Logitech Z-5300e THX-Certified 280-Watt 5.1 Surround Sound PC and Gaming Speaker System

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

My experience of upgrading to this system.

Well, my last review (question really) about how long the rear speaker wires were wasn't very helpful to most folks. (0 out of 10). Well, I've answered my own question by finally getting the set. For those who also want to know, the wires are about 16 feet I think, going by the ol' finger tip to finger tip test (I'm 6', and it spanned the distance twice and then another 4' or so.)

Anyway, here's what happened when I finally got the system. I was upgrading from a Logitech Z-640 5.1 set to the Z-5300e. The 640 set was decent, but had very little mid-range, if at all, and the 25w sub just didn't have the punch it needed to sound good for DVD playback and music. Oh, the reason I brought this up is because I had my sub sitting on a shelf about 6" above my monitor. It was fine. Didn't affect anything. And so I get the Z-5300e set, and for those who have it, know the sub is HUGE. (11.5"w x 12"h x 14.25"d <- and that's without the wires hooked up (add another 4" minimum with the wires). Anyway, I tried setting the sub back up on the shelf where my old one was. It pulled the color out of my monitor! Not all of it, but damn near all of it. Damn big magnet in that thing. I told the clerk at Radio Shack about it (more on this later) and she said hitting the monitor's "Degauss" function may have fixed the problem, but I didn't want to have to worry about it. So I decided to put the sub on the floor as Logitech suggests. By doing so, I required rear wire extensions, because I lost about 6' of length that I needed. So that's where the trip to Radio Shack comes in. Bought two 6' extensions for $6.

Anyway, so I get it hooked up and WOW! Major sound coming out of these relatively small satellite and center speakers. Of course the sub handles most of the low end. This system sounds better than what I've got for my main TV.

Many people complain about the over punchiness of the sub. I agree, it's a bit strong and overpowering if your only control over it is the provided remote control. However, if you have good soundcard software, as which comes with most Creative Labs high-end surround sound sound cars, there are several bass level adjustments in it that you can back off the bass level to a point where you can practically minimize the bass. For example, for the Audigy 2 card series, there's a bass cross-over control and by sliding the control to the right, you can take almost all bass out of the sound. I ususally set my slider at a quarter of the way across from the left (bass side) and it's adequate. And then if you have separate bass/trebble controls too, you can lower the bass there as well.

But if you like bass, this 100w baby can do some serious thumpin'. It has a dual-chambered construction where the cone is inside the box mounted on a center divider which allowed the bass to resonate better than if the cone was mounted on the outside.

Some people also say that there's no on-system cross-over from the sub to the satellites. Well, duh? The satellites are not woofers. They're basically mid-range speakers that can duplicate tweeters as well due to their dual drivers.

Break-down:
Pros:
Awesome sound for an affordable price.
Well-constructed speakers.
Enough wattage for your PC or console game system.

Cons:
Relatively short speaker wires.
Wired remote control.
Inadequate on-board control of bass level.

But with that last one, you can tailor it better if you have good software with your soundcard.

Also had I not had to put the sub on the floor, I wouldn't have had to buy cord extensions.

(4 out of 5)

Best bang for the buck

The only drawback is the cords on the rear speakers aren't long enough. Even running across the bare floor, they barely reached the back wall in a 10'x10' room. Since they have RCA plugs, it was a simple matter of buying some longer cables and a pair of adapters to daisy-chain them with. Once the cables were run through the ceiling, I pivoted the stands around to use the built-in wall mount holes. All the plugs are color coded, so you can't hook it up wrong and the entire job took less than 15 minutes. Plugged into a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card, they produce high quality surround sound.

There are many 5.1 speakers systems designed for use with a computer sound card. None of the lower priced speaker systems have a large enough sub to produce enough bass. Although there are many higher priced speaker systems as well, I feel these represent the best value. They are only marginally more expensive than the cheapest 5.1 speaker systems, but far less than the systems advertised for high-end sound quality. I wasn't looking to replicate my home theater system, and these speakers are more than enough for my office.

(4 out of 5)

Logitech Z-5300e - Great for the money!

These speakers are an excellent buy! You'll want a Creative Audigy2 ZS Sound Card to go with them, to give you true 6-channel sound. Also, you need the Creative software to tweak the tone.

You'll calibrate the speakers for 5.1 sound. Then turn the bass all the way down on the Logitech control, & you'll also want to turn it down to 20% on the Surround Mixer. On the Graphic Equalizer you can turn up the 4k to around +4.5db & the 8k up to +12db. Once you make these adjustments, you have an amazing system with the sound of your artist playing loud & clear right in your room! I bought mine directly from Amazon, & I'm very happy with them!

(5 out of 5)

Incredible Product, Incredible Service.

This was my first time ordering from Amazon.com Before I get into the speakers, I just want to say that I was BLOWN AWAY by the speed of shipping. I ordered this less than 24 hours ago and have already received it!!!!! This level of service, with FREE shipping no less, is just incredible. I see now why Amazon.com is such a major player in online retailers. As for the speakers, I haven't given them a thorough rundown, but after quickly hooking them up and testing them with some MP3's and Halflife 2 I can say that both the Stereo aspect and the 5.1 are just incredible. I can't believe these have only cost me $110.00 (after the rebate). I am a major BASS nut. And these things deliver. The bass is deep and full. The mids and Highs are also incredible. Logitech has done a great thing. I know that the 5500's are a little more powerful and have a built in decoder, but for the amazing price that you get these for (even without the rebate) they are a tremendous deal. I highly recommend them, and HIGHLY recommend you buy from Amazon.com, I know I will be much more often.

-----Added 4/3/05-----

Now that I have had some time to get aquainted with these speakers I can say that my initial review was pretty accurate. These have EXCELLENT sound all bass, mid, and highs sound great. I have found that the "Matrix" mode can be a nice thing to use. I always turn it on when I am playing MP3's or any music. It gives a nice "fuller" sound. I'm kind of mixed on using the matrix mode with games that don't have 3D audio. Sometimes I like it and other times I think it's better left on stereo, as the matrix mode isn't perfect (nor could it be, really) and the stereo sounds coming from behind you can be a little off. But it certainly serves it's purpose with music.

As far as the Sub, I have heard a few people complain about the sub being to "boomy" And I could understand where they come from with that. I have had a couple of songs come up that were kind of drowned out by the bass. But with the handy-dandy control pad you can change the level of the bass. And it goes low enough that it should be able to accommodate any listening preference. After all this is a 5.1 system, and that .1 is bass!

The only bad thing I can think to say is perhaps the cable length. When I was doing my permanent installation, with the place I had to put the sub (it's pretty big) the left front speaker BARLEY had enough wire length to put it where I wanted. I had to move my desk a little to be able to reposition the sub to fix this problem. I think that the 5500's or the 680's had detachable wires, this could be a nice idea, but I suppose that could add extra cost.



Bottom Line: For the price of these speakers (even without the rebate) are a great buy!
If nothing else I can say that playing first person shooter games (half life 2 and battlefield 1942 for instance) the sounds of the gunfire and explosions are pants-wetting! It sounds INCREDIBLE, if nothing else buy them for that reason :)

(2 out of 5)

Great for PC, awful for anything else

These speakers sound great. If you are buying them for your PC and have a 5.1 soundcard, they are an amazing deal for the money.

However, if you bought them for the reason I did, stay clear. I bought these speakers to be used with my DVD player / game consoles to get 5.1 surround for fairly cheap. However, aside from hooking them up to a PC, this is really not realistically possible. No Dolby Digital or DTS decoding, which means in a lot of cases, namely with an Xbox, you can't get true 5.1 sound, just their "matrix" 5.1 which is basically stereo sound that is supposed to sound like 5.1 but in reality doesnt at all. I have them hooked up to my DVD player right now, and basically all they do is provide clearer and louder stereo sound than my built in TV speakers do.

The cords on the rear speakers are a tad short, but this is easy to fix at radio shack and you wont end up spending any more than $15 on wires / couplers to extend them.

The bass is uncontrollably loud at all times, even when it is turned down to its lowest setting. We turn the bass all the way down, and it can still be heard very loudly in the next room over.

Don't get me wrong, these speakers sound amazing. If you are buying them for your PC, go for it, they offer a lot of bang for your buck, and aside from the uncontrollable bass, they produce solid sound. If you are buying these for a home theater setting or for use with Xbox or PS2, I would recommend looking into a different set.


EDIT: Monique's review as an answer to mine is correct. You can get true 5.1 from most DVD players with these speakers, but in order to do so, you must spend and extra $200+ on a reciever / amplifier. Mostly, I wanted them for my PS2 / Xbox, and these speakers dont really help with that unless you spend a lot of extra money. If you are looking to get speakers to work with PS2 / XBox, get speakers that have an optical input...both systems have an optical output port, and this provides the best sound.