Digital Home Thoughts: Sound on a Budget: Logitech's Z-4 2.1 Speakers

Let's get this out of the way right up front so your expectations are in line: these are introductory-level 2.1 speakers, two satellites and a sub-woofer, that have an MSRP price of $99 USD but retail for around $60-$70 USD. They come in somewhere in the middle of Logitech's 2.1 speaker line - more expensive and capable than the $30 R-20's, but less expensive than the $150 Z-2300 speakers that I reviewed earlier. With that out of the way, let's delve into the speakers themselves.

First off, they look good - I dig the satellite design with the exposed cones. They have a high-gloss finish and metal stands. The sub is basic, but you hide it under your desk anyway, so there's no need for it to look pretty. With 40 watts RMS total power, these won't shake walls, but they do a respectable job - the satellites are 17 watts RMS (8.5W x 2), while the sub is 23 watts RMS. There's a wired remote that includes a headphone jack, volume, subwoofer level, power control and auxiliary audio input. This makes it handy for connecting an MP3 player - which is exactly what I did to test them. I connected my Zen Vision:M and went through a variety of tunes. The sound was about what I expected from sub-$100 speakers. The sub-woofer was decent, but the satellites lacked crispness. Volume level was adequate for a small room, but even cranked up the Z-4s failed to deliver bone-crunching sound. But at the $70 price point, they're not really supposed to.

If you want 2.1 speakers and don't want to pony up the $150 USD for Klipsch Promedia 2.1's, I think the Z-2300's represent a better overall value - they sound much better, offer more power, and can be had for around $80 or so, which isn't much more than the Z-4s. If basic sound is all you're after, the Z-4s deliver, but spending a little more for the Z-2300's will give you much better sound.