RThe E:The 9. Logitech Z520
First and foremost, DO NOT BUY THESE. Yes, they look nice, but that's only without the grills. They are fingerprint magnets and, more importantly, sound HORRIBLE. At around $130, these are ridiculously overpriced. I bought them expecting them sound not much unlike my Z10s, as they are now Logitech's flagship 2.0s just as the Z10s were four years ago. They have a large soundstage, mainly due to a feature called 360 degree sound, but--trust me--this not sound you want to hear. Distortion is a mess. Avoid these like the plague.
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Well, I bought these recently. As a non-audiophile (I have some Grado sr80i's, and that's as high as I go), I am pleased with them. I recommend them to people looking for decent sounding 2.0 speakers for computer/portable use.
I agree completely that $130 is overpriced, but now that it is 2012, bestbuy.com is selling them for $80 (I think they are re-furbished), which is much more reasonable. The build quality is solid, they are heavier than you would think and seem like they will last for a few years at least. They come with a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer. I appreciate the option with the removable grills. At this point I prefer them on, they do not hinder the sound. The headphone jack and line out jack on the side are great too and convenient.
On the sound: I have no idea what the reviewer had these hooked up to, but I disgree about the distortion. I am using these with an ipod classic 80gig (sometimes with an old apple ipod dock with a line out), apple laptop , or a Sony portable CD player. With playing portable players plugged in, they have been sounding great. There CAN be distortion, based on the recordings played (some recordings are more compressed/less dynamic than others), or the volume levels of the source (the computer would be more of an issue here), and it seems the Equalizer settings on the players can also play a part in distortion. With some music I noticed it is better to leave the equalizer flat, especially if the recording has less dynamic range. They do get plenty loud without having to turn the knob nearly all the way up, though. Overall, I have not had any incurable distortion problems.
The sound is great to my ears, and I would recommend them as speakers for music (that's what I bought them for) in a single room that you do not want a loud subwoofer to shake the walls. There is plenty enough low-end bass to satisfy for music listening in the vicinity of the speakers, though ( unless you have to feel your ass vibrate from the bass to enjoy your music). I appreciate the simplicity of not having a subwoofer, for my space at least. For speakers of this size, they have very large sound.
I have not had these long, and are still breaking in, but even at this point I am pleased with my music on these. They sound great, dammit.
tags or whatever: logitech z520 2.0 speakers