This is my review of the Logitech Z-313 which is an entry level 2.1 speaker system aimed at people that want something more than their laptop speakers or no sound at all, such as me.
I'll start off with the fact that I'm going to rate these according to their price, which is €49,95. Of course this won't be comparable to high end systems, but then again, it isn't meant to be like that at that price. I'll still be critical though.
Secondly, I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile. While I do enjoy good audio and know the difference between good and bad audio quality, I'm not as far (yet) that I'm willing to spend thousands of dollars on an amplifier, a DAC, speakers, headphones etc.. But that's also because lol no money :D
What I consider high audio quality, and thus is my reference to rating these speakers is my Sennheiser HD25 1-II headphones. I consider these as neutral, revealing, well balanced and overall high quality.
I'll start on the speakers now :D
The box
It comes in a pretty plain box with some info on it. Logitech markets these as having a room filling sound while remaining a small footprint.
The box isn't very interesting for the most part so let's see what's inside :D
What it comes with
The box gives you two speakers, a subwoofer, the cables to connect it all together and some documentation.
The power plug is already connected to the subwoofer while the speakers are connected with a 3.5mm jack, so you could pair it with other speakers using a 3.5mm jack if you would want to. There is also a control pod present which features primitive volume control, an on/off button, a headphone port and a little light to tell you whether it's on or off. I just leave it underneath my desk with the sub because I don't like the additional cable clutter it brings and I always use software volume control anyway. Also it doesn't have rubber feet, so it may slip off of your desk because of all the heavy cable clutter that's attached to it.
Of course it also comes with a 3.5mm jack to put in your computer (or other audio source for that matter).
First impressions
It's pretty small so far as I can tell :D The two towers are small, about 15cm tall and a base of approximately 8x9cm. The sub is put in an equally small wooden box. The speaker measures 4''.
The finish is pretty nice. I'm happy to see there isn't a lot of gloss on the speakers which I generally hate. They're matte black with a matte chrome ring around the small speakers.
The satellites and sub feature rubber feet under them which is nice because they're lightweight and therefore subjectable to movement with a small jerk of the cable. Build quality is fine and the plastic doesn't feel cheap.
Not much more to discuss in this section, so on to the part where I judge the sound :D
The sound
Of course the most important aspect of a speaker. Like I said earlier, they're €49,95, and therefore I'll rate them appropriately.
I tested it with a bunch of music varying from vocals only to classic guitar to heavy deathmetal.
My first impression of the sound was that it's fine for its price. Let me go more in depth:
The bass is loud and punchy, the volume is fine and the mids are well represented. However there are also flaws.
Although the satellite speakers are only 2'' (more like tweeters to me) the higher frequencies are pretty recessed. This makes music less bright.
It can get quite muddy if you play music that has a lot going on, let's say for instance Meshuggah. The sound gets very muddy very fast when listening to such tracks, and instruments aren't recognizable anymore. It's quite literally a difference of night and day with my headphones.
Though for regular music listening this set is pretty nice. Movies and games also pair up pretty nicely with these speakers.
I'd like to keep it short, so if you want all the pro's and con's paired up with each other, have a look at the verdict section :D
Final impressions
These speakers are perfect if you want something simple and cheap with a small footprint that you can use to listen to music/watch movies/game casually.
Don't expect mind blowing sound in all frequencies, if you're really into that than these aren't for you obviously. But then again, you probably won't be reading this review anyway.
So far I'm happy with them. Though I would have appreciated a slightly lower price tag (€40 would've been great) it's still not a bad value.
The reason I bought them is because other than the built in laptop speakers I only have my headphones which are pretty good, but still it's nice to have a little bit of sound when walking around the house, and laptop speakers didn't cut it :D I also appreciate the small satellites. I don't have a particularly small desk, but it's a pretty classy one made out of rose wood and I didn't want to ruin it with big fat glossy speakers. Also I didn't want to spend a lot of money, otherwise I would've gotten something better of course. But for serious audio listening I have my headphones anyway :p
The verdict
The good stuff:
Small and compact, affordable and good value, neutral exterior and pretty OK sounding. Perfect for casual listening on a budget.
The bass is pretty punchy and loud, the volume will go up pretty high with not too much distortion.
The bad stuff:
They can get muddy when there's a lot going on in the sound, high frequencies are recessed, doesn't give a transparent representation of the audio.
Remember people that I rated these according to the price I bought it for. Of course they're shit when compared to high end speaker systems, but considering those are probably more expensive than these it isn't fair to be comparing them.
That's all for now :D Maybe I'll make some photo's tomorrow to add them to this review.
boi1080p reacted to Salmiakbal in Logitech Z-313 review
