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Logitech Z-680 Dolby 5.1 PC Speakers Reviewed
PhatBass writes "PC Speakers certainly have come a long way from the little buzzers we used to
listen to before the days of SoundBlaster. Remember the 'Windows Speaker
Driver' that gave you more than beeps and buzzing through the little cone in
your case? Well now we have full Dolby Surround Sound setups, THX
Certified, the works, for Gaming, DVD and Multimedia bliss. Take a look at
the
sweet Z-680 setup from Logitech that is reviewed here, they sport 1000 Watts
of Peak Power, a hardware Dolby Pro Logic II 5.1 Decoder, Digital Inputs and
serious style."
With a total output of over 500 watts and a frequency response of 35-22000 Hz you could power a mid sized dance floor... Fact is these figures aren't really true.
The problem is that measuring these figures aren't done according to any standard weighting... the frequency response of my subwoofer at home is 39-200 Hz, the lower end at -3 DeciBels. The problem is these manufacturers don't report weighted figures. For all we know 35 Hz could be at -10 DeciBels, which is much lower than nominal volume.
This is why you never ever read the specs... listen to the speakers.
I'm not saying these speakers are bad. I'm just saying that the figures stated in the specs aren't comparable to professional or HIFI equipment.
.: Max Romantschuk
The correct poewr rating is 505 watts RMS [Root Mean Square], which is what the speakers can handle on a continuous basis.
Don't be swayed that marketing term known as PMPO [Peak Music Power Output] - what the equipment in question can handle/deliver over a very short period of time, typically measured in milliseconds.
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
1. Hifi speakers will have a flatter frequency response, meaning they won't overemphasize some frequencies at the cost of others. I predict the Logitech will sound boomy rather than full, and be rather tiring to listen to in the long run.
2. Hifi speakers will sound more detailed. When you go from a bad system to a good one, you may notice new instruments in a song, things like that.
3. Hifi speakers have a greater dynamic range. On the Logitech, I expect the subwoofer will start distorting at a sound level that's not insanely high, where Hifi speakers would just keep performing well.
Actually, I would not go to a local HiFi store for nice sound quality. HiFi speakers are designed to sound "nice" to your ears, by introducing various colorations that are not present in the original signal. If you want to have accurate sound reproduction, you should consider buying studio monitors. For example, genelecs, Tannoys or Spirits (which is what I have). They are designed to reproduce sound neutrally. The advantage: your good CDs will sound nice and crisp. The disadvantage: you will notice that a lot of your previously good-sounding CDs are not recorded and/or mixed well, and sound like crap.
For that matter how do I know my hearing is good enough to distinguish the difference ?
Unless you regularly visit loud dancings or concerts, your ears will be good enough.
Han-Wen Nienhuys -- LilyPond
Don't be fooled by the supposedly massive power output of this system. I've heard such systems many times, and pumping that much power (probably 1000W PMPO ~= 500W RMS?) into tiny plastic housed speakers really sounds quite crap.
I've got VASTLY better sound by connecting the audio output (headphone socket) from my old Soundblaster AWE 32 (ISA) straight to some Mission bookshelf speakers using a custom cable (3.5mm stereo jack to twin speaker cable!). That sounds card had a reasonable 12W RMS power amp on board that most new sound cards don't have (only line out or 4W headphone). I was surprised at how good this set up actually sounded. It lacked in the old bass department if you turned the sound the right up, but it was fine for normal listening levels or watching films.
A cheap (and VERY old Yamaha amp from eBay) made this set up even better (and provided me with a tuner!). All this for much less money and WAY more sound quality.
If you don't believe me, try it yourself. Get a really cheap old amp, and use your real hi-fi speakers - I can guarantee it will sound better than any plastic computer speakers ever will.
You don't need 5 channels - this just makes music sound crap and is just a gimmick for gamers. It's far better to get a decent stereo set up working first and if you really want 5 channel audio - then an old dolby digital amp off e-bay will definitely sound better than a package like this Logitech system.
The "1000W" figure is a complete joke! My £1000(GBP = $1500USD) NAD system is only 65W per channel and sounds stunningly good even using bookshelf speakers. Never EVER be tempted to equate output power to sound quality (especically if the power is measured PMPO rather than RMS) and never underestimate how bad small speakers sound compared to larger ones. Two tiny (10cm drivers) speakers + subwoofer does not in any way equate to the quality obtained by two half decent mid-sized bookshelf hi-fi speakers.
Nick...
Just in case you didn't know, the rear speakers are supposed to be facing the _sides_ of the audience, not their backs. This is a common mistake that people make when placing a 5.1 system. When you do a 7.1 setup, the extra two speakers are the ones that get placed in the far rear. In a 5.1 setup, the rear speakers are to the side of the listener, and a little behind them.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost