Speakers

[Dogmatix]

Hello,

yesterday, I purchased a pair of Logitech X-140 speakers for my kid's PC, to replace an ged pair of Quadral active speakers, one of which had finnaly given up the ghost. I connected the X-140's, and although there was a bit of background hissing from the speakers when there was no music, when the music came, the speakers sounded quite impressive - just like the demo pair in the shop.

However, when my son plugged in his (Sony) headphones, as he often does, he immedialtly complained about 'buzzing'. I checked, and indeed, the background hissing was much stronger in the headphones. It is at a constant volume, independent of speaker volume or source device (PC, iPod etc) volume settings, and whilst less noticeable when audio content is being played, it is intrusive and annoying during quiet passages or pauses in the audio.

I have checked using different headphones (Sennheisers), I have connected the X-140 to different sources (iPods and a radio), I have connected the iPod to the front input on the right-hand X-140, and I have tried same in a different room to eliminate interference from the PC - all to no avail; the hissing is always there. When connecting headphones directly to the PC (ot the iPod or the radio), there is no hissing. Therefore, the X-140 is introducing the hissing, and this is simply not acceptable. Logitech is a well-known quality brand, but these speakers that I have here are simply not fit for purpose.

(Someone suggested that I somply not use the headphone socket on the X-140, but connect the heaphones directly to the PC - but I want to connect them to the peakers in order to have a volume control, as it is awkeard to pause a program and use the Windows volume settings all the time. Besides which, the X.140 provides a headphone socket; I don't see why it should not be used!).

My question: have I got a defective unit, or do all X-140's have some hissing, especially vie the headphone socket, beacuse of their circuit design? When I take them back to the shop tomorrow, it is worth bothering with replacement X-140s, or would I be better off with a different model or brand?

[dhelpard1]

Hello Dogmatix,

Since you have already done the basic troubleshooting on the speakers by connecting them to different sources, it would seem apparent that you have a faulty set of speakers.  There should not be any hissing or buzzing in the background.  I would suggest exchanging them at the store you purchased them from or you can contact Customer Care in your region for further assistance and a possible warranty replacement.

I hope this helps you out.

Sincerely,

[vaesto]

Hi,

I've got exactly the same problem. Is my pair of X-140 is faulty too? I will try to replace it via warranty. But if another pair is noisy too?

Regards,

Vaesto

[Dogmatix]

I exchanged the speakers, and I found that the 'new' pair (I say 'new' in quotes because the absence of interior wrapping, driver discs, cables ties and instructions would seem indicate that the store has been putting incomplete returned items back on the shelves) also hiss through the headphone connector, but much less that the first pair. I have also found that the amount of hiss depends on the headphones used. Evidently a certain amount of hiss is unavoidable in this design. However, my children, to whose PC these speakers are connected, have not complained, so I consider the matter settled, if not solved - if these speakers hade been for my PC, being more picky, I would have returned the second pair and sought a different solution.

[dhelpard1]

Hello Dogmatix,

I am glad to hear that your speakers are working.  The X-140 speakers do not ship with a drive CD as they use a standard 3.5mm analog plug to connect to their source and do not require drivers.  The X140's will connect with anything that has a 3.5mm output jack.  Since you are still getting a little bit of a hissing noise in your speakers I will suggest testing them on a different source to see if the hiss remains.  If you are not 100% happy with your speakers and currently reside in North America, please feel free to contact me via private message.

Sincerely,

[Dogmatix]

Thanks for your reply.

As I said, my children are happy with the speakers, so as far as I am concerned, the matter is settled. For my own PC, I am condiering a different approach, something more in the direction of a small hifi unit with (internet) radio, CD player, maybe an iPod dock, and auxiliary inputs for the PC. Yes, I know that I can use the PC to listen to radio, iPod music and CD's, but I prefer to use a dedicated hifi unit. Perhaps I'm just too old-fashioned....

Anyway, thanks for the offer of further help.

Regards,

Dogmatix.

PS. I reside in Europe, not the USA.

[dhelpard1]

Hello Dogmatix,

If you are interested in iPod docks, I would recommend the S715i.  Its a small unit that sounds great for what it is.  I am going to be purchasing one of these myself.  I heard one a few weeks ago and was really impressed with the sound quality.  If internet radio is your thing, you may want to check out the selection of Squeezebox radios.

I hope this helps you out.

Sincerely,

[JovZ_]

I bought this product in Italy, changed one time, and the same buzz/hiss via speakers and headphone jack.

How to solve this?