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Logitech X-540 5.1 Speakers
Taking a Closer Look
The speakers use a creative pivoting base that makes it easy for the owner to wall-mount them, and even easier for Logitech to fit them so tightly in the box. The bases rotate around the speakers to lay flat against the back or sit underneath the speakers, and require no assembly. The satellites' boxes, as in, the unit that holds the actual speakers, are considerably larger than the speakers themselves, which makes them relatively big for desktop speakers. Having larger enclosures is a good thing, since it adds a lot of character to the sound of small speakers. The satellites' drivers are a good size at 2 inches in diameter, and there are two per satellite. The subwoofer doesn't share the same concession, and is a little small (11.25" x 6.5" x 9.75"). But it does have an uninhibited, that is to say, without a grill or guard, downwards-facing 5.25" driver. The sub enclosure is also made from dense materials, probably high-density fiberboard, and laminated in PCB, both good things for audio.        The power supply is integrated into the subwoofer, so as not to require an external power adapter. All of the cables are permanently wired, including the power cable; this isn't uncommon with speakers in this price range, but it would have been nice to have separate extension cables for the rear speakers. Each cable is color-coded to match the panel on the subwoofer, and the color-coding scheme is standard for audio. The cables have tough, thick sleeves that are nice and flexible.     The wired remote is pretty light, honestly, and has a hard time staying on the desktop. But it's not intrusive, which is good, because it will also not be entering any beauty contests. The remote operates four functions: power, volume, "Matrix" (which makes two-channel audio surround-sound'ish), and bass. There is also a headphone jack, but no treble control. Setup Since all the cables are color-coded, and built into each satellite, there's less difficulty in setting up the speakers than in deciding where they should go. Features Logitech's X-540s push a conservative 70 watts RMS, but peaks at 140, and is listed as delivering sound from 40 to 20,000Hz, predictably. Whether or not they do is a different matter. The "Matrix" pseudo-surround sound is one of those features that is usually featureless. The potential for an equalizer setting to add channels that aren't part of the audio, illusionary or otherwise, is realistically nil. That isn't to say that it can't improve the audio; realistically, the manufacturers know how their speakers are made best, and having some custom audio-processing can make good changes. Included with the speakers is a two-channel RCA-to-3.5mm jack. While on the one hand, it could be perceived that these speakers are light on features, it's more the case that the money that could be spent on aluminum trim and LEDs is going to speaker quality and construction. Given that the speakers themselves are very well made, this should prove to be the case.
Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Taking a Closer Look, Setup & Features Page 3: Sound Quality Page 4: Conclusion 
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