Altec Lansing VS-3151 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers Review - Tests: Movies
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I've made it a point to mention the VS-3151's two- and four-channel to six-channel conversion feature. Nowhere is that more apparent than when the system is connected to a run-of-the-mill television or DVD player.
Tests were performed on and conclusions drawn from the use of a standard 27” Toshiba television and Phillips 623 DVD player. Movies included The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King, The Matrix: Reloaded, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Throughout the movie screenings, I was amazed at the completeness of the sound this little system offers. Although using it as an addition to a home theater system might get a little annoying – after all, there is no remote control for the control pod – the fact of the matter is that once the proper sound setting for a certain movie in a given environment is found, there is very little need to mess around with anything other than volume.
The only true annoyance I found was the fact that unless you were at a directly perpendicular angle to the speakers, you were likely to miss a lot of the sound nuances found in the movies. That might be something to consider for those who have a large space to contend with. Additionally, the length of the cable, which is almost too long for a computer area, is too short for a living room, leaving itself at just the right length for a small bedroom or office, which seems a bit paradoxical, considering the seemingly great lengths which Altec Lansing went through to make this not just computer speakers, but also home entertainment center speakers.
That aside, I was impressed with the quality of sound, and was very pleased with the resulting experience. I was most impressed with the quality of the booming bass, which was powerful but not overpowering, even at full blast. The channel separation is likewise excellent.
Of course, these days there are just as many people watching DVDs primarily via their home PCs as there are people watching movies via their DVD player. (In fact, chances are that if you're reading this, then you're part of that first batch.) The popularity of higher end soundcards, with 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 functionality shows that users are looking for a more engulfing experience from their multimedia PCs. Using the same equipment as before (a Sound Blaster Live! included with my Dell 4600), I tested the system using The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Matrix: Revolutions, and The Last Samurai. Note that when movies are tested for sound, the best way to test them is to turn off the movie and concentrate on the sound. Can you feel where the sound is coming from? Can you imagine what the scene might look like if you were walking within it? All these are questions that should be asked when testing out and deciding on a set of speakers, especially surround sound speakers.
The tests began with The Two Towers, specifically, the sound-intensive battle for Helm's Deep. This is where the 5.1 capabilities of these speakers were pushed to the limit. Uru-Kai marching, arrows flying, shields and swords clashing, and rain dropping – this scene has all you need for a medieval battle scene. This was followed by the strikingly different, but equally sound intensive The Matrix: Revolutions's battle for the dock scene. The sound of a hundred marching, clanking robots make for a very nice listening experience. Both of these scenes were battles, but because of their contrastingly different nature – one being a medieval fantasy while the other is a post-Apocalyptic vision of the future – these two make for a good test bed. Finally, I added The Last Samurai because of an interestingly sound-intensive scene at the beginning of the movie, where the viewer is taken through 1876 Yokohama, Japan. The sounds of passerby's tiny bells and trinkets make this a perfect scene with which to test sound positioning.
In all of the films, the sound was clean, full, and well positioned. Although the fidelity isn't so high as to make the listener forget that it's a movie soundtrack, users will find the sound extremely pleasing nonetheless. No hissing, no buzzing, and no notable distortion. (The sub-woofer had some notable distortion when the sound was brought up all the way, something those intending to use the system for parties should watch out for.) The positioning was more than adequate to make my eyes follow the sound locations. In Revolutions, the sound of clashing metal, bullets flying, and machines marking was extremely easy to position and spot. Likewise, in The Two Towers, the sounds of shields and sword, as well as around whizzing past the listener's head is enough to bring listeners into the middle of the action.
The word “Wow” came to mind more than once during these tests, and for good reason: channel separation was extremely sharp. Add to that the clarity and power of these speakers, we have ourselves a recipe for entertainment. The system is great for movies. Audiophiles might want to look for higher-end speakers, but for those on a sub-US$100, these should be taken into heavy consideration. The speakers perform very cleanly, and are certainly adequate for watching movies on a PC.
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