Digital Trends

Logitech Z-10 January 31st, 2007 | by Brandon King

Testing and Use

The LCD also displays the stats for any songs playing in the supported media player – including iTunes, Windows Media Player, and MusicMatch. Track name, artist, and progress are displayed clearly. The amber touch sensitive buttons are only marked by their backlit icons. Otherwise, the surface remains unbroken and seamless. We found a couple of our buttons to be slightly off from their markings, and the volume up button would activate if we touched the side of the speaker – quite a shock when we went to nudge it from the corner of the desk!

We were disappointed to see that the Z-10s require an external power source. Even though we know there is not enough power to really give the speakers “Oomph!’ from the laptop’s audio card, we were hoping it would draw power from the USB connection. We also had one issue shortly after installing the drivers where the speakers crashed (at least that’s what we call it). Rebooting, reinstalling drivers, powering them on and off didn’t solve the problem. Out of desperation we unplugged the power and USB, waited five minutes, and plugged them in again. Problem solved. We’d like to say that this was an isolated incident, as it only happened to us once in over a month’s worth of use, but our posting on the Logitech forums with this solution was welcomed with great thanks from at least two other Z-10 owners. A minor issue? Yes. Just be aware of it.

One thing we fail to understand is what applications would have someone wanting to reach out to a speaker to adjust the song track or volume? Maybe it makes sense for those playing a full screen game, or owners of keyboards without media controls that keep many programs open at once, or quite possibly for people that play music at night and shut off their monitors to reduce the amount of ambient light. That’s about all we could come up with. Do the Z-10s look nice? You bet. But you really have to ask about the utility of adding a software controlled speaker setup. Add to that the fact that using a USB based speaker or headset will bypass your sound card, and the options collapse even further. The Z-10s are clearly designed for use with laptops or as an audio quality upgrade for PCs with onboard sound.

Image Courtesy of Logitech