Verdict: Get in touch with good sound
Logitech bills the Z-10s as an 'interactive speaker system', a phrase that sounds as dated as buzzwords such as 'edutainment' and the recording oeuvre of Chesney Hawkes. Despite their idiosyncratic name, however, the Z-10s are far from dated.
The design of the Z-10s is simple and stylish, and the quality of the materials and finish is excellent. Like Creative's T20s, the Z-10s are a pair of 2.0 stereo speakers that forgoes a separate sub in favour of ports on each speaker. The Z-10s are taller than the T20s and, with their glossy black surface, and uncovered tweeters and drivers, they're more eye-catching. When you turn on the Z-10s, their gorgeousness only increases; the right-hand speaker has a selection of touch-sensitive controls integrated into its fascia, along with a two-line LCD display, all illuminated in moody orange. Once you've installed the Logitech software, it will show the time, CPU usage, the songs you're listening to on various media players, the number of unread e-mails, and even the frame rate of games if you're running FRAPS.
As the power supply is built-in, along with the electronics to run the buttons and LCD, the speakers become surprisingly warm during extended use. It doesn't make the buttons uncomfortable to use, just slightly odd. If you don't like touch controls, the Z-10s won't change your mind, since the controls are decent but still occasionally miss the mark.
The display has a downside, however. The speakers connect via USB, so they have their own sound-processing hardware, which means that they render the features of a sound card such as an X-Fi pretty pointless. The Z-10s don't sound bad, though, and are far better than the T-20s for music, with superior mid-range and beefier, bolder bass. In games, the competition between the two speaker sets is close, but the Z-10s are superior again. As the output of the tweeters is nicely balanced against the power of the drivers, you don't experience the harsh, tinny sound of the T-20s.
Conclusion
Logitech's Z-10s look great, and have nifty features and good sound quality. Don't expect them to dominate a room in the same way as Logitech's beefier 5.1 THX systems, but they're worth investigating if you want decent compact speakers.
