Review: Altec Lansing FX6021 Sound System
I recently set out on a mission to track down an excellent 2.1 speaker system to hook up to my MacBook Pro for continuous playback of music through iTunes, and other various entertainment requirements.
I’d heard a lot of good things about Altec Lansing’s FX6021 range, and had played with them a few times within the confines of an Apple Reseller. However the noisy and crammed environment is not necessarily the place to put speakers to the test, I had to make a ‘deaf’ decision.’
I decided to finish my long search for speakers and just purchase them, if they were awful, I could always sell them. Once they arrived, the word awful wasn’t even in my vocabulary, the speakers are outstanding, to the point that I would refer to them more as a ‘sound system’ than multimedia speakers.
Sound Quality & Density
When the FX6021s started pushing out audio the first thing which blew me away was the super high density and ‘punch’ of the music, it sounds very luxurious. The ability to fine tune the Bass and Treble setting to your liking is a much appreciated feature.
The system has 5 volume levels, I’m generally listening to music on the first level, occasionally kicking it up to the second. Anything past two and you’re getting into something I’d like to call the ‘party setting,’ ideal for blasting music through a large noisy area. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to have them accidentally turned up to level 4 or 5 when kicking up iTunes first thing in the morning, unless you’re sending out a wake up call for your neighbors.
I’ve been very impressed with how quickly I can change settings to adapt different styles of music. Generally I leave bass and treble two bars off the top - set to the mid level the bass it delivers is really thumping, I’ve been told time and time again to turn the bass down due to excessive thumping, not necessarily a bad thing.
Design & Overall Environment Blending
Residing next to a 30�? Apple Cinema Display the two speakers look impeccable. They match the ‘Apple environment’ very, very well. I assume these would look as amazing when hooked up to a MacBook or one of the newer aluminum iMac’s.
The subwoofer sits conveniently under my desk, it’s not massive, though it’s not small. I’d recommend checking if you have enough room on the ground near your workstation to place it, as you’ll get much better sound quality with it on the floor than sitting on top of your desk.
Included in the box is both a wireless remote, and a desktop controller. The desktop controller is used for controlling volume, treble, bass, and power - while also providing you with a headphone port to isolate your sound into a pair of headphones should the need arise. The desktop controller would be amazing if it was wireless, sadly, it’s not, meaning it’s a little restrictive to where you can place it on your desk - not a huge problem, just a little grudge. If Altec Lansing had anything they could improve on, that’d be the one thing I’d push forward.
The design of the speakers, sub, desktop controller, and remote are all perfectly in sync. The system is very well polished and looks very professional in any setting.
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, I’ve been more than impressed with the system. I would highly recommend these to anyone who is looking for a suitable and compact sound system to hook up to your system for music, DVDs, and other media playback.
They have been a dream since day one, I really didn’t know how bad the audio on any other sound product I own was until I was treated to these. A must have addition to your setup is a good sound system, make these your choice.
#1
Michael Mistretta → michaelmistretta.com
Glenn, now that you have a MacBook Pro, do you find that the Apple Remote interferes with the IR sensor of the the FX6021’s. I bought them on your recommendation, and love them, but the IR thing bothers me. I probably have to cover the IR sensor up.
#2
JustinI was thinking about these or those clear ones. This makes me want to get these, mostly because the stated quality and the matcheyness of my iMac.
Thanks glenn and keep up the good work!
#3
I’m Switching → www.imswitching.com
I actually just ordered these last night. Dell has a great price on them ($158.09) with free 2 shipping. They should be arriving tomorrow, can’t wait to fire them up.
#4
Jeff KowerchukIMHO, the most underrated (and little-known) 2.1 system is the Aego system from British manufacturer Acoustic Energy. An unbelievable system that redefines the possibilities of computer speakers.
#5
Ryanhasn’t this review already been published quite some time ago?
#6
Nathan → www.ishotimages.co.nz
How much did you pay for them? (NZ$ that is)
#7
San Diego SEO → www.camrondeen.com
Glen, nice review on FX6021’s. I’ve been looking for months now trying to find the perfect addition to my family. Both in sound quality and aesthetics. I took your recommendation and made the purchase.
#8
RajHave you looked into Bose speakers. I love them. It produces a sharp and clear sound. They look cute as well. They bit pricey but well worth it.
#9
samthe speakers look nice but the controller looks like an old SNES controller. is it possible to take some shots with your macbook pro or current setup? thanks!
#10
Alec Feld → alecfeld.com
Hell no.
Companies making these shits are marketing them towards idiots. 2.1? 5.1? What the fuck is this? Buy a nice pair of studio monitors, and add a sub later if you want. If you have good ears, the sound difference will be obviously noticeable. These crappy bundles companies put together suck, and use small, low quality speakers. The bass is usually overdone, even on the lowest setting, and the sound is terrible compared to the real deal.
Worth $250? No.
#11
Jon ScottI had these speakers but was not impressed. The bass was over-cooked, ploddy and out of tune with the midrange and lower frequencies. I would recommend serious music lovers to bypass these and purchase the Acoustic Energy system also recommended by another poster above. These are incredible!
Americans have no idea when it comes to designing loudspeaker systems. They think bass is everything like on those crappy Bose systems. Even JBL speakers are overpriced and poor.
Forget Altec Lansing, Bose and JBL…… Creative and Acoustic Energy are better manufacturers.
BOOM BOOM BOOOM BOOOOOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM…. yeah man, Altec Lansing really rocks. Ermmmmmmmmmm ???!
#12
Jon BrownWhy on earth did you go for these? Google ‘fx6021 buzzing’ and see what comes up! Altec Lansing are nowhere near some of the higher end brands. You should have gone with a Bose set!
#13
John Simmons@Alec: Studio monitors have a purpose, and casually listening to music on your computer is not it. If you were to compare a set of Bose speakers to studio monitors, the Bose speakers would destroy them. This is because they color the sound and enhance it. The point of studio monitors is not to sound the best, but to sound the most accurate. And when dealing with home audio, accurate does not equal best.
@Jon Scott: You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. Bose systems are far from crappy. They have amazingly clear and crisp mids and highs. The bass is most definitely loud, but many people want a lot of bass. Who are you to criticize someones taste is music? If you don’t want lots of bass, then you can just turn it down.
Bose Companion 5’s are amazing. Pricey for computer speakers, but definitely worth it.
#14
Nathan → www.ishotimages.co.nz
@ Jon Brown
The Logitech Z-2300 have a pretty good review. Better than these.
#15
JustinThis looks like a great product and s something I might consider using myself with my MacBook Pro.
Also thought I should mention that I get a 404 msg with all the links in your post.
#16
JackWhy did you write that you “recently” picked these up? You did a video show on these in August and I remember you mentioning them in other posts with your old Mac Pro setup. Just curious.
#17
Alex Killpartrick → www.firstofall.net
@John Simmons
Yehyeh Studio monitors are more accurate than a Bose system, but to be frank, I’ve heard TVs which are more accurate than Bose systems.
Bose are great for ‘hide them in the corner background music’ speakers, but they are CERTAINLY not comfortable. Terrible peaks at around 2.5/3 KHz, insane drops between 200-400 Hz. Bose is NOT comfortable. Turn them up to ‘normal’ listening volumes and they’ll cut cheese at 40 yards. Turn a decent pair of studio monitors up even to extreme volume levels and they’ll stay in control perfectly, no ‘peaks’ or cone breakup (which is really, really painful to listen to).
Many home stereos are ’smooth’ listening, heck my own system is ’smooth’, and I listen to it hours on end and it never gets fatiguing. However, in the studio, I can still really enjoy an album on a selection of monitor speakers. It’s a myth that studio monitors are ‘difficult’ listening, only a poor pair of monitors are poor listening. To understand what makes a good sound system, you need to look at musical instruments.
Following your logic, any musical instrument will be uncomfortable to listen to for hours on end, as a good recording through studio monitors should sound as close as possible to this original instrument. As you know, this is not the case.
Therefore, a good pair of speakers should not modify the sound in any way. Instruments should sound just as they did originally. You should be able to hear everything the musicians are doing.
I recently installed an Isotek Titan on a pair of £11,500 active studio monitors (to give you an idea of how ‘flat’ these are, the volume output between 16 Hz and 20 KHz remains the same to within 0.25 dB, far less than the human ear can detect). Now, according to your logic, these should be impossibly difficult to listen to over prolonged periods. However, this was not the case, and indeed I could comfortably listen to them at over 90 dB (and they will go up past 110 dB before they become ‘difficult’). However, I can’t push a Bose system, even the top of the range system anywhere past 90 dB and still enjoy the sound.
One of our neighbors has a Boose system installed throughout his house, £15k he spent on this system, and it sounds acceptable at low volume levels. However, turn it up to medium ‘listening’ volumes, and it begins to sound ‘poor’, obvious that what you’re listening to is really low quality components in plastic boxes and poorly built woofers. Push them up to high volume levels (as happened at a christmas party there two or so weeks ago) and it becomes unbearable to listen to, massive peaks around 2.5 KHz - 3 KHz. THIS ACTUALLY DAMAGES YOUR HEARING.
Now I’m not expecting things to sound perfect at high volumes, far from it. But this was beyond funny or ‘poor’, this was simply dreadful.
Do not buy Bose. It’s all marketing and hype, there is no ‘go’ factor to their products. If you want home products, but B&W, Acoustic Energy, B&O, ATC or Focal speakers.
End of lecture.
#18
JonAmen to the guy above.
#19
Alec Feld → alecfeld.com
@ John Simmons
Told you.
@ Alex
Amen.
#20
G Dinesh KumarThe FX6021 are pretty good, but to be honest I find the Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1 beating them flat out every time I feel the itch to compare.
They are able to handle whatever I throw at them and excel in re-producing the full spectrum of sound. I get the details yet not compromising on the lower-end.
Hip-Hop fares really well on these speakers. But the real magic happens when I throw in some Diana Krall, Coltrane, Mingus or Miles. Absolute soddin’ magic baby!
They give my main ‘audiophile-grade’ system a good run for the money considering I spent in excess of 15 grand for them and a paltry 140 bucks on the Klipsch ProMedias.
Another set of speakers that would beat the FX6021 is Acoustic Energy’s Aego M. These are pretty solid speakers too!