Customer Reviews

Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

5 star:		(251)
4 star:		(100)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I am very happy with these speakers.

I replaced a cheap 2.1 set of speakers, and this sub-woofer is much better sounding than what I had before. Of course you could get even better sound by spending a lot more money, but I believe these are a very good value.

Remember you might need to reconfigure Windows and/or your BIOS and/or your Sound Card for a 5.1 speaker setup. When you are properly setup, you do NOT need to turn on the "Matrix" feature. That is only needed when you connect it to a simple stereo source like a video game console. Your computer will "upgrade" your stereo music to a 5.1 signal when configured correctly, so like I said, you can leave the Matrix button turned off when connected to your computer.

The only negative, as others have shared, is the CABLES ARE SHORT. Add $15 to the price to include a trip to Radio Shack for some RCA extension cables.

I am stilling giving this a 5-start rating, since I knew about the cable length issue before I bought it.

This little puppy rocks!! After adjusting the volume settings on 3 remotes and devices (Yes, I am very picky), well, let's just say that I have to keep the volume down. After listening to this system hooked up to my TV for just 1 hour, I turned the system off (for testing the audible difference), and found that I could Never go back to my TV only speakers. WOW is the word! This is great for "Gadget Freaks" like myself who just want to start small and inexpensive. If you have RCA Audio Out L/R (Red & White - You will also need an AV Cable both ends male to run from included adapter to TV) jacks on your TV, this system comes with the necessary adapter to hook it up to your TV. It took me a total of 3 minutes to set it up. A Breeze! Get 'em and see what kind of set up you can come up with. Yes, I know these are PC speakers, but for what I am doing I needed them to be compatible with my TV as well.

Since there are lots of comments about the lead lengths, maybe some data would help (why is it not in the official specs?). Here are the approximate lengths that came with mine:
Power input cord: 6ft 6in (to sub)
Wired remote: 5ft 6in (from sub)
Audio input: 6ft 2in (Three 3.5mm male stereo jack plugs on each end; green (front); black (rear); orange (center+sub)
Center speaker: 7ft 2in
Front speakers: 5ft 3in
Rear speakers: 14ft 2in
There is also an 8in adapter with a green stereo socket on one end, red and white female RCAs on the other (for use with a video game console).
If you only have a single stereo output to feed these speakers you will only get sound out of the two fronts and the sub, unless you select matrix. Personally I find the matrix mode artificial sounding and hard to listen to, but it seems a waste to only use two of the five speakers so I piggy-backed two one-to-two stereo adapters to make three outputs and plugged in the green, black and orange input plugs (somebody suggested a Radio Shack Boostaroo, but I think that requires batteries - I get plenty of output with the passive one-to-three split). The rear speakers can then be placed alongside the front speakers and the center speaker puts out the sum of the two stereo channels. This gives a very acceptable sound when plugged into the headphone output of the TV and volume can be set with the TV remote. This sound is very much better than the sound from the TV speakers. After going through the experimentation to arrive at this setup I am very happy with this purchase.

I have these speakers attached to my tv and the sound quality is simply awesome. Don't let the price fool you, they perform just as well if not better then most brands I have listen to in a higher price range. They also have these at Sams Club at a good price.

I've had the Creative Inspire 5100 for a longe time (5 years), and now I have upgraded to this ones..
Needless to mention about the price tag.. It is a real good value for the money....

The Good points I can mention are:
a) Nice and loud sound (without getting to much technical details of it)
b) Nice Bass as well...
c) The stands ! You can have them in 2 positions and it helps to attach to walls... Really a very good thing about this set.
d) The central speaker stand, that attached to my 22" monitor.. Just perfect..
e) The Matrix feature, where even my notebook (with one way out only) get's a 5.1 sound (computer generated, but is better than nothing !)

The Cons:
a) Lack of protection for the Bass Speaker (such as a grill), which is located at the very bottom of it...
b) Needed longer cable to the rear speakers... I had to make an extra lenght connections to mine...
c) Lack of a tweeter, at least for the central speaker.. It could make the sound a bit better...

But anyway... You will be pleased..... I don't want to get too much tech. about the sound.. It is a very good set, specially considering the price of it !

Update 12/24/2011! >>> See an update to my original post at the bottom of this review!!! <<<

I've had these speakers for about three months now and they have the potential to be and sound amazing, however for one reason or another, they just aren't and don't.

The first annoying thing is the length of the satellite speaker cables. NONE of them are really long enough for their intended uses. The front left/right speakers only have about 6 feet of cable. If you put the sub woofer on the floor to the right or left of your desk, there isn't enough cable to run to the farthest left/right speaker. I had to purchase extension cables to make this work. The rear right and left speakers have much longer cables, but even these are only about 15 feet long. Again, if you place the sub woofer on the floor to one side of your desk, 15 feet isn't long enough to run back around a desk, then to some point behind the operator. These should be at least 25 feet long. Again, I had to use an extension cable to make the furthest rear speaker reach where I needed it.

When I first installed them, I felt like they didn't have as full a sound as my previous stereo speakers, but I chalked that up to the difference between a three speaker (two desktop, one sub woofer) system and this one. They sounded kind of "airy" and light, but some adjustments to my computer sound settings remedied most of that complaint. Now most of the time they're fairly clear, but very often any bass notes will cause distortion in the front right/left speakers. This is something I only noticed with extremely loud volumes in other speaker systems I've owned. At low volumes on music with no bass they sound great though....with one tiny exception...

I'm not sure why, maybe it's the extension cables, or just the fact that I've had to run the speaker cables in close proximity to my power cables, but I experience occasional popping in ALL the right/left speakers of this system. The center channel speaker doesn't seem to have this problem. The pops sound like I'm listening to music on an old LP that has become scratched. They are occasional and random, but frequent enough that they are a source of annoyance.

I wish I had another 5.1 speaker system to compare these to, but I'm not made of money and can't run out to buy another system to make a comparison. I purchased these on the generally good reviews I'd seen for them online and because they were reasonably priced with a good set of features. I use these speakers for listening to music, watching movies, and playing games. I'm willing to put up with the issues for now, but I'm probably going to replace them as soon as I can.

!!! Update - 12/24/2011 !!!

I know it's been a while since I reviewed these but there seems to have been a lot of discussion surrounding them so I wanted to give an update. I still haven't actually replaced these speakers at this time. While I stand by the comments I made at the time, I believe my overall opinion has changed some since then. I no longer notice the popping noise I intially described. I haven't heard it in quite some time but I suspect this is because I've since changed the mother board in my system and I'm not actually using the rear speakers at this time. My office space and living arrangements just don't support their use right now. Under these circumstances, the speaker system has been performing well for almost four years now. Long term durability and quality seem good, so these might be a good set of speakers to pick up if gently used. Looking back, knowing what I know now and with the perspective of 20/20 hindsight, I would probably purcahse these speakers again.

I'd like to thank everyone who commented on my review and added to the discussion. These sorts of discussions definately help me when I'm trying to decide on a purchase and I appreciate those of you who took the time to offer advice, ask questions, and generally respond in positive ways. Thank you!

I bought these speakers as a cheaper alternative for a surround sound system for our Vizio HDTV. They work GREAT. I won't say they're the highest quality, but I'm completely satisfied. We watched a couple of movies with them and get the "theater" feeling we were looking for - the bass shook the house when we were watching the UFO crash in MIB. Like everyone else says - the cords are a bit short, but other than that the system works perfectly. We hooked up the system direclty to the back of our TV using the "green"(you'll know what i mean when you receive it) cord that was provided and adding our own red/white a/v cords to insert into our TV audio out section. With the "matrix" button pushed on the provided control panel it gives the 5:1 sound option even with just the red/white cords plugged in (which leaves one cord unplugged to the TV because the back of the bass box has 3 cords leaving it). There is one downside: We're unable to control the volume with the TV remote for some reason... it'll mute with the TV remote, but other than that we have to get up and physically turn the knob on the provided control box. This may be something that I just haven't figured out yet - not sure.

I bought these as a replacement for my aging Cambridge soundworks FPS 2000 4.1 surround speakers.
They were very easy to set up, thats a plus.
the wired remote is easy to see and use.
music sounded ok.

gaming... I play a lot of WoW and other games, and want the sound to make me feel like I am there... these speakers didn't do it. they distorted easily, they sounded flat and tinny... was not impressed. my 10 year old speakers sound better.

These speakers are decent for music, and basic day to day computer audio, but if you want something for gaming that will give you a rich sound and make you feel part of the game, these aren't for you.

These speakers were easy to setup, but not the best. the subwoofer is extremely underpowered, and the bass/matrix adjustments are useless. it wokrs well for a small room, and even for a video game console. the sound seperation and quality is very good, except when you adjust the bass too high it gets staticy. at about 25-40% of its peak is a good spot.

the cords for the front two speakers are a bit too short. if you place the woofer on the ground, it will barely go under a desk and reach above your head when sitting down. the center and other two speakers have a good length of cord that can probably go about 7.5 feet high if you need them to. the way they hang on the wall isnt the best, but it works. the base of the speakers twist to allow you to hang them or place them on the desk. the only bad thing is that the balancing of the weight is very poor. it looks like this is a common design for all of the logitech speakers. the nail is placed at the bottom of the speaker, while all of the weight is above the nail. as for the monitor mount in this set, it works extremely well with my LCD screen. it hasnt moved at all and is in an extremely good spot.

overall they are worth the 50 bucks i got them for, but if you really are looking for something that is a good quality and has the overall movie experience, i would look at getting the 5300 or if you want top of line 5500 from logitech (they are thx certified and the subwoofer is over 200 and 500 watts respectively vs. the 70 watts on this system)

i am overall satisfied with the product, and i enjoy the quality and ease of use with the remote. i just wish the front 2 speaker cords were a few feet longer.

-nabokovfan87

note: the speaker for the subwoofer is on the base of the speaker. meaning you will need some cardboard or something to set it on if you have carpet.

I had a great 2.1 Harman/Kardon stereo desktop system with a large powered subwolfer for a long time. Last year, I added a creative 5.1 sound card to my PC build which allowed me to get the most out of my 2.1 system. This Fathers Day, my wife asked what I wanted and I knew it was time to upgrade to a 5.1 surround sound system. The Logitech X-540 system got great reviews, had the watts I wanted and was the right price. Set up went smoothly and after a reboot, I was able to adjust my creative 5.1 sound card software to get the most out of the new system. My first impressions are mostly positive.
The pros are:
- The sound is crisp and clean which I thought tinny at first until I adjusted my sound card graphics equalizer. I'll let the sound pros on the other reviews discuss the details. Overall, I like the sound quality which is just right for a PC system. As other reviews have noted, the bass is also good. I'm still playing with the frequency crossover on my sound card software so I don't have it dialed in quite yet.
- The rotating speaker stands are genus; you can rotate to stand on the desk or rotate to hang on the wall. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the center speaker fit snugly on the monitor and isn't in danger of falling off.
- The speakers appear to be well constructed and don't buzz when you dial up the volume.
- I really like the wired remote which allows you to adjust the volume, turn on/off, adjust the bass and to use a matrix button for PC's that lack a 5.1 surround sound card. My previous system had the power switch on the subwolfer and was hard to get too; most of the time, I left the power on.
- I like the fact that Logitech uses RCA cords rather than speaker wire for each speaker.
The cons are:
- As other reviews have noted, the cords are too short. I planned ahead for the satellite speakers and purchased a 25' extension cable to hang the rear right/left speakers on the opposite wall but the front right/left speaker cords should be 8' not 6'. The center wire was 8' and just right.
- There isn't a speaker grill on the bottom of the subwolfer. Yes, the subwolfer sits on the floor and is downward firing. However, if you should pick the subwolfer up to move it for some reason, there is the tendancy to reach too far under it and poke the speaker with a finger.
Overall Impressions:
- I think many of the negative reviews for this system are because they don't have a 5.1 sound card. I wouldn't have bought a surround sound system without one. I moved my 2.1 system to my wife's PC which doesn't have a sound card and it isn't the same.
- I don't think I would use this system for a TV (no special reason just a preference). While this system works great for a PC, I prefer a larger system for my TV. I currently have an older, more powerful Sony shelf surround sound system that works great with my directv receiver, Wei, and DVD player.
- Once I hang the rear speakers on the opposite wall, I hope to be able to enjoy a true surround sound experience (still waiting for my extension cables). Even without the speaker separation, the system still sounds great.