Logitech Z
Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System
Review by: Kaustav Acharya
Logitech’s Z Cinéma
Advanced Surround Sound System is an impressive computer
speaker system. The 180-Watt (RMS) system is powered
by a three-amplifier and digital crossover equalizer
design. It also uses hybrid Class AB and D amplifiers
to reproduce low, mid, and high-range frequencies.
This causes the sound to be projected clearly throughout
the room, regardless of where one is sitting. Logitech
also turned to laser tuning to develop the drivers
in the speakers. As a result, we found that they create
noticeably less distortion than ones developed by
acoustic measurements. It is no wonder that the 8”
low-throw subwoofer, 3”-vented midwoofers, and
1”-textile dome woofers produce an impressive
sound. Pair that with SRS TruSurround HD that provides
dialogue enhancement in the center channel to ensure
that the voices are clear and understandable, these
speakers are easily worth the money.
The functional remote
allows seamless control of all media on your PC, giving
you access to all of your media at your fingertips.
The volume controls can be finely adjusted, which
is ideal for office and dorm areas.
Logitech’s
Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System connects
to your computer/laptop using a USB cord allowing
for true 24-bit digital audio signal. An advantage
of this is that one can bypass the standard sound
card and utilize the drivers/software included in
the speaker package. If the computer senses that the
Z Cinéma is not connected, it will revert back
to the default sound card. This is especially nice
if all you want to do is have it power your laptop
with great sound for a short while. Switching platforms
to Mac however is a different story.
We focused on trying to get these speakers to work
on a G5 Mac Pro. While the Mac Pro registered the
speakers and was able to play back the audio, we could
not find a way to control the volume. This was annoying
and we were disappointed that there was no Mac software,
or support to be found on the manufacturer’s
website.
Despite this drawback of only being fully compatible
on a PC, we have to say that this is an exceptional
set of speakers. We loved the chic design and exceptional
sound quality along with the multi-purpose remote.
These speakers make a perfect replacement to old worn
out sets you may be using. Logitech has clearly raised
the bar in the world of speakers.
Available at your fine
electronics retailer for $299.99 or directly from
www.logitech.com
