Logitech G51 Gaming Surround Speakers

[PAGETITLE=Introduction] Logitech debuted their G-series gaming peripheral line back in mid-2005, building upon the success of their MX-series high-performance mice with a full line of peripherals targeted specifically toward gamers. The line was soon populated with a slew of gaming input devices, including the popular G5 and G9 gaming mice and the spectacular G15 gaming keyboard. The addition of gaming audio products to the G-series breaks with the trend of gaming input devices already in the G-series, however on another level it's a perfectly logical addition as Logitech devotes effort to gaming-oriented products in every key market that the company serves. The first high-performance gaming audio product to join Logitech's G-series is the new G51 speaker system, which provides 5.1-channel surround sound that's specifically tailored to the needs of gamers. While I half-expected Logitech to create a derivative of their ultra-powerful THX-certified Z-series flagship audio systems for the G-series, it appears that the design of the G51 is actually derived from their very successful X-540 system, which was known for shattering the $100 barrier for an affordable 5.1-channel PC speaker system. A quick look at the spec sheet, however, reveals that the G51 is more than a simple design refresh of the X-540; the G51 system contains several notable improvements in features and performance, essentially creating a middle ground performance option between the value-oriented X-series speakers and the cost-no-object horsepower of the Z-series. So what exactly makes a so-called gaming audio system well-suited to the task of gaming in the first place? First of all, 'gaming' audio is no excuse to slack off in the area of fidelity - while it doesn't take much to reproduce transient sounds like gunfire and explosions with impact and clarity, game audio also frequently incorporates dialogue as well as some music. It's also important to ensure that multiple sound effects occurring at once are distinguishable from one another. Second of all, a 'gaming' audio system needs to have enough headroom to reproduce the transient stuff. A system with limited dynamic range can still reproduce gunfire and explosions, though more subtle details may be lost, which may cause you not to hear softer sounds like footsteps sneaking up from behind. A gaming audio system should have enough headroom to preserve relative loudness between gunfire bursts and softer environmental noises while reproducing the soft stuff at a volume which is still audible. Finally, and this is the big one, a gaming audio system needs to have enough resolution to create a seamless, immersive sound field that allows you to pinpoint the origins of sounds in two-dimensional space - in front of you, beside you, and behind you. Sub-par speaker systems have a 'closed-in' sound, where it sounds as if the speaker itself is the source of the sound, instead of virtually recreating another point of origin in space. Many of the performance criteria that define a suitable gaming audio system are also goals of high-quality music and movie audio systems. Respectively, the three performance criteria we've identified so far are better known in the hi-fi world as flat frequency response, dynamic headroom, and imaging. In this article, we'll examine the G51 system from Logitech on the basis of these three criteria as they relate to movie performance, music performance, and gaming performance. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Unpacking; Specifications] The Logitech G51 speaker system comes in a heavy cardboard carton that's arrayed with vivid, attractive graphics and other meaningful information. Let me reiterate - this box is heavy. As I've explained in the past, however, that's a good thing, particularly when it comes to speakers. Open up the box lid, and you're faced with three more cardboard boxes. You could remove them in any order, but only one order will provide the most trouble-free unpacking experienceâ€¦thankfully, Logitech has removed the enigma from the procedure by helpfully numbering the modules. The subwoofer's power cable is hardwired to the subwoofer, and has been folded up and tucked away in module '2', so any attempt to remove the second module first is an exercise in futility, or else lots of mangled cardboard. Rememberâ€¦module 1 first. Once you've solved the puzzle of how to get everything out of the box (or just decided to turn the whole ever-lovin' affair upside down on the floor), here's what you're left with: the hefty G51 subwoofer, four matching front and surround satellites, the horizontally-oriented center channel satellite, a wired control pod, and a 'ribbon' cable with all the individual signal input wires bonded together, a thoughtful feature that helps avoid a rat's nest. And now, a word about cable lengths. A common Achilles' Heel of many multichannel PC speaker systems is that they often don't supply enough wire to reach the desired rear speaker locations that you lovingly selected. Wire is copper, and copper costs money, so manufacturers have a reason to skimp as much as possible on the wiring to the rear surround speakers. That isn't much help for those who want to place their rear surround speakers six feet or more behind them, and still have enough slack left to route the cables in an aesthetically-appealing way instead of duct-taping them to the carpet. Thankfully, Logitech hasn't left us out in the cold here - each rear satellite has about 15 feet of cable, which was enough to place the satellites six feet behind me on either side with some cable left over for me to do a pretty job of routing the cables. Next, let's take an in-depth look at the G51 system's gamer-friendly features Specification Value Model G51 Exterior Dimensions Subwoofer: 13.1" H x 7.7" W x 10.4" D; Satellites: 8.0" H x 3.9" W x 5.6" D Center Channel: 4.2" H x 8.5" W x 5.6" D Frequency Response 36-20,000 Hz Subwoofer Crossover 150 Hz Amplifier 155W RMS (20W RMS per satellite, 19W for center channel, 56W for subwoofer) Subwoofer Driver 5.25â€ long-excursion cone, downfiring Subwoofer Enclosure Bass-reflex enclosure, wooden construction Satellite and Center Channel Drivers 2x 2â€ full-range cone, magnetically-shielded Satellite Enclosure FDD^2 (1.5-way), sealed Inputs 6-channel discrete inputs, 2-channel aux. input, microphone pass-through Outputs Headphone jack Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): >94dBa [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Features Overview] If you're just joining us, here's what we've covered so far: Logitech's G51 isn't your garden-variety 5.1 speaker system - it's the first audio product in the company's vaunted G-series lineup of products designed especially to cater to the sensibilities of gamers. Here's a look at the features that Logitech says will make the G51 speaker system especially interesting to gaming types. Let's start with the subwoofer. Compared with the X-540 system that Greg reviewed back in 2006, the G51 subwoofer also uses a 5.25" woofer, but this one's much beefier, featuring a heavy paper cone, a foam surround, and an inverted dust cap. The case is made of wood, which we've come to expect by now - a wooden subwoofer enclosure resists parasitic enclosure vibration that can 'muddy' the bass. The G51 subwoofer's driver also features a hefty magnet structure, and an extra deep-draft stamped frame to accommodate plenty of cone excursion. The backplate of the magnetic structure is 'bumped', which creates extra room in the magnet structure itself for the voice coil to move without 'bottoming out'. The additional venting in the bottom section of the frame allows cooling air to circulate around the exposed portion of the voice coil. It's a substantially beefier woofer than I've seen in most speaker systems that use 5-1/4" woofers. In addition to the beefier bass driver, Logitech has upped the power of the G51 significantly over its cheaper cousin. Thanks in part to the bass driver's low impedance of 2 ohms (don't connect the driver to a conventional amplifier), the G51's 6-channel amplifier can deliver 56 watts to the woofer, which is more than double the power of the X-540's sub. The rear panel of the subwoofer contains all the inputs and outputs for the system, and each one is color-coded to its connector for easy setup. The satellite speakers of the G51 system are larger in size than the X-540's, and feature full-face fabric grilles, but they operate on the same FDD^2 principle, which helps produce a richer, fuller sound from the satellite speakers that improves integration with the subwoofer. This is done by 'rolling off' the lower driver using passive electrical filtering components so that it only works through the midrange and midbass region of the frequency spectrum. This approach gives the G51 satellite speakers a sound that's more characteristic of satellites with larger drivers, but with the top-end clarity of the smaller full-range cones. The G51's center channel features a uniquely-designed stand which allows the speaker to 'clamp' onto the frame of a flat-panel monitor, just as with the X-540 system. This is a great feature that comes in handy when you don't have a shelf above your monitor. Another new feature of the G51 system is a removable plastic shell over the front and rear satellite speakers, which allows you to insert a piece of artwork or colored paper and customize your G51 system aesthetically. The controls for all functions of the G51 speaker system are housed in a wired control pod. In addition to adjusting volume, the large knob in the center can also be used to individually adjust the levels of the subwoofer, the center channel, and the rear surrounds. The control pod also offers a 'dual mute' feature, which allows you to mute the speakers and the microphone input independently. The idea is that you can connect your gaming headset directly to the control pod, and mute the microphone when you need to. The control pod features charming amber illumination...

Logitech G51 Gaming Surround Speakers

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