Overall Rating: ( 41 reviews )

1. Posted: Aug 7 2008

   I love this unit. I made sure I did my research before buying this. I'm glad I did I read most of the reviews and was glad I purchased this. This is made best for gameplay, don't turn the vloume up it just might blow your head off.(its that loud) I saw that the price for this went up 2 weeks after i bought it. Originally 75.00 bucks used but for me it was worth it. So if your looking for something good at a reasonable price def. check out this item its worth it for sure.

2. Posted: Apr 8 2008

   I got mine for $90 with shipping on big auction site a year and a half ago. That's not much more than logitech's 70 watt offering, and at that price it makes sense to get these. I think those were about $50-$60 at the time. These are not better than cheap home theater speakers, but they're much better than most computer speakers. They get pretty loud without noticeably distorting, and they have a lot of bass, which is good enough for most people. I did notice what seemed to be a gap between the satellites and the sub. The mids didn't seem strong as they should, but it is a lot better than most computer speakers. Cheaper sets rely on the sub to play mids. Some people note that the bass is overpowering and muddy. This is very noticeable when I have it under my desk, and it's not much better when I have it in a corner. I think it's actually best when I have out in the middle of my room, it's much clearer and more balanced. It's probably the bandpass enclosure that makes the bass stronger. It also is probably what makes the bass somewhat unclear even when I have it out of corners and desks. The satellites I thought could be more powerful in relation to the sub. There's ports on them, but they're fake. It would probably be better if they had a direct firing sub. Despite all this, it sounds pretty good for movies and it's far better than the 2.1 that came with my computer before. I'm sure it's good for games. I started to smell burning recently when I turned it up at high volumes. It never happened before, and I didn't have it up for longer than other times. I don't know how much it was used before I bought it, since it was refurbished. I don't smell anything when I have it up halfway or a little more for hours at a time, however. I'd assume if it was new, there wouldn't be this problem, or it would take longer to arise. Oh well. I still feel it's a good value. This product is discontinued now. There is no replacement for it yet. There's an intermediate system, the G51, but it's less powerful. I don't know how that sounds. The satellites have separate drivers though. If they die out on me, I might get the z-5500, since it's about $200 now, and it sometimes dips under. You should order it from an online computer company that has a lot of product placement on TV and movies; they usually have free shipping. Or maybe when I save up I might get a cheap home theater in a box, which even at $300 is yet a better value than computer speakers. Some of my friends have with Klipsch GMX 2.1s. They sound better, probably because of better satellites that have separate tweeters instead of one driver for mids and highs, and bigger woofers. They also have much wider imaging; the z-5300s are much more directional. They sound better to me. Part of it could be the different music we listen to, but they clearly have a wider sound stage. These get louder though, and are still a better value. At the time, they were easier to find at low prices on ebay. I'd probably go with Klipsch Promedia instead of the GMX if I was getting 2.1 speakers; they're supposed to be more powerful and have better reviews.

3. Posted: Apr 8 2008

   I got mine for $90 with shipping on big auction site a year and a half ago. That's not much more than logitech's 70 watt offering, and at that price it makes sense to get these. I think those were about $50-$60 at the time. These are not better than cheap home theater speakers, but they're much better than most computer speakers. They get pretty loud without noticeably distorting, and they have a lot of bass, which is good enough for most people. I did notice what seemed to be a gap between the satellites and the sub. The mids didn't seem strong as they should, but it is a lot better than most computer speakers. Cheaper sets rely on the sub to play mids. Some people note that the bass is overpowering and muddy. This is very noticeable when I have it under my desk, and it's not much better when I have it in a corner. I think it's actually best when I have out in the middle of my room, it's much clearer and more balanced. It's probably the bandpass enclosure that makes the bass stronger. It also is probably what makes the bass somewhat unclear even when I have it out of corners and desks. The satellites I thought could be more powerful in relation to the sub. There's ports on them, but they're fake. It would probably be better if they had a direct firing sub. Despite all this, it sounds pretty good for movies and it's far better than the 2.1 that came with my computer before. I'm sure it's good for games. I started to smell burning recently when I turned it up at high volumes. It never happened before, and I didn't have it up for longer than other times. I don't know how much it was used before I bought it, since it was refurbished. I don't smell anything when I have it up halfway or a little more for hours at a time, however. I'd assume if it was new, there wouldn't be this problem, or it would take longer to arise. Oh well. I still feel it's a good value. This product is discontinued now. There is no replacement for it yet. There's an intermediate system, the G51, but it's less powerful. I don't know how that sounds. The satellites have separate drivers though. If they die out on me, I might get the z-5500, since it's about $200 now, and it sometimes dips under. You should order it from an online computer company that has a lot of product placement on TV and movies; they usually have free shipping. Or maybe when I save up I might get a cheap home theater in a box, which even at $300 is yet a better value than computer speakers. Some of my friends have with Klipsch GMX 2.1s. They sound better, probably because of better satellites that have separate tweeters instead of one driver for mids and highs, and bigger woofers. They also have much wider imaging; the z-5300s are much more directional. They sound better to me. Part of it could be the different music we listen to, but they clearly have a wider sound stage. The only problem is a noticeable hiss when nothing plays, on two different sets. This looks like a common problem on the user reviews. The z-5300s get louder though, don't hiss, and are still a better value. At the time, they were easier to find at low prices on ebay. I'd probably go with Klipsch Promedia instead of the GMX if I was getting 2.1 speakers; they're supposed to be more powerful and have better reviews.

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