Logitech X-540 5.1 Speakers

[Rob Williams]

As enthusiasts, we expect a performance premium from our hardware. A lot of the time, this premium comes at a cost. What if we didn’t have to take out a second mortgage the house to get the performance that we so desire? Today we are taking a look at the latest offering to the audiophile on a budget from Logitech.

You can read the full review here (http://techgage.com/article/logitech_x-540_51_speakers) and discuss it here.

[madstork91]

I have what I would call "last years" model of these speakers. I'm happy with them.

I definatly wish I would have waited a year to buy them now :(

The "remote" looks kinda gay. kinda gay though :-/

[bildge_rat]

Corded remote?! Is this thing from the 70's? Did it come with a copy of Saturday Night Fever or a pair vertically striped bell bottoms?

[Unregistered]

Lots of really good subwoofers don't have their "speakers" protected. See - SVS, HSU etc.

Apart from that, however, it's hard to really tell from the review whether they're any good. The only comment about comparative sound quality seems to be "it isn’t as loud as my home stereo" which isn't particularly helpful, since we have no idea what your home stereo is, and "loud" is hardly that important in this day and age.

Include more comparisons like that, perhaps?

[Jakal]

He left out sound quality comparisons, only because he's got nothing other than a home system to compare to.

I suppose I could also pick apart the overall sound of the X-540 but that really isn’t that fair. I personally have not heard anything in this price range, currently going for around $89.99 (US), that sounds as good as these do

I would like to see a full review including sound comparisons and tonal reproduction myself. It's just something that isn't going to happen as of right now.

A frequency chart with speaker bandwidth and power would be nice. It's something a lot of companies don't produce though. It's one thing to give overall power dissipation, and it's another to how the wattage vs frequency is reproduced through the speakers.

[Rob Williams]

You quoted me, but this wasn't my review. :)

[Jakal]

ssrysrysrsyrsyryysorry..

[Unregistered]

I want to have the speakers in the corners of my room and was wondering how long the cords are that come in the pack, and is it possible to extend them?

[Unregistered]

i cant tell you how long they are but you can extend them with a chinch-extention-cord.

[Rory Buszka]

It would have been cool to see a head-to-head comparison with the also-reviewed Altec Lansing FX4021 system, which is in the same price class. When I listened to these side-by-side at Best Buy, I think the FX4021 was the winner. Its sub went a bit deeper, and had less audible distortion from the subwoofer. I'm big on bass (my home system uses a 500W 12" subwoofer equipped with a pair of 15" passive radiators in addition to the active driver) so a system with a good sub makes a huge difference to me. The two products were fairly close, however, through the midrange and treble.

For the future, how about round-up or head-to-head style reviews for comparison within price brackets?

[DarkSynergy]

A round up would be a good idea. The two sets of speakers were no where close to each other location wise so unfortunately, the comparison could not have been made. A good idea though none the less.

[Rory Buszka]

Dooh, I just made myself look like a total idiot. The X-540 is a 5-channel system, while the Altec FX4021 is only a 2-channel system. Oh well, I suppose in this price range it's better to go 2.1 and get the better speakers than to try and pull off 5.1 sound.

[Wolf68k]

I just got these today and so far I think they are great. Picked them up at Directron for $77.99 ($84.42 with tax).

I don't to some people this might not matter but to others it might. The headphone jacks works like one would expect. You plug in the headphones and speakers are muted and the volume control on the remote controls the headphone volume.
I read a review once for the X-530 and that reviewer tried out the headphone port and found that it basically nothing more than extension from the front speaker port on the sound card. The speakers weren't muted, if I remember that correctly, and the volume control for the speakers did not effect the headphone jack.

[Mike Zoric]

I have a question. I just go the Logitech X-540. I think it sounds great, but I noticed when you plug in headphones in the headphone jack, the volume control does not change the headphone volume. It's just a low level sound coming though. It does dis-engage the speakers, but again the volume will not control the headphones.

Is this normal for the unit? It does not seem right.

Thanks.
Mike zoric
mczoric@comcast.net

[Domn]

how long are those satelite cables?
i mean are they long enaug to put them in every corner of the room.

[DarkSynergy]

I don't know how large of a room you are wanting to put these in, but anything larger than a closet and your not going to be able to place these in the corners. I am unsure of the exact length, but they aren't super long.

[Unregistered]

I just bought my first surround sound speakers how to you utilize all four speakers without using matrix? If I use matrix I lose a lot of bass if I don't I I only get the center and front two speakers going. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Unregistered]

HOw many cables plug in to a pc?

[Unregistered]

Alright I don't know much about speakers n' all but do you still get the surround sound effect if you place all 4 speakers side by side? Because I also want to put it in the corners of my room but apparently the cords aren't long enough. Thanks.

[Rob Williams]

Alright I don't know much about speakers n' all but do you still get the surround sound effect if you place all 4 speakers side by side? Because I also want to put it in the corners of my room but apparently the cords aren't long enough. Thanks.

The further they are away from your face, the better the result. If they are all on the desk in front of you, it's not going to be very 'surround'.

[Unregistered]

How would I go about linking this up to both my PC and my PS3? The review says that you can but brushes over how it is done (either that or its meant to be easy). Im running both the PC and PS3 through a Dell 2407.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Unregistered]

Just to make sure, these speakers will work with the Xbox 360 correct? I don't remember seeing anything about an optical cable, so will these work with the HD cables? Also about how long are the cords to the rear speakers?

[Unregistered]

The rear speaker cable is 14', according to a customer review on cnet.com

http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-speakers/logitech-x-540-pc/4864-3179_7-32138011.html?ctype=msgid&messageSiteID=7&messageID=2384775&cval=2384775&tag=uolst

What I'm not sure of is, if I hook up a 360 like in the review, will I get surround sound? It seems like, since you're only hooking up the red and white audio cables to one component cable (the green one that normally goes into a PC?), you could only get the left and right speakers to work? Am I wrong? I'm seriously considering getting these, but I need to know if/how they'll work in surround sound with my '360.

Oh, and if you're buying electronics, you HAVE to give cnet.com a look.

[Brian]

I'm looking fwd to getting mine.

Actually I'm glad for a wired remote. It won't ever leave this room.
I'm sick of feeding my mouse batteries. About to nix the wireless mouse.

[DarkSynergy]

Wireless would have been handy, but in all honesty, a wired remote isn't that big of a deal. I have mine sitting on my monitor stand with it's cable neatly routed back with the other cables from the monitor.

[Unregistered]

I read several reviews for this system, all praised it.
I do not! The bass is too booming low. The sound from the satellite speakers do not overlap the bass to make a smooth output of the system, which leaves out much sound from pieces of common music, much is lost to make many songs sound good. It was said to be a system good for laptops, but there are three conector plugs and I have only one on the back of my desktop and one on my laptop for a speaker system to plug into. And I was always readjusting the volume and bass knobs on the remote, which was a good satellite control unit, perhapsthe best thing about the whole system besides the black color.
I have two old satellite speakers which produce bass and they sound much better, they have better quallity sound than the x-540!
I'm boxing the x-540 and never use it again.
Besides, my 15-year-old speaker system, similar to the x-540 with only 2 small satallies, which I have always used with desktop computers, does much, much better than the x-540.
I'll keep and use my two old satellite speakers with my laptop and appreciate them more now than ever! I'll not buy Logitech again.

[Mindstate]

hi i was thinking of buying these speakers....and i was wondering if i would be able to connect these speakers to my tv as well??....thanks let me know please asap...

[Ash]

I was looking at buying these today but I want to use them with one of the new aluminum iMacs but the iMacs don't have three ports to plug all of the leads into. Does anyone know if it's possible to connect them and still get 5.1 Surround?
Thanks

[Rory Buszka]

I think the satellite speaker wires are about 15 feet long.

Also, the volume control on the speakers only controls what is fed to the internal 'preamp' stage of the speakers' electronics - it's simply configuring the headphone jack as a 'passthrough' when you plug in a set of headphones. This is useful because you can use the Windows volume control to set a comfortable volume for your headphones, and then you can set the speakers' volume to where you want it without affecting the headphone level. I don't think it's good to run a sound card flat-out at max volume anyway - you're giving up dynamic range.

[pweathrb]

I purchased the X-540 system at Sam's Club for $59.95 + tax.
I think this sound system ROCKS! I have it in an upstairs spare bedroom
(which is now my computer room - now that the kids are off to college.)
I had ZZ Top playing from my media library and I had the system set at one-half volume and my wife was complaining that
the thumping on her ceiling (my floor) was disturbing her ability to watch her "Lifetime Movie Network". I find that you lose some of the base when you use the "Matrix" mode, but if you want more base just turn it up. Before I bought this system I shopped at Best Buy and several other stores, listening to different home theater systems.
I don't think that it's worth the several hundred dollars more that you would have to shell out to get a sound that's really not any noticeably better than
this X-540 puts out, in my opinion. I am very glad that I bought this system.
I would indeed recommend it to everyone. For the money, I don't think you can find a better system anywhere. Have a good one.

[Unregistered]

Lots of really good subwoofers don't have their "speakers" protected. See - SVS, HSU etc.

Apart from that, however, it's hard to really tell from the review whether they're any good. The only comment about comparative sound quality seems to be "it isn’t as loud as my home stereo" which isn't particularly helpful, since we have no idea what your home stereo is, and "loud" is hardly that important in this day and age.

Include more comparisons like that, perhaps?

m8 u shud get sum, i just got some for my b-day and they r MINT, im pissing off my next door neighbour by ratteling the floor

[Unregistered]

I read several reviews for this system, all praised it.
I do not! The bass is too booming low. The sound from the satellite speakers do not overlap the bass to make a smooth output of the system, which leaves out much sound from pieces of common music, much is lost to make many songs sound good. It was said to be a system good for laptops, but there are three conector plugs and I have only one on the back of my desktop and one on my laptop for a speaker system to plug into. And I was always readjusting the volume and bass knobs on the remote, which was a good satellite control unit, perhapsthe best thing about the whole system besides the black color.
I have two old satellite speakers which produce bass and they sound much better, they have better quallity sound than the x-540!
I'm boxing the x-540 and never use it again.
Besides, my 15-year-old speaker system, similar to the x-540 with only 2 small satallies, which I have always used with desktop computers, does much, much better than the x-540.
I'll keep and use my two old satellite speakers with my laptop and appreciate them more now than ever! I'll not buy Logitech again m8 u r silly, you can change the level of bass, my sattelites work fine, and only the green sound plug from the sub is supposed to go in to the comp you goob, i give the x-540 a 10/10, i put chronicals of riddick on and i am in the movie! and my next door neighbour is getting pissed off lol, the sound quality on them is far better than my friends speakers which cost his parents £200, he wants to swap but i said no, if you actually read the manual you will seee how to ajust the sound perception, i found a great mix that sounds perfect on all pc, xbox 360, ps2 and music, up ur iq n there is no point replying to me coz this is the only time im going to come on the site

[Unregistered]

hey i wana buy this setup but im not to sure how i would set it u pto my pc and xbox could some send me some pictures of its setup to pc and xbox 360 i would be some thankfull, pleass send it to ur-mummy-5@hotmail.com and no this hotmail account name is not a joke just a stupied name thnx.

[Unregistered]

Not knowing much - i'm about to get a Creative SB Extreme X-FI Audio Card PCI-Express - peeps around the place reckon you need a digital speaker set to get the most from the soundcard?

I don't see anything written about these speakers whether or not they are able to directly receive digital input?

Your thoughts?

[On_Wisconsin]

I only see analog inputs on mine. BTW I'm using onboard audio from my 965P Gigabyte board and I couldn't be happier ;)

[Blazedremedy]

Z5500 is gob's better and its only 120$ more.

[DarkSynergy]

only 120$ more.

The Z5500s are over three times that of the X-540. Thats like me recommending a Corvette over a Civic. No shit it's a better car, it's three times the price.

[dgh2007]

The Z5500s are ....
nevermind

[Unregistered]

I first bought a set of Altec Lansing VS3251's but returned them when I heard a friends newly purchased X-540's. Big ****ing difference!

[Unregistered]

I first bought a set of Altec Lansing VS3251's but returned them when I heard a friends newly purchased X-540's. Big ****ing difference!

Hello people, I'm the friend. I told you so!

[Unregistered]

Today I stuck my penis in a wall power outlet. It was really cool. You guys should all try it.

[Unregistered]

Today I stuck my penis in a wall power outlet. It was really cool. You guys should all try it.

Stupid....

I just bought this system on ebay cost me 60$ taxes and shipping included.

Afte reading all the comments I think i did a good move.

Hopefully I have a good motherboard with the HD audio 2.1/5.1/7.1 dolby option and all the plug in the back.

And for the one ho are asking if they can have de 5.1 on there x-box or on there computer ho dont have the plugs. I dont think so. But there is an option to arrange that , its not like the real one do

I play CSS and love to listen music, i was checking for a system of this kind for a long time, but being a student don't have a lot of money. The price is just perfect for me.

[Fazz]

I just got a set of these today. I'm mightily impressed. They replace my old worn out passive JBL speakers which on my new soundcard were a bit flat.

They sound great, sure they're not the throbbing kilowatt multi-amp system I have in the car to generate spl with, but they're amazingly flat across the whole spectrum, except maybe they tend not to extend down past about 50-60htz easily with the sub enabled. The sattelites are clean and reproduce from about 150htz all the way up really nicely. The top end isn't too brittle or ear-piercing, which is a big bonus.

The sub can tend to get a bit woolly when given waaay too much juice. Basically as you turn the system up, bring the sub down a bit so it's driving a slightly reduced linear signal. It sounds great at all volumes with that in mind.

For $107 Australian it's a great little set for a small room. It doesn't have the spread of my home theatre or the ball-busting, kidney-failing, eardrum tearing volume of my car system but they stand up and are nice and flat and clean.

9/10 from me.

[DarkSynergy]

Glad you are happy with your purchase. Most everyone who has used them, that I have talked to, has enjoyed them thoroughly.

[carface]

Hi can anyone tell me if these speakers will work with the XBOX 360 elite as that now uses an HDMI lead to connect sound an vision?

[Unregistered]

I was considering either these or the Altec Lansing FX4021.
Im not fussed about being 2.1/5.1, but the main use will be for music in my uni accommodation. And im a big fan of bass :)
Anyone recommend which i should get...?

[Merlin]

I favor the Klipsch myself, the Bass will surely get your neighbors knocking on your door, asking that you turn it down.

:techgage::techgage: Merlin :techgage::techgage:

[Merlin]

Hi can anyone tell me if these speakers will work with the XBOX 360 elite as that now uses an HDMI lead to connect sound an vision?
HDMI carries the sound along with the image to the monitor/TV

So....in answer to your querry.....No

:techgage::techgage: Merlin :techgage::techgage:

[Spectra]

Would one of you be so kind to explain, how I hook up my iPod on the X-540? For beginners, please. A picture would help, too. *gg*

Thank you!

[DarkSynergy]

Would one of you be so kind to explain, how I hook up my iPod on the X-540? For beginners, please. A picture would help, too. *gg*

Thank you!


Certainly! If you go to this page (http://techgage.com/article/logitech_x-540_51_speakers/3) (page three of the original review), the first picture down shows you all you need to know in order to get your iPod connected to these speakers. If this isn't enough help, please post back and we can get you squared away.

[Spectra]

Certainly! If you go to this page (http://techgage.com/article/logitech_x-540_51_speakers/3) (page three of the original review), the first picture down shows you all you need to know in order to get your iPod connected to these speakers. If this isn't enough help, please post back and we can get you squared away.

Thank you, DarkSynergy

I am pretty sure that you see something on page 3 about connecting an iPod. I don't see it. I was talking about help for a beginner. I don't even see an iPod on that page.

[Unregistered]

How would I go about linking this up to both my PC and my PS3? The review says that you can but brushes over how it is done (either that or its meant to be easy). Im running both the PC and PS3 through a Dell 2407.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For multiple input source you will require a switch.
example: Converge A/V 4-to-1 Component YPbPr A/V Switch
just use the audio connections.

http://www.provantage.com/startech-cpnt410ir~7STRV01R.htm

$28.87

[xab]

im thinking of getting one of these but would it work if i plugged them in to a laptop?
because by the looks of the pictures, it only uses 1 of the 3 jacks and then it wont get full suround sound.
thanks.

[Rob Williams]

im thinking of getting one of these but would it work if i plugged them in to a laptop?
because by the looks of the pictures, it only uses 1 of the 3 jacks and then it wont get full suround sound.
thanks.

It won't get full-surround-sound probably, but it will still work fine overall. It includes a splitter-cable so you could hook it up to even an MP3 player if you wanted to.

[Unregistered]

"... being able to plug my iPod into the remote's headphone jack was nice as well. ..."

how do you do that, or better question, why?

can you "input" sound to the system through that jack "output"?

like this?
pic 1 (http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7681/dsc01452wq2.jpg)
and this?
pic 2 (http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2530/dsc01453yf1.jpg)

That means listening to music from MP3 Player, without removing wires from the PC?

PS: it sounds great, not as loud as i thought, but i don't listen at high volume music anyway. and rear satellite cables are about 5 meter long, that's 2-3 meter shorter than i require, but it will do with 3 meter rca-rca cords.

Thank You,
Alin

[Chucky Cheese]

Open box - $50 + ship http://www.justdeals.com/Items/Item.aspx?SKU=970223-0403

Now, should I get this and work it on Matrix mode (only want a 2.1 since i'm in a college dorm and sharing a room) or get the z-2300 for ~$110?

Any comparison?

[jimvideo]

Dooh, I just made myself look like a total idiot. The X-540 is a 5-channel system, while the Altec FX4021 is only a 2-channel system. Oh well, I suppose in this price range it's better to go 2.1 and get the better speakers than to try and pull off 5.1 sound.

No, the product lacks support for surround sound on several devices listed on the box making your comparison correct in those cases. The box list PC, CD, MP3, DVD, Playstation 3, and Xbox.

Most gaming desktop PCs have three audio outputs, required to get surround sound out of the X-540, making this a PC speaker system. For a desktop PC and a small space this is an exceptionally priced system that looks great.

When does the X-540 compare to the Altec FX4021? For a game console, an MP3 player, or a CD/DVD player, the X-540 can not give you surround sound; Instead, it gives you "Matrix" sound. When not used with a PC it compares functionally to the Altec FX4021.

There was an unanswered question about the cable length. The cables for this PC speaker system are: Front: 5 foot 4 inches, Center: 7 foot 4 inches, Rear 14 foot, PC cable: 6 foot 3 inches. For a PC surround sound system, this might be enough. Audio enthusiast say that including more cable introduces sound lag.

[Unregistered]

Is there a cable or something that I can buy that will allow me to use all of the speakers with a laptop? because there are currently three separate cords with only the headphone jack to plug into, so you can only get sound out of the right two, the left two, or the center one at one time. Is there an adapter or just a completely different thing that will connect the three jacks in the back of the sub with the headphone jack?

[DarkSynergy]

Yes, you can run surround sound out of your notebook with the aid of a sound card that allows multiple channel audio. Creative makes a product that connects to one of their PCMCIA Audigy sound cards that allows you to connect surround sound speakers.

What your asking though, assuming I know exactly what your asking, is if you can connect the plugs that go directly into the sub, into your notebook? If that's the case, I know of no product that would allow that.

Let me know if I am off base and I will research a solution for you a bit deeper. Thanks for stopping by.

[Unregistered]

Hi first time iv looked here and great site.

I have a mac mini and i see that i can connect via the green cable and use matrix mode to obtain a surround like sound. Thats good enough for me

Is there any way of hooking these up to the xbox and mac at the same time. By using one of http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Speaker-and-headphone-Splitter/dp/B0007OC96W/ref=pd_sim_ce_6 connected to the green cable. and then using two 3.5mm cables comng out of these two outputs. I could then plug one 3.5mm cable to the mac and one into the RCA adaptor for xbox. Sorry if this sounds confusing but would it work??

Thanks!!