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  OnePC / Product Reviews / Sound and Multimedia / S4 MidiLand 3050M 2.1 Channel Speaker System
What's Inside
MidiLand has been in the computer speaker business for a long time and lately, they seem to have "relaunched" some of their most successful products. One of these new products, the S4 MidiLand 3050M, is the 2.1 channel speaker system that we're looking at today.

Introduction
Specifications
  First Impressions
  Installation
  Powering Up...
Conclusion

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Specifications

Features
3-piece, 50 watts speaker system
3D RSS
Wooden enclosure subwoofer
LED display
Ergodynamic 15 and 25 degree satellite speakers
Wall mounting capability
Quality dynamic sound
Major sound card and audio system compatibility
100% Magnetic shielding

RMS Power
Total 50W
Satellite 10W + 10W
Subwoofer 30W

Frequency Response
180Hz - 20kHz+/-3dB Satellites
20Hz - 180Hz+/3dB Subwoofer

Input Sensitivity
N/A

P.M.P.O.
N/A

Drivers
2.5" Full range satellite speakers
6.5" Subwoofer

Power Supply
External Adapter

S/N Ratio
52dB

Function Controls
Power/volume, treble and subwoofer control, LED display

Dimensions (WxHxD)
3.30" x 3.90" x 4.20" Satellites
7.63" x 8.50" x 13.75" Subwoofer

S4 MidiLand 3050MA quick glance at the total output power of this system tells us that the 3050M packs quite some punch. What's impressive about this system is that MidiLand managed to include a large 6.5" subwoofer in a system that costs about $70.

Much like it's bigger brother, the 4060M, the 3050M also includes support for MidiLand's 3D RSS surround sound technology, which basically enhances the mid-high tones so that sounds have the appearance that they are coming from behind the listener. We had agreed that the 3D RSS feature was an effective and useful addition to the 4060M, so it will be interesting to see if it provides the same effectiveness on the 3050M.

First Impressions
Included in the package was the 2 satellite speakers, the subwoofer and a HUGE power adapter, that, unlike the one included with the 4060M, will take up MANY plugs on a power bar unless plugged into the plug closest to the edge of it.

2-position satellite speakers ensures direct listening angleThe subwoofer was built of solid wood and was quite heavy, two important qualities for a good subwoofer, and the 2 satellite speakers were visually identical to the ones that are also found on MidiLand's more expensive 4060M that we took a look at earlier, except for a slight variation in the tint of the finish. This means that these satellites feature the same capability of placing them up side down or right-side-up, giving a listening angle of 15 degrees or 25 degrees, respectively. It will be interesting to see if they are capable of outputting the same quality of mid-high tones that I had praised the 4060M for.

The audio controls were position at the top of the front face of the subwoofer for easy access if you place it underneath a table. There is a power LED, a 3D button that enables/disables MidiLand's 3D RSS mentioned earlier, a volume control and both treble and bass controls.

Also included were the necessary cables required for installing the unit and a large, yet thin manual that explains all that's necessary to installing the unit.

Missing, however, were rubber feet for sticking underneath the subwoofer unit to protect the metallic finish underneath the unit. This may not seem like a big thing, but after using the unit for a month or so, the underneath side of the subwoofer is already badly scratched (partially caused by my hardwood floor-carpeted users should not worry about this).

Installation
The installation of the complete system took all of 10 minutes, max. All that's required is to plug in the cables where they seem fit for and, voila!

There are, however, some minor annoyances that I had encountered. Much like the 4060M, MidiLand had color-coded the audio jacks (and also labeled them "L" and "R") at the back of the subwoofer, but didn't include color-coded cables. This could confuse inexperienced users when figuring out which cable goes to which jack. Unlike the 4060M, however, was that the audio cable, albeit a little short at 4', for connecting the entire system to your sound card or audio source was color-coded green, which should simplify that portion of the installation for some users.

Powering Up...
I was quite impressed overall with the sound quality that the 3050M can produce, but, unfortunately, feel that there are some areas where it can be improved on.

In general, both mid to high level sounds were reproduced very clearly and accurately, except for some minor cases where high notes would become too harsh for my ears (Christina Aguilera's high notes can be a worst-case scenario for this), but that's not enough to be disappointed about the speaker's sound quality.

The bass, however, is: although I felt that the subwoofer is capable of providing a powerful bass, I don't feel that it provides enough oomph for the majority of the time, even when the bass setting was turned up to max using the audio controls. This is quite disappointing since the 3050M has such a large subwoofer (6.5") for this purpose.

As I mentioned earlier, the 3D RSS implementation in the 4060M was very impressive-the 3050M follows that trend. Enabling the 3D feature really made sounds sound like they were coming from all around me. Unfortunately, I also felt that a portion of treble sounds would become too harsh for one's listening pleasure, much like what I had reported with the 4060M.

On to: Conclusion

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