MidiLand is a name familiar to many PC audio fans thanks to the critically acclaimed S2 speaker series, and in particular the S2 4100. In recent months their new S4 series has received many favorable reviews including one from us here at 3DsoundSurge. The first products introduced under the S4 moniker were the S4 MidiLand 4060 and the S4 MidiLand 7100. Both are mid-range products that target the market sweet spot of good performance at a good price. The multi-functioned (2 channel, 4 channel, five channel and 6 channel input) S4 7100M/original comes in with a list price of only $200. MidiLand also released an external Dolby Digital decoder called the ADS-2000 for the very affordable price of $100 and a higher end 5.1 home theater system, the S4-8200, that comes bundled with the ADS-2000 decoder for a MSLP of $399.95.

As well received as the original S4 7100m/original has been, I think it could have gone even better for MidiLand. Online popularity charts aside, the ability to maximize the potential of the S4 7100 was hampered by the delays that we saw in 6 channel analog sound cards coming to the market.

That is, for a number of months the S4 7100M/original offered 6 channel analog inputs that only the more budget oriented ForteMedia FM801 sound cards supported. It was several months after the original launch of the S4 7100 that the first higher end 6 channel analog cards (Santa Cruz/SonicFury) hit the market. It turned out that they were not ideally configured for the 7100 because of their lack of a 6 channel gaming mode and the lack of small speaker software DVD mode. It was not until the release of the Sound Blaster Live 5.1 and the Philips Acoustic Edge that gamers had the ability to combine a full featured 6 channel analog gaming and software DVD sound card with the S4 7100M/original. For that reason, many reviewers of the S4 7100M/original felt that a hardware Dolby Digital decoder such as the ADS-2000 should have been bundled with the system in the first place.

That brings us full circle to the MidiLand S4-7100 Plus, a $300 system that takes the basic elements of the 7100M/original and combines it with a new Dolby Digital decoder called the ADS-3000. The ADS-3000 unit is functionally similar to the ADS-2000, but in a larger box with slight, put positive, performance changes from the ADS-2000 along with a larger remote control. Looking at the speaker system it self against the S4 7100M/original you might note some similarities and some differences. Like the original 7100 systems this new system comes with 5 identical satellites using 2.5-inch drivers, a subwoofer using a 6.5 inch driver, a large power supply, the necessary speaker wires and cables and is driven by an amplifier that can deliver 100 Watts RMS. Instead of the control module found with the 7100M/original MidiLand has chosen to use the ADS-3000 Dolby Digital decoder as the control box for the system. Note that the ADS-3000 is not sold separately by MidiLand.

While the S4 MidiLand 7100 Plus combination clearly has more flexibility than some other Dolby Digital 5.1 systems in terms of ability to go to a gaming mode it’s also substantially less convenient in this respect than three other 5.1 Dolby Digital systems - the DTT2500, DTT3500 and Yamaha TSS-1. That plus the fact that MidiLand continues to offer the S4 7100M/original and the ADS-2000 decoder as separate components makes it clear that their focus for the system is on the multimedia home theater market. In this review we will take a detailed look at how it performs and offer some comparisons to some other Dolby Digital systems that we have tested.

Abit SP50

Altec Lansing ACS 56

Altec Lansing ACS 54

Altec Lansing ADA880 Dolby Digital

Altec Lansing ATP3

Boston Acoustics BA4800

Boston Acoustics BA7500

Cambridge Soundworks FPS1000

Cambridge SoundWorks FPS2000 digital

Cambridge SoundWorks 2.1 Digital

Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2500

Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500

Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 510D

Diamond Audio Technology ProMedia 3205

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

Klipsch ProMedia 4.1

Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Initial Review

Labtec APX 4620 Review

Labtec Edge-418 Flat Panel

Labtec's LCS-2514

Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100

Logitech Z-560 Initial Review

MidiLand MLi-490

MidiLand S4-7100

MidiLand S4-7100 Plus

Monsoon MM-1000

Monsoon MM-2000

Philips MMS305 4.1 Initial Review

Polk Audio AMR-150

Polk Audio AMR-130

Videologic Sirocco

Videologic Sirocco Pro

Videologic DigiTheatre 5.1

VideoLogic DigiTheatre DTS

Videologic Sirocco Crossfire