Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System--2.1 Speakers Review

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(More customer reviews)Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System--2.1 Speakers
Logitech's Z Cinema Advanced speaker system is an incredibly designed high performance product. I own several Logitech speaker products, as well as others by Creative Creative GigaWorks T20 2.0 Speakers, Altec Lansing Altec Lansing FX5051 5.1 powered speaker system with USB connection, Klipsch Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System (Black), Harmon Kardon Harmon Kardon SoundStick II 3 Piece Speaker System, and others. I can honestly say, this is a very impressive unit that is well designed for its task. If you have a media center PC setup, this set will make you very happy. Not only is the speaker system ridiculously powerful, the included software is a huge improvement over previous Logitech entries. The included remote rounds out the system and puts virtually all your audio and video applications at your fingertips.
This speaker system will fill a key market niche. The integrated satellite speaker and subwoofer design has more components than meet the eye. Each one-piece satellite speaker has an integrated mid-woofer and tweeter. So these are much more than traditional 2.1 bookshelf speakers. And when you position the speakers as directed and turn on the software surround sound, the sound quality coming out of these approach that of 5.1 systems.
Pros
+ Control your media center PC with a great all-in-one solution and awesome remote
+ Great performing speakers with a ridiculous 35 watts of RMS power per channel, 180 total RMS output
+ Beautiful black and silver speaker and body design
+ Two tweeters and mid-woofers deliver surprisingly crisp sound with or without surround
+ 110 watt subwoofer is simply monstrous and easily fills large rooms with good acoustics
+ Awesome included remote with media center controls and great features
+ Nice integrated support for apps like iTunes, WinAMP, RealPlayer, Yahoo Jukebox, Pandora and Picasa
+ Remote can be configured to work with any multimedia app or to launch a different media player
+ Very sturdy cables and housing are designed to last a long time
+ Power converter integrated into subwoofer so you can connect with a regular power cable
+ Good looking orange back-lit volume and surround indicators on the right speaker
+ Very nice price point for fully integrated media center speaker system and controls
+ USB cable connection is clean and easy - requires on-board port connection
+ Included standard ports for headphones and auxiliary connections (3.5 mm)
+ Simple instructions and plug and play performance for basic use
+ Very modest hardware, hard-drive space and memory requirements for Logitech software
+ True 24 bit digital audio
+ hardware warranty
Cons
- Perhaps overly sleek minimal design could have been improved with physical power and volume controls
- Very heavy system requires extreme caution and should be installed with care and help if needed
- No simple volume controls on the remote, instead included in adjustment wheel
- Would have been ideal to include a few more ports, such as HDMI and S-Video, on the subwoofer
- Satellite speaker cables, while very thick, could have been longer for more configuration options
- No real expandability of the system is apparent; no obvious ports for other satellites or devices
- Many people still demand RF remote capability, this one is only IR
- Those who don't need the remote for Media Center PCs may opt for 5.1 systems at this price
Installation
Installing this guy is simple based upon the included quick start guide. What's cool is that even before the Logitech software is installed, once you make your connections and turn it on it's automatically recognized as a regular speaker system. You don't need Windows Media Center for this to work as a speaker system. This is awesome, and amazingly a lot of the Media Center buttons still work too.
But just note that in order to really take advantage of this guy you will want a Media Center capable PC, with either XP MCE Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B for System Builders, Vista Premium Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 or Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 installed.
Installing the Logitech software allows you to have desktop control of the speaker settings, including enabling surround sound. It also allows you to see the options to toggle between the different media applications, including iTunes and WMP among others. You can change settings and really get some control over your MC PC.
Physically installing this guy can be a challenge. First of all, this is a very heavy unit, mainly because of so many integrated components built into the subwoofer body. This is probably a sign of good construction, but handle with care.
The satellite speaker cables are long but could have been longer. The included diagrams give you the impression this was really well thought out for desktop or workstation installs. However, if you have a component center or cabinet for your stuff, you need to be patient and creative to get this set up.
The speaker cables could have definitely been longer to accommodate more setup possibilities. However, in terms of durability and shielding, these are some of the thickest strongest cables I've had come with a speaker system.
The subwoofer body has a silver rimmed front-piece that is not flush with the body housing. It's not a huge deal, but you have to kind of set it up either with the front piece hanging off your component shelf or rested up at an angle. Perhaps this was intentional based upon the lower configuration location noted in the included diagrams.
Sound
The power level output of these speakers is sick, to say the least. Some will be hung up on the "simulated" surround sound feature, a gimmick that has been tried before. Still, even though I was initially unsatisfied, I learned that if you set these up in the right acoustical setting it does perform well. There are two possible setups. For the basic workstation setup where you are literally seated at your media center PC, it works awesome. For those, who like me, want to set this up at an entertainment center, you have to center the system in a somewhat square room with unobstructed walls. Then you can get the surround sound feature to properly bounce in your room.
The total RMS power of 180 watts includes a 110 watts RMS Subwoofer with each satellite speaker producing 35 watts of RMS output via the mid-woofer and tweeter pair. That means your total power output is something like 400 watts, which is really in AV power range.
But the sound is clean. The built in amplifier is well tuned for multimedia sound applications, including gaming. If you have a good on-board sound processor, you should be fine. If you experience any sound effects, definitely take a closer look at your hardware and setup.
Some may feel that you can only get surround sound out of 5.1 Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 505-Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System or 7.1 Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Surround Sound Speaker System systems. Still, I prefer 2.1 system with high quality components over 5.1 systems with small and disappointing satellites. There's a lot of nice 5.1 systems out there, don't get me wrong. I own several. Still, this system sounds better than a lot of those. Definitely have to test drive it to hear the difference.
Features
The power adapter is nicely integrated into the subwoofer, so you power up via a standard plug, no power bricks so many people hate. The speakers have right and left noted on the bottom. The right speaker comes to life when you turn it on with the remote. It has a nice orange read out that shows when it's on, the volume level and surround sound setting. The right speaker also includes jacks for headphones and auxiliary connections.
I really wished they would have also added physical volume and power control buttons and knobs. That way, when I want to hook up one of my MP3 players, I wouldn't need the remote to turn it on.
The Logitech software is actually vastly improved for them. I've not always liked some of the integrated software in the past, but this one was a huge improvement. The only minor negative I can give it is that it is automatically included in the startup folder even if you install the software with the option of not turning on at startup. So you have to manually remove it from your startup if you don't want it on all the time, a minor inconvenience.
The remote is the nicest part of this set functionally. For those with Universal remotes, you may wonder why you need this. This remote allows you to access your multimedia apps seamlessly. You can set up 4 presets, though it's less than intuitive.
You've also got some basic navigational buttons that allow you to go back to your previous app. There are included buttons for shuffle and repeat plays, and...Read more›

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Yamaha HTR-6140BL 525 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)Since the time of my review, there are only two reviews, a 5 star and a 2 star, the 2 star being based on a supposed bad remote and manual. I thought I had to set things straight. I've owned many other brand receivers and both Yamahas I've owned are great. The sound quality is excellent and the only problem I might see with someone not liking the manual is that Yamaha has so many features and options it might scare away the type of person that likes to use it out of the box without barely any set up. As for the remote I see no problem with it... it's attractive, functional, all features on it work so I don't understand what's not to like. Sound quality and construction of the unit are also superior. After having other receivers in the past that burnt due to overheating and had a dry, radio like sound, I think I'll stick with Yamaha from now on. Their "music enhancement" setting makes all sound including voice sound so incredibly warm and rich that I use this setting for everything and prefer it to any other setting. Yamaha receivers are also extremely low distortion. You will be very plesantly surprised with this receiver as long as you can follow instrucions and read a manual, even if you don't like doing this, the pay-off is worth the initial effort.

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The Yamaha HTR-6140BL 5.1-channel digital home theater receiver offers a wealth of entertainment features that will enrich your audio and video experience. This high-performance home theater receiver boasts 1080p-compatible HDMI, and it’s ready for XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. The Yamaha HTR-6140BL is also iPod and Bluetooth compatible. Other innovative features include CINEMA DSP for full surround sound, YPAO sound optimization and speaker setup, and 4 SCENE buttons for quick setup of audio sources.

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Sony BDV-E770W Blu-ray Player Home Entertainment System Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a really a great Home Theater/BluRay combo unit. I hate clutter and went for it as this would be a single unit for Music, DVD/BluRay and Internet streaming (Netflix etc). Blu-Ray discs with 3-D surround sound are really amazing as I expected, DVD up conversion is great and sound quality of wireless S-AIR rear speaker is as good as wired (beware, they are wireless just with respect to main base/amp unit. The rear speakers have their own receiver unit that requires power plug and is wired to rear speakers. However, it serves my purpose as I don't need to run wires across my living room.). I was apprehensive that I am paying $100 extra and probably compromising on the sound quality just for little compromise of running wires across room. I did not find any compromise on sound quality (and I am quite picky). I did separate my WiFi router away from S-AIR, after reading about the possible cross-interference. That created another logistics problem: I sometimes watch movies on Netflix streamed through Internet and for best quality like to hook up the wire. Keeping router away meant that I ended up running cable across. Netflix streaming quality was awesome with wire and as good I had observed with PS3 (It's just a shade worse than DVD but way better than connecting via computer). The surprise was that WiFi connection worked almost as well as wired. So I ended up getting rid of this wire too. I have Sharp Aquos 52' LED TV and it seamlessly detects sound from this Sony unit whenever I switch to TV or switch on TV. One more tip that I discovered by chance. I have cheap $2, 6 ft generic HDMI cable and ~$10 mediabridge 6 ft and 15 ft (to connect my laptop to use TV as external monitor). While DVD and Blu-Ray disc quality was same on all 3 cables, Netflix streaming quality was way better with 6 ft mediabridge cable than other two. Probably one needs to buy decent quality shortest cable for limited signal/information relay via streaming. And don't believe in the crap that is floating on Internet. I know digital is 0 and 1. However, those morons forget that it's not just one 0 and 1; there is a stream of millions of 0s and 1s getting across. So it matters how many of those are faithfully transmitted. If input is great it does not matter, even crappiest of cable would do. However, if input is limiting, it does seem to make a difference. I did blind test with monstrously overpriced Monster cables and did not find any improvement over Mediabridge; so just the shortest and decent ones would do. I read one user complaining about lack of headphone jack on the system in reviews somewhere. IT EXISTS. Sony actually did one better. It put it on one of the rear speakers so that it's close to your couch. They just did a poor job of highlighting it. Not so detail oriented people might start crying it does not exist after not finding it on the main unit. Finally, I played tons of music from my iPhone using 3.5 mm to RCA connection (this unit can also play iPod/Phone via USB cable; I just had a very good quality 3.5 mm to RCA with me) and quality was good. It also has Pandora and other links that are suppose to become functional in next update. I tried Pandora via iPhone and it was great. I really can't see any problems with the system.
Bottom-line: It may not be the system for extreme music lovers who want to push sound quality to ultimate purity and can hear notes that pass through 99% of the people. It is indeed a very good composite unit to hook up with your TV (for improved sound) and watch movies on BluRay/DVD/Netflix and avoid clutter of equipments without compromising on the quality of either of the individual functions. I am not into gaming but Sony should come up with PS3-BluRay-home theater combo too. If I have to find fault, my only disappointment is the unfriendly user manual, hard to navigate Sony website (locating information before deciding to buy was pain) and Sony customer care (or lack of it). Also, its website use to describe iPhone app that would let you use your iPhone as a remote for this system. They have pulled it from promos and descriptions. I was indeed looking forward to it and I hope they revive it.
Note: Sony has acknowledged on their website (on eSupport page of this unit) that some of their units are prone to freeze upon software update. I was lucky that mine did not ask for any software update. Its shame that they are not paying to ship the units back to them for repair (as reported by other reviewer). It's enough hassle that you have to pack and ship the unit for something that is clearly their problem. Its not surprise to me as I have heard from many friends that their customer care has always sucked big time. Looks like, they are slipping. They are bit like Apple on making big money via accessories/support. However, apple is quick to suck up when they screw something. It's a tip for Sony management if they want to survive Apple's dominance in consumer electronics.
Update 07-19-10: I did both the software updates provided so far. It added Pandora and improved quality of HD movies available via Netflix streaming among many other small things. Software updates were easy. Only things one needs to be careful about is having wired internet for update, removing discs from the system and not switching the power off while update is in progress. This is a very good system that would take you movie or music experience to another level esp if you have a good TV. All my friends were blown away by its features and quality. We have used it extensively for playing BR discs, Netflix streaming, and music from Pandora, ipod/iphone and experience couldn't be better. It pains me to see that it has just 3.5 star rating, thanks to users who does not want to do more than clicking "add to cart" and switching on the power switch. Just reading the specs before buying and user manual after buying would address almost all of the the issues.

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Experience movies in full HD 1080p resolution and powerful 5.1-channel HD surround sound including wireless rear speakers with the BDV-E770W 3D Blu-ray Disc home theater system. This great system minimizes movie wait times so you can begin watching faster than ever. You can also wirelessly stream Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Slacker, YouTube and more.

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Sony BDV-E570 Blu-ray Player Home Entertainment System Review

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(More customer reviews)Where to start...
Nerd's notes:
First of all, for those that get the Sony BDV-E570 that was manufactured earlier in the year, it may have been before they fixed the issues with the software upgrade. I believe I received such a model. Being the overly concerned nerd that I am, I read the manual. It is not very specific, but does tell you to plug in the network cable to perform the upgrade. Read into this and you must assume to NOT PERFORM THE UPGRADE OVER WIFI. Well, you can take that a step further, (which of course I did), and you can download the update directly from Sony, place the files on a blank CD-R, then place the disk in the player and perform the update that way (it auto detects that the disk contains update files very nicely). This worked perfectly. No issues like the horror stories I have been hearing about this model (earlier this year), and the next model up the BDV-E770W. Due to the age of the model I received, there were two updates to perform, which I did, using two separate disks for each update. They take a while, so don't start one if you have somewhere to be. You do have to perform both, and the latter update is the more important one that enables the features that make this platform what most people are looking for, a 3D capable Blu-Ray HTIB with DLNA Features (both of these are why I got this model).
Now on to the good stuff.
Wiring: The room I placed it in is wired for 7.1, so connecting the rear speakers was not an issue. The speakers themselves have standard pinch connectors, so insert the wire and you are all set. At the reciever end, there is a custom connector, so you will have to splice it to your jack wires if you don't use the wire they provide (which looks a bit short for a larger room).
Network: Ok, I did manage to get this onto my dual band Wireless N network, although all of the settings had to be set manually, it did not seem to like the WPS (Wifi Protected Setup), which configures the wireless settings automatically. After the updates, all the network features work fine, Netflicks, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker, and so on.
Sound: Have a vaulted cieling in the room it is set up in, and it fills the room with plenty of sound. I am not cranking it and it is more than enough sound to provide a enjoyable home movie experience.
Video: Not much to say here other than....WOW. The upscaling is very good. BD is awsome.
Connections: If you are looking for a simple HTIB with a lot of features, this is the system for you. If you are looking for the HTIB to double as a receiver, look elsewhere, or make sure your TV has plenty of inputs/outputs. It does take audio inputs from digital coax from your settop box/satellite reciever, and optical audio from your TV (which is good if you have game systems, etc. plugged into your TV. NO HDMI IN. Bravia Sync works great. The TV and Player can be off, insert a disk, and it fires up the TV, kills the TV speakers, selects the correct input for the player, and you are off and running without having to monkey with the TV remote to select the correct input. The wife appreciates this feature more than anything else. USB works great, plays music on a usb thumb drive with no issues at all.
System Menu: Since we do have a Sony LCD, I became addicted to the XMB menu interface (Cross Media Bar), the same interface on the PS3. It looks great and is easy to navigate. This system has the same menu interface, and makes finding the extra internet content very easy.
Cons: There are not many, but aside from the lack of video inputs (does not affect me, but could be a serious issues for others), there are only a few things I would mention. First being a network feature that I selected this model/line for: DLNA. For some reason, it cannot see the DLNA server that I have setup on the network. I am looking into the reasons, and will repost if I find a solution. Speakers, while 1/2 the weight of my previous HTIB, they seem flimsy. The Sub is a passive sub, while that may disappoint others, it does not seem to punch any less than my last system that had a powered sub. The exterior of the system is a very plain shiny black (kid fingerprint magnet) on the front, although with a lack of knobs, and visible buttons, there is little in the way to attract their attention to twist/press etc.
Overall, this is an ideal system for those that are looking for an 'all-in-one' solution that also has all the internet content. It is powerful enough for a midsized room, and is simple to operate. It has a low profile receiver, and those that are space constrained will certainly appreciate that. The cost is very good (under 400), and for a system I don't see replacing for at least 3 years, it has all the features and functions I see myself wanting for some time.
Amazon: WOW. I ordered this system at 3:30AM on Wednesday with free supersaver shipping. The system was delivered THE NEXT DAY (Thursday).
UPDATE 7/25/10: Got DLNA working, my server just showed up one day, it was probably due to a reboot I did on the DLNA server. Streams music flawlessly across the network, Pictures as well. Still trying to figure out what digital HD file format it will play for movies, it will probably do DIVX files, but have to move those files to the server to see how they work. Very nice feature! Makes it very convenient when you want to play your digital library and dont want to plug in your iPod/iPhone or change CD's constantly.
Still very pleased with this system! I find myself watching more online movies and content from it than from my own collection or rentals.
I did some research, and this system looks identical to the BDV-770W, with the exception of the wireless S-Air rear speakers, which adds almost $200 to the price I paid.

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Bring your movies to life with this 3D Blu-ray Disc home theater system, which features pristine 5.1-channel surround sound and wireless streaming capabilities.Experience full HD 1080p and powerful 5.1-channel HD surround sound, and enjoy expanded entertainment options as you wirelessly stream Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Slacker, YouTube and more.

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