Wednesday, March 9th 2011
Hear Every Detail: Logitech Unveils Theater-Quality Surround Sound Speakers
So you can hear every detail in your movies, games and music, today Logitech unveiled the Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906. Delivering 500 watts (RMS) of power, the Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 are THX Certified, creating a theater-quality audio experience in your living room.
"We're delighted to offer consumers a successor to the highly acclaimed Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speaker System," said Mark Schneider, vice president and general manager of Logitech's audio business unit. "The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 are the logical evolution of surround sound speakers, and we're confident they will become an indispensable part of the living room."
Powerful Audio - 500 Watt, THX-Certified Speakers
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers offer 500 watts (RMS) of power, delivering thunderous audio that can shake your house. Logitech's newest speakers have met strict performance standards to achieve THX certification - so you can be sure that your entertainment will sound the way it was meant to.
For your Dolby digital or DTS encoded soundtracks, onboard 5.1 digital decoding enables detailed surround sound - from the roar of the crowd to the footsteps right behind you. If you love house-shaking bass, the ported, side-firing subwoofer delivers 165 watts of pure, distortion-free bass. And the Logitech Surround Sound Speakers convert two-channel stereo into an immersive surround sound experience.
Designed for the Living Room - Connect Up to Six Audio Devices
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 not only sound good, they are designed to fit into your existing living room setup. You can connect up to six audio devices simultaneously - including your TV, DVD, DVR, Blu-Ray player, Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii, iPod and even your PC or Mac laptop. And with its easy-to-read display and easy-to-stack design, the control console looks good with your home-entertainment system.
For your convenience, a wireless remote lets you control your listening experience without ever getting off the couch. And, wall-mountable satellites turn any room into a home theater.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in March 2011 for a suggested retail price of $349.99 (U.S.). Visit www.logitech.com or our blog for more information.
"We're delighted to offer consumers a successor to the highly acclaimed Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speaker System," said Mark Schneider, vice president and general manager of Logitech's audio business unit. "The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 are the logical evolution of surround sound speakers, and we're confident they will become an indispensable part of the living room."
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers offer 500 watts (RMS) of power, delivering thunderous audio that can shake your house. Logitech's newest speakers have met strict performance standards to achieve THX certification - so you can be sure that your entertainment will sound the way it was meant to.
For your Dolby digital or DTS encoded soundtracks, onboard 5.1 digital decoding enables detailed surround sound - from the roar of the crowd to the footsteps right behind you. If you love house-shaking bass, the ported, side-firing subwoofer delivers 165 watts of pure, distortion-free bass. And the Logitech Surround Sound Speakers convert two-channel stereo into an immersive surround sound experience.
Designed for the Living Room - Connect Up to Six Audio Devices
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 not only sound good, they are designed to fit into your existing living room setup. You can connect up to six audio devices simultaneously - including your TV, DVD, DVR, Blu-Ray player, Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii, iPod and even your PC or Mac laptop. And with its easy-to-read display and easy-to-stack design, the control console looks good with your home-entertainment system.
For your convenience, a wireless remote lets you control your listening experience without ever getting off the couch. And, wall-mountable satellites turn any room into a home theater.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z906 are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in March 2011 for a suggested retail price of $349.99 (U.S.). Visit www.logitech.com or our blog for more information.
129 Comments on Hear Every Detail: Logitech Unveils Theater-Quality Surround Sound Speakers
And I call BS on not being able to fit Small bookshelf speakers anyway. Where there's a will, there's a way. Get a different desk, buy some speaker stands, hang them on your wall anyway and just learn how to use Spackle and paint, or redneck engineer a solution.
There simply is no excuse to buy these speakers for this amount of money, period.
I've not met one person that actually set up thier speakers in the same fashion they are tested with. Usually testing involves placing mics in a "sweetspot" where the audio is near-perfect, and in most theatres, that spot just doesn't even exist.
Get this, the THX certifcation has nothing to do with theatre sound, even.:eek:
Did you catch that?And that is all THX means.
:shadedshu
yippie. Yahoo.:laugh:
Nuff said.
:laugh:
the theaters around me all have very good audio. clean and crisp and rarely too loud or too soft. also, the surround in most occasions punches through nicely. that being said, i can see how a lot of theaters lack the proper acoustics and equipment to match.
im a bit of an audiophile so im willing to spend a bit extra on a nice setup for our media room. i also am not willing to be raked over the coals though for great sound. it is amazing how simply doing a couple hours of research on sound design can stretch a budget. if any of you lived in my area i would invite you over for a screening of master and commander on bluray. you would think i spent $20,000 on the setup but that's not even close.
It's also possible these speakers can do a pretty good job...in the right environment. Chances are, it wasn't someone's messy bedroom they were "tested" in, either.
THX means minimal distortion, not distortion-free, so there's something to be said there.
Sure, the original standard of THX was quite good (in keeping with the equipment available at the time for most theatres/home users), negating the need for anything less than 40Hz was, in my opinion, just outrageous.
Since then (early 80's I believe, but I cannot find the link atm :/), the standard has been upgraded.
All it boils down to is:
1. the hearing of the user;
2. usage of the set-up in question (games/music/movies/mixture thereof/whatever);
3. cost of said equipment.
Most people will look at the dollar value long before anything else comes into the equation - we all know that.
The [semi]audiophiles amongst us know that *ANY* speaker-set designed for the PC will be crud to our delicate hearing (:p), but they *DO* fulfill a role in the market segment they cater to.
What matters then is how well they cater to this segment and I believe Logitech does so quite well.
As has been pointed out many times before, this may not be at a pre-conceived price-point, or even alluded to such, but it *DOES* fulfill its role for those using these PC set-ups.
Again.. an audiophile or music purist, wouldn't touch anything marketed as or designed for "PC/iPod user", as this is substandard, especially when mated to on-board sound.
For gaming, however, they do the job just nicely and that's all that matters to the consumer in the end.
One can talk endlessly about the pros & cons of PC sound and/or speaker-sets, but in the end the major players are targeting their segment of the market rather well, with equipment of acceptable quality for the roles they're meant to play.
If you want true audio-fidelity, you wouldn't even bother with this market segment, or speakers for that matter (outside of the sound-scape environment).
All a user can be recommended to do, is buy the best they can get for the PC and encourage the use of an EQ for personal listening pleasure :)
The brand of said equipment is, ultimately, of no real consequence at all.
Once again.. I agree with you on an audio level.
BUT!
For what they are AND the market they cater to, Logitech, Klipsch et al, do a decent enough job to cater to said market.
If you want true Fidelity.. why are you even looking here? ;)
And you still seem to be missing something here. These speakers cost $350. You can get "good enough for the gamer" for at least half of that. Sonically speaking, these offer no benefit over a much cheaper computer speaker set.
I'll say it again. There is no reason to buy these at this price. $200? Sure, worth every penny very likely. But for $350, they need to be offering much, much more than they are. Hell, these don't even have HDMI input. It's just unacceptable all the way around. They are severely price gouging.
These are in no way worth what they charge. That, by definition, makes them a piece of shit.
To begin with the sensitivity of this new set would have to be around that of the old set (>115Db & 33-20KHz - far outstripping your given example, but let's not get picky).
Home HiFi caters to a different market and this is what you fail to see.
Yes.. these Logitech speakers are a ridiculous price - we all agree on that, but at the same time, the market they cater to is willing to pay such a price, for whatever reason might miff you or me.
Such is as it is.4A actually, but point is certainly taken :)
Perhaps this seems clear as mud, when it's clear as day to me: HiFi is for the audio-sensitive people amongst us (yes.. this includes me).
PC-audio speakers is for the gamer's market, as was already pointed out by Mussels as well.
Never the twain shall meet ;)
And a gamer willing to pay the price for these makes them no less a shit product.
Gamers will continue to fork out outrageous sums of money for inferior products unless somebody continues to try to educate them, and points them in the right direction. At very least it will force manufacturers to lower their prices, but preferably, it will force the to release a higher quality product for the price. We need more of a push towards audio quality in the industry. We are desperately missing things like the ProMedia 5.1 sets, or the M Audio LX4 sets of yesteryear. Instead we pay similar prices for 1/3 the quality. It's sickening what companies like Logitech have done to the industry.
For every market, there's a customer willing to pay the price.
Anything beyond said market is, in all reality, quite academic.
Neither you nor me would pay such money for such a product, but the vast majority out there would, because *it sounds good* to them & it's easy to use & set up.
Regardless of what we might think, this is a good move (business-wise) by any company - be it Logitech, Klipsch or whomever.
Education is the key, but how many will be persuaded to "see the light" (for lack of a better phrase)?
You buy your PC, and your printer and whatever else and "oh.. are those speakers any good?".
"Yes sir, they will shake your house's foundations whilst playing WoW!".
"Awesomesaucenecessity! I'll take them too!"
Not..
"They're OK if you're stuck in a student's dorm, but in all reality.. you should go the shop xyw for a much better system that will shake your neighbourhood to its foundations, with clear resonance to boot".
Easy sale.
Been there.
Done that.
AND .. totally disagree with such methods, but such is the way it is :/
Well.. as Wile_E pointed out, for that price, the Z-5500 is quite acceptable indeed ;)
What makes them crappy is the price they command for their performance level.