When choosing speakers for your PC or iPod there are certainly plenty to choose from. What manufacturers seem to try are adding flashy lights, docking features, touch sensitive controls. These are all well and good, but often at the expense of more useful features, like sound quality, frequency handling, and good looks. With the FX3022 from Altec Lansing, they may just have got the mix right.
When you unpack these beauties, it is obvious that their gloss black exterior and good weight is hiding some goodies under the hood. The FX3022 are really quite large, but they are tapered towards the top and in such a way that it is very pleasing to the eye. The 1.5-inch drivers at the top protrude slightly and offer up 3.5 watts of mid and high range frequencies. These tiny driver are covered by cloth grills, which add to the quality feel. The only thing that detracts slightly from the value is that the main unit does feel a little bit too plasticky. Each speaker also house a downward firing 4-inch subwoofer, that goes down to 40Hz and is capable of delivering 9 watts per channel. This combination is pretty good, with the subwoofer seamlessly integrating into the speaker and filling the frequency gap.
On top of one of the speakers you also find a nice power button and volume controls. These are discrete and function admirably. The FX3022 is really designed as a PC speaker, equally at home connected to our iMac or a PC. However, around the back of the unit is an AUX in jack, so you can connect your iPod or other MP3 player and enjoy your tunes. I tested with both music playing from my iMac and from an iPod touch and in both cases was pleasantly surprised. The detail in the mid and high ranges was very good, the FX3022 never seemed to struggle. There was also a nice warmth to the sound. The subwoofer control was awesome, with deep frequencies sounding as though they were reaching far beyond the quoted 40Hz. Pumping up the volume for some movie watching was also a pleasure. Explosions seemed to set the FX3022 alive and added a great deal of enjoyment to the on-screen action. The same can be said with games, without the FX3022 speakers the sound was quite thin, but with these gorgeous speakers turned on I was fully immersed in my Call of Duty.
Available in black (as reviewed) or white, for your £100, you get a really good set of multi-purpose speakers. The material used to make them does feel a little cheap, but the sound they deliver more than makes up for that. They are equally at home delivering in-game sound, movie madness or simply relaxing with your favourite tunes. Oh, and the guys at Altec Lansing throw in a two year warranty for good measure.
Product: Altec Lansing FX3022 Speakers
Price: £99.99
Supplied by: Altec Lansing
Contact: +44 (0)870 458 0011