My first impression of the neat packing was very positive. Altec Lansing have always given much careful thought to their packaging as well as the products inside them.  The  ADA 305 package includes the following items:

• Two satellite speaker cabinets
• One subwoofer
• One USB cable
• CD with audio management software
• Two pamphlets with basic installation and operation instructions

The documentation was adequate, but they don’t include everything you would expect from a surround sound speaker setup. After quickly browsing through, you’re ready for the installation procedure. The first thing you should remember is the placement of the speakers.  Considering your experiences with conventional speakers, you would tend to place the speakers either at both ends of the room or at different sides to suit your room acoustics. But this is not the case with the Altec Lansing ADA 305 speakers. They are actually a 3-piece system, not a 5-piece system like average Pro Logic speaker packages. So it is vital that you place the speakers according to the picture found in the manufacturers manual.  This is necessary because the two satellites house secondary drivers on top at a 45 degree angle, so when 4-speaker mode is activated, sound produced by the two drivers on top will bounce off the wall to achieve it’s wrapping multi-surround effect. 

Next is the USB connection to your PC, which isn’t a big issue if you follow the proper instructions. But unfortunately, Altec Lansing haven’t included a very detailed USB installation procedure in the manual. The information available will probably be enough to see you though the installation, though.

Afterwards, we booted up Windows 98 to finalize the installation procedure, which was a relatively simple process. Especially the USB installation, which doesn’t even require the user to switch the power off before installation.