Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speaker Set Review Posted!

[Dashken]

Tired of puny little squeaks from cheap speakers? Throw them aside and bring in the REAL stuff!

Today, we will take a look at a set of mid-range 5.1 speakers the Logitech Z-640! Let's see if it really can rumble!

Link : Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speaker Set Review!

[HunterZ]

We're not really Logitech super-fans, but my two roommates and myself each have a different model of Logitech 5.1 speakers. Since I've had the opportunity to compare them all, I thought people might be interested to hear about my experience.

One of my roommates bought the Z-680's a couple years ago and is still using them today, now in coax digital mode to decode the Dolby Digital 5.1 signal from his nForce2 motherboard. These speakers were the coolest I'd seen (until I got mine) - great bass, great satellites, and great features (AC3 decoding, prologic decoding, nice looking, digital and analog inputs, controls located on a control box instead of the speakers). I don't really have any complaints about these guys, except that the subwoofer is heavy and the first set my roommate brought home from the store was broken (some of the speakers produced no sound, or only static - I don't remember).

My other roommate has the Z-640's on her computer. Since it's located in a common area of our apartment (the dining room), we often watch movies and TV shows together on it. This is a good speaker system for the price. The mid-range is a bit lacking, so it is sometimes hard to catch quiet dialogue in some movies (even with dynamic range compression enabled). My big complaint is that even with the subwoofer volume at its lowest, it still produces sound (and as the reviewer said, the knob is on the back of the subwoofer, which is hard to reach even though my roommate has it sitting on her desk next to her monitor). I've also heard that some people have had their Z-640 subwoofer blow out after a few months, even when having the volume at a reasonable level. My roommate has had these for almost a year now, though, and they still work great.

I just bought the Z-5500's for myself a couple weeks ago, and they're awesome. They're basically the Z-680's with a new look. The only functional differences I've noticed are:
- the speaker wires are attached to the satellites and connect to the subwoofer via RCA connectors instead of bare wire leads. This is annoying only because the rear speaker wires are too short for me to run around the walls of my room without looking a bit tacky. I'll probably end up splicing them or buying extension cables (which may be expensive because I'll need ones capable of handling a full-power signal)
- the control box now has a switch that allows the analog inputs to be used as 3 independent stereo inputs (selectable from the control box) instead of one 6 channel input. I'll probably never use it (since I connect to my computer using 6 channel analog), but it might be handy if you are planning to use them with multiple video game consoles/VCRs/DVD players instead of a computer
- the stands/mounting brackets for the satellites are plastic and are more permanently attached to the speakers than those on the Z-680s. They swivel to adjust beween stand mode and mounting mode, and they still look nice, so it's not a big deal. They're also made of very thick, sturdy plastic, so don't worry about breaking them accidentally. Also, I was able to mount them to my walls in under 10 minutes - much less painful than I expected.

So far I have no complaints about the Z-5500's. What's annoying is that a lot of games coming out these days don't take full advantage of 5.1 sound cards and speakers (e.g. Doom 3, Vampire: Bloodlines, Deus Ex 2).

EDIT: I have a question for the reviewer: Why did you put your center speaker in front of your monitor? We all put them on top of our monitors instead. The Z-5500's center speaker even tilts downward a bit to accomodate this setup. I thought about mounting it on the wall, but I decided to put it on top of my monitor to provide a better sense of where the "center" of the front sound field is (I'm finnicky about that and like to move the speaker around, especially since I have two monitors).

[Dashken]

The article has just been updated!

Tired of puny little squeaks from cheap speakers? Throw them aside and bring in the REAL stuff!

Today, we will take a look at a set of mid-range 5.1 speakers the Logitech Z-640! Let's see if it really can rumble!

Here are the updates:-

• Corrected mistakes in pages 1, 3 and 7.
• Please note that the speaker cables should be extended using RCA cables.

Link : Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speaker Set Review Rev. 1.1!

[Max_87]

Originally Posted by HunterZ

EDIT: I have a question for the reviewer: Why did you put your center speaker in front of your monitor? We all put them on top of our monitors instead. The Z-5500's center speaker even tilts downward a bit to accomodate this setup. I thought about mounting it on the wall, but I decided to put it on top of my monitor to provide a better sense of where the "center" of the front sound field is (I'm finnicky about that and like to move the speaker around, especially since I have two monitors).

well it just makes me easier to adjust the volume because it's nearer to me Other than that, I often use the headphone jack, so if I put the center speaker on top of my monitor, the wire would be hanging in front of my monitor

[HunterZ]

Ah, I didn't think about the headphone jack. I'd probably move the speaker to the side of the top of my monitor when using headphones, and it'd probably annoy the crap out of me I guess for me that means the Z-640s are at a disadvantage from having the headphone jack on the center speaker instead of on a control box.

[siddiq]

nice review max. how much iszit?

[Max_87]

Thanks! I bought it RM375

[PsYkHoTiK]

Originally Posted by HunterZ

Ah, I didn't think about the headphone jack. I'd probably move the speaker to the side of the top of my monitor when using headphones, and it'd probably annoy the crap out of me I guess for me that means the Z-640s are at a disadvantage from having the headphone jack on the center speaker instead of on a control box.

Yeah, but it doesnt have a control box...

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by HunterZ

We're not really Logitech super-fans, but... [snip] ...two monitors).

Yeah, I had been thinking about selling my Z-680's to buy some Z-5500's but I like that mine use speaker wire. Those Z-5500's though look super slick.

I hate how mine hiss though.

[HunterZ]

Viper: I wouldn't bother upgrading unless you have the money and nothing else to spend it on. The Z-680's really sound just as good as the Z-5500's and have 99.9% of the same features (heck, I can even use my Z-5500 remote to control my roommate's Z-680's!)

I do like the silvery look of my Z-5500's though