Logitech Z-4 2.1 Speakers

[Rob Williams]

Listening to music and watching movies on our PC's has become something we do on a daily basis, and how that sound is output is very important. The audio should be crisp, clear and undisturbed by distortions caused by speakers. The Logitech Z-4, an award winning product, promises crystal clear sound deliverance in a sleek retro design with advanced driver technology.

http://techgage.com/images/news/logitech_z4_logo.gif

After reading the review here (http://techgage.com/review.php?id=3306), don't hesitate to discuss it here!

[Unregistered]

A picture of the sub's rear would have been nice.

[madmat]

Looking at the sats I can tell that each has one active driver (located in the center) and 2 passive radiators also known as a butterworth 4th order tuned port which use the air inside the speaker enclosure to couple the radiators to the driver via fluid dynamics.

The middle driver is an inverted dome full range driver, basically a hopped up tweeter that has a suspension allowing for greater movement so that frequencies down to the crossover point are covered and the passive radiators help to reinforce the upper bass registers.

I'd also imagine that the crossover point for the sats is somewhere in the area of 200-180hz rolling off at 6db per octave and the sub is likely crossed over at around 120hz but that's just an educated guess.

Nice little setup.

[Unregistered]

Looking at the sats I can tell that each has one active driver (located in the center) and 2 passive radiators also known as a butterworth 4th order tuned port which use the air inside the speaker enclosure to couple the radiators to the driver via fluid dynamics.

The middle driver is an inverted dome full range driver, basically a hopped up tweeter that has a suspension allowing for greater movement so that frequencies down to the crossover point are covered and the passive radiators help to reinforce the upper bass registers.

I'd also imagine that the crossover point for the sats is somewhere in the area of 200-180hz rolling off at 6db per octave and the sub is likely crossed over at around 120hz but that's just an educated guess.

Nice little setup.

Thank you SO much for pointing this out.

I too was a little disapointed when he refered to the PR's on this setup as "speaker covers", and beeing skeptical about the sound output through them. It is mearly a flat dust cap, rather then the typical inverted cone on most speakers and PR's. Truth is, there is nothing covering over the speakers, and nothing covering them to impede the sound. What you see are the actual drivers themselves.

I certaintly hope that the reviewer reads these comments and updatest he review to reflect them.

And hopfully learns somthing along the way.

[Jen McPherson]

I have learned something... that people can be callous. Next time I guess I will take them apart and list how they are made and work, all the tedious little bits inside, in addition to how they look and sound. I thank Madmat for the additional internal tech information on them. Also, here is a photo of the subwoofer's back.

http://foreverdreams.techgage.com/images/1/IMGA0043.JPG

http://foreverdreams.techgage.com/images/1/IMGA0045.JPG

I'm sorry the review wasn't up to your standards... I will be far more aware next time. Thanks for making my day just peachy. Kudos to you.

[Rob Williams]

Thanks to Matt and the unregistered user for pointing out these things. This has been our first actual speaker set review, so neither Jen or myself had a good basis or knowledge to post an in-depth review.

After reading Jen's review, I had no problems with anything she said, so I also mis-understood some l33t sp34k in the sp34k3r world.

Our future speaker reviews will be more accurate as we figure these things out.

[madmat]

I wasn't trying to be callous, I was trying to point out how they work so that you'd have an idea of what you were seeing.

I'm genuinely sorry if I hurt your feelings Jen, it wasn't what I had in mind at all but I must say your idea about tearing them apart is an attractive idea since it would allow you to take pictures of the insides for your reviews and most tech guys like the same thing every other guy likes, naked parts ;)

I liked the review, just thought I'd point out a few basics on what you were seeing.

[Jen McPherson]

Haha, no Mat, I'm not upset, most certainly not at you ;) <3. I'm actually glad you knew the insides on them, and wasn't meaning to sound sarcastic in my thanking you for listing that. I was being quite honest. I'm more of a function, actual use reviewer, rather than naming the bits inside type. I suppose I will learn though. I just want to do a good job ^^

And yes... I know most guys love stripping things. XD Maybe showing naked parts will make my reviews even better!! :P haha...

[madmat]

That's good to know, I felt really bad thinking I'd hurt your feelings...:-\ I'm just an uber audio geek, I've been into it since I was a little kid and two of my personal heros are Paul Klipsch (http://www.klipsch.com/newscenter/founder.aspx) and Matthew Polk (http://www.polkaudio.com/inside/aboutpolk.php). I've been designing and building speakers for home and car audio since I was a teen.:)

[Buck-O]

First, to Rob...i am no longer an "Unregistered User" (the seconed post). I kinda like this little comunity here, so i recon ill join. :)

Now to Jen...

PLEASE!!!! Do NOT pull the knee jerk reaction of "everyone hates me cause im a girl reviewer" becuase its not true. Honestly, i didnt even know the review was written by a women when i made my first post (as evident when i refered to the reviewer as a 'he'). Ive just seen FAR to many girls in this industry do this very thing over the years, and that type of mentality is what killed their carriers in the hardware review industry. Becuase they could not take any form of constructive critisism. Which is what anyone in the review industry has to learn to take in stride. And i speak from personal experience. Plus, it has nothing to do with being calloused, its becuase we are geeks. And as geeks we want to know all the ins and outs of the hardware we are reading about, and expect the reviewers of that product to have at least as much, if not more knowledge about the product then we do.

Heres the raw basics of what was said, and why. (and i say all of this with yours, Robs, and TechGage's best interests in mind)

You incorrectly described a piece of hardware. Which was a direct result of failing to research audio equipment design, and terminology before writing your review.

This time, its not so big of a deal...so your thought the dust cap on the passive radiator was a speaker grill, a glaring oversite, but not a big one. And fortunately Logitech is a preaty forgiving company in those respects.

However, some companies arent. Infact, most of them arent. And it can hurt you when you misquote a companies product like that.

So it pays to do your research, and become versed on the more in-depth basics of the product your reviewing. Such as, what type of box is the sub contained in? Why type of configuration are the satalites run in? What type of amp? Why type of speaker design type? Etc. All of those hard ware descriptions are fairly easy to figure out with a couple hours spent on google researching. Or even contacting Logitech, or any other hardware manufacture directly.

I guess the biggest part of the whole issue is that Audio Officianados know more about there particular niche of hobby then most other hobbiest...except maybe those in computers. In which case your doubly screwed with this review. Because, as you know, we are all about the numbers, and the tech specs. And arent your typical "function, actual use" type of people.

So educate yourself on the basics of audio, invest in a radioshack dB meter, and have a great time doing your next review. Its not really necessary to take them apart and know the insides, just be knowledgable on what the speakers actually are, and how they function. Which is easily done with a quick visual inspection, once you know what you are looking for.

Learn from your mistakes, pick up, move on, and do it better next time.:D

[Rob Williams]

PLEASE!!!! Do NOT pull the knee jerk reaction of "everyone hates me cause im a girl reviewer" becuase its not true.

I don't see where Jen brought that point up at all. It has nothing to do with her being a girl at all, it's a matter of her not being a hardcore speaker guru. Neither am I, as I mentioned. I would have written the review probably exactly as she had.

In future speaker reviews, we will take a look at others around the web to see what people want to know. We will likely also get one of our staffers who are more audiophile-ish to take a stab at them instead. At any rate, I enjoyed Jen's review, and in over 2,500 reads, this was the first complaint I've had, so apparently not everyone cares about every tech spec.

At any rate, welcome to the forums :)

[Jen McPherson]

Everyone loves me. ;) What are you talking about? :P I expect some people to reflect negatively on my reviews. Which is fine. Its all part of the job, and I will take it in stride, for constructive criticism is important to refinement. Remarks directed at me to help me better my reviews. I'm an artist, I deal with it all the time.

But it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it... which I am entitled to, and partly thats with myself. Yet as stated before I am a lifestyle reviewer, not an in depth hardware reviewer. I list the aspects of it, how 'I' see it, and yes that may not be a technical listing, and obviously will not please everyone. To you that is describing a piece of hardware wrong because I'm not listing the parts right, but not all people are looking for the internal workings of it. They just want to know how well it works, is it worth buying. Thats what I do. All of my reviews have been on how the piece looks and functions in every day applications.

I will always have room to improve, and will be working to better myself in tech areas. If I make mistakes I will learn from them, just like anyone else. Just because I'm a 'girl' doesn't make me ignorant or silly, and most certainly not incapable of taking criticism.

Thanks for the input. I'll take your suggestions into consideration on my next review Buck-o.

Have a peachy day. :D

[Buck-O]

Thanks for the replys guys. I must say it is a nice change to actually have someone read a post subjectivly, and take what is being said into consideration, rather then flaming away becuase i am some noob coming in here trying to "start somthing".

THe comment about girls and reviewing just comes from the years of being around, and even in the industry, and having worked alongside female reviewers. There is a tendency fot hem to get easily discouraged with critisism, and it turns into a me against the world scenerio. Im not saying thats what Jen was doing...im jost forwarning against that kind of mentality turning into somthing much worse. And im optimistic about the future, given Jen's honest responce.

I think that there are certain pieces of hardware that are difficult to review in a lifestyle review format. Cases, displays, and speakers, i think fall easily into that caragory. Not only is there a large amount of technicle info that needs to be displayed, but there also has to be subjective data on ease of use, setup, quality, etc. that have to go along with it. I think reviewing any one of those items, and especially speakers, is a hard task for anyone, reguardless of which side of the review spectrum your on. Becuase there is such a fine line to walk between them. Especially when the technology is so varied among one type of prodyct segment, and people usually feel so strongy about a certain form of that tech as the best.

I think that your future media reviews will have a much broader feel in their scope, and provide just as much technicle information as they do subjective information. And merrying those together can only bring you both great success. And i think your both more then capable of getting it right the next time.


Thanks for listening.

B

[Daniel Hazi]

Hi!
Can anyone tell me some facts about his/her opinion about the Z-4 speakers? I only saw posts about the review and Jen.:o
Does anyone have such speaker system?Does it really sound that good?:D
My Z-4 set is arriving today..I hope it won't disappoint me....

[Rob Williams]

I have heard great things about these speakers from others, and never anything bad. You will definitely enjoy them.

[Unregistered]

Ok, thats enough "the Bold and the Beautiful", I will look in another forum for real reviews.

[Unregistered]

Hey, im looking into these speakers, and was wondering how they hook up to a laptop. Mine only has one input hole for speakers/headphones and one for the microphone, will i be able to use these speakers? or will i need to buy some sort of splitter? Thanks, i dont know much of anything about sound cards or speakers, so any help would be awesome. i only ask cuz i know some speakers have like 3 input wires that need to be plugged in at the same time for maximum sound output, and i dont think my computer can handle that.

[Rob Williams]

As far I as I know, you should be good to go. I believe these speakers only have the master sound cable to plug into the laptop. The other cords are for the satellites which plug into the woofer.

If worse came to worse, you'd have to buy a sound card for your PCMCIA slot, but I am assuming you should be good to go as is.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the review!

Living in Sweden ( a small country in the north ) there's a limited offering of decent X.1 speakers for < 100 bucks. But of course Logitech & Creative can be found, so I went ahead and bought this Logitech Z-4 2.1 speakers set.

a) The control unit is gold.
b) The super woofer ( bass ) sounds great, especially at ½ volume level ( or less ) with ½ bass level ( or less ).
c) The extra line-in & the headphone jack is what Jen McPherson said; "a handy feature". This feature adds to the value.

Is it me or does the satellites sound a bit weak in the lower midrange/midrange? Bass and treble feels overwhelming when pumping up the volume. Messing with the equalizer improves things somewhat, but ... nah still not perfect.

Maybe I'm asking to much, it's a fairly cheap one and overall I'm happy with the sound - this speaker system - this purchase.

Bye! / Ulf

[Buck-O]

Is it me or does the satellites sound a bit weak in the lower midrange/midrange? Bass and treble feels overwhelming when pumping up the volume. Messing with the equalizer improves things somewhat, but ... nah still not perfect.

Unfortunately, thats a major problem with most multimedia sound systems you will buy. Not many of them are capable of handling proper midrange, and those that are, are not in the $100 price range.

Unfortunately there isnt much you can really do about it, other then turn downt ehbass and the trebbile a little in hopes of bringing them down tot eh midranges level. But as the midrange on drivers that small is often -8db or more, its difficult to acheive that.

So you have to just live with it.


All things considered though, for the value in the speakers, you really cant go wrong.

[Unregistered]

Unfortunately, thats a major problem with most multimedia sound systems you will buy. Not many of them are capable of handling proper midrange, and those that are, are not in the $100 price range.

Unfortunately there isnt much you can really do about it, other then turn downt ehbass and the trebbile a little in hopes of bringing them down tot eh midranges level. But as the midrange on drivers that small is often -8db or more, its difficult to acheive that.

So you have to just live with it.


All things considered though, for the value in the speakers, you really cant go wrong.

Thanx, well yeah I thought so.
Can't really expect high class midrange out of those small speakers.

There's definetely a dip at 200Hz - 1kHz in the spectrum.

Replaced the satellites with new ones ( a pair of from my old home stereo ).
Much better midrange, but now I get too much bass and hardly any treble ... lol.

:)

[Buck-O]

Thanx, well yeah I thought so.
Can't really expect high class midrange out of those small speakers.

There's definetely a dip at 200Hz - 1kHz in the spectrum.

Replaced the satellites with new ones ( a pair of from my old home stereo ).
Much better midrange, but now I get too much bass and hardly any treble ... lol.

:)


What you might try, as i have done with an old pair of Altec Lancing ACS45.1 speakers i had, was disassemble the drivers, and put polly fill (the stuff that goes into craft projects like stuffed Animals, and pillows), and stuff an equal amount of it into the two satalites. THat in effect lowers the tuning frequency of the driver, and help pick up some of the midrange loss.

Although, thinking about it, im not so sure you could do that with this satalite driver arangement. So, hehe, i dont know why i mentioned that, but if you ever get another system with a larger satalive enclosure, it works fantasticly.

[Unregistered]

Sounds like a smart idea, unfortunately these Logitech Z-4 satellites are ( afaik ) impossible to disassemble - they look hard sealed.

I guess 5 years of using Sennheiser headphones made me somewhat picky about the sound, even though I'm that kind of person who can't hear the difference between 64 kbps & 128 kbps sound. He He ...

Thanx! http://www.techgage.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Unregistered]

First of all. Overall, a nice review. In my opinion, technicalities don't matter so much because we're not dealing with a costly separate speaker + amp setup here, but a very, very cost-effective sound solution, that can put out surprisingly good sound. ^^ ...And looks pretty good and is very practical. Did I mention I think they offer lots of bang for buck?

So... I have a question. Being a paranoid thing I am, I'd like to know do you other Z-4 owners get a slight "thud"(very short ~50 Hz sound) from subwoofer when powering off the speakers? This "thud"'s loudness is volume-independant. The cone makes a little movement at the same time.

Technically I have pretty good idea what's causing it, but I'd like to know is this normal behavior for The Logitech Z-4?

[Jen McPherson]

Thanks. ^^ I haven't noticed a thud coming from the woofer on the set I have, so I'm not sure. :| What do you think is causing it?

[Unregistered]

"Technically I have pretty good idea what's causing it" - Ehm, I guess my phrasing wasn't very exact. It should've been like: I know this is pretty typical behavior for amplifiers, but I'd like to know if it's normal for the Z-4. ^^;

My guess is that it's because the operating voltage of the amplifier is dropped to zero immediately when powering off, and this, for some reason, causes the woofer to get a "burst of unstable voltage"(what? : D) as the capacitors* in the power source and amplifier are emptied suddenly. It would probably be audible from the main speakers too, but they're uncapable of producing that low sounds loud enough.

In most separate amplifiers this behavior is eliminated by designing the thing in a way, that prevents this behavior. tehee~ >_>'

Aaand the reason why I think it's 50 Hz - well, in addition that it sounds like it -, is because the mains current we get from wall outlet is 50 Hz Alternating Current. Oh and around here we have 230 V voltage in mains, so maybe the power source has a little design flaw compared to the US model?

*In case you don't know what a capacitor is, think it like this: Imagine an empty bucket. Now when we plug power in it(yes, we plug power in the bucket), it fills up and works as a reserve. If the subwoofer's amplifier happens to be under heavy use, it can take large amounts of power suddenly and that power is then drawn from the capacitor(s), or bucket(s) that are part of the power supply inside the Z-4's subwoofer case. In other words, the capacitors in power supply help the current sent to the amplifier to be stable.

There are other uses for capacitors too, but I think and hope, that this explanation was fitting in this case.


***By the way, I'm pretty sure that the sound quality has improved a bit now after using the speakers for a while, or "burning them in". And overall, now after having listened them more, I think the mids are pretty nicely audible especially if the Bass level is turned at ~1/3th or a little more instead at half(or more : o).

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the review. I'd been all over the place trying to decide which speakers to get for my PC. Just trying to get rid off the last beige bit on my desk after upgrading my PC seemed like an endless task. :) I liked the fact that the review was not all wattage and technical as it meant I could understand what on earth the speakers were like as a 'how they are to use' review is very helpful to dithering buyers like me with limited technobable knowlage. :)

It was these and a set of Creative speakers that also hooked up to my Zen Micro that I was dilly-dallying over, but I think these have won as they appear simple to use and set up and are great value for money. Of to order and abuse my poor credit card further. :)

Thank you lots,
Liz

[Jen McPherson]

Thank you Liz! And yes for the price these speakers are great. They will certainly look really sweet going with your pc, instead of those old beige things ;) Super easy setup, great sound, I know you'll enjoy them! And I certainly know credit card abuse... I'll be abusing it again soon when I get me a new graphics card... and PC case... and...and...! XD


And alright, I see what you mean about the sound when you shut down the sound, and have noted it now as well. Its not so much a pop is it is a small thump from the subwoofer. And yeah, your explanation was more than great ^^ So thank you!

Yes, I think they sound even better after using them for as long as I have, and I just love them. I also listen with the bass turned up slightly higher than your basic level. ^^

[Unregistered]

Ah, thanks Jen for reporting about that thump. It's good to know that it's not just my set of Z-4 that produces that little thump at power-off. And I might have given a bit exaggerated image of that sound with my babblings. It's not loud. Once again, great set of speakers for the price! ^^d

[Unregistered]

Ah, thanks Jen for reporting about that thump. It's good to know that it's not just my set of Z-4 that produces that little thump at power-off. And I might have given a bit exaggerated image of that sound with my babblings. It's not loud. Once again, great set of speakers for the price! ^^d

Even the Altec Lansing FX6021 produce that thump...

When it comes to computer speakers, I think one should explain how/why they listen.
You have the more audiophile amongst us that listen for sound accuracy and would like a little sense of spaciousness. The other camp is those that want loud thumping sounds.
In a perfect speaker, you’d have both.

The Logitech Z-4 sound constrained, as if the sound is trying to get out but just can’t. Muddled is another word for it. Sure you get some oomph but is that enough? With a dealer cost of less than 87.00cnd$, you maybe able to get a bargain on these but at the price point in this article, this is not enough to recommend them.

I’m not trying to be overly critical of this review, but I do know it will be indexed and get some traction but a problem with most computer speaker reviews is that they are done by the thin eared.

I mostly listen to music on my computer speakers, so 2.1 are fine for me, but a gamer may want more. These speakers were compared to Altec Lansing FX6021 (lacking midrange) and Logitech Z-2300 ( too much bass) and clearly had a different audio signature. I’m not expecting much at this price point and they are above most speakers in this price range – just not worthy of such a high rating.