Reviewed: August 5, 2002
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Manufacturer
Altec Lansing
Type: Speakers
System: Home Audio
Rating: 10.0
Features
MSRP: $199.95
During my yearly trek to the E3 show in LA I visit hundreds of booths and see thousands of new and upcoming products. While software makes up a majority of the items I get to see, there are the occasional hardware manufactures displaying the latest in technology. Altec Lansing was one of the hardware vendors I had the privilege of visiting this year, and not only did they offer one of the nicest and most inviting booths at the show, they also had an amazing collection of new speakers for both home audio and PC.
The XA3051 was one of the new speaker systems they had setup in their own miniature living room, complete with comfy chairs, big screen TV, and the video game system of your choice. The unique styling of this 6-speaker system turned the heads of anyone who walked by, but due to the overwhelming ambient noise on the show floor it was virtually impossible to find out if these speakers sounded half as amazing as they looked. Only after I had these speakers attached to my own game systems could I appreciate the wonderful surround sound the XA3051 offers.
With the advent of next-gen video game hardware comes enhancements in audio technology. It’s not surprising to see Dolby Digital and DTS games for the PS2 and almost every game released for the Xbox supports Dolby Digital. The GameCube seems to be fond of the new Dolby Pro Logic II format and PS2 and Xbox also seem to be moving toward this new surround technology.
Regardless of what systems you have or what games you play, those tiny 3” speakers in your TV just don’t cut it for today’s games. Almost every game features a contemporary soundtrack with popular artists and Top 40 music selections. Action and adventure games are making more use of 3D sounds to enhance gameplay to the point where if you don’t have 3D sound you are playing at a disadvantage.
Altec Lansing, who specializes in the hottest audio products on the planet, realized that your typical gamer doesn’t have a $3,000 home theater rig, and even if you do, you might not want to be playing games on the same system you watch your movies and TV. While not exactly “portable”, the XA3051 can be moved around or setup in a bedroom or family room or wherever you have a spare TV and want to play your video games.
The XA3051 is a 5.1 system – the 5 being the five satellite speakers and the .1 being the subwoofer. Each speaker features a 3” full range driver and the design looks like a sphere with a few extra inches in the middle of the rounded ends. The total size checks in at 4.4”(W) x 3.8”(D) x 6.8”(H) – flip those dimensions for the center channel that sits horizontal on top of your TV.
The speakers are deceivingly smaller than you would expect for the power and quality of sound that they deliver. The entire set features a classic design using a black finish with a simulated brushed aluminum grille. The satellites looks like those old studio microphones you see in the old movies. Each speaker comes with its own wire stand that lets you tilt the speaker to the optimum listening angle, or you can mount them on the walls using the included wall brackets. All speakers are shielded so as not to interfere with your TV, and the center channel can go right on top of the TV.
From the time of opening this box of carefully packed, individually wrapped speakers to playing my first game was about 15-20 minutes. Installation is extremely simple thanks to the color-coding of the cables and the speaker jacks, plus the extremely “friendly”, but virtually unnecessary, Quick Connect Card.
Once the speakers have all been plugged in and positioned around the room all that’s left is to plug in your audio source. Basically, anything with a left/right (red/white) audio plug can serve as your source. If your TV supports "stereo out" then that would be the ideal solution, as you could enjoy everything you watch on your TV through these speakers; otherwise you will need to hook-up the audio connections from your video game, DVD player or whatever device you are using to the inputs on the back of the subwoofer. The yellow video connection (or S-Video if you are using it) still splits off and goes to your TV.
In my case I have five video game systems all going through a switchbox. I was simply able to run the audio output from this switchbox to the XA3051, so whichever game I had selected on the switch was the one I heard through the speakers.
It is important to know that the XA3051 is not a Dolby Digital 5.1 system. You will not get a discreet 6-channel mix like you would if you had an actual home theater Dolby 5.1 decoder. The XA3051 does offer a Dolby Pro-Logic surround mode that does an amazing job of creating wonderful 3D spatial audio to totally immerse you in today’s high-tech games.
Since it would be impractical to put controls on the actual speaker, the XA3051 comes with a wired remote. This remote includes a power button and a large dial that controls the master volume by default. Using the option buttons you can independently control the levels for the sub, rear and center channels, as well as bass and treble. The mode select button allows you to toggle between Stereo and Surround sound modes. A wireless remote would have been a nice feature, but probably would have added significant cost to this package. Plus, I have so many cables tangled in front of my TV right now that one more doesn’t really matter.
I tested these speakers with everything from music and movies to the latest in video games. The subwoofer generated some serious bass, and the other five speakers all offered amazing clarity. It took a while to fine-tune each channel for optimum effect, but there is a handy test mode you can use to equalize the output based on your favorite seating location. Ideally, you want all sounds to be the same level so if you sit close to the rear channels you may need to lower their volume so they match the front.
I listened to some CD’s and popped in my new copy of Resident Evil - the movie, which is arguably one of the best sounding DVD’s you can currently buy. It sounded great and the subwoofer was able to handle the serious low frequencies this movie delivers.
The true test of these speakers was when I started playing some of my games that supported surround sound. Games like Wipeout Fusion for the PS2, HALO for the Xbox, and Eternal Darkness for the GameCube became entirely new experiences. The 3D effects added a spatial quality to these games that totally immerse you in the experience. The creepy laughter in Eternal Darkness still haunts me, and HALO was totally enhanced by now being able to locate enemies by the direction of their sounds.
I have no real complaints with the XA3051. Sure, a wireless remote would be nice and support for a true Dolby Digital or DTS mix would be even better, but that’s not what this package is about. If I know Altec Lansing, don’t be surprised if you don’t see a high-end model of these speakers with all of those features coming out next year. For now, this is as good as it gets and you couldn’t ask for anything more out of a Dolby Pro-Logic sound system.
The XA 3051 speakers look great and sound even better. Priced at $199, they are certainly cheaper than investing in a home theater AV unit and 6-speakers. And while they certainly won’t replace a real home theater setup, these are a great alternative to standard TV speakers and will enhance anything you listen to, watch, or play.