PC Offensive

Logitech have certainly given themselves a name as an industry great for fairly good quality, yet cheap PC components, and for some time now. Whether your after a webcam, keyboard, mouse, or speakers, the range is large enough to ensure there is a product that can fit your needs, from the budget computer to the ultimate gaming systems where money doesn't appear to be a problem. As for speakers, the z5500 is designed for the latter. The price is high. But for Logitech, this unit is certainly top of the line. The box is heavy and alot larger than I thought. The massive subwoofer is to blame, and massive it is. 33cm high, 33cm wide and 40cm deep. Well packed with Styrofoam, and plastic covers, all the contents are in great condition.

The z5500 has 5 satellites, the mentioned subwoofer and a remote. What makes this unit stand out from the standard PC speakers is the Digital Sound Touch™ control centre; the pictures don't do this unit justice, its alot larger than it looks. Slanting on a backwards angle and measuring 21cm high, this sits right next to the keyboard/mouse giving great control over the your sound experience. It features a large volume knob in the middle, the expected power button with LED, 5 function buttons and a Display screen. The inputs include the 3 standard plugs that fit straight into the motherboard, labelled '6 channel direct'. Front left and right, Rear Left and right and centre/sub. The digital connections are coax cable and optical, the wires for these connections are sold separately. Easily Connect your headphones/Microphone into the control centre. The 5 buttons on the front are input, effect, settings, level and mute. Input selects between Channel Direct, Coax and Optical. Effect switches between Stereo, Stereo X2, Dolby PLII Movie, Dolby PLII Music, and 6 channel Direct. The Settings function works depending on the effect selected, including Panorama, centre width, and surround display. The level function controls switches between the Volume, Subwoofer, surround volume, and centre volume. Mute is as of course, a mute function.

Of course these speakers are not just for the PC; the digital optical connections allow you to connect to a CD or DVD player, Xbox or Playstation. With a few connectors, you can plug it into just about anything. MP3, even a Mac. Setting up the speakers is simple enough. You get a different size speaker wire for front and rear speakers. The control panel plugs into the sub with a serial cable. Then simply plug the control panel into the computer, setting up your configuration with your computers software. It can’t be much easier. All plugged in, the first test is of course how loud this thing can be cranked. Ear Bleeding is the most appropriate description I can think of. Turning up the Bass to the highest level made the room shake. The sound of the nearby windows vibrating was more annoying than anything. If you plan to go loud, the placement of the sub is defiantly something you should carefully choose. Turning the Volume up until the display indicated it was at its max level, I realised if I keep turning there is a volume Boost from 1 to 11, giving even more deafening noise. The quality of the sound up this loud is great, except for the vibrating window. Pumping 188 watts from the Subwoofer, 62 watts from the front and rear satellites, and 69watts from the centre. Total peak power is 1100 watts and a signal to noise ratio greater than 93.5 decibels.

The speakers and control centre plug into the back of the sub box. The speakers connect with stripped-end wires with the red and black catches you plug them into. This is good if you decide to change the speakers in the future. There is a thick aluminium heatsink on the back of the sub, after 48 hours of constant use; this did get a little warm so good ventilation is required. Some models I have seen are a little different with RCA cables connecting the speakers. The satellites are wall mountable; the feet twist around 180 degrees to become wall brackets, although the speaker covers most of these holes, so wall mounting is a challenge. The foam sattelite covers are easily removed to give a different look to the system.

The remote is a small sleek black design with the basic functions that are available on the control centre. After a few days testing I can’t see any major problems with this. There’s a satisfying feeling when you look at the huge sub and control centre sitting on the desktop. The speakers can be easily changed, the sub and control centre are the parts that you can't really afford to die on you although they look tough enough to take a minor beating. If you can get passed the high end price, you should defiantly consider this to deliver your PC's sound.