Logitech Z-500
Some friends of mine have been using the Saitek A250 wireless speakers for a few years now and they work very well. However they work via RF which connects a pc to the speakers via a USB dongle, in this day an age I’ve wondered why there hasn’t been more of a move to Bluetooth for such devices and this has (apart from the fact that the A250 is now discontinued) made me reluctant to buy some speakers like that.
After a bit of hunting recently i found the Logitech Z-500 speakers which seemed to fit my exact requirements….
So a few days later said item arrived on my desk at work and set about having a play. the first thing that struck me was the size. This 4 speaker unit is very compact (275mm*72mm*30mm)and comes with its own carrying case (although this doesn’t fit the charger for the built in battery) inside the case is space for the speaker unit and also the supplied connection accessories. these include a USB cable, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable for input from non Bluetooth devices and a USB Bluetooth dongle – pretty much everything you would need.
as i mentioned previously the unit has a built in battery which is a great idea preventing the need for batteries to be carried around and replaced, I will be giving the unit a full work out shortly and so will update on how long the unit will last on one charge.
The sound quality is pretty good, I’m no audiophile so I’m not going to get into specifics, but for something you might want out in the garden to relay music its excellent. the range in open view is 10m+ but obviously stick a few walls in the way and that distance will drop.
I’ve hooked this up via Bluetooth to a number of devices and they all work seamlessly none more so than a PC with the supplied Bluetooth dongle that requires no configuration at all. The only device I have had an issue with is my iPhone. It seems that Apple have restricted the Bluetooth on iPhones to limit them to connect to headsets only for audio which seems crazy. however as I mentioned there is a 3.5 to 3.5mm cable supplied so it’s not a major hassle but certainly another annoyance with apples restrictive nature with regards to their iPhones.