Logitech Z-5

Every once in a while the Windows team comes across a product that delivers stunning value-for-money and Logitech’s Z-5 speakers fall into this category.

The speakers are USB-based and so draw both power and audio data from your machine’s USB port. This obviously means less cable clutter for you and, from a quality perspective, the pure digital stream from the USB port helped the speakers deliver clear, sharp audio. Listening to tunes and watching movies, the speakers performed well at mid-level volumes as they delivered sharp, crisp audio.

Going to higher volume levels, quality suffers slightly with thumping rock music in particular becoming something of a mess. And because this set lacks a dedicated subwoofer and features a frequency range that starts at 70Hz, the Z-5’s satellites aren’t able to deliver much in the way of low-end, rumbling bass. As a result, if you want deep punchy audio, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

The speakers are designed using omnidirectional acoustic technology and this meant that both satellites produced audio that filled the room without the need of a specialised audio extension technology.

The speakers themselves are devoid of any buttons and thus interaction is accomplished either via Windows’ built-in volume control or the supplied remote. The remote gives the Z-5 tons of functionality too as you can configure it to control your music library and interact with Apple’s iTunes or Microsoft’s Windows Media Player.