Yeah, he's right about this and only audiophile speakers like B&W comes with a special foam to be inserted to the air duct as some speakers have two firing air ducts so the foam is used to fine tune the bass for Altec Lansing's case, their speakers were not designed for such purpose so I would suggest you to avoid doing so. If you want tighter bass, add sound dampening materials inside your subwoofer enclosure, you'll be able to buy those materials from Hi-Fi shops but please take note that such materials might cost half the price of your speakers so I'm not sure whether it is a worthwhile investment. Well, you should probably auditioned the speakers with own cds or dvds before buying them in the first place.

Sponge doesn't last forever, it will turn to a powder substance after a few years. In Cantonese, we call it 'fu zhor'. Get what I mean? It will be messy when that happens.

Try getting decent sound dampening materials.

Well, if the enclosure is made of solid wood from a tree trunk, I believe that will be the ultimate upgrade for a start since the speaker box enclosure has an impact on the sound quality but honestly, it's just a RM200 pc speakers, lets not get too carried away or have too high expectations, even the top of the range speakers are still nowhere near dedicated Hi-Fi speakers.

ATP3 has good bass but VS4121 has better clarity but bass isn't too shabby either. For techno music, I think ATP3 gets the job done pretty well. By the way, have you guys heard of VS4221, the bigger brother with extra 4 watts to the satellites and a remote control plus the subwoofer is housed in a solid wood enclosure. How does it compare to VS4121?

The sponge is not for increasing the bass, it's to make the bass less boomy and more focused. If it's under warranty, you better not open the subwoofer, you'll risk voiding your warranty.

Well, by comparison, VS4221 might sound a tad better as the subwoofer is made from solid wood as mentioned by AL's website, I never get the chance to hear it but from foreign sites, they gave it 4 out of 5, considered quite a good review at this rating.

Warranty sudah habis then okaylah, if not, it's a risk. Anyway, good luck in modding ur subwoofer.

Left speaker - first wife
Right speaker - second wife
Subwoofer - third wife
Altec Lansing box - fourth wife
Total = Wives

Sorry Bro, technical error ........ I thought you were referring to your speakers as your wives. However, speakers are men's best friend.

Errr....... not first wife in charge of bass settings, second wife in charge of treble settings, third wife in charge of subwoofer level, fourth wife in charge of volume, fifth wife in charge of on / off switch, sixth wife in charge of changing cd. KingCobra pulak in charge of auditioning the speakers with a Starbucks on his right hand.

This post has been edited by sunauto: Dec 27 2006, 11:18 AM

Wow, I'm learning something new from you today, lots of respect to you Bro. FYI, I'm not married yet but thanks for sharing your experiences with me. Appreciate it very much.

So, what type of music should be used for that purpose? Errr ....... is it only effective when the music is played through AL 4121? Other AL models can, ar? No lah, just wanna double confirm with you.

So, how's the progress of modding your speakers Bro? Do keep us updated on your new DIY project yeah. Thanks!

You can consider buying Yamaha subwoofer lor, they have those units available for sale from a few hundred ringgit to two thousand plus. I'm using SW-315, bought it around RM990 last time, maybe cheaper now, 10 inch woofer and 270 RMS, very good bass and it goes very loud especially when watching movies with my Yamaha amp. Not sure that's what you want. Can get sakit jantung if you put the bass level at full blast.

You cannot say people like that lah my friend, people who likes more bass not necessarily Ah Bengs what. Besides, a good subwoofer always have room for you to push the bass further, louder and deeper if needed, they have an allowance for more demanding listeners (more refine word).

Well, there's nothing wrong if you fancy more bass because I myself do like more bass when watching my dvds at home. The bass gives the movies and music the much needed oompphh so biasalah unless you're listening to classical or jazz, you might want a neutral sounding system so that it sounds natural and soothing to your ears but if you're listening to Akon, Outcast, 50 Cents, etc ...... a big subwoofer is a must.

Yamaha subwoofer is a common thing actually, most Hi-Fi shops have it, you can try going to Sungei Wang, Plaza Low Yat, Midvalley, etc. Electrical shops do sell Yamaha subwoofer and they have various range to suit your budget but most important you listen first lah, see whether you like it or not. My subwoofer is close to a thousand last time and that's not considered mahal, my friend bought a REL subwoofer, it costs RM6000 plus but he orang kaya so different story lah, I can't afford that unless pay installment for 3 years lah. Hahaha. Well, you try and listen lor, if not Yamaha, you can consider other brands like Infinity, JBL, KEF, etc.

Those AL subwoofers are pretty old and are discontinued a long time ago, I never heard them before but I believe your CS21 will pawn them easily because newer model normally is a step forward than the older models, right? If CS21 also you feel tak cukup ooompphh, you should be getting a much better subwoofer.

Well, most HT subwoofers have a crossover inside whereby you can control the cut off frequency of your satellites (or speakers in layman's term), so you can choose say 40HZ, that means 40HZ and below, the sound will be handled by the subwoofer, the satellites handle the remaining frequencies. It is adjustable but honestly, HT subwoofers a little bit mahal lah but will give you the bass that you want, that type of solid and hard hitting bass that can cause jakit jantung, you actually feel the bass, with my Yamaha subwoofer at 40% of the volume, my table and chairs already vibrate liao and including the water in my aquarium too. Yeah, it's that powerful, with 40% of the volume and the bass level set correctly, you'll in for a surprise, that's something pc speakers cannot compare but it's not fair to compare this way lah because my Yamaha subwoofer is already the price of two sets of CS21 and you're talking about a subwoofer only and nothing else. There are cheaper models from Yamaha, as low as RM500 plus but I never tested it before, supposed to be an add on to a Plasma or LCD tv whereby the bass is severely lacking. So far, I never seen people using HT subwoofers for pc lah but the wiring no problem one, you can always modify it, 3.5 mm mini stereo plug to RCA.

No lah, my HT subwoofer is not for my comp, my comp is in my room, connected to my AL MX5021 but it can be used for a comp lah, the cable can be bought anywhere, less than RM8. Not very expensive, you can DIY yourself but I think no need lah, buy outside much easier.

Your budget around 3++ , right? Well, I'll search around for you to see if there's such a subwoofer suitable for your budget and no need to say lah, I know what type of bass you like.

By the way Bro Narkon, my friend said Edifier not bad, he was referring to this model, http://www.inter-asia.com.my/Review/X600%28HWM%29.jpg but I dunno the price lah, he said the bass is good. You can listen to it in their Plaza Low Yat showroom.


This post has been edited by sunauto: Dec 30 2006, 12:56 AM

If you wanna use both subwoofers, can, can, you need to buy a splitter, you know like the Logitech accessory for the PSP, one 3.5 mm plug to two earphones. That's the cable you need if you wanna use two subwoofers but you test the X600 first lah, see whether you like the sound or not, Penang don't have this model but my friend bought it from KL but I never listened to his system before because his house is very far from mine. That's a 7 inch subwoofer.

Otherwise if not, you can sell your CS 21 and get Logitech's Z-2300. Alternative method lah but pretty sayang also lah since your CS 21 is pretty new.

Remember to audition Logitech Z-2300 also, compare and see how's the sound quality, sometimes cheaper speakers can give you the sound that you want like those from Edifier and Sonic Gear but the power rating is not as good as your CS21, it might have a hard hitting bass but I dunno whether it is loud enough for you or not as some most of their models are not even half the power of your CS21, maybe bass good but not loud enough for you because some people (even myself) like listening to music or watching movies at a louder volume so that the sound got more kick.

CS21, ar? If you sell now, will rugi a lot lah because people will keep on nego, negeo until you wanna pengsan. I dare not say how much it's worth now because it's pretty subjective lah, it depends on the buyer lor, if there's a buyer willing to pay higher because your CS21 is quite new, then you're in luck but got some people dunno how to appreciate and will keep on telling that it is second. Get what I mean? You don't sell first lah, tengok macam mana dulu lah, okay? CS21 is not that bad you know, many of my friends like the sound too.

Yalor, I honestly don't encourage you to sell the speakers lor because when it comes to second hand ones (even if you bought it yesterday), buyers will keep forcing you to lower your price sampai you feel that it's not worth selling, rather throw the speakers into the sea for Nemo or Sharktale to listen than to sell them like Petaling Street prices.

So, where's your location Bro? Are you from Melaka? Don't get angry lah, Edifier X600 also cannot find in Penang but Logitech Z-2300 got la, I've tested it, it goes pretty loud, bass is satisfying but I didn't test with my own music lah but the bass definitely there but what I dun like is that it doesn't have a remote control especially when it's priced over RM500 plus.

Well, if you can sell your CS 21 for RM300 plus, I think you can just top up RM200 like that enough for Z-2300. Just a suggestion if you manage to sell your CS 21 at this price lah. Of course, you must 100% confirm you like the sound of Z-2300 before you buy it.

Well, if you got go to Penang, I said if lah, you can go to 1-Stop Midlands, Gadgetzone shop on the sixth floor, find a guy named Ah Hao, he can test Z-2300 for you, they have one unit there for testing. I dunno about any shops in KL lah, I just go there tengok and if the price is good, I'll take it but since I'm from Penang, I'm more familiar with the shops here. Sorry, can't be of much help to you.