Altec Lansing AHS 602 Headphones

Altec Lansing new Headphones and Microphone

Here you can see the real charm of this very solid head set and microphone. While this may set you back a C note, the quality and the construction are solid.  Good with gamers, and certainly great for music, for those that want silence and great sound together, this is about as good as it gets.

Friday, October 01, 2004

Altec Lansing

AHS 602 Headphones and Microphone

“ Altec Lansing Gaming Headset”

 www.alteclansing.com

 A review by Kurt von Behrmann

 Billed as “gaming” headphones for serious gamers online, this could be a bit of misnomer. It isn’t that these headphones are not great for gaming, they are, but they are also great for just sitting back and listening to music or enjoying your PC without disturbing those around you.

 Altec Lansing has had a reputation as the speaker maker of choice among computer users. Having turned out some well designed and carefully crafted speakers, they have few revivals when it comes to providing peripherals for PC and Mac users.

 The introduction of the AHS 602 is my first introduction to the fact they also produce headphones.  Mainly known for their speakers, they also produce some rather high end headsets.

 Offering a microphone to match the speakers, Altec Lansing has designed the type of device that hard core gamers will enjoy, and those that wish to take advantage of the latest internet telephony services may want as well.  As to be expected, the quality is high. Unfortunately, this type of power will set you back about $ 100.00, which may deter some, but with that comes the usual quality that accompanies Altec Lansing products.

 S.R.S.-- a feature of the headphones that provides a surround sound experience while using the set-- is a big plus.  It offers the full bodied sound that one normally expects from stand alone boxes not a device close to one’s ears.

 Adjustable, along with the volume control, the AHS 602 has a tethered control device that you utilize to make adjustments to the volume and the S.R.S. feature.  While some have complained of the complications of using the wired device, my suggestion is just make sure you have a free pocket or a lap to rest it in to keep it out of the way.

 I am not certain if this little oblong object could have been avoided.  Being that it is not connected to the head set proper, you can wear your headphones and make adjustments without having to make adjustments on the earphones themselves.  

In contrast to reports I have heard, wearing the head set is a comfortable experience. Consistent with everything they do, looks wise, Altec Lansing has incorporated a nice “wow” factor in this peripheral. It is definitely designed to look good with a number of PC devices.

 The big test with a device like this is function. Able to handle the booming base sounds, and the mid points, there is a great balance here.  When you pop in the triple A battery needed to power up the surround sound, the quality is rich and booming, but not so harsh that music cannot be appreciated.

 Summation

 As a way to provide a private listening world, the AHS 602 is an excellent option. The only down side to this is that this little unit will set you back about one hundred dollars. Although this is steep, quality like this is going to cost, which may rule out the very audience Altec Lansing maybe trying to attract.

 In terms of sound, features, quality and looks, headphones for your computer simply do not get much better than this. This is an impressive entry from a company known for high quality products. 

Performance Details: 

Frequency Response 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Microphone 100 Hz to 10 kHz

Microphone Sensitivity -38 db ( 0 dB=1V/Pascal)