Logitech Z Cinema 2.1 speakers

[TheRob]

Anyone using these speakers with a Vista MC setup?

I'm particularly interested in how the Logitech software works with Media Center, ie. does the Logitech up pop up any annoying messages in MC when you change settings? Also, how good is the remote for VMC compared with the MCE one?

[vlad]

No central speaker?
Are you sure?

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by vlad

No central speaker?
Are you sure?

No, I'm not.

But I don't really watch a lot of movies. I mainly watch FTA TV and listen to music. So I'm just after an easy solution that gives me good sound quality for this. I currently split the analogue audio signal from my HTPC and send it to both the TV and my 30 year old stereo amp. I use the TV sound for TV, and the amp for music. The Z Cinema looked like a fairly simply way to get better sound for minimal cost (~$350). Simple connection via USB, and by all accounts the sound is pretty good for music playback - which is my main criteria.

The other thing I liked was the single remote for VMC and the audio. I know this can be done with a Harmony, but better sound + harmony remote for ~$350. Is there any other solutions that fit that bill?

Other criteria are that it needs to be very unobtrusive. WAF will not reach necessary level if there are big black speakers all over the lounge room, or wires going everywhere (hiding rear speaker cables would be difficult).

So main audio considerations for me are good sound when playing music, and intelligible speach when watching TV. I know the DSP-generated fake surround sound stuff doesn't hold a candle to a decent 5.1 system, but I'm not that interested in that aspect so much.

A 3.1 system might fit the bill for what I'm after, but I haven't found one that looks half decent in my (very low) price range - not to mention the remote issue.

[ExtremePC]

Originally Posted by TheRob

No, I'm not.

But I don't really watch a lot of movies. I mainly watch FTA TV and listen to music. So I'm just after an easy solution that gives me good sound quality for this. I currently split the analogue audio signal from my HTPC and send it to both the TV and my 30 year old stereo amp. I use the TV sound for TV, and the amp for music. The Z Cinema looked like a fairly simply way to get better sound for minimal cost (~$350). Simple connection via USB, and by all accounts the sound is pretty good for music playback - which is my main criteria.

The other thing I liked was the single remote for VMC and the audio. I know this can be done with a Harmony, but better sound + harmony remote for ~$350. Is there any other solutions that fit that bill?

Other criteria are that it needs to be very unobtrusive. WAF will not reach necessary level if there are big black speakers all over the lounge room, or wires going everywhere (hiding rear speaker cables would be difficult).

So main audio considerations for me are good sound when playing music, and intelligible speach when watching TV. I know the DSP-generated fake surround sound stuff doesn't hold a candle to a decent 5.1 system, but I'm not that interested in that aspect so much.

A 3.1 system might fit the bill for what I'm after, but I haven't found one that looks half decent in my (very low) price range - not to mention the remote issue.

doesn't your TV have built in speakers, why not just leave it at that.

[gehenna]

for around the same price you can get a logitech 5.1 system...just hook up 2 speakers and a sub if you only want 2.1, but at least you have the option of going 5.1 if you wanted to start watching more movies...

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by ExtremePC

doesn't your TV have built in speakers, why not just leave it at that.

Yes it does, but it's pretty cr@p sound. I wouldn't be considering a change, though, if were just that. My current stereo amp is on the way out so I'm mulling over what options are available to replace it. I could just buy another stereo amp that has remote functionality and then buy a Harmony remote to replace my current MCE remote and the one that would come with the amp. This is a viable solution, but the Z Cinema solution seemed a bit simpler and neater to me. Hence the questions on whether anyone had experience of this system.

Because the Z Cinema system automatically turns on and off with the PC, I can disable the TV sound and use the Z Cinema as the audio output for everything. I can also acheive this with a universal remote and a remote-enabled stereo amp, but this would appear to be a bit more of a hassle to set up and may ultimately cost more.

So given that I'm shortly going to have to make a decision re music amplifier, I am canvassing my options re a single solution for TV sound and music.

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by gehenna

for around the same price you can get a logitech 5.1 system...just hook up 2 speakers and a sub if you only want 2.1, but at least you have the option of going 5.1 if you wanted to start watching more movies...

But does the system come with a remote that can control VMC? It's not that I only want a 2.1 system, it's just that I have a limited budget and specific needs re ease of use (ie. single remote for everything, unobtrusive system and no rear wiring). Sound quality is important - particularly for music - but it must be packaged in the right way.

[ExtremePC]

Originally Posted by TheRob

Yes it does, but it's pretty cr@p sound. I wouldn't be considering a change, though, if were just that. My current stereo amp is on the way out so I'm mulling over what options are available to replace it. I could just buy another stereo amp that has remote functionality and then buy a Harmony remote to replace my current MCE remote and the one that would come with the amp. This is a viable solution, but the Z Cinema solution seemed a bit simpler and neater to me. Hence the questions on whether anyone had experience of this system.

Because the Z Cinema system automatically turns on and off with the PC, I can disable the TV sound and use the Z Cinema as the audio output for everything. I can also acheive this with a universal remote and a remote-enabled stereo amp, but this would appear to be a bit more of a hassle to set up and may ultimately cost more.

So given that I'm shortly going to have to make a decision re music amplifier, I am canvassing my options re a single solution for TV sound and music.

Your requirement/limitations pretty much exclude any suggestion we can come up with. As a side note 2.1 systems are mostly a croc. The sub is usually included because the two main speakers are so small that you get no mid range, then they go and set the sub cutoff too high to make up for the lack of mid which usually turns everything into the sound of mud so to compensate for the mud the little main speakers with no mid are set so that everything is very "bright" and "tinkly" to drown out the midrange mud.

Then you get the high end 2.1's which are faithfull to what they can actually do and you end up with crystal clear highs, just enough lows and bugger all to nothing in the midrange, which is where most TV audio lives and yet you still pay a small fortune for them.

My only advice would be to go shopping at Cash Converters / trading Post / Ebay or the like and pick up a medium sized pair of fronts with good midrange and highs (together this is where 90% of audio lives), forget a sub all together. At the same time get as cheap an OK brand stereo amp as you can find (I dont mean AMP/Reciever I mean just a stereo amp), sure its going to cost $300 - $500 but you're going to get the best possible sound you can on that budget without paying for "frills" you don't need.

[TheRob]

Originally Posted by ExtremePC

Your requirement/limitations pretty much exclude any suggestion we can come up with.

Yes. But if you look at my original post, I was mainly asking if anyone had experience with these speakers from a usability point of view .

As for the sound quality, I'm aware that 2.1 solutions usually suffer in the way that you describe. However, reviews I've read of the Z Cinema system suggest that they are a cut above the average in terms of overall sound quality. This is why I'm considering these. The major gripes from reviewers tend to be the way the supplied software (necessary to make them work properly) intrudes on the playback application and Vista desktop, and the fact that the remote is complicated. I haven't been able to find any specific info on how the software works with VMC, though.

Thanks for you comments and suggestions, though.

[vlad]

Originally Posted by TheRob

Anyone using these speakers with a Vista MC setup?

I'm particularly interested in how the Logitech software works with Media Center, ie. does the Logitech up pop up any annoying messages in MC when you change settings? Also, how good is the remote for VMC compared with the MCE one?

Actually, if you will decide to get these, please tell us what the experiences like.
I need to replace my gaming PC speakers, and these look good for it

[ExtremePC]

Originally Posted by TheRob

Yes. But if you look at my original post, I was mainly asking if anyone had experience with these speakers from a usability point of view .

As for the sound quality, I'm aware that 2.1 solutions usually suffer in the way that you describe. However, reviews I've read of the Z Cinema system suggest that they are a cut above the average in terms of overall sound quality. This is why I'm considering these. The major gripes from reviewers tend to be the way the supplied software (necessary to make them work properly) intrudes on the playback application and Vista desktop, and the fact that the remote is complicated. I haven't been able to find any specific info on how the software works with VMC, though.

Thanks for you comments and suggestions, though.

Oh, I'm sure that Logitech have made sure that the highs and lows are of impecable quality, my argument against them is not no that they suffer lesser quality but rather that they are not capable of producing midrage. No amount of electronic or programatical "trickery" is going to reproduce air movement at midrage frequencies without a driver designed for midrage frequencies period.

The figures speak for themselves, from the Logitech website;

Subwoofer: 110 watts RMS (into 4 ohms, @ 45Hz)
Midwoofer: 26 watts RMS x 2 (into 4 ohms, @ 335Hz)
Tweeter: 9 watts RMS x 2 (into 16 ohms, @ 17.4khz)

45 and 335 Hz are both low end bass, 17.4Khz is almost at the end of the audio spectrum for human hearing which is about 20Khz for young people and rolls off downwards as you get older down to about 10-12Khz. The figures represent the peak "best" these speakers can achieve for each driver, namely the Subwoofer, Midwoofer and Tweeter. Nowhere are there any figures to represent midranger audio of aprox 900Hz to 8Khz so it is assumed that the audio produced at these frequencies are rolled off at a loss of output power down from 17.4Khz and up from 335Hz. So realisticlly what you get is very good quality doof-doof and very good quality tinkle-tinkle with muted and subdued everything else including the voice spectrum of 3.5 - 6 Khz.