Labs

The Z-4's satellites look stylish without being too fussy. The wired remote control includes a large volume knob as well as a bass control, making it much easier to adjust than the subwoofer-mounted bass controls of Logitech's X-230 and Altec Lansing's CS2421. There's an audio input on the sub and another alongside the headphone-out on the remote.

At moderate volumes, the Z-4 produced the best bass of the 2.1 sets, with deep basslines, kick drums and explosions reproduced with precision and focus. The X-230's subwoofer went louder before it distorted, though. High frequencies were bright and glossy compared to the other 2.1 sets, but nowhere near as detailed as the studio speakers such as M-Audio's AV 40. This bright tone flattered DVDs, games and certain types of music, but made others seem a little harsh compared to the X-230's smoother sound.

It's swings and roundabouts choosing between the X-230 and Z-4 for sound quality, but we prefer the former, which also costs less.