Logitech Z10 2 Speakers

Overview

The Logitech Z10 USB speaker system is an excellent PC sound solution that exhibits superb sound quality, is intuitively designed for ease of use, and displays a level of visual refinement often lost on all but the most expensive home audio systems. Logitech has proven itself an industry leader by demonstrating the ability to reinvent personal computing peripherals. The Z10s transcend the boundaries of PC speakers by adding a level of interactivity to the listening experience unattainable without far more complex components and/or software.

Speakers are first and foremost judged by how they sound, and rightfully so. No matter how easy to use, feature-packed, or aesthetically pleasing, no one wants speakers with muddy bass, blurred mid-range, or shrill highs. Here the Z10s deliver on their promise of "studio quality" sound. Granted they lack a subwoofer, these speakers sound remarkably good. The bi-amplified, two-way speaker design separates high frequencies from low and produces crisp, clear sound across all but the lowest end of the audible spectrum. For not having a subwoofer, however, the Z10s pump out a respectable amount of bass. These speakers reveal details of music that are impossible to discern with any entry-level speaker system. Similarly, for only being 30 watt speakers, they can get surprisingly loud without sacrificing clarity if you crank, or, rather, "tap" up the volume.

Volume is controlled by tapping one of two touch-sensitive icons on the smooth front panel of one speaker. Touching the "Levels" icon next to them allows you to adjust treble and bass levels by cycling through them on the large, backlit LCD screen in the middle of the speaker. Here the Z10s can also display track information about what's playing while the speakers are connected to a PC. But what makes them innovative is that Logitech went one step further to allow the listener to control their music from the speakers themselves.

Thanks to the bidirectional USB connection one can play/pause and move forward and backward through tracks, as the controls on the speaker correspond directly to your media player. The speakers can serve as a wired remote control for one's computer, allowing control over media without having to switch applications or even turn on the monitor. Furthermore, Logitech reached out to millions of Internet radio listeners around the world by adding four preset buttons that can be assigned to an Internet radio station—or an offline playlist—to make accessing your favorite music easier than ever before, and that's a beautiful thing.

What make the Z10s truly beautiful, though, are their smooth black-and-silver cases with glossy black faces. Logitech took the time to design a beautiful pair of speakers that are a pleasant addition to any computer desk. Tall, sleek, and angled slightly backwards, the speakers take up no more desk space than most PC speakers or satellites. All of the touch-sensitive controls are backlit by the same color LED as the amber text of the black screen. The overall effect is a speaker elegant in the light and all but invisible—save the screen and control icons—in a dark room.


My experience

I use my Z10s at college, where I live in a small, thin-walled apartment with three other guys. At first I purchased them just to see what they were all about, but quickly fell in love with them for several reasons. Not only are they beautiful speakers that match the silver-and-black color scheme of my entire computer setup, but they allow me to enjoy quality music on both my desktop and laptop computers. Though I have a Creative Audigy 2 sound card in my desktop, my laptop lacks any kind of quality audio output. Here the USB interface and the fact that the speakers handle audio processing makes them a perfect solution for laptop users who can't sacrifice a PCMCIA slot to an external sound card.

Furthermore, I love the fact that I can listen to my music without headphones and not bother my roommates. Because the Z10s lack a subwoofer, they also lack the tendency to annoy everyone in the apartment with thumping and vibrating. You might think that this means they have no bass, but it just isn't the case. For relatively small speakers, the ported 3" woofers produce satisfying bass without excessive vibration. And, because the speakers are so clear, I don't feel the need to turn up the volume to hear the subtleties of my music.

Comparison

To give an idea of how I evaluated the Z10s, I listened to several reference songs through three different systems, the Z10s being the last. These were "The Bends" by Radiohead, "The Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd, "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" by The Mars Volta, "Another Round" by Foo Fighters, "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service, and "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin. All were tested through the Creative Audigy 2 in my desktop PC.

The first was a pair of $100/pair JBL bookshelf speakers powered by an Onkyo receiver, using high quality speaker wire. They have ported 5" woofers and 1" tweeters and support up to 125 watts of power.

The second system was the $250 Cambridge Soundworks 210D 2.1 system with a 150-watt, 8" subwoofer and 60 watt, 3.5" satellites.

Finally, I used the Z10s both with my desktop and laptop connected via USB and through the auxiliary input with my desktop's sound card.

My overall impressions of the bookshelf speakers was that of good bass, reasonable mids, and good highs, but they suffered from distortion at medium-high volume on up. Also, I found that they just didn't deliver the clarity of the 210Ds or the Z10s. They work nicely with rock music, but left a little to be desired when playing clearer, classical music.

The Cambridge Soundworks 2.1 system shines with bass, as its subwoofer is very powerful, but sometimes sounds a little muddled with nuanced bass lines. Unfortunately these speakers almost completely omit some high frequencies due to their lack of tweeters. When played loud, they remain clear until very high volume levels, but almost need to be played loud to sound good.

Overall I feel the Z10s sounded the best at all but the lowest frequencies. The bass is good, but it just doesn't thump without a subwoofer. But, at low to high volumes they sounded clearer than either of the other systems I own. I enjoy hearing all the little background sounds in "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" and the crystal clear piano of "Rhapsody in Blue" My new favorite thing to do is turn the volume down to the lowest setting and listen to music when I go to sleep, as every detail is preserved even at whisper-quiet levels. I could never do this with any other speakers I've owned.

Features

One thing that impressed me was that the speakers sound almost as good when using the auxiliary input through my desktop's Audigy 2. I feel the digital USB connection is still marginally better, but some may not even notice the difference. On the same note, the headphone jack on the Z10s drives my Bose Triport headphones excellently.

Additionally, it occurred to me that the Z10s are not only good for controlling music, but also movies. I think many college students can relate to watching movies on their laptop, and the Z10s controls allow you to pause or mute what you're watching without using the mouse, touchpad, or keyboard.

Also, if you have more than one media player open at a time, the display on the speakers will show track information for whichever application has focus, and periodically switch back and forth, but this can be changed through software settings as well. I would also like to add that the speakers will mix whatever is being input through the USB and auxiliary input if both are used simultaneously.

Lastly, though I don't often listen to Internet radio, I use the four preset buttons on the Z10s to select my favorite playlists in iTunes. Pressing and holding one of them will set a preset, and pressing one quickly will select it. I keep one of these set to my "Highest Rated" playlist so if I just want to hear random good songs while I'm working, gaming, or relaxing, all I have to do is press the 1 on my speaker.

Drawbacks

The shortcomings of the Z10s are very few but I do want to mention them. For one, the software control only works with iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, and MusicMatch, but I should hope that Logitech continues to develop support for more media players. Also, the speakers take a few seconds to begin working after they are plugged in and you may need to close and reopen the application before the speakers will display track information or properly control playback. This is a drawback of the USB interface because Windows must recognize the speakers as a sound device before they will begin working. For this reason I don't often unplug them. Because the Z10s act as their own sound processor, they also disable output from any sound card you have installed in your computer, but this doesn't bother me too much, as I've never used most of the software and hardware features available with my sound card. Lastly, because of the way the touch-sensitive controls are designed, they can be accidentally pressed and offer no tactile feedback when they are activated. Some may lament the absence of a traditional volume knob, but I prefer the smooth faceplate of the Z10s myself.

Conclusion

Overall, I am thoroughly impressed with the sound clarity, build quality, features and appearance of the Z10s. It's been a long time since I was this enthusiastic about a PC peripheral, but I highly recommend these to anyone who appreciates a great set of PC speakers. I think the Z10s would enhance the listening experience for most users, save a select few who demand more bass, more channels of sound, or the features of a full-fledged sound card. You would be hard pressed to find a comparable pair of speakers to which you could compare these; they are in a league of their own. At the $150 MSRP, I feel the Z10s are a good value, bringing both quality and innovation to a market replete with ill-conceived and poorly designed look-alikes.