New Speakers and Headsets from Logitech

The folks at Logitech have been keeping busy, despite the fact that, aside from your standard PC input deivces (mice, trackballs, and the like) many of the company's products are what could be considered luxury items. Whether the company is thinking that folks in the U.S. are itching to find things to spend their tax rebate checks on or they are just optimistic about the economy (fancy speaker systems and gaming input devices would seem to be that last thing people want to spend money on when things are tight) we've seen a slew of fun stuff from the company in recent weeks. Last week, Logitech unveiled no less than four new gaming controllers . This week, the company is showing off fancy new PC speakers system called the Z-Series speakers. The speaker family, which includes the Z-560, Z-540 and Z-340, is targeted at PC gaming, DVD, CD, and MP3 audio applications. The THX-certified, 4.1 surround sound, five-piece Z-560 package pumps out 400 watts of power and includes wide bandwidth, phase aligned, satellite drivers and a polished aluminum phase plug design. The entire line of speakers will be available in the U.S. and Canada in early October. The satellite units include stands that rotate for either desk or wall mounting, and all units include removable grill covers that can be detached to display the aluminum phase plug. The Z-560 comes equipped with M3D Matrix technology, which is supposed to give you realistic surround sound from two-channel stereo sources. The Z-560 also provides subwoofer and dynamic bass equalization along with a SoundTouch Control Center that lets you tune the listening environment with separate controls for M3D, volume, fader and bass. The home stereo style connectors use standard speaker wire so that you can put the speakers anywhere you want. The Z-560 is priced at $199.99. The Z-540 is a five-piece speaker system with 40 watts of power. It has Logitech's subwoofer with pressure driver, M3D Matrix surround sound, and wall or desk mount satellites at a price of $79.99. The three-piece, 32 watt Z-340 is Logitech's entry-level Z-Series speaker. It also uses the Logitech subwoofer with pressure driver, and gives you a headphone jack on one of the satellite units. The Z-340 is priced at $49.99.

If you're looking to spend your money on something a little more practical, Logitech also let us know about the the Cordless Freedom Headset for PCs and the Cordless Telephone and PC Headset. Logitech also announced a new a new "corded" headset, called the Hands-Free Telephone and PC Headset, which gives you "Smart Switching" technology so that you can quickly switch between PC audio and the telephone. The new line of headsets will be available in the U.S. and Canada in early October. The Cordless Telephone and PC Headset System also features Logitech's smart switching technology, and includes a cordless headset and POTS adapter, 10 channel auto scan 900MHz transmission, a boom microphone with noise canceling and amplification technology that filters out background noise, a six-hour battery, and up to 100 feet of cordless range. The Cordless Telephone and PC Headset System will retail for $79.95. The second cordless headset that Logitech is releasing, The Cordless Freedom Headset for PCs, has pretty much the same features without telephone capabilities and will be priced at $69.95. The Hands-Free Telephone and PC Headset System (with a cord) includes an AC adapter and base stand, a mute button, and volume control and will sell for $49.95.