Altec Lansing is a company with a long tradition of innovation in the audio market. The group that would later become their founding engineers got their start in the roaring twenties; the decade of bath tub gin, the Model T, the $5 work day, the first trans-Atlantic flight, and the movie. I thought I would include just a few significant events in Altec Lansing's history just to illustrate how influential they have been over the years.

- 1927: Marks the introduction of sound in movie theatres with the first "talkie" picture, The Jazz Singer. This landmark event was made possible by engineers at Western Electric who would later form The Altec Lansing Company. This milestone in movie theatre entertainment was just one of the many firsts in sound that were made possible by Altec Lansing engineers throughout its rich history.

- 1942: Altec developed and produced its first permanent magnet in a 15" Duplex speaker, model #604, a version of which is today the recording standard throughout the world.

- 1942-1945: 97% of Altec man hours spent on electronic military products, including the production of Anti-Submarine Detection equipment; Fire Control Radar as sub contractor to General Electric; and prime contractor for practically all of the MAD Airborne Detection equipment for the Navy.

- 1948: First high-fidelity sound equipment specifically designed for home was introduced. First Altec High Fidelity Tuner (AM/FM) model #101. The 20-20 line of Peerless transformers were introduced.

- 1953: First stereophonic theatre system used Altec for Warner Bros. "House of Wax", Fox's "The Robe" and " This is Cinerama". Altec created the first 4-channel amplifier for the motion picture industry, showing "3-D" pictures.

- 1961: Introduced first transistorized compressor amplifier, also new line of telephone products; Altec Lansing teleconferencing system introduced at Disneyland.

- 1973: Billboard magazine reported that more Altec monitor loudspeakers used in recording studios than all other brands combined.

- 1982: Built almost 4,000 channels of power amplification for Disney's Epcot Center.

- 1990: Introduced the first PC audio system, ultimately resulting in success as the clear leader in this category to the present.

- 1995: Company creates the world's first computer speaker surround sound system with built-in Dolby Pro-Logic circuitry, the ACS500.

Altec Lansing speaker systems have formed the backbone of the sound systems in such world renowned places as The United Nations Building, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Disneyland and Disneyworld, New York's Lincoln Philharmonic Center and the Schubert Theatre, MGM's Grand Hotel, The Singapore National Stadium, and The Sydney Opera House; just to name a few.

I even have an older set of 2.1 Altec Lansing PC speakers that have served me well enough over the last 5-6 years, so I was excited to be offered the opportunity to review a new gaming headset in their lineup.

Specs

Here is the promo blurb given directly on Altec Lansing's web site as this is a new product:

Add a Powerful New Dimension to Games

- SRS 3-D Audio puts you right in the action! This award-winning technology creates a spatial experience that envelopes the listener

- High performance 40 mm neodymium earphones deliver studio quality precision audio

- Adjustable deluxe padded headband and full open-air design with over-the-ear leatherette ear pads

- Gold-plated 3.5mm connector

- Handy in-line volume, microphone volume, and SRS 3-D audio controller

- Noise canceling microphone helps eliminate background noise

Gamers, take notice: Altec Lansing's AHS615 features SRS 3-D audio, an award winning technology that creates a spatial experience that envelopes the listener. Equally important, the AHS615's full-open air design, padded headband and leatherette ear pads will keep you playing for hours on end.

As you can see, Altec Lansing has chosen the virtual surround approach with this headset which isn't surprising considering the price range. While virtual surround will never sound as good as true surround, some implementations are better than others on the virtual side but the differences are usually minimal.