadioShack ground loop isolator. It doesn't cost more than 20 dollars and pretty much eliminates the buzz. But I think it is fair that prospective buyers be aware of this.
[Note: All dollar values are American dollars.]
4 of 5 stars. Exceptional performance for a reasonable price... though, Altec COULD have made their own filter for this buzz, and that, alot may argue, can be worth more than one star's loss.
Rating: 
Summary: Something to consider ...
Review: The fair market value of ~$75.00 for these speakers is quite attractive, never-the-less, I returned my set a week after purchase and I will tell you why.1) Sound quality is marginal at best. The highs are only apparent & clear if you turn the bass down to about 15-20% and the treble to about 55-60%. Without this adjustment, the sound is quite muddy and highs are lost to the droning lows. If you listen to these speakers next to Klipsch 2.1's ($140) or Creative's 250D's ($125) you will be amazed at the difference in accuracy and clarity. Now, admittedly, the VS4121's are half the price (roughly) but the difference is well worth the increase in QUALITY sound considering more and more of our entertainment is computer based (for instance - my entire audio collection is on my drive). * Sidenote for your understanding: I listen to a great deal of Electronic which has a wide frequency range. Highs are extremely important. These speakers couldn't keep up. I also had a problem with 1 single track where low's were cutting out all together. 2) The manufacturer warns of a detectable buz or hum from the sub if the a/c current in your home operates @ 60 cycles. This is picked up and transmitted through the sub whether your speakers are connected to an audio source or not. This problem is WITHOUT REMEDY. My house was built in 1998 (relatively new) yet this became an enormous problem, regardless of where I plugged them in. The manual says that it's only detectable at low levels or with no audio source. A track would end and I would hear bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz until the next track began or I shut the speakers off completely. I don't experience this problem with any other speakers (multimedia or otherwise) in my home. 3) For the price (MSRP of $129.00), a remote (wired or wireless) would be a wonderful upgrade. You may not realize but reaching for the satellite to adjust EQ and volume is troublesome especially considering they need adjustment quite frequently. Other than these gripes, the finish of the sub and satellites is quite nice and the audio cables are longer than they were on the old ATP3's which helps with configuration options.
Rating:
Summary: very good set of speakers
Review: very nice set of speakers i was looking at other 2.1 speaker systems but i was only looking at the spec sheets even though these has lower rms they sound much better then other speakers that say they r more powerful these are very under rated speakers i highly reccomend them 2 and1 that wants a really clean sound set of speakers
Rating:
Summary: No Comparison
Review: Wishing to replace my 6-year-old "came-with-the-computer" two mini speakers, I went to the web for options. That narrowed my search pretty much to Logitech, Creative Labs, and Altec Lansing.
So I went to [fill in big-chain electronics store] and listened to what they had. There was just no comparison in the 2.1 lines they had on display for sampling. I'd gone in looking at the Altec Lansing VS2121. Not impressed. But the VS4121 was head and shoulders above everything else on the shelf, including the comparably-priced Bose setup. The sound, the controls, the look---all excellent. I'm ordering the set today.
Rating:
Summary: No Comparison
Review: Wishing to replace my 6-year-old "came-with-the-computer" two mini speakers, I went to the web for options. That narrowed my search pretty much to Logitech, Creative Labs, and Altec Lansing.
So I went to [fill in big-chain electronics store] and listened to what they had. There was just no comparison in the 2.1 lines they had on display for sampling. I'd gone in looking at the Altec Lansing VS2121. Not impressed. But the VS4121 was head and shoulders above everything else on the shelf, including the comparably-priced Bose setup. The sound, the controls, the look---all excellent. I'm ordering the set today.
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