Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

I had a great 2.1 Harman/Kardon stereo desktop system with a large powered subwolfer for a long time. Last year, I added a creative 5.1 sound card to my PC build which allowed me to get the most out of my 2.1 system. This Fathers Day, my wife asked what I wanted and I knew it was time to upgrade to a 5.1 surround sound system. The Logitech X-540 system got great reviews, had the watts I wanted and was the right price. Set up went smoothly and after a reboot, I was able to adjust my creative 5.1 sound card software to get the most out of the new system. My first impressions are mostly positive.The pros are:- The sound is crisp and clean which I thought tinny at first until I adjusted my sound card graphics equalizer. I'll let the sound pros on the other reviews discuss the details. Overall, I like the sound quality which is just right for a PC system. As other reviews have noted, the bass is also good. I'm still playing with the frequency crossover on my sound card software so I don't have it dialed in quite yet.- The rotating speaker stands are genus; you can rotate to stand on the desk or rotate to hang on the wall. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the center speaker fit snugly on the monitor and isn't in danger of falling off.- The speakers appear to be well constructed and don't buzz when you dial up the volume.- I really like the wired remote which allows you to adjust the volume, turn on/off, adjust the bass and to use a matrix button for PC's that lack a 5.1 surround sound card. My previous system had the power switch on the subwolfer and was hard to get too; most of the time, I left the power on.- I like the fact that Logitech uses RCA cords rather than speaker wire for each speaker.The cons are:- As other reviews have noted, the cords are too short. I planned ahead for the satellite speakers and purchased a 25' extension cable to hang the rear right/left speakers on the opposite wall but the front right/left speaker cords should be 8' not 6'. The center wire was 8' and just right.- There isn't a speaker grill on the bottom of the subwolfer. Yes, the subwolfer sits on the floor and is downward firing. However, if you should pick the subwolfer up to move it for some reason, there is the tendancy to reach too far under it and poke the speaker with a finger.Overall Impressions:- I think many of the negative reviews for this system are because they don't have a 5.1 sound card. I wouldn't have bought a surround sound system without one. I moved my 2.1 system to my wife's PC which doesn't have a sound card and it isn't the same.- I don't think I would use this system for a TV (no special reason just a preference). While this system works great for a PC, I prefer a larger system for my TV. I currently have an older, more powerful Sony shelf surround sound system that works great with my directv receiver, Wei, and DVD player.- Once I hang the rear speakers on the opposite wall, I hope to be able to enjoy a true surround sound experience (still waiting for my extension cables). Even without the speaker separation, the system still sounds great.

I needed 5.1 surround sound to play Skyrim, 2.1 speakers just won't do it for that game on Windows 7. I decided on these even though they are not the newest out there, but neither is my system. These give great, clear sound throughout the range. I am using an older audio card, Audigy 2, and had to install the latest drivers to get these to perform properly with Win 7, but they are really excellent.The wired remote is fine, good volume and bass control at your fingertips. I don't use the headphone jack but I did test it and it worked as expected. There is a mode to emulate 5.1 with a stereo source. I tried this out and it actually sounded very good.Mine are mounted as follows: fronts alongside my monitor, center on top of monitor, bass on the bottom shelf of my computer stand under my printer, and the rear speakers mounted on the ceiling about 5 feet behind me. Had to drill the speaker base and use screw anchors for the ceiling mount--the rears are designed for wall mount but the modification wasn't very hard to do. The wires for the rears are 14 feet long, so I purchased 10 foot extension cables for a few bucks (cheaper here than at Radio Shack) and I fished the wires through the ceiling. Measure where you plan to locate the rears and allow for going up the wall etc. The sound is really immersive this way.I use mid range volume and so do not experience any fade or distortion. Actually, when set at half volume the sound is way too loud for me. A true audiophile might detect some loss compared to a more expensive set of speakers but my guess is that most users won't. I am so glad I got these and I highly recommend them to anyone who needs 5.1 speakers and doesn't want to spend a fortune. Prompt delivery, two days early, even with slowest free shipping. You can't go wrong.

I really like these speakers because they provide very decent sound (and volume) for the price. One word of caution, though. The subwoofer speaker is mounted on the outside bottom of the subwoofer cabinet, so be careful when you lift it that you don't put your fingers through the speaker. I would have liked to see some protection covering that speaker, but it still wasn't enough to take away a star.Since I do a lot of audio work, I was looking for these speakers to give me a good auditory experience. You won't be able to use these to mix down a commercial CD, but they do provide good clean sound. The key is to find a good balance between the overall volume and the sub volume. The wired remote makes this easy, but since no two songs are mixed the same, you may have to adjust this balance more than once. The matrix button can make things overly bright (naturally, because you just popped 2 high end drivers into the array), but again, you can often balance that with more sub (or less overall) to get a decent mix.I did find that the front speaker wires were shorter than they should be, but that only hurt me with the right front speaker. I just swapped the right front and left rear speakers (rear have longer wires) and the problem was solved without having to buy extension cables. Just make sure you plug the speakers into the correct jacks if you use this solution.So my real rating would probably be 4 1/2 stars, taking away 1/2 for the exposed sub driver and short front speaker wires. But the quality and volume I get out this package was well worth the price, so I decided to round up. These speakers were a pleasant surprise.Update 01/19/2013After recommending these to a friend, I noticed the price had increased substantially. I purchased these in 2010 for approx $89 US, so they were a great value for the price. Seeing them selling for over $200, I would not rate them so high for that price. This doesn't change my opinion of the sound quality for general listening, but I would have expected a higher level of manufacturing quality and better sound controls for over $200.