Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer

I'd read a LOT of reviews here and elsewhere before I finally decided on and purchased the Logitech Z-2300 speaker system for my computer. After putting the speakers through their paces for a couple weeks after I received them, I must say I am fairly impressed.I have tried many, many different computer speaker systems over the years, and most have been seriously lacking. When I first got into using home computers, computer speaker systems didn't exist. If you wanted to get sound out of your computer, you had to run it through your home stereo system, and you were lucky if your computer system had stereo outputs. Sound was often an afterthought in those days, but as computer technology evolved it became more and more important. (Just FYI - I purchased my first home computer in 1986... so I've been working with them for a while. :))Nowadays a lot of people consider computer technology synonymous with audio technology: MP3's, iTunes, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, etc. - but until the mid to late 90's this technology was still being developed or didn't even exist; and even while it was being developed most of us didn't have computers powerful enough to use it, or hard drives large enough to store the music files. iTunes didn't even exist until 2001: that's only nine years ago boys and girls.It makes me wonder after all the years of development and evolution of computer audio technology why so many computer speaker systems still SUCK!! I'm not certain if it was just an acceptance of the initial audio formats, or that the flooding of the market of really cheap headphones, earphones and speaker systems just caused people to become used to sub-par sound being the norm. Whatever the reason, sadly there are many that have never experienced what their computer is truly capable of audio-wise. The best computer speaker system I've heard was one I built myself - It consisted of a Linear Power 652 car stereo amplifier running off of a very large 12V power supply and was powering a pair of the legendary Realistic Minimus 7 speakers (a 4" midbass/midrange driver coupled with a 1" fabric dome tweeter in a cast aluminum speaker enclosure; they were one of the best small "bookshelf" speakers of their era, and are still considered so...even though it was sold through Radio Shack - I guess even they got it right once in a while) and a Kicker 8" car stereo subwoofer in a custom enclosure - the satellites were getting 30 watts RMS per channel and the sub was getting 65 watts RMS... the first time I played the video game Descent: Freespace (circa 1998) with them and picked up the Vulcan cannon, the sub was playing so loudly (without distortion I might I add) it was vibrating my filing cabinet so much my next door neighbors came over to find out what all the gunfire was about!That being said, I am not going to endorse the Logitech Z-2300 speakers as the best system I have ever heard on my computer - but they are pretty decent. The bass is solid and not over-empowering, despite what a few people have reported; it all depends on how much you adjust the bass control on the speakers vs. your computer audio out vs. how loud you play your speakers overall and how you adjust your music apps and/or audio card's EQ settings. A lot of people have their EQ settings for their favorite music player cranked up for bass and high end because their headphones/earphones lack this response, but then when they connect a decent set of speakers to their computer it sounds bad or the music is distorted; turn off those EQ settings!I've read some comments that the Z-2300 speakers lack mid-response. Personally I think they have a bit too MUCH mid-response and they sound a bit nasal and/or hollow as a result: I mean, essentially the speaker is one big mid-driver with an aluminum "bullet" center (or "phase plug" as Logitech calls it) to give better high-end response. I've found that adjusting the EQ down a bit in your sound card's settings or your music app in the 1K, 2K and 4K ranges helps... you'll have to play around with a bit to adjust it to your own taste. I have also personally found the satellite speakers sound better without the grills as they are not very acoustically transparent. For those of you that already own these speakers try this simple experiment - gently blow on the palm of your hand from a few inches away and then move the grill in between your hand and mouth and you'll see how much air flow they are blocking. If they are blocking the movement of air from the speakers, then they are blocking sound! This usually affects the high frequencies and upper midrange the most. Regardless of that, these satellite speakers actually image halfway decently.Overall I recommend this speaker system... for the price of around a hundred bucks you are getting a very solid 8" subwoofer that is powered from a 120 watt RMS amplifier, while the two satellite speakers are getting 40 watts RMS each (if you don't know what the difference between Peak and RMS audio power is, look here for an explanation: [...] The speaker system actually does sound pretty decent.If you look around you can find very good powered home subwoofers for less that you could attempt to build a speaker system out of. The problem with this is that while most of these subs have gain (volume) and adjustable crossover controls, they are simply an add-on subwoofer... they have no amplified outputs that you can hook up decent pair of satellite speakers to. For that you'd have to have a separate amplifier to hook up some satellite speakers and that means more money and complexity. (Or you could just use your original pair of wimpy and substandard powered computer speakers along with the sub, but that would pretty much negate the whole point of upgrading, wouldn't it?) So, if you don't like the sound of the included satellite speakers, you're not stuck with them. Simply replace them with whatever small (typically bookshelf-type) speakers you'd like - Boston, Bose, Polk, etc. You'll have to create or buy a pair of custom speaker wires, but that's no big deal. I simply used an old pair of RCA audio cables, cut the RCA connectors off one end and stripped the wires to plug them into the speakers and plugged the RCA jacks on the other end into the Z-2300 speaker output RCA connectors. If you can't handle that, stick with the original speakers that came with the set...or get a friend to help.Either way, you are getting an exceptional powered sub that happens to have a built-in power amp to run a set of external speakers, as well as an external wired remote/adapter that controls power (on/off), volume and sub-woofer level. You can't buy ANY decent home audio subwoofer for around a hundred - hundred-twenty bucks that can even come close to this in terms of power, performance and/or features. And you get a pair of satellite speaker thrown in for free. They have a fair amount of power handling and don't image too bad. I can honestly say this is one of the best computer audio systems I've heard in about the past 20 or so years I've been working with computers and it would probably rival a lot of people's home audio systems.. this is no typical wimpy "boom-box" sound. If you want some serious audio output from your computer, look no further!

I've tested a number of speakers for there different areas: Living Room, Office, and my Desk at Home.After trying (and returning a number of well reviewed choices) I settled on the following:Living Room - Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 200-Watt 2.1 Speaker SystemThis system had the best overall power of everything I tried. Everything else sounds good when you're close enough to the speakers, but as you move away it gets pretty weak. For the living room you definitely need a 2.1 system. Even the M-Audio StudioPro 3 Desktop Audio Monitors, which seem the be the best of the 2 speaker systems couldn't handle a real room. As mentioned in a number of other reviews, the subwoofer unit is larger than others out there. I expect that's part of the reason these have good power. Make sure you've got a good place to hide it. Sound is very good comparatively. Nothing is going to sound like a real 200w component stereo, but this comes pretty close. I find that the imaging, or perceptual soundstage is a little lacking, not as clearly defined as with the JBL Creature II 3-Piece Powered Speaker System or the M-Audio Studio 3. This got better when I added 6' RCA cable extenders to the satellite speaker wires which allowed me to separate the satellites a bit. But still not great. The volume knob thing is nice, and it's nice to have both volume and bass adjustment handy. I guess you could have easily put the controls on one of the satellites like everyone else though. The headphone jack on the volume control seems pointless to me, but maybe you'll like it. What I wish was that you could have an aux input on the volume thing to plug in your ipod or something else.Office - JBL Creature II 3-Piece Powered Speaker SystemThese 2.1 speakers don't have the total power of the Logitech Z-2300, but they have much clearer and better imaging. Since my office is smaller than my living room, and shares a wall with someone, I don't need as much power. These were perfect. The high end is crisp, and the subwoofer clean. The volume control on the satellites is handy, but the bass adjustment is on the subwoofer. I thought this would be an issue, but you actually kind of set it and monkey with it a bit in the beginning, and then leave it alone. The satellites are much smaller than the Logitech and less cheesy looking, which makes them nicer on your desk. I have to say again how killer the sound is. Imaging is great, and it's crazy how they manage to do it with those tiny satellites.Desk at Home - M-Audio StudioPro 3 Desktop Audio MonitorsThese simply have the best sound and imaging of everything I tried except the higher end M-Audio reference speakers. No MP3 is going to sound ever as good as a CD through a component stereo(or an LP, but don't get me started). But I am amazed at the quality of these speakers. They wouldn;t have the power to fill a living room, or even an office. By the time you're 6'-8' away from them, the imaging settles out a bit. But for your desk or as satellite speakers for a TV that didn't come with great ones already, they are perfect. They are a little bigger than many desktop speakers overall, but since many desktop speakers are oddly shaped with leaning towers and wide stands, they actually don;t take up as much more footprint comparatively. The volume and headphone jack and aux in are all on one of the speakers, very handy for access and for plugging in your iPod at your desk. I tried several of the higher end M-Audio speakers, and while I found them to be even better with more power and clarity, it just wasn't enough better to justify the additional size and expense.There you have it. EnjoyMichael Peachey