Digital Trends

Logitech Z-680

March 18th, 2003 | by Benj Mauck

Introduction

Logitech released two new speaker systems for this year, one at around $100 and one at $400.  In January we reviewed Logitech's inexpensive new Z-640 speakers and found little but praise to give.  This time we examine Logitech's flagship THX, DTS, and Dolby 5.1 Surround computer speaker system.  Marketed as an all-in-one computer/game system/home theater sound system, the Z-680s offer incredible sound at a premium price.  But are the Z680's really worth four times the price of the Z640's?  Read on to find out...

Features

Logitech's latest and most expensive computer speakers are truly world class.  There is little competition in computer speakers with as much power, quality, and features as the Logitech's Z-680's.  And because of the similarity of these to last year's award winning Z-560 series, Logitech now understands where it  falls in the market quite well.  Unfortunately this is reflected in the price, and for most it will take some real soul searching to justify the $400 price tag.  To put this in perspective, Logitech currently sells a decent 33 Watt computer stereo sound system & sub at about $50.  For $80 you get a 40 Watt 4.1 surround version, and $100 gets you the nice 70 Watt 5.1 system we reviewed in January.  Also available are the older 400 Watt 4.1 system at $200, and now the 500 Watt 5.1 Z-680 for $400.  The question most will ask (and rightly so) is can the Z-680 really justify twice the price of its close cousin, the Z-560?  Hopefully the following will provide you sufficient information to make the decision for yourself.

The Z-680's are touted as speakers for all your entertainment needs — and because of the many inputs on the Control Center, we feel this is justified.  This claim is necessary since you may not be able to justify the price if you only use the speakers on the computer, but when used for your video games, music, and home theater it seems much more practical.

Sound on the Z-680 system comes from four 62 watt satellites, a 69 watt center channel, and one 188 watt sub.  This totals 505 Watts, but earlier versions (such as ours) use an older rating scheme (which also complied to FTC standards) and confusingly label it 450 Watts.  As mentioned before, we are quite pleased with Logitech's accurate reporting of the RMS value rather than the oft exaggerated peak-power that nearly every other speaker manufacture in this price range does.  Unlike the less expensive Logitech subs (all but the Z-560) this unit uses a ported enclosure to maximize volume.   The quality and quantity of the bass are exceptional — and perhaps even overwhelming if not adjusted correctly.  But even more impressive is that Logitech's center and satellite speakers provide equally satisfying midrange and highs.  Although it is difficult to reproduce the full spectrum with any two-way system (such as this and almost all other computer speakers, which are at most two-way), Logitech has done a great job reproducing the mid range frequencies on the five surround speakers without diminishing the highs.  This is a great improvement over their $100 system (Z-640), but surprisingly similar to their $200 system (Z-560).  In fact many will find it difficult to differentiate the sound quality between this and the Z-560, other than at high volume.  But this is where the similarities end and focus must be drawn to the details.