Altec Lansing VS-3151 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers Review - Design Notes
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There are a couple of small but important design notes worthy of mentioning: when connecting the speakers, a normal concern is “am I connecting this wire to the correct port?” Altec Lansing has made sure that you’re connecting the wires in the proper port. Each male connector has tabs on its sides which correspond to the respective port. The ports have around them dents matching the jack from the proper speaker, which won’t allow the wrong connection to be inserted. This is great for anyone with limited experience with audio equipment.
In addition, the color coding of the connectors helps to keep things in order, which helps keep things clean and simple from a visual standpoint.
The second interesting design element is the inclusion of plug-protectors. As with any 5.1 system for the computer, there are three plugs which connect to specified ports on your soundcard. Unfortunately, not all sound sources are set up to connect this way. (Portable MP3 players and an included adapter for duo-channel outputs fall under this category.) Because of that, two of the connectors come with caps to cover them while un-used. Although this might be seen as minor, it takes care of something often overlooked in surround sound systems, and helps protect the connectors from any external damage that might occur while not being used.
Gaming consoles, DVD players, and most televisions have RCA stereo-outs (usually red and white). The control pod includes RCA inputs which split the signal, turning any two- and four-channel system into a six-channel system. An included converter also allows users to connect devices with RCA connections to the system via the regular 1/8” jack (the one normally connected to the computer). For those looking to find a unified sound solution, this might just be what you’re looking for (if you don’t mind not being able to remotely control it).
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