Logitech Z10 2 Speakers

I was about go for the $6 speakers I found online. Then I saw another nice set for twenty bucks. Before I could convince myself to buy those, I saw another one for a little more, then another for just a bit over that, and so on. Before I knew it, I had just bought $120 speakers at the click of a mouse! I'm a minimalist and I've since decided the Logitech Z10 speakers are not for me. These things are the most ridiculously excessive thing I've ever bought. There is a 3-inch wide LED screen and 13-button touch panel integrated into the speaker! I just cannot justify the need for this on computer speakers. I mean, I already have a 17-inch "screen" and 110-button keyboard!

However, in addition to being one of the most expensive and most feature "rich" 2.0 speakers on the market, these must also be one of the best sounding. Even to a layman, I can immediately notice that these speakers just sound good, better then the usual cheap speakers I've used. What I like best is that even at low volumes, I can hear a full sound, with a considerate amount of bass (as much as I'd ever want) despite the lack of a separate subwoofer. The high and low frequencies are well balanced. They go louder then I would ever want while maintaining the clear, balanced sound. I've listened to all kinds of music, from rock to classical to hip-hop, played games and watched DVDs with these speakers and the sound has been satisfying. Keep in mind though, I don't really consider myself an audio connoisseur.

The size of these things is just out of hand for me though. One of the reasons I decided to go with a two-speaker set and not a 2.1 or 5.1 set was to save space. However, even though I reviewed the dimensions before buying, the Z10s look much bigger in real life. For the space conscious, although the Z10s have fewer speakers, they won't necessarily save you on desk space when some 2.1 and 5.1 units have very small speakers and a subwoofer that can go under the desk. Even though they look tall and narrow, narrow is actually an approximately 4 inch by 4 inch base. Thus, in reality, they are more like wide and very tall, especially compared to the tiny speakers I've seen in some solid 2.1 units that take up a quarter to half the footprint. Frankly, I found I don't have enough space for them on my small desk. They are also quite heavier then I expected, but this might be necessary for the sound quality.

In terms of appearance, the Z-10s definitely pick up points. The speakers are black with silver trim, with a shiny front that is prone to fingerprints (obviously). Overall, very modern and sleek.

However, the controls/interface are another weakness in my books. I essentially only need the volume buttons and the power button 95% of the time. The touch sensitive controls, although trendy looking are not for me, and in fact, caused me to accidentally turn off the speakers a few times when my finger was close to the button. Yet other times, I found the touch buttons to be not sensitive enough, like when quickly tapping the buttons to adjust the volume. An analog dial would actually be much more functional. The touch pad does not even have cool functions like the dragging and whatnot on the Apple i-whatevers. In short, I feel the touchpad is all show and no go.

The speakers come with a software driver that must be installed in order for the display to work. The display will show surprisingly useful things like the ID tags from digital audio files, the date and time, and computer usage/performance. This is actually a neat and somewhat useful feature. However, I don't like that for the display to work, the speakers have to be plugged into a USB port in addition to the normal audio port, which I found was not so convenient for my laptop.

Overall, there are pros and cons, but in the end, the Z10 speakers are not for me. If you like fancy gizmos like 600-dollar iPhones, you might like the Logitech Z-10 speakers, but for the practical minded, considering the high price, they're not a good buy. Let me know if you want to buy mine.