Why dont my bran new speakers altec lansing not workin when i play music?

First off, are they plugged in correctly? I know, stupid question but most people do plug them into the wrong port. If they are plugged in correctly(power also if they are powered) then I would say you need to make adjustments in the audio settings in the Control Panel. If they are digital speakers you need to make sure the settings are set for S/PDIF or digital, however it may show up. the volume may be turned down, turn it up. Also, Adjust audio properties, these are the sliders for all the sounds on the computer, some may make .wav or other file formats sound low and need to be turned up.