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Logitech Z680 5.1 Computer Speakers (5-Speaker, Silver)

Logitech Z680 5.1 Computer Speakers (5-Speaker, Silver)

List Price: $399.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Deal, but....
Review: Great COMPUTER speaker sytem comes with Dolbly digital, dts, and dolbly pro-logic 2 decoding. Make sure your computer has the 6-channel direct input (found on most 5.1 PC sound cards), I didn't have the 6-channel direct input feature, so I can't really rate them for a PC.

Why 3 out of 5?
You will only get stereo, pro-logic 2 movie or pro-logic 2 music decoding through the optical/coax connctions, not dolbly digital or DTS.

Why else have an optical/coax connection other then true 5.1, prevent signal loss? I hate false advertising.

While there are some dvd players with a 6-channel input, they're hard to come buy & usually expensive. You will get some surround decoding through the pro-logic 2 settings but, you won't get the true 5.1 signal from the optical/coax connctions, unlike what the adverising claims will lead you to believe. Pro-Logic II isn't DIGITAL, it isn't DTS!

Console gaming (ps2, xbox, etc) wasn't great either. Many ps2 games sounded the same as with the regular analague stereo (red white plug hook-ups) my TV has. Their was only noticeable improvement with Pro-Logic 2 supported games (Metroid Prime, etc.) but, I had to get an analogue to stereo cable to play them, the system doesn't come with analogue inputs! While the sound quality for console gaming wasn't awful, I was surprised to find some games even sounding worse then with regular stereo.

If youring buying these for a PC based theater system, by the sounds of the other reviewers, you shouldn't be disappointed, but if your like me, looking more towards home theater (without a pc) avoid them, you won't be able to take advantage of their all their features.

(...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing performance!
Review: Before spelling out any of the Z680's faults, let me say that this set of speakers is amazing. I have a high-end harman/kardon receiver hooked up to great Polk Audio loudspeakers. While the Z680s may be poorly adept to matching my Home Theater's room-filling, house-shaking, and bowel-disrupting power, they certainly produce the same thrill in me every time I play on them a fabulous Tchaikovsky recording I have.
Even though poorly recorded music (mostly downloaded stuff) has its every flaw exposed when played on these speakers, medium- to high-quality recordings are breathtakingly executed. When I switched from my cheap Compaq speakers to Senheiser headphones I had the exact same feeling as when I changed from my 2.1 setup into the Z680s--I heard for the first time that ice being poured into a glass in "Yellow Submarine", the cannon in "1812" actually sounded like a cannon and Coldplay's vocalist actually sounds human when he stretches his voice to its limits in "Moses." The difference between those Senheisers and the Z680s is that I can finally hear music for hours on end without having itchy, uncomfortable ears caused by cheap headphone "leather."
When I hooked these babies up to my DVD (with a ridiculously expensive SPDIF optical cable, of course), I was simply blown away. I could never have imagined that a two 100 and seventy dollar set (without a proper decodifier) could produce sound comparable to a proffesionaly installed setup 20 times as expensive. Despite the fact that the speakers are only usable if placed really close to the listener (i.e.- only 1 or 2 people can be optimally positioned in the soundfield), they create an amazing surround effect. Unlike cheap home-theater-in-a-box systems which have horribly blurred channels, the Z680's sharp sound lets you easily distinguish individual channels. You can even get stereo sound from the center channel! The only drawback here is how you keep turning around when the sound of an opening door plays in the rear speakers.
Most people will buy these speakers for their prowess in PC applications, and, without a doubt, they excel here. When combined with the absolute-must-buy Audigy 2-ZX soundcard with EAX, theses speakers create the most realistic aural experience short of actually being inside the game. Although I am not an avid gamer anymore, I still appreciated what a difference sound can make. An investment in these speakers definitely surpasses in importance a video card upgrade.

While the Z680s may have innumerable qualities they do have two major deffects: craftsmanship and hissing.
3 of my 5 speakers have unevenly-footed stands, which, although not a major issue, does create a nasty eyesore everytime I bang on my table.
Now... the hissing. Most users report this as their chief complaint. I totally agree with them in their claim that there is a loud hiss present at low volumes and when the speakers are inactive. However, this is a commomn trait of almost all high-powered speakers and can be drastically reduced with a soundcard with a low Signal-to-Noise ratio, such as the Creative Audigy 2-ZX. Next time you're in a movie theater, listen carefully during a scene with no sound and notice how "noisy" the speakers are. Also, the fact that multimedia speakers such as these are placed so close to the listener's head, expands this problem. Any hissing is drowned at moderate volumes and "hissing" at loud volumes just indicates poorly-recorded sound.
However, Logitech should include in the very near future an auto-shutdown feature that prevents this hiss by cutting the power when the signal is mute if it does not want to fall behind its competitors.

The only deterrent I found in these speakers is that you might find yourself having too much trouble concentrating on doing your work with music on--the sound will keep you falling off your chair

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't buy to use with Creative Sound cards
Review: Excellent, amaizing speakers.

But don't buy them thinking you can use the digital connection for a Creative Labs Audigy 2 card to hook up to them. Audigy 2 cards do have digital output, but it is intended ONLY to work with Creative Labs Speakers. So if you try the digital out connection to the Z680's, you will be disappointed.

If you use a mono 1/8" minijack to RCA connection, all of the digital signal from the Audigy is getting to the speaker decoder, but the signals from the different channels all have different amplitudes. Creative is the only company to employ this technique. But what it means, is that the Z680's will only pick out the signal from the largest aplitude signal, which is the front channels. So you won't get digital surround sound. The rear speakers will be silent, very low, or mimic the front speakers.

I haven't tried it with the optical out from Creative Labs HD kit, but have heard some positive and some negative results.

Both Creative and Logitech are aware of this issue, but seem to choose not to make it public.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Woofer Blew Fuse
Review: It has extremely good bass, but one night while playing a techno bass song, as i usually did, i put it a little less than half way, volume wise, and it blew a fuse, and a spark ignited in the amp, causing a little fire. i went to shop for fuses and they blew as well. extremely unstable woofer, but over i give it a 3 out of 5

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great system for the price (forget the hiss)
Review: The system replaced my old prologic 2 surround system and I use it for a home theater system. Speech is clear unlike with my old prologic system and the sound range is fantastic. The subwoofer is a bit much and I keep it at one notch above off. Movies and music sound great.

Complaints: Like most people I do hear a faint hiss (even with no input or other electronics nearby), but it is fine from where I sit. I can hear it with no audio while standing close to the speakers. I haven't found the cause, but I don't care anymore. You cannot hear the hiss when you are more than 2 or 3 feet away from a speaker. Another complaint is the speaker cables are short : 3x15' and 2x6', so be prepared to go buy a length of speaker wire.

For the price it cannot be beat!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: OH MY GOD!!!!! Read whole review...you won't be disappointed
Review: Ok, I'm gonna start off by sayin that my last set of speakers for my laptop was a cheap pair of $20 wallie world speakers. That bein said, I currently live in a dorm at college, and the day these were delivered, I had the entire dorm in my room wonderin "where all that music was comming from". These speakers are crisp clean and unbelievable. As for some of the other reviews I have this to say:..... 1) yeah it takes 30 minutes or so to set up....what did you expect...it's surround sound, not 2 speakers you pull out and plug in. 2) I have yet to experience any kind of hiss or hum...the only hiss I found was when I hit the "Test" button the remote, then there is a loud hiss that cycles from channel to channel, this is just a way to test connections without annoying the neighbors. Hit the button again and would you look at that.....all gone. 3) As for the big control unit.... that's what you get when you externally decode THX, DTS, Dolby Digital, and all the other wonderful sounding tid bits. (For all those out there that haven't baught it, the control unit is approx 10" high and 4" wide by 2" deep). 4) Bass too over whelming??....uuuhhh.... no. first of all there's an equalizer for my sound card, one on ITunes (excellent FREE jukebox program put out by apple but also available for pc at www.itunes.com) and a subwoofer gain option on the controller. If you can't cut out your version of unnecessary bass with these 3 eq's (each one capable of cutting out approx 12 db of bass each) then you don't deserve these!! (But I know you're smarter than that that's why I'm spending my time and effort writing this, so you can make a good decision). O.K. Here's where I start to agree, 5) The display does leave something to be desired, it is hard to read at certain angles, but so far I've only needed it to set up, haven't tried to read it since, after all the song titles are on my computer, not scrolling across the display. I just bent the stand down slightly and it gave me a better view from my everyday position at my desk, in the event I may need to read it. 6) Definately buy longer and better quality (thicker gauge also) wires. These do make a bit of difference. 7) Do take off the front and rear 4 speakers grills, you can notice a difference in clearer highs...give em a tug, they'll come off.....but I still haven't been able to take off the center speaker grill...don't think it is removable. 8) If you can....definately use an optical cable over all others after that use the digital coax (looks like a single rca but digital), no go? then use the 5.1 direct, and last resort the analog input for the 1/8" jack. Great variety of inputs, but be forewarned...no rca inputs. Got a laptop without these outputs?? Might I suggest an external sound card? My friend had one he baught from "Creative" just a cheep office max 44khz? (or so I know it's definately in the 40s) usb 2 sound card (model # SB0270 if you want to look up the specs)that has a digital optical out (among other outputs) for only $35. And this set still rocks on it. Only other system I was considering was the Creative Gigaworks S700...but I go to college...not that rich...afterall that is upgradable to 7.2 surround and has about 100 more watts. Hope this helps ya out!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWSOME AWSOME AWSOME!!!!
Review: I got these to replace my z560 set, and boy I was not dissapointed. Setup was very simple,eventhough the wires
that came with them are short it did'nt matter because I hooked them up to monster XP cable and these things are awsome! The coax and the optical inputs are great. I use mine for games
and watch movies with DTS or Digital, and it sounds like you are in a theater. I must say that z680's with the Audigy or Nforce2 board makes a deadly combination. I waited give my review because I wanted to see if these could hold up longer than the z560's and they did. This is the best system I ever owned, and it puts my fathers Sony theater system to shame.Amazon
shipping was very quick Amazon Rocks! Buy this system and you will not be disapointed!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Logitech Z680 5.1
Review: Base is a little washed out but carries a steady low freq. even at low volume. Satellites aren't adjustable (swivel) And the cord from the Digital SoundTouch Control Center is only 5 feet long.
And it could have used a couple more auxiliary inputs in the back of the Digital SoundTouch Control Center as well. Other than that.... IT ROCKS the house!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOWOW!!!!!
Review: This is definatly the speaker system to have for super quality sound and booming bass! I use this set on my computer, already have a home theater system, and man is it amazing! I listen mostly to trance music and oh my does it make things sound great! I don't even put the volume or bass up to half and it feels like I'm at a club, they are just that amazing. I suggest getting these if you don't want to blow your whole life savings on those big sound systems, unless of course you got the money to. Like for example, my brother spent $1200 on his system, that's a bit much for me, but these speakers do it for me just fine and at a great price! Games, movies, music, it plays it all in super quality sound, highly recommended!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW
Review: After reading a bunch of reviews of different PC speakers it came down to the Logitech and the Klipsch. Since these were for my computer/game room only I just couldn't justify the price of the Klipsch and considering some of the reliability issues from others. I was concerned about the hissing that other people complained about with the Logitech but took the chance on these anyway. Well, after I ordered these, with free shipping, I received them in 2 days. WOW this was very impressive. I hooked them up and realized I was going to have to buy my own speaker wires since the ones that come with these are not long enough to go around the walls to the other side of this small room to the rear speakers. No big deal there. Everything hooked up as advertised. Only one scare, I couldn't get the Playstation 2 sound to work and after repeated attempts and complaining I finally realized that I forgot to take the little plastic plugs off the optical cord, DUH. As for the Hiss, well if you listen up close you will hear a slight hiss from the speakers. But sitting in front of the computer just a couple feet away you won't here anything. Even when the speakers are on and nothing playing, the room is quiet, I don't hear any hiss. I would not be too concerned about any hiss issues with these speakers, although, maybe some earlier models might have been louder, I don't know. Since I have these speakers in a small room I'm not exactly sure as to the full capabilities of these speakers. I do crank them up though and I don't have any rattles or anything like that coming from the speakers or the sub. This is nice. I once bought an expensive set of self powered Bose and took them back because at high bass, or I should say lack of bass, they would rattle from the sub unit. This sub is great. No distortion, just good solid bass. They are great with games and I love the added bass. Although, sometimes a little much with music and have to turn the bass down. But I'm not complaining here because I love allot of bass. So for you bass lovers, these are it. The control unit works great and the remote works great as well, although I don't use the remote much since the control unit sits right next to me in this small room. But, if you are playing the Playstation 2 you can easily control the sound and other things with this remote and not have to get up. So, lets hope these speakers will last. I've only had them over a month now and I would really be disappointed if they didn't since my initial impression is so good.


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