Altec Lansing FX3022 Expressionist BASS 2-Way Speaker for PC and MP3 (Black)

Altec Lansing FX3022 Expressionist BASS 2-Way Speaker for PC and MP3 (Black)

Reviewed by: David Carnoy
Edited by: John P. Falcone
Reviewed on: 10/27/2008

Altec Lansing's motto for its Expressionist Bass FX3022 PC multimedia speakers is, "All the bass in half the space." The concept is a good one. You take the subwoofer that normally sits on the floor, shrink it down, and integrate one into the bottom of each speaker. That way the user gets an ample amount of bass without having to deal the extra gear and wiring.

Before we get to the sound test, let's start with the superficial stuff. The $130 Expressionist Bass FX3022 makes for a striking set of speakers. They've got that sort of retro futuristic look that's reminiscent of something you might see in the video game BioShock. The flattened-cone enclosures are just a little over 10 inches tall with a diameter of about 5 inches at their base. The speakers are finished in a glossy, piano black, with some silver trim around the top-speaker port, which covers a 1.5-inch driver (the built-in downward-firing subs are 4 inchers). Altec's new logo is tastefully printed on the front in bronze lettering and stamped into the plastic on top of the left speaker.

As for the volume controls and power, they're on top of the right speaker. The buttons are rubberized and easy to access if you're sitting at your computer. That said, some PC speakers these days come with a remote, and it would have been nice if the FX3022's did, too. Perhaps a future model will.

The two speakers are actually hard-wired to each other. That's unusual, but, arguably a good thing because you don't have to worry about the cord falling out or connecting properly. The cord that joins them is about 6 feet long, so you do have some degree of flexibility in terms of placement and separation (most people will probably space them about 3 feet apart, on either side of a PC monitor). Around the back of the right speaker, there's a port for connecting the speaker to your computer with the included 3.5mm minijack cable. You also get an auxiliary input for connecting any device that has an audio output or headphone jack (a second 3.5mm cable isn't provided, however).

In terms of sound, the first thing you notice about the Expressionist Bass FX3022s is that they indeed deliver a good amount of bass. The treble, however, is another matter. It's pretty brash and at higher volumes comes across as being very aggressive, which will irritate some people. With music, the sound just isn't as tight and clear as we'd have liked it to be. When it came to gaming and movies, however, we felt the speakers hit their stride. The big bass was a big plus for action sequences, and explosions in first-person shooters were delivered with gusto. These guys performed better than your typical multimedia speakers in this price range.

So, the long and short of it is these are impressive-looking speakers that play loud and perform well when it comes to gaming and movies, though they just aren't all that great for music. In other words, they're a solid B.

Altec Lansing gets a makeover

Altec Lansing - a division of Plantronics - has been manufacturing multimedia-audio products for well over 70 years. 2008, though, could be the US-based company's most important year to date as it undertakes a corporate makeover.

The firm's new look begins with an all-new logo (pictured right), and a range of new speakers including the FX3022 Expressionist BASS - an interesting set of speakers that claim to be the industry's first 2.2 desktop solution.

The FX3022, pictured below, features two desktop speakers - each housing a 4in down-firing subwoofer and a 1.5in driver. A combination that Altec Lansing claims provides powerful bass and crystal-clear mids and highs. The idea, in theory, is a clutter-free solution that provides "all the bass in half the space".

In an age in which many consumers demand a clean-and-crisp solution, the idea of a bass-filled minimalist package without the need of an additional subwoofer has plentiful appeal. Altec Lansing's offering, however, will arrive later this month carrying a lofty price-tag of £99.99 - can the Expressionist Bass deliver the required bang-for-buck?

Let's take a closer look...

The FX3022 Expressionist BASS

The FX3022 arrives in rudimentary cardboard packaging, but once inside you begin to realise that these surprisingly-large desktop speakers aren't all that minimalistic after all.

Measuring 10in tall and 5.25in wide, the cone-shaped speakers have a far-from-sophisticated appearance that's undoubtedly an acquired taste. The bullish-design will either stand proud on say, the desk of a gamer, or act as a potential eye-sore for the more-refined audiophile.

Included in the package is a single 3.5mm stereo audio cable and a mains power adaptor - the FX3022, as you might expect, is too powerful to be USB powered. The glossy-black finish - though strikingly good looking - is prone to finger prints and dust, and the initial out-the-box shine doesn't last long.

Up top, it's an even simpler affair. The FX3022 features only three buttons - volume down, power on/off, and volume up - all of which are housed on the right speaker. The power button provides a soft blue light when activated, it's a nice touch and soft enough to go unnoticed - unlike the blinding blue light on Creative's T20s.

Volume controls are well placed, easy to reach and responsive to a light press. There isn't, however, an indicator of volume level and you'll be left second guessing just how high the current setting is. Not a deal breaker by any means, but a slight inconvenience.

The 1.5in full-range drivers can be seen protruding from the cones themselves, and provide something of a garish look. It's an element that detracts from an otherwise smooth design, but it's the price paid for the two 4in subwoofers found below...

The down-firing secret weapon

The real treat in Altec Lansing's FX3022 is found at the bottom of each speaker in the form of a 4in down-firing subwoofer driver - each providing a power output of nine watts. The idea, of course, is to provide enough low-frequency oomph to be able to match a 2.1 solution with a dedicated subwoofer.

On paper, the combination of two 1.5in full-range drivers at 3.5 watts per channel and two 4in subwoofer drivers at 9 watts per channel seems a promising solution - providing a total power output of 25 watts RMS.

Each speaker carries a frequency response of 200Hz - 16kHz, and each subwoofer is rated at 40Hz - 200Hz. The total system response, at 40Hz - 16kHz, indicates a reasonable if not jaw-dropping range of lows and highs. The specified amplitude tolerance of +/- 10dB, however, could be a concern.

Aside from audio specifications, there is only one other feature worth noting - a single auxiliary input, allowing for the connection of a secondary audio source such as a portable media player or games console.

General features, sadly, are what the FX3022 sorely misses. There are no buttons for common functions such as mute, and the biggest omission, we feel, is the lack of dedicated controls for bass and treble.

We've seen what's on offer, now let's have a listen.

Totally addicted to bass?

When you first hear the FX3022 in action, you'll immediately be reminded of the two subwoofers residing in its unsuspecting shell. The delivery of bass is exceptional for a desktop solution of this size, and the glaring difference between 2.0 and 2.2 becomes instantly apparent.

The cone-shaped design is said to radiate sound from the subwoofers off hard surfaces and reflect audio in a 360-degree field, and that hard-surface reflection doesn't go unnoticed. Placed on a desk, we could feel the FX3022 sending vibrations through the wood, and it felt strangely impressive to find bass emanating from in front, as opposed to the subwoofer-at-the-shins we've become accustomed to.

Spurred on by the generous levels of booming lows, we cranked out some bass-filled tracks such as The Prodigy's "Diesel Power", and the results were stunning. For a system of its size, we simply weren't expecting such clarity and definition accompanied by desk-shaking lows.

Bass, then, isn't a problem and the dual-down-firing subwoofers are a perfectly-capable replacement for a dedicated unit found in messier 2.1 systems.

Moving on from bass, we went for a change of pace and played back Ludovico Einaudi's "Divenire", a soft piano and orchestra composition. Here's where the FX3022 shows its one significant failing - without dedicated controls for bass or treble, we found the bass to be overpowering and ultimately distorting the otherwise crisp mids and highs.

That overpowering bass is evident elsewhere, too. When testing a DVD - The Sopranos in our case - we found speech to be crisp and clear, but move to a scene with music and you'll soon be rushing for the volume control as overwhelming bass blasts in your direction.

Software-based level adjustments can, in most cases, be made from the user's operating system. Unfortunately, when switching from song-to-song and genre-to-genre, it isn't a quick-enough fix. The lack of dedicated controls is hugely evident, and an unfortunate omission on what is otherwise an impressive set of speakers.

To see how the FX3022 fare against the competition, we put them up against Logitech's Z10 - a well-regarded 2.0 solution - and a set of Creative's MegaWorks 550 in a 2.1 configuration. Compared to Logitech's Z10, the FX3022 provide substantially better lows, dwarfing anything the Z10 could produce in terms of bass. Measuring just a touch taller, Altec Lansing's solution shows just what can be achieved in a two-unit desktop configuration.

The Z10's advantage, however, is its built in level-adjustment controls. Finding the preferred mix of bass and treble is easily achieved, and for this reason alone we prefer Logitech's offering.

Compared to the Creative MegaWorks 550 - which, remember, we configured in 2.1 for this test - we found similar results. The FX3022 provided equally impressive amounts of bass - and we happened to prefer having the bass come from the speakers themselves, as opposed to the floor-placed subwoofer of the MegaWorks. The same problem, sadly, persists. Being able to control the bass on the MegaWorks' dedicated sub, we were able to locate our preferred mix - whereas bass continued to overwhelm from the FX3022.

Conclusion

We started by asking ourselves, at the lofty price-tag of £99.99, can the Expressionist Bass deliver the required bang-for-buck?

The simple answer would have to be yes. There's ample amounts of bang - Altec Lansing's FX3022 provide more bass than just about any two-unit desktop solution that we've seen, and it's accompanied by clear mids and highs thanks to the dedicated full-range drivers.

The idea of dedicated subwoofers in a two-unit 2.2 solution is a good one, and we applaud Altec Lansing for attempting to raise the stakes in the tidy-but-powerful speaker market.

Unfortunately, without a means to easily control the output of the impressive 4in down-firing subwoofers, the bass is overpowering and dampens the overall experience.

If you happen to be addicted to bass, you'll thoroughly enjoy the FX3022. If on the other hand you prefer to enjoy the whole range of human hearing - you may find better overall results with an existing, and cheaper, 2.0 solution.

The good

Huge amounts of bass for a two-unit system
Clutter-free solution
Ideal if you don't have space for a dedicated subwoofer

The not so good

No bass/treble controls
Bass can be overpowering
Aesthetics are an acquired taste

Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #3792 in Consumer Electronics
Color: Black
Brand: Altec Lansing
Model: FX3022
Dimensions: 5.90 pounds

Features
Computer speaker system with subwoofer built into speakers
Built-in amplification provides 25 Watts
Custom built 40mm drivers provide clear and realstic sound
Auxiliary input lets you connect MP3, CD, and DVD players
Measures 5.25 x 10 x 5.25 inches (WxHxD); backed by one-year warranty

Altec Lansing FX3022 Expressionist BASS 2-Way Speaker for PC and MP3

Altec Lansing FX3022 Expressionist BASS 2-Way Speaker for PC and MP3 (Black)