MidiLand S4 3050M 2.1 Speaker System

The Sound

After listening to the speakers, it is impressive to look back at their size and street value.  It is clear that MidiLand has not just put out another cheap speaker solution to fit the OEM market, but instead is offering a moderately priced system that people can be happy listening to.  Overall, we were pleased with the system, with only some minor things serving as downfalls.

Acoustically, these speakers do extremely well for their size.  The max volume has some force, though not enough to run you out of your chair.  Also, the distortion at high volumes is less than some of the more expensive systems tested recently.  The largest effects at high volume are evident in the upper midrange frequencies distorting and in some clipping in the bass.

At moderate listening levels, the sound is well balanced within the bounds of the speakers.  The crossover level between the satellites and sub is 180 Hz, so some of the midrange frequencies are reproduced in the sub unit, which muddies the quality somewhat.  The satellites definitely like the higher frequencies a bit more than the midrange, though they still maintain a full sound.  The emphasis in the high frequencies makes the sound crisp, though not to such a degree as to detract from the listening experience.

The 3D function on the speakers is not too incredibly impressive.  It changes the sound with some processing to try and simulate surround sound.  Mostly what it does it turn up the high midrange and push it a little louder so it sounds like it is coming more from behind the listener.  This definitely changes the sound, and after using it for a bit, comes across as being too harsh as it overemphasizes the crispness mentioned above.  After using it briefly in the listening tests, it was turned off.  The speakers definitely sound better without it engaged.

The near field listening layout makes the speakers excellent for listening to music while working, or for positional audio effects while gaming.  The speakers fill a strong niche in the 2.1 genre as an economical ($69.95 est. street price) solution.  The lower price comes with some quality sacrifices, as the signal to noise ratio is not incredibly high, and noise can be heard under some critical listening conditions, such as music with a large dynamic range.