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We have few compliments to give the Altec Lansing Octane 7 speaker set. The awkwardly placed midrange driver and side-firing sub come off muddy and overbearing, and the constant adjustments aren't worth the cost, especially when Altec Lansing offers a better-sounding system for the same price.

The Altec Lansing Octane 7 is a welcome addition to the mid-range 2.1 PC speaker market. Though not perfect, it has a very good mix of looks, quality and output that makes it viable option for 2.1 PC speaker buyers.

Priced under $80, the Altec Lansing Octane 7’s represent a tremendous value in computer speaker world. Two nicely designed speakers won’t take up too much space on your desk, producing those clear highs while a meaty subwoofer provides the real oomph below.

We wanted to like the Octane 7 speakers due to their unique appearance, but there's no way we can recommend them due to their appallingly bad sound quality, especially given that you can get some decent-sounding speakers at this price.