Logitech Wireless USB Speaker Z515

by Logitech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 3.3 x 5.4 inches ; 2.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003VAHYXW
• Item model number: 980-000426
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #28 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Accessories > Computer Speakers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 9, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

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Wireless Speaker Z515 Noteworthy Features

• Powerful 50 ft. wireless connection
• High-quality stereo sound from your laptop, iPhone or iPad
• 10-hour rechargeable battery for music listening on the go**
• Wireless-ready using included USB adapter or Bluetooth
• Compact, portable design with travel case

Logitech Wireless Speaker Z515 for laptops, iPad and iPhone

Unleash your tunes—no strings attached

No speaker cords tying up your music. Lush stereo sound streamed wirelessly across the room from your laptop, iPad or iPhone. With this sleek, portable and rechargeable speaker, you can unchain your music and take it with you anywhere.

Download Spec Sheet

Wireless audio freedom

Place your speaker wherever you want—up to a full 50 feet away* from your laptop, iPad or iPhone.

Rich, full stereo sound

Dual two-inch speaker drivers let you hear your music loud and clear with crisp high notes, warm mid-range and deep bass.

10 hours of unplugged power**

Play your way—anywhere you go with the rechargeable long-life battery or plugged in at home with the AC power cable.

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Ready to rock wireless connection

• Plug-and-play wireless adapter for your laptop
• Bluetooth-compatible for your iPad or iPhone
• No software to install-start listening right away

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Take-along design

Sleek and compact, it comes complete with a soft travel pouch that fits easily in your laptop bag, briefcase or backpack.

Compatibility

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Package Contents Speaker USB wireless adapter (for laptop/desktop connections) Power supply (6-foot cable) Soft travel case User documentation 2-year limited hardware warranty

Works with: Windows or Mac OS computer with USB port A2DP Bluetooth device including iPad and iPhone

Compare

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Which Logitech Stereo Speakers Are Right For You?

Good Better Best	X140 Speakers	Laptop Speaker Z305	Wireless Speaker Z515	Speaker System Z320
What Do You Get?	Two drivers per speaker for deep bass	Clip-on speaker with clear 360-degree sound all around the room	Full stereo sound and a 10-hour rechargable battery	Clear 360-degree sound all around the room
Key Audio Features
Power (total RMS)	5 watts	USB Powered	3 watts with AC power	10 watts
Speakers	2	1	1	2
Inputs for computer, music, movie and game devices	2	1	1	1
Design Featurs
Wireless audio
Headphone jack
Carrying case
Audio Controls
Type	On-speaker	On-speaker	On-speaker	On-speaker
Functions controlled	Volume, tone, power	Volume, power, mute	Volume, power	Volume, power
Compatibility
Windows XP, 7, Vista
Mac OS
iPad, iPhone via Bluetooth

Product Description

Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Speaker z515 gives you rich, full stereo sound from your laptop, iPad or iPhone-no strings attached. its 10-hour battery* and travel case make it easy to bring your music with you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really Solid Wireless Speaker, October 26, 2010

By 

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logitech Wireless USB Speaker Z515 (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

This is a very convenient and well made wireless speaker. It can be used with virtually any device that can be paired up via Bluetooth, but I find them particularly convenient for use with small portable devices such as iPhone and iPad. It can also be used with your computer, either through the included wireless adapter, or via computer's own Bluetooth transmitter. I was able to connect this speaker to my iPhone 3G, my iPad and my HP laptop PC. The pairing was smoothest with iPhone and iPad, while with the laptop it took some time for all the appropriate device drivers to be installed. Even so, the computer was not able to recognize it as a speaker and it never showed up within the sound item of the control panel. I had more luck with the included USB Bluetooth adapter.

Even though the distance over which it can receive signal is supposed to be 50 ft, the actual experience will depend on the kind of physical environment in which you find yourself. If you are in a house will be able to receive wireless signal more or less smoothly from the neighboring rooms, but if you find yourself at the opposite side of the house with several rooms in between you and the speaker, then the signal will be very choppy at best. If, on the other hand, you find yourself outdoors or anywhere else where there is clear line of sight between your device and the speaker, you could potentially get away with being considerably farther than 50 ft. Another issue with Bluetooth are the potential interferences from other wireless devices.

Switching between different devices is a bit of a hassle, but not so much that it would make it frustrating. If the convenience of use is a major consideration, then I would recommend leaving it paired up with one device that you are most likely to use on a continuing basis. In my opinion, this is an ideal external speaker for the use with an iPad - it is very portable yet powerful enough to boost iPad's audio output.

The sound quality is pretty good, on par with most external PC speakers of this size. The maximum volume is fairly high, especially considering that the speaker can be powered by AAA batteries.

The speaker is well designed and solidly built. It can be inconspicuously placed in all sorts of environments.

The speaker comes with a carrying case, which will prevent scratching when you take them with you.

One issue that I had with this speaker is that it's not possible to control the volume directly from your device, but have to use the volume control buttons on the speaker itself. This almost negates the whole idea of having wireless speaker.

Overall, this is a solid and very practical wireless speaker that is particularly well suited for an iPhone or an iPad.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great execution by Logitech in a challenging product category, November 1, 2010

By 

R. Ferguson (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logitech Wireless USB Speaker Z515 (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

This product earns four stars in terms of our level of enjoyment. It might earn five stars in terms of Logitech's execution. The reason for the difference is that for this kind of product there are too many technical limitations that prevent it from being stellar at anything. Let me explain:
-This is a portable speaker system with two-inch diameter speakers. There is no point in complaining about how you can't use these speakers to DJ a party or outgun a home theater with surround sound. How good can two-inch drivers sound? I'm not talking about little Bose Acoustimass modules that are backed up by a whomping bass box. You get two, two-inch drivers and your imagination.
-I think the Bluetooth connection is the most convenient way to connect the speaker to your laptop / iPhone /whatever. But the audio quality suffers with Bluetooth.
-The USB wireless mode has a much better connection, but now you're back to dealing with the limitations of two-inch drivers. Also, none of the wireless modes worked well for video. There was always a slight and annoying audio delay. Who, you might ask, would use this for video playback? We do. To get around this, we do a hard-connect with a mini-stereo cord.

On the other hand, Logitech has pretty good execution on this product:
-It is small and solid. The USB wireless stick tucks nicely into the speakers when not in use.
-It has been pretty much plug-and-play (albeit with some Bluetooth settings, audio out settings, whatever your machine requires).
-The rechargeable battery is working well.
-The controls are sufficient and obvious.

On the whole, I think this is about as good a product you are going to get given the technical limitations at hand. We use this product daily and we enjoy the versatility and portability that it offers.

Update (7/11): We've had this for about three-quarters of a year now and we use it just about every day. I still think it is a great product for what it is. Over the summer, I've been taking the speaker outside on our deck and it is able to pick up the signal from the USB stick attached to a computer inside the house running iTunes. The connection drops out if you are going through brick, but through wood walls I get about a 20 foot range. The speaker provides acceptable ambient music; at its loudest settings outside, you can still have a conversation. We also use the speaker for a music workstation that we set up every now and then (an Alesis keyboard attached to an old Mac running Garageband). Again, it doesn't move the Earth, but it is still a pleasure to use.

80 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Performs as expected... solid, but not exceptional, December 15, 2010

By 

Sam M. Tannenbaum "Sam" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logitech Wireless USB Speaker Z515 (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

To my way of thinking, the ideal user of this product will be someone who has a notebook/laptop that doesn't offer exceptional onboard audio output. If you're looking for a product that will give you better-sounding audio without having to drag speakers around or spend a small fortune, this is for you.

How easy is it to use? Very. It connects to the computer via a small USB receiver, which quickly installs itself- no driver issues or incompatibility messages. Once it installs itself, it works flawlessly. The Bluetooth works equally well- pairing is simple, so you can use it with Bluetooth-capable phones and media players.

How durable and reliable is it? Very. The battery life is robust- about ten hours between charges. It's well-built, plastic, but a nice heft to it without it being heavy. A carry-case is provided, and the carry-case includes space for the charger/AC adapter. The USB receiver hides invisibly in the back of the unit when not in use.

Why not five stars, then? Well, the proof of audio gear is in the playing, and that's where the Z515 comes up just a bit short. The performance isn't BAD by any means, but because both stereo speakers are (obviously) co-located, it ends up sounding a bit canned. To be fair, it doesn't sound any worse than standard laptop audio, but it really doesn't sound significantly BETTER, either (though it is louder than most of the machines I tested it with). Because of the lack of stereo separation, the audio playback doesn't really come across as significantly high-grade. I think the reason for this is that most people, when using a laptop, sit directly in front of it, and if the laptop has stereo speakers (which most do now, even if they're humble and unspectacular), then users get that ever-so-subtle yet ever-so-effective stereo effect. I don't know if most people will sit with the Z515 directly in front of them, and if they don't, they lose that subtle experience of stereo separation. It's not a BAD thing- it's just the inevitable result of having both sides of the stereo be so close together.

In summary, this isn't a BAD product- in fact, it's a solid product that totally delivers from the technical aspect, and that does precisely what its manufacturer says it will-, but potential buyers DO need to consider what they will expect the audio to sound like coming out of it. This isn't a home-stereo replacement, but if what you need is flexibility in where the audio in your computer or mobile device will go, the Z515 will get the job done.