Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker set – A compact and decent home theater for little money

Setting up the whole thing is an easy process. Each speaker and amplifier block are connected to a subwoofer that acts as a central unit. The solution somewhat limits placement options, as the longest speaker cable in the package is seven meters. No matter how you pull the cable, the furthest rear speaker cannot be very far from the center of the speaker array.

In a small test room, this did not prove to be a problem. Three meters from the TV to the back wall, three meters to the side and a meter in height. A larger placement than this starts to cause problems: in the living room, which was the main test area, the cable had to be pulled unsightly from under the rug in the living room to the back speaker in order to make it long enough. For computer use or even in a smaller room, the number of cables is more than enough.

When I turned on the Z906, I had to marvel at how powerful the sound came out of the cans. Despite their small size, the speakers spit out plenty of bass and bang, which was certainly surprising. The rumble of the subwoofer in particular was quite convincing for such a cheap solution. The treble stood out brightly and the dialogue in action movies was clear despite the constant crackle of machine gun fire.

The emphasis on high and low frequencies is quite clear. The Amphion home theater used as a reference showed that the Z906 rides on bass and treble, and the midrange is left in the role of a stepchild. This is not surprising, as the speakers only have one element and the subwoofer is quite large compared to the speakers themselves.

However, it is important to keep in mind what the Z906 is intended for. The package is an absolutely great addition to games consoles in the side room or to accompany PC gaming. The Z906 surpasses the TV's own speakers in terms of height and loudness, and especially when using video games, proper surround sound is a wonderful improvement to the gaming experience. When playing, the emphasis on bass and treble is also not such a serious offense, as games - and action movies - really dive into these sound ranges.

Especially in gaming, the Z906 is a significantly better speaker solution than a soundbar. Getting surround sound is often essential information when playing, especially in fast-paced online shooters where it's worth its weight in gold to hear an enemy running to the side towards your back.

In home theater use, the advantages of the soundbar and the Z906 are balanced. The soundbar is a neat and pretty package, without the hassle of wires, and it is more than enough for many homes. The Z906, on the other hand, brings decent surround sound to action movies, and the rumble of the bass is wonderful to throw yourself into. The downside, however, is that the Z906 requires its own remote control, which can be unusually annoying.

However, the Z906 is pretty terrible when used for music, as the imbalance in the soundscape is reflected in the music in a bad way. For example, The Police's agile drum parts suddenly eat up most of the pie, Talking Heads' rhythm guitar is forgotten somewhere behind the bass, and Neil Young's powerful guitar riffs drown out Crazy Horse. And when the speakers push the sounds in 5.1 format, the whole palette is quickly completely confused. Of course, you can still listen to music with these cans, but at least it's worth changing the output to just stereo.

The most serious flaw of the package, however, is that the Z906 is already 14 years old! This in itself is not a disadvantage, but the age is visible in the connections: the Z906 does not have a single HDMI input, and that is exactly the connector that is preferred these days. You can pull all the necessary cables out of a desktop computer, but when using a laptop, it is impossible to get correct surround sound out of the equipment. Home theater users, on the other hand, have to make do with two optical inputs or alternatively RCA cabling. Fortunately, modern televisions still have optical outputs, but new game consoles, for example, do not. So the sounds have to be recycled through the telsu, whether you like it or not.

The Logitech Z906 is a great solution when you know what you're getting. It's a great package for someone looking for an easy and hassle-free sound quality upgrade. It's also not an unreasonable hit to the wallet.

Despite its outdated connectivity, the Logitech Z906 is still a viable option when looking for a compact and affordable 5.1 speaker solution, especially for PC and gaming use. The small speakers connected via a subwoofer offer a surprisingly robust and spacious sound field, as long as you accept the adjustment with cables and the emphasis on bass when using music. The lack of HDMI connections and the analog control unit limit its use as the core of a modern home theater, but the Z906 still works quite well as an audio companion for a game console or secondary TV, for example. Overall, however, it is a very functional set for, for example, a young person's room or a gaming space.

Powerful sound from a small size
Class-leading bass reproduction
Good surround sound for games and movies, good value for money
Price-quality ratio

No HDMI connections
Wiring limits placement
Sound quality when playing music