Photo: Citizen.co.za/Cheryl Kahla
The Logitech Z407 speaker set delivers powerful audio and wireless control, during an era when PC speakers are not known for grabbing attention anymore.
To a large extent, the headset has usurped PC speakers as the main way that we game, listen to music and watch movies.
Getting my hands on the Logitech Z407 set was a timely reminder that PC speakers still have a place on my rapidly shrinking available desk real estate.
I have typically always made a point of keeping a pair of speakers as part of my setup, especially when working from home. It’s useful to still be able to hear what’s happening around the house and at the front door.
However, I have mostly resigned myself to lower-quality audio from PC speakers than I would expect from my bookshelf hi-fi speakers or my headset.
The Logitech Z407 speakers have changed my mind a bit about that.
The speaker design turns its back on the often gaudy, in-your-face choices a lot of modern PC peripherals opt for. These are unassuming with clean lines, no RGB and no pretence.
These speakers don’t need to catch the eye, though. Once they start doing their job, it’s impossible to ignore.
That said, there is a real danger in judging a book by its cover. My first impression: I was viscerally surprised when I powered them up and ran beats through them for the first time.
The tiny setup is very capable of filling up a room with sound. Setting it up is easy enough and couldn’t have taken me more than 10 minutes.
Everything is clearly labelled and you’ll likely not need to look at the instructions on the box if you’ve owned a Bluetooth speaker with aux in the last five years.
One of the reasons these speakers caught my eye was the innovative stands. These allow you to change the orientation of the two front speakers.
This means the speakers can be set up in an upright position – as you’d normally expect – or allowed to lie on their side. It immediately caught my attention.
With my current dual-screen setup, I constantly have to move my speakers further to the sides when swapping from working with one screen in the centre of my desk, to working on both screens side-by-side.
Being able to keep the speakers on their side, below the level of the screen bezel, solves that problem and is just one less thing to worry about.
As someone who has made a point of getting a keyboard with a volume dial on it for everyday use, I really appreciated the Bluetooth control dial.
It lets you adjust volume and control your playback without having to touch your mouse.
As an added bonus: Because it’s Bluetooth, it also means you can control your music when not sitting next to your PC.
As for the sound, the bass is deep and responsive but not overpowering. It’s able to handle the immersive effects of a horror game as easily as the pumping bass line of some EDM.
However, where these speakers really shine is just how detailed the sound is. The mids are front and centre with detail you would normally only really expect from a hi-fi kit.
After playing a few bluesy tracks, I was instantly in love with the amount of warmth and clarity these speakers were able to produce, even on fairly “busy” recordings.
The treble is crystal clear without being overbearing, a trap PC speakers easily fall into. Too often, PC speakers are too clinical with a treble; it quickly becomes fatiguing.
These produce sharp snares which blend nicely into the mix and provide an excellent, detailed sound.
In my experience, the sound stage for the speakers was a little narrow but that’s to be expected for speakers which are most often not going to be much further away from you than your monitor.
Because of this, busier recordings and games could sometimes feel a little bit crowded. Quite honestly, though, at this point I’m probably splitting hairs.
Overall, the Logitech Z407 2.1 speakers check all the boxes for general use. It effortlessly handles gaming, music and movies.
Moreover, it costs less than you’d expect to pay for a middle-of-the-road gaming headset.
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