Gomer808's Full Review: Kodak EASYSHARE 300 Photo Printer
To disclaim: I am by no means an audiophile, or a person who needs to have the absolute greatest audio system in existence. I am simply a layperson who likes to use his computer to listen to music, watch DVDs, and play games. That said...
The Logitech Z-540s are a great set of surround sound speakers for the casual user. Here are my reasons why:
Sound Quality:
It sounds good to me. I haven't had any crackling or nasty sound interference. I have turned it up quite loud on a few occasions, with no noticeable distortions or problems. For a 71.2 watt system, I am quite happy that it could go to volumes higher than I would care to have, and still not have problems (For those of you who don't know, 71.2 watts really isn't too much. The Z640's big brother, the Z680's, put out 505 watts, plenty of power for most people)
Subwoofer/Bass:
The bass is actually quite decent. I keep the setting on the lowest level, only because I live in a multilevel apartment building. If turned up, you can "feel" the bass pretty well. It's not quite a rock concert, but it does the job for an average Joe like me.
Setup:
Hmmm, here's where I have a few issues. First let me explain how the whole thing is plugged in, etc.
All 5 speakers plug directly into the subwoofer. The subwoofer plugs into a wall outlet, and distributes power to all the speakers. The plugs are very easy to figure out, as they are color coded. The center speaker has:
- a power button
- volume knob
- a fader knob (to adjust the balance between the front and rear speakers)
- a center knob (to adjust the volume of the center speaker only, for adjustments depending how far your center speaker is from the satellites [the other speakers])
- a matrix button (on/off button for center speaker ONLY)
- A headphone jack(plug), so you don't need to unplug your speakers every time you want to use headphones. This has been immensely convenient when I use my
Advent Wireless AW770's . My previous speakers also had a headphone jack, but I experienced audio loss when I used my headphones (volume was lower, quality was diminished). Not so with the z640s, as I've seen so far.
The issues I have about the setup are these.
-The rear speaker wires are really not that long, and probably cannot accomodate a large room. When I had the Z640s set up on my desktop, the 5 speakers surrounded me within a radius of about 3-4 feet. There was enough wiring for that distance, but beyond that might become difficult.
-There is a bass knob on the subwoofer. But in order to adjust it, you must crawl to wherever you placed your sub. I suppose Logitech intended that people would set the speakers at a bass level they like, and would stick with it. But I like to turn the bass up when watching an action film, so I can feel it more. It's just inconvenient crawling under my desk.
-I had the Z640's plugged into a desktop, they're now being used on my IBM ThinkPad T42 (2378fvu) Laptop . The z640's require a sound card which has front and rear channel audio plugs, as well as a special subwoofer plug (I think that's what the third one is). Suffice to say, my current audio setup with my laptop is simply stereo (center, front-left, and right speakers), rather than 5 direction surround sound. It works well enough, but be advised that if you plan on getting the z640's, or most (if not all) 5.1 speakers, make sure you have the appropriate plugs for audio!. On a side note, for laptop users, there are external sound cards which can support the 5.1 setup, but I believe the lowest price for those is $100.
Conclusion
All in all, a GREAT set of speakers for the price I paid. I've had them for more than a year, and I've yet to have any problems. When I bought them, I had the intention of simply getting a cheap set of speakers that will just get me some audio. In the best sense possible, I got more than what I paid for!
Print sizes One4 × 6 in. (10 × 15 cm) Media size 4 × 7 in. (10 × 17.8 cm), including two 0.6 in. (1.5 cm) perforated sections (one on ea...More at Amazon Marketplace
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