Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I decided to take a video of the sound difference with the speakers hooked up to our TV. You will see two clips in the video, both from the Harry Potter 5 DVD. (Fair use of copyrighted material, used without permission in order to demonstrate a product, clips are well within fair use guidelines on length and content, and quality. [...] The first part of the video is a recording of the scene with just the TV audio. I have the Logitech speakers turned off at this point. The second part of the video is the same scene, now with the Logitech speakers turned on. I have the bass on the speakers set to about 50%, and the volume set to about 75%. You will notice a clear difference in the sound quality. They ADD to the TV sound, they do not take over for it. What you won't notice (because recorded sound can't reproduce it), is the awesome bass that the bass unit kicks out. It is QUITE a noticeable, if you are in the room. It is actually a little TOO powerful for an apartment, actually. ^_^ We have the speakers hooked into our TV with standard audio composite cables hooked into the auxiliary input for the speakers. It works very well. When you have it setup this way, the sound is linked to the TV. If you mute the TV, then the Logitech speakers are muted as well. If you lower the TV volume, they lower their sound output as well (regardless of what their control knob is set at. If the knob is set to maximum, then the Logitech speakers will output a maximum boost of whatever signal it is being sent. So, if the TV volume is at 25%, then the speakers will be outputting a 100% boost of that 25% signal. Etc.) I also tried hooking the speakers up to the laptop, and the desktop computers in the house. In that setup, they are a bit less impressive. We have a 5.1 audio system for the desktop, and it outshines these speakers fairly well. For the laptop, it puts the built-in laptop speakers to shame, but that isn't hard to do. ^_- As for the rest of the bullet points put out by Logitech, I couldn't notice any difference that their supposed "360 degrees of sound" offered. The speakers seem to me to put sound out in a LINEAR path away from where they are facing. I tried putting the speakers to the sides as far away from the TV as possible. I tried putting them behind the TV and pointing them up, point them down, etc. I put them in front of the TV, and I put them up high. In all cases, the sound seemed to be strongest wherever they were POINTED. I am sure they are sending out sound in 360 degrees (due to truth in advertising laws), but I heard no appreciative results of it. I could certainly hear the sounds they were projecting forwards, but from the sides it is less convincing. I CERTAINLY didn't hear any sounds coming from BEHIND me (with the speakers situated in front of me, by the TV), like they claim they can do. "Rather than using only a forward-firing driver, Logitech speakers are acoustically engineered with both forward- and backward-firing drivers. So sound is projected and reflected more evenly and over a wider range of space. Result? Your whole room becomes a sweet spot filled with clear, rich, music--even if you're behind the speakers." [quote from amazon product page] The speakers DO fill the room with sound. That claim seems to be a bit stretched to me. The speakers are loud, and they are decent, but they are certainly no substitute for a real 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sound system. They are a good hold-over until you get such a system, but don't expect miracles. In the matter of the down-firing sub-woofer, THAT claim is accurate. The freaking thing is so powerful, that we are uncomfortable using the bass in the evenings, when the neighbors are home. When/if we have the bass enabled, we keep it in the 5-15% range. The connections, and controls are all excellent too. I ESPECIALLY like that the speakers are smart enough to take their sound level cues (including mute) from their input source! I have had some bad experiences with speakers not smart enough to do that, in the past. Over all, this is a 5 star product for what it is. If you go in expecting a decent 2.1 sound system that is NOT going to perform miracles of sound with some sort of PR voodoo concept of "Room-Filling Logitech 360-degree sound" somehow replacing a real surround sound system, then you will be pleasantly surprised with these speakers.