Everything arrived carefully packaged, individually wrapped, and padded. Plenty of caution and care is taken to make sure the set arrives safely and worked nicely.



Altec Lansing debuts a new feature with this set of speakers: Side-Firing Dipole Surround Technology. As you take a look at our introductory images, here's a little excerpt from the GT5051 spec sheet:




The GT5051 is a genuine 5.1 surround sound system with a twist. The "rear" speakers sit on top of the
"front" speakers, so there are no rear speaker wires to deal with. Altec Lansing's patent-pending Side-
Firing Surround technology enables vertical stacking because it provides the reflected surround sound
that makes music or sound effects rich and immediate. The top speakers are situated at the optimal angle
to deliver the clashes, the zooms, and all the sonic nuances' complete with sharp highs and clean midtones.
Full-bodied sounds come from the bottom or "front" speakers. A center channel offers crystal-clear
movie dialog, while a ported subwoofer completes the sound spectrum with low-frequency, full-throated
bass you can feel.Whether you're a gamer, movie aficionado, or music lover, you'll appreciate the elegant
simplicity and no-holds-barred sound quality of the Altec Lansing GT5051 speaker system.



You might be asking, "where are the other two speakers?" and the answer is: they're right in front of you. Altec Lansing has used a new technology aptly named: Side-Firing Dipole Surround Technology. The front satellites have the rears mounted on them. The rears are pointed at such an angle that by bouncing sound waves around they simulate the effect of sound coming from behind you. Not only does this lower cable management, this could open up a new arena for surround sound headphone technology.



Installation was a breeze, it took us very little time to connect everything as it was pretty self-explanatory. There are directions for installation included if the need arises. All of the wires/jacks/connectors are color-coded to help you match up the counterparts quickly. The front/rear/center speakers plug into the back of the subwoofer as do the outputs from your soundcard (or other audio device). Sturdy construction of jacks and plugs prevent any loose wires and keep everything in order. You can even use these with your MP3 player if you want. Anything with a headphone jack, these speakers can connect to. The length of all the wiring is extremely generous which is appreciated because you won't run out of length with any of the speakers. You can also change the channel mode from 2/4 to 6 with a switch on the back of the subwoofer to match the sources output (and not having to purchase a new soundcard). While there's a plethora of connections to be had with this system, it does lack Digital compatibility; we'd like to see that in a future model.



We plugged this set in and started up a few DVD's to test sound quality, volume, and the surround sound effects. After that we ran through a day straight of CS: Source and Half-Life² as well as UT2K4. The subwoofer was a little warm afterwards but nothing worth worrying about. The sound quality is impressive; especially with this new design where you don't physically have the rear channels behind the listeners. When we got these speakers we weren't too sure what to expect. With only 80w Continuous RMS and side-firing technology these speakers can easily fill a room and keep you from a cabling problem. They are probably 95%+ the quality of comparitive 5+1 speaker systems. We paid special attention this time to sounds coming from the rear channels and they did accurately convey the sense of something being behind you. The volume was more than sufficient for a system in this price range; in fact, it rivals sets of over 80w that we've listened to. The side-firing rear channels help to fill the room with vibrant and crisp sound. High volumes are the systems downfall. While it has individual controls for the Subwoofer, Center, and Surround volumes, with all of those at max and the master volume at max, nearly all sounds become distorted. The volume is divided by five levels (designated by a blue LED each), within each of those five levels, there's 10 sub-levels. Distortion begins when you delve into the 5+ range with all the levels (master/sub/center/surround); the bass begins to suffer at about 5.3-5.5(master/sub) but the higher frequencies begin to crash right at 5(master/surround). The direction/aim of the speakers is important as well as the type of room for effective 5.1. We found the best effect was to have the speakers slightly turned towards the listener.


As you can tell, the speakers appearance differs greatly that conventional designs.


The controls for all the speakers are located on the top of the right satellite. This is a fairly common placement, and makes enough sense because the majority of people are right handed but it doesn't for watching DVD's and such. These speakers could use either a remote in addition to the top right satellite controls or a completely seperate control box. Either one would be better than being limited to the volume on top of the speaker; it's fine if you're at your desk but not when you're on the couch or further away watching a movie.




Image from GT5051 Specification Sheet

Overall the Altec Lansing GT5051 Side-Firing Dipole 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System is a step in the right direction and not a bad deal. If you're not an extreme audiophile and just play a lot of games, these are a great purchase. We would like to see some Digital inputs and a different set of controls along with some more juice than just 80w RMS, but we love the lack of cabling issues. All in all, the GT5051 is a good system for the money. The Altec Lansing GT5051 Side-Firing Dipole 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System receives a 90% rating, a Silver Award, and Editors Choice Award.

Thanks to Altec Lansing for making this review possible.