Customer Reviews

Logitech Speaker System Z520 (Black)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This latest desktop speaker system from Logitech is a very smart-looking set, that is incredibly easy to set up. The box is simply packaged, with the speakers side by side, and a power brick in a separate white box. The glossy volume dial and Logitech logos were covered in pieces of film to protect them from scratches during transportation. A nice touch!

Setting up the speakers is simple, and takes under a minute:

1.) Take speakers out of box
2.) Connect left speaker to right speaker
3.) Plug AC cord into right speaker, and plug into wall socket
4.) Plug speaker cord into sound card (these are not USB speakers)
5.) Turn on

I did this testing with my MacBook Pro and iTunes 9, as well as streaming music to the speakers via an Airport Express. In both cases, the results were similar:

The sound is "good." Very clear mid-to-high range, with the low end just begging to be filled out a little more. The Chemical Brothers' beats came out very nicely in the mid and high range, and classical music sounds wonderful.

With a little subwoofer, this would be a truly excellent set. As it is, the "average" user will be quite happy with the Z520. Hardcore gamers will, however, choose a 2.1 set (i.e. two speakers + subwoofer) to give them the extra punch this set could do with. (I'd recommend them the Logitech Z Cinema or the Z-2300, or Klipsch ProMedia 2.1)

Overall, though, a very solid set of speakers. Recommended.

THE QUICK TAKE: Logitech makes very good speakers, in terms of build quality and sound quality, for their price point. So the key things to keep in mind are (1) make sure you understand what type of speaker system you need, and (2) keep an eye on the price of the options you're looking at. At a discount, these are a reasonably good choice for someone looking for moderately good sound in a fairly compact package.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR NEEDS: No tiny 2.0 speaker system is going to give you a lot of bass, so this entire class of speaker is something of a trade-off of sound quality and space. If you're looking for bass, consider a 2.1 system with a subwoofer / bass extension speaker. The Logitech Z523 Speaker System and the Logitech Z623 Speaker System are examples.

Or, if you want to stick with 2.0, you can move up in price and size to something like the Audioengine 2 or the M-Audio AV-40. At the list price for these Logitech speakers, those systems are their competition, and the Z520 just doesn't match up.

PHYSICAL DESIGN AND FEATURES: In my opinion the Logitech designs are much more attractive than some of the recent Altec Lansing designs (their main competition). The backward angle of the face also adds an important enhancement to sound quality - the speaker cones, especially the tweeters, only perform as intended when they are aimed toward your ears. (That's why lots of users of the box-shaped, monitor-style speakers mentioned above angle the speakers toward them, and add wedge shaped inserts underneath.) Be sure to experiment with what sounds best to you - "toe-in" the speakers by aiming them toward where you are sitting.

The cabinets are large enough (9.1 inches tall, 4.8 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep) to give better sound than many small speaker systems - the size of the enclosure is a very important factor in speaker performance. But it's unfortunately not large enough, especially given the inefficient shape, to really compete with some of the more serious speaker systems mentioned above. Still, if you get them and think they're a bit bigger than you expected - just realize that's part of what's giving you better quality sound.

Logitech states that the system has 26 watts of total power, which is quite a bit better than most small 2.0 speaker systems and will help to provide undistorted sound. (It won't reach what most people would think of as "party" levels of sound, though.) On power, the Z520 speakers compare fairly well with the other 2.0 systems from Audioengine and M-Audio.

DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM THE OMNIDIRECTIONAL FEATURE: I really don't understand what Logitech had in mind with the rear-firing tweeter on these speakers. Perhaps they're just trying to find some selling point in a competitive product niche. But sonically it doesn't make much sense given the way it's designed and built. It's too small to add much in a large room, and it's not going to help (and it may hinder) for the way most people place these.

Once again Logitec puts out an excellent product for computer accesories. These are great speakers, especially to add decent sound to you laptop. Construction and quality is solid. Sound is very good, with crystal clear sound produced. If you want a set of speakers, but don't want to mess with the extra woofer found on many sets, then these are for you.

These speakers are large enough to provide ample speaker size without being overly bulky. The both look good and produce excellent sound. You won't get the "vibrating" base of a more expensive system with a separate woofer, but with these you won't miss it. I'm sitting here listening to them as I write this review, playing my MP3 player through them.....quite impressed.

I can honestly recommend these.

The instant I took these speakers out of the box I strongly suspect that they were going to be very nice speakers. They are very heavy, which indicates a nice sized magnet inside. They took about 30 seconds to hook up completely. I pulled up iTunes, clicked on "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over" by the Charlatans U.K., and instantly fell in love with these speakers. They have wonderful definition, surprising clarity even with the volume turned up, and lots of power for speakers this small. I had been needing some speakers to go with the laptop I got this past spring and these definitely fill the need. They don't sound as good as speakers with a subwoofer, but they are definitely not the piece of marginal junk you usually find for computers. These actually sound good!

After the Charlatans U.K., I put on the soundtrack to CAPRICA by Bear McCreary (a very nice album, BTW) and was really pleased with it as well. I then put IRON MAN on my laptop's Blu-ray player and again was extremely pleased with the sound. I then put on cuts by Queens of the Stone Age and Damien Rice to get some real diversity and once again I was thoroughly pleased with the sound quality.

Frankly, I might not have gotten these if I hadn't been a participant in the Vine program. I've not been very impressed with the Logitech speakers that I've listened to in the past. They were, to be honest, merely throw ins for computers. They simply weren't very good. But these were absolutely splendid. Nothing in the least like previous Logitech speakers that I have heard. While I would never have bought these prior to today, knowing what I know now, I definitely would. If you need some high quality stereo speakers at a quite reasonable price, you definitely should consider these. They are attractive, easy to set up, and extremely attractive. And they also do what they are primarily advertised to do: provide excellent sound from many spots in a room. Unless you want some surround sound speakers or want something with a heck of a lot of power, these will delight just about anyone who needs quality computer speakers.

From the moment you open the box to you start rocking out to the speakers is less than 5 minutes. It couldn't be easier, everything is included and everything "just works".

No oversized box, no monster subwoofer taking up all the space under your desk, just 2 very innocent looking speakers with a knack for making beautiful sweet noise.

The sound quality is to be enjoyed, appreciated, and amazed (how can they pack soo much in soo little?!)

First thing I did was hook these guys up to my tv (using my samsungs headphone out jack), and played Uncharted on playstation 3. Worked great, loved it, everything sounded rich with great detail.

Plugged in my headphones to the speakers, even more love and joy (how so many people can forget to include a headphone jack is beyond me).

Then I plugged them into my 7.1 receiver and the audio just kept getting better.

I watched several horror movies, tv shows, and played other games to great success. I've enjoyed many cd's as well as lectures all using this set of speakers (I really tested them using every possible source I have). The latest of which being Star Trek on blu-ray (which will blow you away). (As well as forza 3 and call of duty modern warefare 2 (which are games where audio is VERY important).


Pros:

Great sound, very clear and detailed.

You really can hear them anywhere in the room, no longer do you need to be stationed in front of the speakers, you can be to the left, to the right, or even most of the way behind the speakers and still enjoy the bright detail of the speakers.

They look sweet, and blend in in my room (they don't look ANYWHERE near as shiny as the stock photos may suggest (and that's a good thing).

Cons:

No loud sub (duh, but I do have speakers by Altec) that have similar specs and are of a similar size that has a nice fat sub connected to the bottom of the speakers (and those things are quite loud and nice, check my reviews for more).

And that's really it, I have no complaint about the speakers, I've used them for well over 200 hours, including about 20 hours with my headphones attached. I could not be happier.


Bottom Line:

Great set of speakers, great sound, works as advertised. They sound amazing and work from all angles (and they even have a headphone port (something I stress because many manufacturers sell speakers now without headphone jacks).

Hat's off to Logitech for these awesome speakers. (Another "con" is I now have to buy a set of these for my cousin as he is absolutely enamored with them!)

Obviously expecting to get audiophile quality out of any of these little speakers is like well
trying to get gold from lead :) Just not possible with current technology. So, it a matter of
finding something you can live with. After trying out a few of these speakers these are certainly
one of the best sounding ones.

There are pretty well balanced and sound good with a variety of material especially movies.

1. You need to break them in, as with most speakers, to get the best sound. Don't judge them
until after you've broken them in for a few days.

2. If you play them loud they will distort. At moderately high volume there do well but they
can't get really loud.

3. Of course without a subwoofer you won't them that thumping bass so don't even try.

4. These speakers are really great for movies. The EQ curve of movies and the reaf firing
tweeters make these speakers perfect for movies as long as you can live without the BIG bass sound.

Overall, they are pretty good though. If you want a lot of bass get the Z523 instead.

These good-looking speakers don't take up a lot of precious space and are very user-friendly. They're not USB powered as were most of the other speakers I've used but set-up was simple nonetheless. I just connected them to my laptop's headphone jack and plugged them in to an external power source and that's all there was to it.
Compact as they are, the speakers churn out some pretty impressive sound. I've owned and listened to several different desktop speaker systems and for power and sound quality, these far outperform all the others. Even when I listened at a fairly high volume--loud enough to hear a few rooms away--the fidelity was good and I detected no distortion. When I cranked them up full blast (and believe me, they were blood-trickling-out-of-the-ear LOUD) the quality started to suffer but I don't think that should come as a surprise nor do I think most people would want to listen for long at that volume. The speakers perform beautifully and deliver clear. crisp sound at medium to moderately loud settings. And with 360 degree sound, the music really does project, giving you the feeling that it's all around you, a nice feature and a big departure from other speakers I've had.
As happy as I am with the speakers' performance, I'm equally delighted that they're a Logitech product. Over the years, I've owned quite a few Logitech mice, keyboards and speakers. Without fail, I've found them to be quality products and well suited to the uses for which they were designed. The Z520 is no exception. Only once did I have a problem with a particular device. I had owned it for several months when it started to malfunction and when I contacted customer service, they quickly agreed to replace it for me, which they promptly did. No, I have absolutely no connection with Logitech but I do appreciate a company that stands by its products and cares about customer goodwill.

Amazing and Voluminous Sound from These Compact Speakers!

This pair of speakers (Z520) from Logitech is quite compact, measuring about 9.5 inches tall, 5 inches wide and 5 inches deep. Because of their tapered from bottom to top, triangular shape, the speakers have a nice, lean, and aesthetic appearance. There is a removable black metallic mesh covering in front of each speaker. It's apparent that they are there for protection aginst damage to the speaker drivers. The right-hand-side speaker, marked R on its backside, has a power/volume knob. There is a headphone port and an auxilliary input port (for iPod and MP3) on the side.

26 watts (RMS) of power for these speakers does not sound very impressive on paper, but as I discovered, the amount of undistorted sound you can crank out of these speakers is simply amazing! Logitech claims that these are "loud enough for a party", and I would agree with that, as long as your party is in your home's living room or den. On the power/volume dial, there is an amber LED that turns with the dial to indicate a position for a certain sound level. A good, loud level for me would be around the 12 o'clock position. You can go beyond this, but soon the sound would be too loud for your ears at arms length.

If you like great sounding speakers but do not have much desktop space, I highly recommend this pair.

Any speaker review has to start with the sound. I like my previous Altec Lansing speakers a lot. I love the Z520s. They have a very well-balanced sound and don't distort at higher volumes. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer and I almost always have music playing. So I've given these speakers a lot of use in a short period of time and they haven't disappointed. Perhaps the only minor quibble is that I tend to like my bass quite a bit and the Z520s could use a touch more bass for my personal taste. But as I said before, they have great overall sound balance so unless you're a bass lover like me you'll probably think they sound perfect the way they are. I also like my music loud so I crank it up louder than I probably should and it still sounds crisp and clear. They have more than enough power to fill up an average size room.

The speakers themselves are all black with a mesh grill covering the front. Very stylish to me. They have a slightly larger footprint than some comparable size speakers because the bottom is quite wide. But they're relatively small for having such a great sound and you'll have no trouble clearing enough space for them. The cord connecting them is about 6 feet long so that's about as much separation as you'll be able put between them, but that should be plenty.

They might be slightly expensive if you think of them as "just computer speakers." But if you use them a lot for music like me, they're a good value compared to what it might cost you to buy a regular pair of stereo speakers.

Everything about this speaker is great, except for its speaker-to-computer wire. It's not extremely durable. This is especially likely to be a problem if you use this with your laptop, and need to constantly plug in and take out the wire because you are taking the laptop elsewhere. The plug gets bent overtime, and the connection starts to break down. The design of this wire is also a bit careless because it is hardwired to the speakers, instead of being removable, which would mean replaceable. Since it is hardwired, if you plug in and take out often, as I do since it's a laptop, you will encounter problems after about one year of ownership, and you won't be able to fix it cheaply.