Logitech Z623 THX 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer, THX Certified Audio, 400 Watts Peak Power, Deep Bass, Multi Device, 3.5mm & RCA Inputs, UK Plug, PC/PS4/Xbox/DVD Player/TV/Smartphone/Tablet, Black

Been eyeing these up for some time, watching 'em hover above and below the £120 mark. Soon as I saw them for £85, I knew it was now or never. They're a replacement for some 12 year Logitechs, that still work well to this day, but maybe time for an update. I was certainly not going to waste my money on Trust products either (made that mistake twice in the past). No, it was Logitech or nothing at all. It's the only company I trust with my 2.1 PC/PS4 sound set up. They've never let me down in the past twenty years or so.What can I say, the moment I heard Goldfrapps' thumpy 'train', I was sold there and then. William Orbits rave version of Barbers Adagio for strings has almost the power and intensity you'd expect from a full sized amp and big speakers.It must be stated however, your PC's sound card needs to be 'good enough' to get the most of these speakers. I have that base covered, but if you have to make do with a basic onboard sound card, just don't expect 'perfection'. A good selection of 320kbs mp3s or flacs is also a must. I have the volume on the speakers and bass level set at the half way level, with pc volume control maintaining overall sound level. I don't faff around with equalizers. I guess the sound could be better with one, but it's good enough.Playstation 4 - wow, now were talking. In Dirt Rally 2, you can almost feel the hum of the car engines while waiting to race. And then in motion, wow, you can hear every particle of gravel grind under your tires, screeching of tires around RX events, billowing engines as you push the accelerator down, and just the overall level of immersion you get from these speakers is unreal. Doom - that bass, wow, the plasma rifle practically hums also you burn up the undead, shotgun blasts and rocket launches are more satisfying, and ooh, the heavy assault rifle almost has a life of its own as you tear them demon mofos to shreds. Nex Machina - a new way to play this Robotron inspired arcade shooter, with boomy explosions, and the lovely trance like techno tunes having added power and a buzz to them.BTW, I have male/female 3.5mm leads in the back of my pc and monitor headphone socket (for the ps4), so just a case of the connecting the logitechs 3.5mm male to the female lead of whichever device I'm using.Do I really need to go on? I'm sure more technically minded audiophiles will find ways to pick apart these glorious speakers. Let them, I know what I like, and I bought many computer speakers in the past (BTW not just for PCs and Playstations, connect these to the head phone socket of your TV, and prepare to smile!), and to my earsat least, these are smoking.Sadly some negatives. The packaging for these things, while firmly secured, was a nightmare to unbox. In the end, I had to literally rip the encasing box, and the main product box to pieces, to get everything out. Add to that, lots of cellotape seals to peal off. There were no real instructions how to set things up, just some multi-lingual warranty leaflet crap I threw in the bin. But setting up was easy with labels on the back of subwoofer where everything connects. Bass is controlled by the right satellite. I'm not sure about this, wouldn't this extra electronics contribute to noise?The cables were of adequate length, but the ~6ft cable for the left satellite was a little too taut for my liking stretching above my PC on the floor, and across the corner of my desk. I had to order a phono extension cable to give it a bit more slack. Not a big deal, but...The speakers also make a decent headphone amp through the side of the right satellite, but I notice on the PS4 for a bit or early hours gaming, a slight humming sound in my headphones. It goes away during the play, but still a little annoying that it's there. I hear a similar effect from my big amp and speakers at the weekend, when I connect my PC for projector movies, that occurs after shutting my pc down. So, who knows...The positives definitely trounce the negatives, so not a deal breaker. I was reticent to replace my 12 year old Logitechs, but these new ones I think are the best I've ever owned. Logitech delivers the goods once again. Never in doubt.Go get 'em while they're cheap!

I've owned a set of these speakers for about three days and felt I had to post a review because I love them soooo much !!I own a 27 " quadcore imac, which I love, but whilst the inbuilt speakers are OK for general low level listening, especially late at night...they are not much good for anything else (they do give a surprisingly good stereo image, but bass is non-existent and Apple really should build in something far better to preserve their image and reputation for what is already an overpriced PC !!!).I wanted sound to compliment the specs of the rest of my system. I also wanted sound that was sublime for music, films and games. As far as I'm concerned, in this tech-age, this was not a big ask. However, when I researched my wishes, I was confounded by how the reviews for each product could vary quite widely. I didn't just read the reviews on Amazon, but I also read reviews from magazines et al that were posted on the net. At least two of these reviews almost deterred me from buying the Z623s. Of course many other reviews on Amazon encouraged me to consider them strongly !!! The reviews that put me off suggested the speakers were great for TV, films and games but poorly balanced for music. However, when I noticed a market place seller on Amazon advertising this system in used condition but with a 3 month warranty at virtually a third of the Amazon price, it was a no-brainer to buy them (as everything else I considered also had at least two poor reviews also, but at a much higher price !!!).The speakers look ok-ish...I'm not a great fan of the shape of the satellites and the 'Logitech' logo on the left speaker doesn't compare to the more impressive THX logos which feature on both speakers. Apart from the shape (which could be something that only I dislike...a question of personal taste) the speakers do look expensive and substantially made. The subwoofer is not overly large, so it's ideal if space is at a premium and again its construction looks substantial and expensive.As far as performance goes, I will cover: TV, film and game performance first. Basically faultless. So many expensive flat screen TVs these days boast superb picture quality but come with absolutely pathetic speakers. If you are the owner of such a TV, add these speakers to your screen and you will be in dreamland. Similarly add them to a DVD player or games system (PS3, Xbox 360 etc) and you will be more than satisfied. Of course you may want to go for a 5.1 surround sound system (understandable as I also have one of these but downstairs with my TV) and I am only rating this system for those of you who want a 2.1 system. I wouldn't compare it with 5.1 systems, although I would suggest that you will achieve similar clout and ambience here with far less hassle (took me ages to balance my 5.1 system properly !!!)I have covered TV, film and game performance first because I have not found a review of the Z623s that in any way suggests it is a poor performer in these areas. I will now cover music performance of these speakers and in more detail, as this is the area in which some reviews have down-rated this system.Firstly, I will state that I am not an audiophile, but I am very fussy as far as sound quality of audio is concerned. The main type of music I listen to is 70s progressive rock (please don't yawn !!!!), however, my musical taste is very wide and also takes in drum n' bass, dance music (R&B Ibiza etc etc), top 30 chart music, folk, classical and pretty much everything else except for maybe trad jazz. I listen to my music mostly from apple lossless files on itunes (created from my personal CD collection), 320 kbps mp3 files downloaded onto itunes, anything on youtube that takes my fancy, 'spotify' with high-streaming quality (and of course 'progstreaming' !!! LOL). I use the equalizer on itunes to perfect the final sound output but I do not tailor the sound from youtube or spotify (hopefully though, spotify will have an equalizer for mac soon as there is one for windows....). Music from all these sources sounds equally good...Drum n' bass, chart music, dance music of any description is again a no-brainer with this system, you will love it !!! Pleasingly for me (at least !!) prog rock also sounds superb, folk and even classical music sounds as it should with this system. I am also relieved to add that all types of music sound superb at low level as well as at loud volumes. I guess the louder volumes sound slightly better , but I am certain that would be the case with any system I listen to. The soundstage oozes quality and is incredibly well balanced, whether at high or low volume. At high volume you will make the house vibrate whether dance music or heavy metal is your vibe - easily loud enough for any serious party. At low levels you will still hear a beautifully balanced soundstage that sounds immaculate. Whilst I repeat that I'm not an audiophile, anyone who has reviewed this system as being poorly balanced with music, needs their ears washing out !!! Some have stated it sounds tinny at low volume with low bass - this is definitely not the case. I have been dipping into my music collection with renewed vigour since I have bought the Z623s, as everything sounds soooo good !!! Most tracks I listen to I want to repeat again and again, as I enjoy hearing them in this sublime Z623 rendition so much !!! I would add that it didn't take long to set up a good sound stage either. I recommend positioning the sub somewhere underneath the two satellites and more essentially make certain that the port on the sub is close to a wall.If you place the sats on your desk, the control for volume and bass level is always within reach, which is ideal, but I have anyway found that even though I flit between differing musical genres and programme sources, I rarely need to adjust things once I have decided the volume level appropriate for any particular audio session. There is an extra 3.5 input with the system and also an RCA phono input, which makes it all the more flexible. (I also use the system for recording music from guitar and keyboard into garageband on my imac - again it is great !!!)There has been a question of reliability raised with some reviews. My second-hand pair perform superbly. I will update my review immediately should any fault develop with them - so take it as read that my used pair are still working fine unless an update is added to this review !!I will conclude by saying that if you live in a flat or even a semi-d these may not be the ideal speakers as far as your neighbours are concerned !!! If you can't resist turning them up, they will disturb your neighbours badly. Whilst I live in a detached house, I have to trim the volume and bass levels when the wife is in !!! My preferred sound levels would never disturb the neighbours but they can easily resonate throughout the whole house even at modest volume levels (which annoys her !!!). That's why I'm glad to contradict the odd bad review and confirm that audio still sounds the bizzo at lower volumes, so I can listen to my Z623s in peace literally.....