Pricey but worth it... | Altec Lansing ADA305 PowerCube Computer Speakers (3-Speaker)

Awesome Sound in a Small Package | Altec Lansing ADA305 PowerCube Computer Speakers (3-Speaker)

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	• Altec Lansing ADA305 PowerCube Computer Speakers (3-Speaker) Altec Lansing Technologies Altec Lansing Technologies average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This speaker system will blow your mind, even as an audiophi

Don't misunderstand me, these speakers at this price range is what I am talking about, but let me say, that this is the only show in town. I bought the predecessor to these the Altec ADA880. Same configuration, but with 80 watts rms, instead of the now 120 that comes with the R. Now let me tell you about the speakers. You get an 8" sub that reminds you of a velodyne. If you are looking for an even better sub, you can spend 500 for a velodyne sub, but this Altec with the 8" sub reminds you of that kind of sound. The bass goes so deep, you won't believe it. It is far better than most peoples home stereo, and that is remarkable in the computer format. It comes with 4 speakers plus the sub. The two front speakers are two way with a mid and tweeter, and the rear speakers are a single cone. The highs are crisp. If you are into the high efficiency sound, this is the winning ticket.
Mate this up with a computer with a good sound card. I have an inexpensive DVD player installed in my computer, and I added the Real Magic Hollywood Plus DVD Decoder card. What a match. It has the digital output that plugs right into the Altec system. So you get true 5.1 Dolby surround, that is auto detected in the Altec system. The Real Magic card also has the S-Video output, so you can switch it to TV output, and get better resolution than, and listen to this, any DVD player on the market today, at any price. So a 50 dollar DVD player, mated to a 50 dollar Real Magic Hollywood Plus DVD Decoder card, and mating that to the Altec ADA880R, and you have a DVD experience that is unmatched in the industry. I know the doubters will not believe what I just said. Check it out at RealMagic.com site. I was listening to Jurassic Park, and I felt like the crickets were all around me. When the subwoofer kicks in, people get quiet. Unbelievable levels at this price point.
Now let's talk about the cons: The distortion rating on this unit is about 1%. True super hi fi specs have distortion ratings that begin at .05%. Does it sound distorted, no, but to a true audiophile, it is not the same as a 5 grand system. If you hear the ADA 880R you would say, what am I talking about, I don't hear any distortion, so I am talking about the tweaking edge, not the body.
I have a lot of very expensive gear, like a Velodyne 15" sub, with a separate 400 watt RMS amp, 1800 retail. It shakes the house, I also have the Velodyne Concert Theater series 12" sub rated at 400 watts max, and 140 watts RMS, 500 retail. That is an amazing sub for the money, and zero distortion all the way down to 20 cycles. (Most subs don't even give you 20 cycles, let alone distortion free) Even with all of that, when I took the ADA 880 out of the box, plugged it in, and turned off the surround, and played it in straight stereo, I ordered 5 more of them, (they were greatly discounting them with the release of the ADA880-R) so that I would have sound in all of the rooms with a computer in them. That is how much it blew my mind.
It comes with a remote control, that not only controls volume, but also controls, treble, bass, stereo, surround, center, mute, and on off.
I stopped by the local radio shack, and bought a three way audio input box for 20 bucks, and then hooked the TV, VCR, and computer up to it. Just like having a full blown multi input receiver.
Before buying a home stereo system, listen to the Altec. Make sure you turn the surround off, set it to straight stereo (a feature that most home receivers don't even have) turn the treble and the bass up, put in a high quality CD original recording, and stand back. You probably think I'm a newbie, excited about his latest toy. When you hear this system, you will become one too. Nothing else in this price range, will even come close, and I would say that most systems in the 1000 dollar price range, would have a hard time keeping up. I listened to $275 dollar stand alone subs, and they did not hold a candle to this Altec, and it comes with amplifier, preamp, and 4 speakers, and remote, all included.
Check it out yourself. It will blow your mind, even your audiophile friend will be impressed.

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Pricey but worth it...

I've had the speakers for nearly a year now and was reading through a few of the reviews here and i also have to agree that these speakers really are Unbelievable they just sound great doesn't matter what music your into. The bass is great! And the prologic technology actually does sound excellent.
In a previous review however i read that a person had difficulty using the speakers with win2k well i found that i couldn't use the software which enabled the usb cable (speaker software) but that didn't mean that i couldn't use the surround sound. If you hold the centre button down for 3 or 4 seconds it switches the speakers from analog to prologic. I just happened to stumble across this when messing around with the speakers. Its easy to see if you've switched the speakers to prologic by looking at the light on the unit if its orange it means its on analog if its green then its prologic.
The speakers are soooo good!!! that i've actually put them into my room and hooked them up to my stereo system to add an EXTRA punch to my sound system, it Works amazingly with the other speakers.....
So yeh go get yourself a set of these if you can afford them at the price they're at :(

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Awesome Sound in a Small Package

These speakers, used with the Sound Blaster Live 5.1 sound card are nothing less than spectacular! MP3 quality can truly be measured with the ADA-305's. For the money, I would challenge anyone to top this system. If you're an old 100watt/channel stereo audiophile, it's time to upgrade. Trust me, you WILL be blown away! Altec Lansing is to be commended for taking PC sound to the next level.

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These speakers are good. VERY good.

Well, where to start. How about good, good, good?

These speakers are small, refined, clear, powerful and clever.

Ample bass - powerful enough to shake my room - (it's a old victorian house with 3" think walls!), smooth midrange (that doesn't get drowned out like in some other small speakers) and sweet treble.

If you like Hi-Fi you'll love these speakers for your computer, and with there auto-detect dolby digital switching they're perfect for films too! I watched blue streak with them and was impressed at the bass levels, stereo and front-rear seperation.

BUY THEM!

oh, and they beat the pants off the cambridge soundworks package, and the labtec speakers also, they dont drop to pieces!

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They'll blow you away . . .

I bought these over a month ago from Amazon, and they are truly amazing. I've heard lots of computer speakers, and this set beats all of them hands down. There are some things you should know, however: (1) these speakers WILL work on the final release of Windows 95 (I bought a pair for my wife's computer which runs on the final release, and they run perfectly), but not on earlier releases; (2) they definitely run on Windows 98; (3) they run really well on Windows ME; and (4) they do NOT run with full functionality on Windows 2000. Altec Lansing has not developed, and its tech people claim they will not develop, drivers for the audio management software for Windows 2000. The speakers will work with limited functionality with Windows 2000, but they will sound no better than another decent set of computer speakers that cost less than half of these--you completely lose the surround sound capability of these speakers under Windows 2000. I switched my computer from Windows 2000 to Windows ME because of these speakers. They're that good.

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The ADA305 Digital PowerCube delivers multidimensional audio excitement resulting from a Dolby Pro Logic decoder in the subwoofer. It simply takes any analog signal and converts it to 4 channels of audio. To deliver the multichannel audio, the Digital PowerCube uses Altec Lansing's patented side-firing speakers so that the audio is driven to the side and rear for a true multidimensional audio experience. As a result of USB (Universal Serial Bus) technology, Altec Lansing now delivers to you greater control of your listening environment with the Digital PowerCube Audio Management Software. This on-screen software allows you to individually adjust each audio channel: you'll be able to customize your audio to your listening environment so that you can maximize your audio pleasure. The right speaker has a unique characteristic of digital controls. The digital controls on the right speaker require the use of USB. There is a volume control button which controls the main volume control, and then three other buttons that allows the volume control button to operate volume for specific speakers, including the phantom center channel, subwoofer, and surround sound.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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