Altec Lansing VS2421

On the control unit for the Altec Lansing VS2421 is a microphone output, headphone output, and an auxiliary input. The auxiliary input is used for connecting to an MP3 player or another device as a secondary source of audio. There is also a power button, main volume control, and treble adjustments on this control unit. Additionally, there is even a small microphone built into this unit, if you do not have one built into your desktop/notebook or are not using a headset. This microphone has feedback-canceling technologies, according to Altec Lansing, but still the quality is far from the best. Like the speakers and subwoofer, this control unit is colored red and black.

Testing:

We setup the Altec Lansing VS2421 speaker system with a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 notebook with the left and right speakers being on the desk behind the notebook and the subwoofer being on the floor. The VS2421 system was certainly better than the integrated speakers found on the ThinkPad, but they were not that great. The quality was nice across the low, mid-range, and high frequencies, but the subwoofer did not have much of an "oomph" to it and overall the system was weak. The control unit also was rather large when sitting on the desk. It would have been better if Altec Lansing could have moved the auxiliary input and microphone output to the subwoofer box to also save on the number of cords running across the desk.

Conclusion:

While we are no audio experts, we find the Altec Lansing VS2421 system great for just those on an extreme budget or those that do not take great care in listening to their audio while at the PC. For costing just a bit more than $40 USD at Xoxide.com the price is very affordable, but do not expect this to be a high-end, powerful system.