ALTEC LANSING ACS 44 PowerCube 
Reviewed by Douglas Lam Wai Ching (25/07/98)

[Introduction] [The Good] [The Bad] [Conclusion] [Rating]

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Introduction

For our dear readers who have read the reviews of the Altec Lansing ACS 45 PowerCube, you will find a lot of similarities in this review of the Altec Lansing ACS 44 PowerCube. First of all, from appearance, they look virtually the same. The ACS 44 is a 3-piece multimedia speaker system. Similar to the predecessor, the PowerCube Speaker system consists of two components, a pair of Micro Satellites that deliver the higher frequencies and a PowerCube subwoofer pumps out the low range bass that completes the wide range of audio output from the PowerCube system. So how does this system add kick and punch to your favorite games? And how does the newer ACS 44 fair? Let’s go and find out….

To test the speakers, we used several types of audio input such as audio CDs from the Aopen 36x CD-ROM, games using the truly awesome Yamaha Soundforce XG soundcard (refer to reviews) and MP3 files using Winamp (download here). We then compared it with normal 2 piece multimedia speakers.

Results? Here they are…

The Good

When we pulled the speaker out from the box, we found out that the 3-piece system didn’t take up a lot of space. This is a plus point for those who have limited workspace (especially us, when we have stacks and stacks of hardware all over our desks waiting to be reviewed). The satellites are no bigger than a ??? and are magnetically shielded so that you can place them very near your monitor while the subwoofer can be placed anywhere (on the floor maybe?) as low frequencies are non-directional. This is similar to the ACS 45.

The setup was a breeze. It didn’t take us more than 5 minutes to get the whole system up and playing. There are 2 switches that can be adjusted by the user: the knob style volume/on-off control which is located on the front face of one of the satellite speakers and a small knob at the back of the subwoofer to control the output level for your desired bass effect. Once the bass level is set, the volume control adjusts the volume on the satellites as well as the subwoofer simultaneously, so you don’t have to reach back to the subwoofer to do any further adjustments.

First we loaded an audio CD in the CD player and listened. The speakers were powerful… the whole room was filled with sound by these little speakers! The treble was crisp and clear, giving unbelievable detail. It is pretty obvious that they have tuned the satellite speakers as they performed much better than the ACS 45’s. The high frequency response has definitely shown improvement. The low end is much tighter and well controlled.

Then we tested it by connecting it to the Yamaha Waveforce XG sound card and ran the FF7 demo. The synthesizer music sounded clear and sharp, while every blast and strike was delivered with maximum punch and realism.

Playing MP3 files with Winamp gave us great sound. With minor tweaking with the built in equalizer, the music quality could not be distinguished from an audio CD. Beware not to over boost the bass though, as it will flood out the treble, even causing distortion.

The ACS 44 is an improvement over the ACS 45. They got rid of the annoying/convenient (depends how u see it) auto-on/off feature and replaced it by a simple but practical knob. As I mentioned in the ACS 45 review, the auto-on/off feature has its problems.

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The Bad

So what’s bad? Well, the ACS 44 is a direct improvement over the ACS 45. Therefore there isn’t much bad points to comment on.

Conclusion

As I mentioned above, the ACS 44 is a direct improvement over the ACS 45. So if you are thinking of getting a 3-piece multimedia speaker system from Altec Lansing, then the choice is clear (unless the bad economy has affected computer users so bad that another S$3 is hard to come by).

The ACS44 PowerCube Speaker System is a 3-piece multimedia audio solution for your home or office personal computer that gives you power and performance at a tremendous value. Why settle for the limited output from a 2 piece system when you can step up to the powerful performance of the PowerCube 3 piece system that is delivered to you in a space-saving shape?

Sound System RATING