Logitech Z-2200 Review

Who needs 5.1?

by Josh Walrath

Music

            Throughout testing one thing became very clear; these are very neutral sounding speakers.  They are not too peaky or bright, and they are definitely not too boomy or sloppy.  What is produced by these speakers is very smooth, and very pleasant to listen to.  The one thing that does come to mind when listening though is power.  The subwoofer lets itself be known in the pieces that accentuate the low end.  The satellites feature a nice, tight sound with excellent representation.  If the user wants, they can boost the subwoofer levels through the roof, and only at very high levels will it sound strained (though the user’s ears will be bleeding by then).

            In pieces with a lot of complex vocal aspects, these speakers do very well.  The stiff driver design with the phase plug create a very rich sounding environment that is not harsh on the ears.  Some computer speakers can cause some serious ear fatigue, but in listening to hours of music, this never happened.  In other pieces that feature piano performances, these speakers can reproduce nearly every nuance of this complex instrument.  It never sounded muddled, and the sounds always came out very clear and distinct.

The large 8" woofer really pushes out the bass.  Explosions will sound as they never have before...

            Even though these are not two way satellites, the phase plug allows the 3” driver to more accurately reproduce the high end of the frequency spectrum.  This is achieved by removing the “dead” mass at the center of the driver, all the while helping to focus the sound coming off of the driver towards the user (and not towards the other side of the speaker).  This plug essentially allows the mid-range driver to reproduce tweeter effects to a great degree.  While a tweeter would have perhaps given these satellites a brighter sound, as well as helped overall imaging some, it is cheaper for Logitech to only include one driver.  Still, these speakers do not suffer from poor high end reproduction.  The decision to exclude a tweeter was not a bad one in this case.

            There is no background noise with these speakers, and definitely none of the hiss that the early Z-680’s suffered from.  The analog input was very clean, and it was able to reproduce the sound with great accuracy.

            There was not one piece of music played on this setup that sounded off or underrepresented (or overrepresented for that matter).  These speakers are clean when it comes to music.  In a larger room it was easily able to fill it with sound without going past the halfway mark on the volume control.  Nearly everywhere in the room was basked in good sounding music, even off-axis and far away.  This is where the 200 watts of power come into play.

            Imaging is not the strong suite of these speakers though.  The soundstage really blooms when the user is on-axis and between the main speakers.  Once a user moves out of this sweet spot, the soundstage disappears.  The sweet spot is very small with these speakers, and while it is not a big problem with a user in front of their computer, it may be a bit more of a problem if these speakers are used as a standalone set in a large room.  The sweet spot can be accentuated by keeping the speakers slightly farther apart, as well as rotated inwards.  Still, this is the weakest feature of this product. 

Movies

            These speakers are exceptionally clear at reproducing dialogue, as well as action, in a wide variety of movies.  In movies, with a good software DVD player, the soundstage is much improved over the music section.  Surround effects are well represented when a good sound card is used.  Even when there is a lot of action and music on screen, dialogue is never drowned out, nor does it get muddy or indistinct.

            The lack of any kind of hiss also helps in playback, as the softer, more subtle scenes draw the viewer into the movie.  If a nasty hiss is present, this suspension of reality is not nearly so complete.  The satellites do an outstanding job of reproduction.

            When the action gets heavy, the subwoofer really kicks in.  The bass is tight and strong, and it will make a user’s chest thump if the content calls for it.  Low end effects can really help to heighten the tension of a scene, as well as help to expand the overall environment.  The subwoofer on these speakers is able to handle nearly every explosive scene thrown at it.  Never once did it sound like the subwoofer bottomed out, or sound strained, or even chuffed.  The ported design is surprisingly quiet, considering in other designs I have heard quite clearly the air moving in and out.

The remote is compact, and pretty self explanatory.  The headphone jack is at the very bottom.

            Overall, for a 2.1 set of speakers, these turned out to be quite good for movie reproduction.  Though a true movie buff would want to invest in the Z-680s, the Z-2200s more than hold their own when it comes to sound reproduction. 

Games

            This is probably the area where these speakers excel the most.  The use of 3D surround technology in games is aimed mainly for two speaker reproduction.  EAX, A3D, and DS3D all allow for HRTF effects in game environments, and these effects fool the ear and brain into thinking that sound comes from above/below/behind, all the while using just headphones or two speakers.

            The satellites are very clear in gaming, and their mid-bass is very present, but not overpowering.  High frequency sounds are usually not present in most games, so the lack of a tweeter here does not affect gaming performance one bit.  The satellites are able to provide excellent sound in a variety of gaming situations, and the ability to accurately reproduce the HRTF effects makes for a very immersive experience.

            The subwoofer really gets a workout from many of the new action games, and it keeps asking for more.  In titles such as Battlefield Vietnam, the subwoofer plays a very large part in the action.  Guns, bombs, tanks, and fighter aircraft all utilize the low frequencies to great effect.

            In titles like Doom 3, which relies more on 5.1 channel sound, the effect is not nearly as impressive.  Still, it does feature EAX technology, so there are some surround and environmental effects.

            Perhaps one of the most impressive games to listen to is the old Counter Strike.  The bass and midrange punch of some of these weapons can certainly open one’s eyes.  Turning up the volume and letting off a clip on the MP5 makes a very resounding thump.  The AWP sounds like thunder.  All in all, it gets the user’s attention.

Next: Conclusion

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