Altec Lansing Speakers Too Bass-Driven

No more space-hogging subwoofer that sits on the floor! Altec Lansing puts all the bass you need in ‘half the space’ with its new speakers. The Expressionist Bass has two powerful down-firing subwoofers built into the base of each speaker, giving you that ‘oomph’ for any connected audio source.

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The Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022 looks like a road cone, but with more panache. Despite the fact that its glossy, piano black finish is prone to fingerprints, it still adds a touch of elegance to the speakers. Users can find the power and volume buttons on top of the right speaker, with the power button lighting up when the unit is on. The unit has no bundled remote, which means that users would have to stand up or reach over to adjust the volume.

Setting up the unit only entails hooking up the source (such as a notebook, PC, or MP3 player) to the speaker via its input or AUX port and plugging the unit into a wall outlet. The speakers are hard-wired to each other, so users don’t have to worry about hooking it up together.

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We hooked up the Altec Lansing speakers to various devices to test its audio quality. The unit’s subwoofers definitely delivered and gave us that thumping bass in our house tracks. Unfortunately, the speakers can only do so much: the bass starts to distort when the volume is set to high, which may not be good for users who plan to use this set of speakers for parties and gatherings.

And because the unit favours lower frequencies, it has problems reproducing mids and highs. Vocals were not as crisp as we wanted, with various instruments sounding muddy. The only way for us to bypass the powerful bass was to change the equaliser settings on our device, prioritising treble over bass. It could have been better though if Altec Lansing has included a treble and/or bass adjustment knob for more control.

Overall, the Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022 is a good multimedia speaker that can satisfy dance music fans: It delivers good bass and does not need a lot of space in your room. It is perfect for games, action-packed movies, and music listening as well. Just make sure to adjust the equaliser settings (and give more priority to treble) to get a more balanced speaker system. The Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022 is available with an RRP of $249.

See page over for product specifications and final rating.

Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022

Total Continuous Power: 25 Watts RMS
Subwoofer: 9 Watts per channel @ 4Ohms @ 10% THD @ 40-Hz – 200 Hz Single Channel Loaded
Each Speaker: 3.5 Watts per Channel @ 12 Ohms @ 10% THD @ 200 HZ – 16Khz
System Response: 40 Hz – 16 kHz (-10 dB)
Signal to Noise Ratio @ 1kHz input: > 85dB
Dimensions (WxDxH): 134 x 134 x 254mm

Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass FX3022 |$249 |  | www.anyware.com.au

For: Design; Built-in subwoofers; Bass output
Against: No remote; No bass or treble adjustment; Sound gets distorted at high volumes
Conclusion: A good speaker for those who prefer bass more than anything else.