Logitech G51

Manufacturer:
Price:	£106.94 inc VAT
Reviewer:	Christopher Brennan
Review Date:	Jan 2008
Quality	35/40	88%
Features	25/30	83%
Value	27/30	90%
Overall	87%

Verdict: Good sound for games at a great price.

There's a lot of rubbish spoken by speaker manufacturers about sound performance. This level of nonsense is even higher at the lower end of the market, where some kind of marketing gimmick is almost essential. The Logitech G51 5.1 surround system is no exception. These speakers sport FDD2 technology, which - if the box is to be believed - means that the sound from the speakers is swooshy and green, rather than lumpy, and red and blue. Looking beyond the pretty picture, FDD2 is Logitech's Frequency Directed Dual Drive Speaker system. This allegedly creates a uniform sound field, and eliminates the uneven response and hotspots that afflict conventional designs.

The G51s have an even more impressive gimmick: customisable satellites. You can slide a printed design between the upper curve of the speaker housing and a clear plastic protector. While this is hardly an earth-shattering mod compared with the Reader's Drive PCs we've featured over the years, it will let you blend the speakers into your décor to make them visually as well as aurally stimulating. Logitech has designs on its website for you to download and print out, or if you're good at Photoshop, you can make your own.

The general specification of the speakers reads well, with a total power output of 155W RMS. The four satellites each provide 20W, the centre speaker 19W and the downward-firing subwoofer 58W. You need a 6-channel sound device to appreciate the full surround experience, although you can attach equipment via a standard 2-channel phono cable for regular stereo. The Logitech system has a Matrix mode for standard 2-channel use. This means that all six speakers are used even though the source isn't feeding a surround-sound signal. There's no digital input on this system, however, so you're dealing in analogue audio.

The satellite speakers have their own stands that can be rotated to become wall mounts, which is a nice touch, especially as they look good and feel very sturdy. Also worthy of praise is the cable connecting the speakers. Even the more expensive Altec Lansing FX5051 skimped on speaker wire, so the thick and substantial wire of the G51 set is a nice surprise and should help to maintain signal purity. The subwoofer is smaller than we expected to see on a £100 speaker set, but the combination of shiny and matt plastic finish gives it a stylish look.

As with most speakers, there's a separate control pod and, as ever, it feels a little cheap. However, it has lots of controls, including two mute switches - one to kill the speakers and another to kill the microphone if you use the microphone input on the pod (there's also a headphone jack). The usual volume control is there, but it also provides individual control over the subwoofer, satellites or centre speaker, as well as adjusting the master volume. Overall, the G51 control pod offers more control than is found on most.

We started our tests with a range of songs from the charts, and then with some decent music. We were impressed with the range and capability the speakers displayed with a selection of music. The subwoofer isn't exactly subtle, and overpowered the other speakers but, with a little tweaking to suppress it and boost the satellites, the results improved.

With movies, the audio was better in quieter moments, with a powerful performance from the centre speaker making speech stand out. Again, the bass was slightly overpowering, especially in action sequences, and the combination of music and explosions pushed the speakers a little too hard, as the sounds were bunched together. This made for muddy-sounding audio in scenes where a good range is needed.

Gaming provided better results; with fewer challenges to face, the Logitech system coped well and produced good audio. This is hardly surprising, as Logitech is clearly aiming the G51 speakers at gamers, and this usually involves boosting the kinds of sounds that games typically use, such as bass-heavy gunfire, car engines and grenade explosions. The powerful bass came to the fore, adding realism to the games as it rumbled the floor and gave a sharpness to explosions.

Similarly, racing games benefited from the rumble of the subwoofer, with engines sounding suitably brawny.

The much-vaunted FDD2 speaker arrangement didn't set the room alight with the promised green swoosh, but the overall audio performance was pleasing for a set of speakers at this price point.

Conclusion

The speakers are well-designed and the dual-use stands are a nice touch. The cables impressed us too, with stupidly thin wire eschewed in favour of more substantial cabling, while the control pod offers an impressive range of controls, even if it does feel a little cheap. The subwoofer is nicely proportioned and meaty enough to make a difference, while the rest of the kit is well built and solid.

Audio performance is a mixed bag, with music acceptable if not exceptional. Movie soundtracks were muddled in parts, but generally only audio purists will complain.

Gaming was much better, and as this is the activity for which Logitech designed the G51, this is a good thing. The G51 speakers might not be the perfect audio performers, but their power and the fact that they perform well in games makes them a great lower-priced alternative to the superb Logitech Z-5500 Digital that have graced the Elite list for the past three years or so.