Altec Lansing ADA885 Digital THX certified for $141

[XzeroR3]

I like my promedias. very tight. bass is plenty. clean as can be. Money well spent in my opinion.

 

[Mikey2k]

Well Sina, I got these speakers from overstock.com. I talked to their customer rep yesterday and he told me that there were about 18 of them in stock. I called up Altec Lansing tech support and asked them if my bass problem could be associated with the sub's power supply. The tech guy said he didn't recall many people calling in with those problems but instead about how to set up the dolby digital sound (using the SPDIF connector). So that wasn't much help there...I guess I'll just return the ADA885 to overstock.com.

Have a question for you Sina, what kind of soundcard do you have and how are you controlling the bass? I have a SB-platinum and I have the 885's bass knob set at maximum, and it still doesn't pump out the bass of a THX quality, or near THX quality. The only way I can get a richer bass is thru the SB mixer when I set the bass to REALLY HIGH, but it still doesn't help when I watch DVD using Dolby Digital mode.

If it wasn't for the bass problem, I definitely would keep the 885. Maybe it's time to go for the Pro-Media.

 

[Oops]

I want to know how is the ADA885 compared to the DTT2500, because it is about the same price, and aren't creative speakers work better with SB Live cards? The DTT2500 has true DD 5.1 setup, anyone know how is the sound quality compared to the ADA885?

 

[Sina]

hey mikey,
my ada880s hit really hard...people 2 floors down can hear them and all i have is a sb64 sndcard so im not sure
..overstock is out of stock again so i wonder if theyll bring them back...im not even sure if i should get them now...cause ive heard they have a lot of sub problems..check and see if the light on the sub is green or red.red=bad.
email me back



email

 

[Q.E.D.]

Mikey,

If you are experiencing the problem in quad mode, you're not the only one. Dell recognized this early on and has a fix for download on their site:

http://support.dell.com/us/en/filelib/download/index.asp?fileid=R20590

 

[directcom]

Good?

 

[Q.E.D.]

^ back to the top for anyone who bought these, uses SB Live!, and needs the fix for the bass problem - Go to the Dell site listed above for the fix.

 

[Dolemite69]

Well $h!t..

They lasted about 2 weeks and now the subwoofer problems hit me.. I have a diamond monster mx300 sound card and the sub now craps out on every mode, not just quad. And the light is still green, not red.
It's funny though, cause the sub will work when i take out the fuse and either turn the fuse around or switch it with the replacement fuse... but only for a few minutes and then the sub just cuts off again. The fuses aren't blown either (obviously)... This really SUCKS!!! Any ideas people?

Thanks...

 

[dafatha00]

the speakers are pretty cool considering they're only 141.25, but mine was missing a volume control knob when it came and when i called Altec, they gave me a bunch of BS saying they can't do anything so they told me to call Dell. Then Dell said that I should talk to Antec. talk about cheesy service

 

[Calador]

LET ME CLEAR SOMETHING UP!

ADA885/880 (yes, BOTH models) do NOT decode
1) Dolby Digital 5.1
2) THX

More specifically, both the 885 and 880 claim to be "Dolby Digital." This refers to Dolby Digital Surround, and NOT Dolby Digital 5.1. They are two completely different things.

In simple terms: Digital Surround < Digital 5.1. (go somewhere else for an explanation)

885 claims to be THX certified. OK. So they sound good to music enthusiasts, but again: they do NOT decode THX.

Q. What does this mean to you, the consumer? (had to throw that in ( ; )
A. For DVD movies, you are not getting true 5.1 or THX decoding. If you're only planning to play music, I'm sure they're pretty decent, however.

Q. So what do I use for cheap 5.1 decoding?
A. The cheapest alternatives are
1) the CSW DTT2500 speakers (5.1 decoding built in) and
2) a sound card/add-on that does 5.1 decoding for you (you'll have to attach speakers for each channel ... I do not know the specifics of this, however).

BOTTOM LINE: sucky sucky for movies, pretty decent for music.

[Calador]
(PS ... if you feel any of the info above is incorrect, let me know ( : )

 

[Groch]

Calador I think you are somewhat incorrect.
ADA885/800 do not decode DD 5.1 -You are right here. Instead of 5 channels plus a subwoofer they decode only 4 plus a sub because they decode only a&quot;Virtual&quot; or phantom center channel.

HOWEVER: If you are sitting right in from of your computer monitor with the speakers on both sides next this is actually an advantage, because you would have to put a real center speaker somewhere inside of the monitor for the localization to be correct. (Whether it does the .1 or not depends on if you think any tiny bass box should be considered a sub).

Does Not Decode THX : Nothing decodes THX, THX is not a code, for software, it is a set of standards and a certificate of approval. THX DVDs have the same encoding as Dolby Digital ones do, and the benefits will be heard on any surround system.

(The THX statement above does not include the very recent release of the new 6.1 channel &quot;THX EX&quot; which is found in only a very few very upscale surround receivers. There are NO powered speakers or mini systems/systems in a box that have a center rear channel).

I do agree that if you want the entire family to enjoy Dolby digital surround there are better choices. If you are alone in front of a monitor, (the story of my life)they are fine. I still like the Boston Acoustics Dolby digital speakers at Compgeeks for $78 better (see that thread)

 

[SuperRob]

Thanks for clearing that up, Groch, but you're wrong about THX EX.

There's no such thing.

It's called Dolby Digital Surround EX, and can handle up to SEVEN channels, plus the sub channel. (The sub is a .1 channel because it's not encoded for full-range.)

But yeah, Calador is WAY off base. These speakers DO decode Dolby Digital. Just because they are missing a center channel doesn't mean that they aren't doing the decoding, it just means that they are missing a speaker.

 

[Groch]

SuperRob Sorry SuperRob, I am right on this one.

THX EX and DTS ES are both 6.1 channels but you may use 1 or 2 rear center SPEAKERS.

Just look at the THX site, or at Denon's site for confirmation. Dolby Digital is the compression system used with THX EX.

However we are getting a bit far from Hot Deals I suppose.

 

[grimreap]

I ordered these from outpost.com, have had them almost a month and everything still seems to be working great on them. However in quad mode they don't seem to really pump that much bass out and the dell fix for it doesn't work for me because im running windows 2000. I did notice a sticker on the back of one of the foam things in the box that said the reason for it being returned was no sound from subwoofer, so I am hoping that they fixed it for good =]
And as for the rear speakers not putting out any sound, mine put out just as much as the front ones do. I had a problem at first with them not putting out almost any sound at all when playing dvd's in digital dolby mode, but that was fixed right when I hooked up that S/DPIF cable to my dvd decoder card... Overall I think these speakers kick ass and I can't complain for 141 bucks, the bass really is incredible and I don't think that the promedia's are really that much better and hell if they are I dont think I could handle that much more bass without knocking some picutres off the wall hehe...

 

[TimeThrash]

A. The THX standard is a weak standard that focuses more on power than on quality.
B. Klipsch's use horn technology which is that suck-ass muddy sounding music you hear at parties where people have rented those huge drum speakers.
C. Altec Lansing has experience in the computer speaker business. Klipsch does not, and has faced many incompatibilities with 2000 and various Creative softwares.
D. It's $100+.

The bugs will be fixed. Altec's system will reign supreme. My ACS56's sound great and always have.

 

[DaYooper]

I see a trend here.

I ordered a set of these speakers from Overstock.com. I have a full blowen Sony home theater setup so these are mostly for games and MP3 music stuff. Any who, they work really great for about the first hour and then the sub dies with the PS VERY hot. If I unplug them and let them cool everything returns to normal. I ordered a replacement set, and Overstock.com is refunding my money on the first set so I'll see how the replacements work. I hope the new set is ok because I really like these speakers. They sound pretty good, and they fit in with the styling of my other compuer equipment.

 

[Calador]

I was horribly mistaken (choke)
See below.

[Calador]

 

[Groch]

Calador I am very impressed by your evidence.

You are very wrong.

Read it and Weep:

LINK

Decodes 5.1 Output is 4.1 because there is no center speaker.

Great for movies.

 

[RandomActz]

I love these speakers!! As long as you adjust them perfect They sound awesome!! You have to change the settings for each song though!! If you customize it you can get ear piercing drum popping tunes!! Plus it has a remote!! For the Price you can't beat it!! And for the quality! The surrond could be alot louder!! But all in all I would rate these a 10 !! I am actually shocked at how loud they are!! They keep my hood up at night lol!! Keep it real peace...

 

[vinnyracer]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&amp;threadid=252225

 

[joecool222111]

SPPOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN.......

 

[abracadabra1]

these are really great speakers

 

[Calador]

OK, Groch. You smoked me big time there ( ; I'll be more careful about assumptions from now on. 885s obviously decode 5.1 according to your link, but I don't know about 880s.

Altec Lansing needs quality control for their product descriptions. Boo.

[Calador]

 

[RandomActz]

Well i posted a message saying how good these things are ADA885 !! Well now after 5 days I am getting A FADE in and out of the SUBWOOFER. Piece of crap if you ask me! Overstock said that they will call me. I am bummed that this had to happen but when they worked they worked great but how abotu more than a WEEK. haha! Any ways can someone recommend me a good pair of speakers that sound better than this!! And believe me I was impressed by the sound of these things until now!! All i get is a CRack Fade in Fade out, dies!! blah anyways peace...


Dear ME!!

I am sorry to hear that you wish to return your purchase. We focus on providing accurate shipping
and quality products, and we stand behind our service guarantee.

The date of this notification to us has started the return process. Since it was within 5 days of receipt of your purchase, you will not be charged a re-stocking fee as long as the item is returned in the condition it was received. You will be contacted within the next 2 to 4 business days, with further instructions for processing your return.

Thank you for your patience, and don't forget to bookmark our site for future savings.

 

[DaYooper]

I received a replacement from Overstock.com for my first defective set of ADA885 speakers. Well, the replacement set has the same problem as the orginal set. The subwoofer cuts in and out. I've already requested a refund for the second set. Overstock.com is out of stock on these for now, but I suggest that anyone wanting a set of these should look else where.