Customer Reviews

Logitech x-230 2.1 2-Piece Dual Drive Speakers with Ported Subwoofer- New Whitebox

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've owned many computer speakers over the years, and the Logitech X-230 are one of my favorites for their combination of price and design. They look modern and streamlined, and pack enough punch for most all desktop uses. I bought 3 sets of these x-230s over the last six months, to replace older, bulky, clunkier 3-piece speaker sets. The new ones sound much better than what they replaced.

Crank them all the way up, and you will notice the relatively weak middle range, but it's still very crisp and clear and hard to complain about at this price. These speakers are identical to the non-OEM (fancy box) version of the product, only the external packaging is different.

The only minor drawbacks, that are addressed in Logitech's more expensive speakers, are:

- the bass volume control is on the sub-woofer unit rather than on the speaker with the regular volume control

- the fixed cable connecting to the two speakers to each other is relatively short. Not a problem unless you have an unusual desktop design (such as dual wide-screen flat-panels).

But for their quality, these speakers are downright inexpensive. Recommended.

The other day, while in an electronics store, I was watching some hoodlums messing around with that "Guitar Hero" videogame. What impressed me was not the game (or their antics), but the fact that the speakers which were flooding that large room with sound so impressively were these unassuming-looking ones by Logitech.

I immediately purchased some and have been very happy with them. The sound is both crisp and deep. Installation is entirely plug-and-play; in fact, there is no disk included.

Only one minor gripe: you have the ability to plug headphones into one of the speakers, but if you do so, the volume control knob no longer applies and you have to go through your OS interface to turn down the volume. This is the only thing that has disappointed me in an otherwise worthy speaker system.

I've been looking for sub-$50 2.1 speakers for a while...and these came up again and again in reviews. Sure, these are an older model, but does quality age? Quality is quality, and for this price, you can't do better. I also own much higher quality 2.1 and 5.1 computer speakers from different brands (altec lansing, klipsche, etc) and although those were better, it wasn't by much, and they were double and triple the price of the x-230.

my only gripe is that the grill is really like plastic cheesecloth...probably easily punched through if you have projectiles flying around more often than not. also, the bass is a little muddy.

amazon offers this in a retail and whitebox version...save your money, go for whitebox, it has everything (speakers, manual) that the retail box has, just no pretty pictures on the box.

These speakers give a great sound for their price. The only out of the box issue is the bass. Even on the bass dial's lowest setting it can overpower the highs and mids. The way around this is to use your music software's equalizer (in itunes - command #2) to lower the bass. Once this obstacle is overcome you have some decent speakers that sound much better than their price tag.

I bought these because I needed something simple for my desk at work. These are perfect for me. Solid sound quality and a great price. The power is impressive, too; they'll get much louder than I'll ever need. They feel well made for their price.

A few random notes:

The speaker units themselves are a little larger than I had expected. They're a little over 8 inches tall on the desk and about 3 inches wide. They definitely do not "vanish" on my desk like some other speakers I've had.

The connectors between the desk speakers are hard-wired into the desk units. That is, the desk speakers can't be extended with a cord to be further apart from one another. You'll need a wire cutter and a soldering iron to do that.

The cable that connects the desk speakers to the subwoofer is also hard-wired into the right speaker (but that cable ends in a plug, similar to a DB9 connector, which is removable from the subwoofer).

The input cable is also hard-wired into the right speaker. That cable ends in a 1/8 inch stereo plug to fit your computer, ipod, or whatever you want to hear.

The subwoofer never turns completely off. It has a knob for setting its volume (independently of the desk speakers), but it's always on. That's not to say it's always loud, though. I work in a quiet office and have no problems.

A great sounding 2.1 system for under $50. I previewed this system against others in the $50-$100 range and preferred the X-230's mid-range sound and vocal "presence." The sub is compact in size, but has plenty of punch. I had to turn the bass unit way down to achieve a nice balance between the sub and the mids and highs of the satellites. Buy the whitebox version -- all the contents are the same -- and save some money over the retail box. When I ordered the whitebox version it was offered with free shipping, an added bonus.

I ordered these speakers for my college dorm, to hook up to my laptop. The specs for these speakers are pretty high compared to the creative equivalent. The sound is rich and the base is heavy. I've had them for a month, and no gripes yet. Rather I expected a lot less for a $35 speaker set.

The whitebox version is basically the speakers w/o the cool box. But you do get free shipping.

These speakers are great. Sound great. Look great. For what I paid for this 2.1 speakers system, it totally rocks.

The only slight issue I found so far is while watching some DVD's through my computer. Some of the low end/mid frequencies gave the speakers a bit of a crackle at higher volumes. So if you are going to be watching a ton of DVD's on your PC these maybe aren't the speakers for you.

But if you are going to do general listening to music and playing video games and are a bit price sensative/budget oriented, well, these are great speakers for you. I'd buy them everyday and twice on Sunday!

Listen, the weakness that most cheap speakers have is not prevalent here. That major weakness of most speakers? Lack of power, and especially lack of bass. I have had many cheap computer speakers before that cackle as they fail miserable to distribute enough bass to rock-- not the case here. These speakers can handle the bass quite well, and there is plenty of power here.

But listen, the distribution isn't even. A unique weakness of this 2.1, is it can't handle hi end. Wanna play something bright? (Lot's of treble?) You'll get a cackle. This is the first time in my life I have experienced hi-end cackle. Too weird.

Having said that, the smooth bass generally makes up for it, and if you have the audio at 50% or less, you won't experience this problem. It is only when you really want to rock, and bring your speakers to a higher level, that you may experience the hi end cackle. But beware, it does exist.


If I had it to do over again, i would have paid more money. I didn't want value-speakers, so I don't know why that's what I bought. That's what these are. Value speakers. Don't expect bose quality. They do great for what they are, but if you want great quality these aren't it. I may still send these back and just fork out a higher price to get what I am looking for.

The overall sound of these speakers is full and well-balanced. The subwoofer is a little too base heavy for me sometimes and even at its lowest setting it packs a punch (most listeners will probably like this). My only real gripe is lack of bass adjustment on the speakers--otherwise these are good sounding and fair-priced speakers. They have a headphone jack near the volume control, which is a plus. And they are pretty nice looking too.

As another reviewer stated, watch out for these if you have them shipped. My speakers were stored for a year (a family member's 2006 Christmas gift that was passed on to me new in the box). When I opened them, something was rattling around inside the subwoofer. I Googled the issue. An Amazon reviewer and a New Egg Reviewer reported the same issue. It was the port tube--the tube that connects the hole of the woofer and makes the "boom" for your music's bass. It seems to be an exception and not the norm. Both reviewers said they would be hard to fix. Not so for me. I was able to--after 3 or 4 attempts--tilt the sub in order to allow the tube to fall towards the bass port hole in the woofer. It worked. I then repositioned it firmly (no glue). I used a flashlight to do this and it was clear upon inspection that Logitech did not use enough glue to keep the port in place. Despite this issue, I am satisfied with the speakers and recommend them to others.