Testing speakers is a tough chore. Since we are a gaming site, and not a precision audio equipment testing facility, don’t expect any fancy charts or numbers here. Our testing equipment consists of several PCs, competing speaker systems, and our home theater system for comparison.
We tested the Z-680 using a vareity of different media: PC Gaming, Console Gaming, CD-Audio, MP3, and DVD playback. Here’s a rundown of our testing hardware:
- Hercules DigiFire 7.1 Sound Card, PC Gaming, Direct Line and Optical connections tested
- Sony PlayStation 2, Console Gaming
- Sony DVP-S530D DVD Player w/ Digital Optical Out, Home Theater DVD playback
- Ricoh CD-RW/DVD Drive, PC DVD Playback w/ PowerDVD 5.1, CD Audio
The first test for the Z-680 was the DVD playback, while connected to a standard home theater system. Using my living room as a testing ground, I connected the Z-680 to my DVD player using a single digital optical cable, set the DVD to DTS mode, and the Z-680 automatically detected the input source. Overall, the surround sound effects of the Z-680 were very good with the matched satellites and center channel speaker, while the subwoofer delivered solid bass. The speaker wires were long enough to accomodate my living room, but your experience may vary, depending on the price of real estate in your area. At maximum volume, the Z-680 system is loud, and can fill a large room with sound if needed. For a small living room, or compact home theater system, the Z-680′s performance cannot be matched. While it could not compete with my dedicated home theater sound system in terms of raw room-shattering volume, the sound quality was excellent.
Moving the system into the office, we found the Z-680 more than powerful enough for the smaller environment. With the speakers placed properly around the computer desk, PowerDVD 5.1 was loaded, and the same DVD titles were played on the PC. Here the Z-680 was at home, and the smaller room proved to be a better listening environment for the movies, and we were forced to turn the volume down or face permanent hearing loss. The subwoofer was powerful enough to cause eratic movement of the optical mouse on a nearby table, and shake the various toys scattered around the office. I did notice that the Z-680′s subwoofer had much better bass control than the earlier Z-560 subwoofer, and allowed for a wider range of tuning. This should ease the pain of the listeners that don’t like overly “boomy” bass. Connecting the system to the PC could not get any easier, with the option of using the optical cable or the direct line input.
After running the movies through the system, we switched to PC gaming, and again the Z-680 proved to be a worthy contender. Everything we threw at it, from flight sims to strategy to first person shooters, the sound quality was outstanding. At even the loudest usable volume levels, the Z-680 was crystal clear, and free of distortion. Pushing the volume to insane levels yielded some distortion, but also great amounts of pain. Remember kids, hearing loss is permanent. It has been said before, but we’ll say it again; with today’s kick ass graphics, sound is just as important to the mood of the game, and a system like the Z-680′s takes PC gaming to a whole new level.
Music was the final test for the Z-680′s in our lab, and their performance was outstanding. The system is powerful, with excellent satellites and that awesome subwoofer for pounding, relentless bass. If you like your music to rattle the walls, the 680 can do it. Prefer a more mellow sound? Adjust the bass down a little, and the 680′s deliver clean, crisp sound. The wireless remote gives the system the freedom to act as a stereo system for a small party in the dorms, along with the coolness factor of having a remote for your PC. I listen to pretty much all kinds of music, and the Z-680 handles them all with ease. Rap, metal, classical, it all sounds good. Except country music. For some reason I wanted to bash my head into the wall when country music played, but I don’t think that was flaw of the 680′s.
After several weeks of listening to the Z-680′s, one thing is certain. This is the best PC speaker system available. Given the feature set, sound quality, and amazing price, nothing on the market even comes close. There are other 5.1 solutions on the market, but none of them come with this much power, and the Control Center’s hardware decoding capabilities can’t be touched by systems in this price range. Logitech has engineered a PC speaker system that simply outclasses all others on the market. Whether you play games, watch movies, or enjoy loud music, the Z-680 system can do it all, and do it damn well, too. My complaints on the system are purely cosmetic, give me some glow in the dark buttons on the remote and I’m happy. Now back to that game of Battlefield 1942.
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