3DsoundSurge Reviews: Altec Lansing ACS-54 PowerPlay Plus

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Important Info:

Speakers By : Altec Lansing
Price : $100 ERP.
Power Output:
Subwoofer: 20 watts RMS
Satellites: 20 watts RMS , 5 watts RMS per satellite

Minimum/Recommended System Requirements

Sound card or other audio device

Reviewer PC:

-Mikael
- Win98
- Celeron 300a o/c 450
- 128MB PC100 ram
- Creative TNT
- 6.4 GB Quantum SE
- Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! (EMU 10K1), Outrageous 3D Sound (Vortex 2), Hoontech Sound Track YFM 744 Digital XG (Yamaha 744), Aztech PCI 368 DSP (VLSI Thunderbird 128), Trident 4Dwave NX and Terratec's DMX Sound system (Canyon3D)

Features:

Overall

Total Audio Power 40 watts
THD <0.8%@1 watt, 1 kHz
Input Sensitivity 300 MV for full output
Input Impedance >10K ohms
Frequency Response 38 Hz – 18 kHz
S/N Ratio: >65 dB

Satellites

Speakers (per satellite) One 3 inch (75mm)
Audio Power 5 Watts per channel (20 watts total)
Frequency Response 250 Hz – 18 kHz
S/N Ratio >65 dB

Subwoofer

Speaker One 4 inch (100mm) long throw
Audio Power 20 Watts
Frequency Response 38 Hz - 250 Hz

Power Requirements

USA/CANADA 120 volts 60 Hz AC
Max Power Consumption 50 Watts
UL/CUL (CSA) CE approved

With the arrival of 4-speaker soundcards in spring 97 (Monstersound) you would expect someone would have introduced a 4-speaker system for the PC market to coincide with the release of the then new quad output soundcards, especially considering the cost savings you can make by just using one subwoofer instead of 2, not to mention the fact that its more convenient to set-up and use. Speaker manufacturers must have been taking a wait and see attitude on consumer acceptance of the new soundcards as Creative was the first that realized there was a market for 4-speakers system when they introduced the Cambridge SoundWorks 4-point surround system almost a year after the first quad output soundcard hit the market. This system was usually bundled with their 4-speaker soundcards PCI-128 and PCI-64. A possible reason Creative was first out of the block could have been that unlike card’s using Aureal’s 3d audio technology, the PCI-128 and PCI-64 3D sound engine (the infamous MS DS3D engine) used for 2-speakers and headphones was rather useless, but the 4-speaker panning system worked quite well. When Creative introduced the Live with a much better 4-speaker panning (and now HRTF on all 4 with LW 2.0) the 4-point surround system (later renamed FPS1000) and the subsequently introduced FPS2000 become even more popular with consumers but despite that fact the first half of 99 still saw Cambridge SoundWorks as the only company with a 4-speaker system in the multimedia market.

Only now in the last few months we are seeing a rapid trend where new and old speaker companies such as Altec Lansing, Aureal, VideoLogic, Labtec and Klipsch have or soon will introduce a 4-speaker system as their primary system or systems for the PC gaming market.

Altec Lansing is one of the most famous multimedia speaker manufactures and has won numerous awards for their speakers in the past. In this review we will take a look at Altec Lansing’s first entry in the 4-speaker multimedia market, the ACS-54 PowerPlay Plus.

Featuring four satellites with a 3" driver and 5 Watts RMS and a 20 Watts RMS subwoofer with a 4" driver and with Altec Lansing’s good reputation for good quality the system is a serious contender to the FPS1000 and FPS2000. With a price tag of $100 the price has the same suggested retail price as the FPS1000 and significantly less than the FPS2000. In this review we will find out if it is a great value compared to the FPS2000 or if it's quality is more comparable to the FPS1000.