Is surround sound really better than stereo?

No PC is complete without a set of decent speakers. Without some hardy sound-boxes, your computer is losing a huge chunk of its abilities. Games, music, TV and video – all require sound.

But it’s no longer a case of chucking money at any old speakers. These days, you’ve got a choice to make first: do you go for stereo or surround sound? Each offers a different experience, and has different points to consider.

The Philips MMS321 is a premium desktop stereo system. Put simply, it consists of two speakers that sit either side of your monitor, plus a base station that supplies the power and plugs into your computer.

The Logitech Z-5500 Digital is a very different animal. A 5.1-channel surround sound, it comes with five speakers and a huge subwoofer, plus a control station containing various input sockets and options for adjusting volume and settings.

Looks-wise, both systems are reasonably elegant, but the compact nature of the Philips gives it an edge – only a few wires are used, so it’s easy to hide them away.

The Logitech is another story – you’ve got cables running from the subwoofer to each of the speakers and the control station, so getting everything concealed is going to be nigh-on impossible unless you’re willing to get your hands dirty pulling up carpets, replastering walls and so on. Plus you’ve got to find a spot for the subwoofer, which is a big old unit – and not particularly pretty to boot.

Setting up is a similar story, unsurprisingly. The Philips is very much a plug and play product – you don’t need to do anything to it – while the Logitech requires you to tweak volumes for the front, rear and centre speakers plus the sub if you want the best sound quality. Is it particularly tricky? Well no, so we can’t moan too much.

But on to the really important bit: performance! This is where the Logitech Z-5500 really flexes its muscles: surround sound adds a glorious dollop of immersion to movies and games – switching from stereo to multi-channel when playing BioShock, we were immediately struck by the addition of the rear channels: the radio messages now came from a logical place (our right ear) while the environmental sounds like running water and creaking metal were now all around rather than in front of us. And the bass is a revelation: explosions took on more power and weight than before. It’s top stuff.

Now the Philips MMS321 certainly isn’t bad with games and video. The speakers deliver good high and midrange audio at a short distance and the bass output is surprisingly strong. But the lack of those rear channels is a blow to immersion.

One thing the MMS321 does very nicely is stereo music playback. Again, the results are best when you’re sat close by – move away and things become muddier and weaker. The Logitech system isn’t really designed for twochannel material, but it does an acceptable job with its two front speakers. The alternative is to switch it into its multichannel stereo or Pro Logic II modes; the first spreads the stereo sound over all five speakers and the second uses clever Dolby tech wizardry to simulate 5.1 surround sound from two channels (it works really well).

With wildly different abilities and wildly different price tags, choosing which of these is the best for you is really down to how much you care about your audio performance. If you want to experience games and movies to the fullest, you need a surround sound setup. If music is more your ‘bag’, and setting up six speakers is too much hassle, a good stereo package like the Philips will do you just fine.

Our verdict

The Bottom Line

The Logitech Z-5500 is one for the audiovisual enthusiast looking to get the best all-round performance from their PC. The Philips MMS321 lacks the wow factor, but does a capable job with anything you throw at it.