Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506 (980-000430)
Customer Reviews
By bunnyrabbit4 (New Orleans, LA USA)
For $[...] bucks these speakers sound great, but I did have to figure out how to hook them up with no help from Logitech's directions. Since I bought these to use with a program that creates 5.1 surround music, I quickly noticed that simply plugging them into to the matching color recepticles on my new Windows 7 machine did not work. I got sound out of all the speaker but it was not 5.1 surround. When I began shifting the sound to different speakers it was clear that something wasn't right. I could isolate the rear speakers almost totally but nothing else. I tried every combination of jacks (my computer is capable of 7.1 and has several extra jacks) but had little success. Something was always missing!! I then started searching the control panel of my new Windows 7 machine for answers. I found that the first mistake I'd made was plugging all the jacks in at once and turning on the unit. They had to be assigned one by one..
Here is how I set up the system on a Windows 7 Ultimate, Desktop Dell machine with 7.1 surround. First....Do not plug any of the jacks into the computer yet.
Go to the control panel and open the Audio Manager. In the case of my Dell it was the Realtek HD Audio Manger. A picture of a living room with speakers appears. Plug the Orangish/Yellow jack from the Logitech into the matching recepticle on the Computer. A pop-up asks you which speakers you want to serve that jack. Click on Center/Subwoofer. Click on the picture of the center speaker and subwoofer. They should make a sound. Follow the same procedure for the GREEN Jack. Assign FRONT SPEAKERS out to that one. Lastly assign your BLACK to the REAR SPEAKERS. ALl of your speakers should now work independantly and sound great.
HDTV..., several of you have asked about using these with TV's. The first question to ask is, what does your TV have in terms of audio output jacks? Increasingly TV's are cutting way back on the types of output jacks offered. You can run two types of input here, stereo mini like your ipod headphones (does your TV have a headphone OUT jack??)or RCA OUT(normal stereo jacks). Some TV's may only output to HDMI. There is no HDMI input jack here. If you have HDMI OUT it should carry your sound and picture to an AV tuner. Check out this system Yamaha YHT-395BL Complete 5.1-Channel Home Theater System for an idea of what is available. I do not own this system but it gives you an idea of the connections. I haven't looked to see if other "speaker only" sets offer HDMI input. I use these only with my computer.
One work around for some of you might be if your cable box has RCA audio out. If you run your cable THROUGH your DVD player it should still have an RCA AUDIO OUT that you may be able to use. You can also use them just to play your DVD's if your player has RCA out, but mute the TV sound because your TV will process the sound slightly faster making it sound like there is an echo.
By Derek G (Redneck, South Carolina)
I absolutely love, love, love these speakers! It's important your system is set up for six speakers but assuming it is I can say with confidence these will be the best speakers you will find in this price range. Check my reviews and you'll know I'm not gushy about products -- many people whine that I'm too harsh.
Here is an important consideration, make sure your system has the speaker jacks AND the drivers to enable six-speakers, even when you are playing a stereo recording. Otherwise you will find yourself disappointed that the sound is coming just from the left and right speakers and maybe the subwoofer. Just because you have connections for the separate components doesn't guarantee surround sound. Fortunately, most recently built computers have the technology built-in so this warning applies mostly to people with older systems. A quick and easy way to know for sure is to check to see if your computer has Dolby Home Theater built-in. It's not easy to find (Start Button\Control Panel\Sound\Playback\Speaker Properties in Windows 7) but enabling Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Digital will allow you to enjoy immersive sound even when listening to stereo. If you don't have the speaker jacks, for example just a standard speaker and microphone jack, then you can purchase add-in cards like the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi.
I was tempted to knock off a star for two reasons. One, I've become used to a separate "control pod" which handles things like the volume, bass and power control without having to reach for the speakers. Unfortunately, this is not included so you'll have to get used to using those multimedia buttons on your keyboard if your right speaker is out of reach and you'll have to go digging under your desk to adjust the bass level. I figure this was a tradeoff made to keep the price low. My other gripe is that, common to most surround speakers for computers, the length of the cable to the rear speakers is going to be too short to be of any benefit unless you want cables in the way. Fortunately, the connectors are standard RCA so a male-to-female extension cable will get the extra length you need if you're trying to run them in a manner that will allow you to hide the cable.
In spite of these gripes, I still think they are five-star speakers, again with the caveat that Dolby Home Theater is enabled. I say this because it really makes a huge difference and Dolby changes the sound from "decent" to "fantastic". I have not heard any of the buzzing others have mentioned, no speaker noise whatsoever, the bass sounds great - not muddy, and the highs are crisp without being shrill. I know it sounds like I'm shilling for Dolby more than the speakers but it's important that people know that once you get beyond stereo, decent sounding speakers are only half the equation; a good sound processor is equally important. It's why audiophiles obsess over their receiver just as much as their speakers.
This 75W system is plenty of power for a gaming computer, office, or bedroom but I wouldn't use it in a living room. Inputs are standard red/white RCA or the preferred green/yellow/black 3.5mm computers use. They're best used as computer speakers since you don't have a remote. Obviously these won't compare to high end THX speakers but they also don't have the high end price. If you're a gamer on a budget, I think you'll like these a lot.
Hope the review helped.
To answer other reviewers:
M. Churchill - You are right, the description is incorrect and this system uses a 5.25" ported subwoofer.
NYC reviewer - Most surround speakers do very little other than the ambient effects you described, especially during live broadcasts. Try to see if your TV has a 5 speaker stereo setting and it may give you the sound you were expecting. Try turning the built-in TV speakers off and the TV volume up to ~66% to eliminate the low volume issue. Also make sure there isn't an audio setting for TV or audio out - with some TV's it's either/or. Ultimately, I do think these are better suited as computer speakers than home theater speakers.
Ryan and others - Regarding buzzing, while it's certainly possible you got bad speakers, buzzing is almost always caused by electrical interference. Try moving the speaker wires around, especially away from power strips or electric wall-warts and see if the buzzing changes in any way. There may be an unshielded culprit causing the noise. As I write this I have my speakers maxed with zero noise.
By Ryan
I usually don't write reviews for products on here, but I felt compelled to after receiving the Logitech Z506 surround sound system.
***UPDATE*** (at the bottom)
PROS:
~SUPER easy to set-up, everything matches up by color.
~Sound quality is superb compared to a lot of systems in this price range, especially for a 5.1 system.
~Base is FANTASTIC! I honestly can't get over how awesome the subwoofer is, and best of all -- NO DISTORTION!
~Since this is a tweeted system, you don't get distortion from the speakers like you would with a lot of other systems in this price range.
~RCA capable (meaning you can directly connect it to your Audio Out on the back of the TV).
~The ported down idea Logitech did for the subwoofer truely does make it fill the room (even at >50watts).
~Great bang for the buck.
CONS:
~Wires can be a bit short, even for a small room.
~No controller.
So if you're like me and are planning to use this in a small room, I highly recommend this system; you can't go wrong!
****UPDATE****
After having owned this system for a little over 4 months, I have decided that.....this system is still fantastic!
If you're hooking this bad-boy up to a TV, simply plug the RCA (red/black) cables into the back of the subwoofer, then the other end (3.5mm headphone) to the headphone jack on your TV. Easy peezy :)
If you're hooking it up to a computer, simply plug the PC wires (not sure on the technical term, but they're the green, yellow, and black cords/wires) into the back of the subwoofer, as well as your PC. To get the surround sound effect (5.1) you will need to make sure your sound software is up to date. From there right click on your "speakers" (located under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Right click on Speakers) and you can adjust your settings to 5.1.
I hope this has been helpful! Go buy this system today, it's fan-freakin'-tastic!
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