Home > Consumer Reviews > Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 Speaker System

I purchased the Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 surround sound speakers to replace my two speaker subwoofer system for my PC, as these were beginning to play up. I enjoy playing music and games on my PC and prefer to have my music and gaming sound effects to have some ‘feel’ and quality.

Once all the components had been unpacked, reading the installation instructions revealed that putting it all together is a pretty simple job. I did need to consult my sound card manual to see where each plug needed to go, but with only 3 plugs to find homes for, the amount of ‘spaghetti’ hanging out the back was not as much as I had feared. The Satellite speakers sit on little stands and although they are of a compact size, are of a strong construction and are pretty heavy for their size.

How do they sound? Well the first time I tried them, I was very surprised at the sound quality. There is no tiny sound here, with the subwoofer handling the bass, these five little speakers really can belt it out.

The system consists of 5 Satellite speakers and a Subwoofer, which is a lot of stuff to find a home for. The rear Satellite speakers come with an 8 metre lead which is useful, so I had enough speaker wire to place them a good distance behind my desk on some furniture. With the Subwoofer on the floor under the desk, I have the left and right front speakers either side of my monitor on my desk. The centre speaker is on a shelf above the desk, so really I don’t have that much more on my desk as I did to begin with. Now instead of just a two-speaker system, I have a surround sound system that will give me excellent gaming effects and great quality music reproduction.

The volume controls are all placed on the subwoofer and allow you to mess about with the front, centre, rear and bass speaker levels. I initially thought this would be a bit of a pain having to grope around on the floor to make adjustments, however once all the volume levels are set to your liking, adjusting the master volume is then done from the task bar, which is much easier. Once small gripe is that there is no headphone socket, however if are going to have a surround sound system, whats the point of using headphones?

This Videologic system produces good quality sound and is great value for money, as they are actually cheaper than the two-speaker system they have replaced! I certainly will not be going back to anything less than 6 speakers in future. I just don’t know how they do it for the money!

I purchased this speaker system to take to uni with me, as it was a cheaper alternative than buying an hifi system, i hooked it up to my laptop and found it sounded amazing! Its got beautiful deep bass, and excellent sound. At this price, you cant go wrong! Makes my door shake when i turn the bass up!

Excellent Videologic product, another in a long line of superb PC speaker systems and at an affordable price. Great performance whether playing DVD's or games or music. Satellite speakers neat and compact, strong requirement when space is at a premium.

Can't fault it.

I bought this item used. It has managed to deliver in the best way possible. I hooked it up to my NForce motherboard 5.1 output and it gives superb sound repro for the spec and most importantly the price. Both DVDs and games kick out serious volume crystal clear without crackle or distortion. The only criticism is the audible level of background hiss at higher volume - but when do i ever crank it up? I feel sorry for the neighbours as the sound is seriously loud even at about 1/3 of the volume. I have a home theatre system in the other room, but this is nearly as good in terms of sound quality (not power) at a fraction of the price.

I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have a 5.1 soundcard however - it has no built in decoder.

Although this system undeniably represents good value for money, potential buyers should be aware that it emits a very noticeable, incredibly irritating, constant hiss from the satellite speakers.

This is not a problem when playing music or a game because the hiss is masked, but if like me your speakers power up and power down with the PC, and are therefore on whenever the PC is on, it becomes a real distraction if you are having a quiet surf, writing a work document, etc.

I sent the first set back because I couldn't believe that the hiss was normal, only to have them replaced with a set suffering exactly the same problem. Videologic couldn't be sure, but were of the opinion that what I described to them was normal for this system and there was nothing they could do.

The sound quality is excellent for the price, but beware the hiss!