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Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Sony SRS-Z100
| Caractéristiques | |||
| Power supply | Eternal | ||
| Sound-To-Noise ratio | N.C. dB | ||
| Bandwidth | 60 Hz - 20 kHz | ||
| of subwoofer | 20W / N.A. | ||
| Nominal output power | N.A. | ||
 Show all specifications
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| Remote | N.A. |
| Connectivity | Mini-jack, headphones socket |
 Hide specifications | |
Tristan François
Translator: Catherine Barraclough
Test date: January 5, 2011
Translator: Catherine Barraclough
Test date: January 5, 2011
2.0 or 2.1?
Many users find themselves torn between buying a 2.0 or a 2.1 speaker set for their PC.
Whether you're trying to save room on your desk or pennies in your pocket, it can be very tempting to go for a basic stereo set-up.
Beware! As is the case here, 2.0 kits often can't correctly reproduce lower frequencies. The overall output therefore isn't particularly pleasant to listen to, even if you're not a fan of booming basslines.
For a good-quality 2.0 system, you'd need to spend a small fortune on a small set of home-studio speakers. Then again, if they're small for a home-studio, they're still enormous compared to regular computer speakers. So basically, unless you have an unlimited budget or you're only looking for speakers for very occasional use, it often pays to consider 2.1 systems before you invest.
Whether you're trying to save room on your desk or pennies in your pocket, it can be very tempting to go for a basic stereo set-up.
Beware! As is the case here, 2.0 kits often can't correctly reproduce lower frequencies. The overall output therefore isn't particularly pleasant to listen to, even if you're not a fan of booming basslines.
For a good-quality 2.0 system, you'd need to spend a small fortune on a small set of home-studio speakers. Then again, if they're small for a home-studio, they're still enormous compared to regular computer speakers. So basically, unless you have an unlimited budget or you're only looking for speakers for very occasional use, it often pays to consider 2.1 systems before you invest.
Although you might not necessarily look to Sony for a set of computer speakers, the Japanese manufacturer has plenty of models on offer, all of which are widely available on the high street.
Hardware & Design: minimalist, part 1Sony hasn't pushed any boats out making this speaker set, that's for sure! There's a headphones socket and a volume control and that's your lot. The same is true of the design too, as these speakers are out-dated, black, boxy things with old-school protection grilles.
So there's not really much to say in this section then, apart from the fact that the SRS-Z100 speakers are ugly and not particularly practical, but at least they don't take up too much room.
Audio Quality: minimalist, part 2Obviously, with a basic stereo speaker set and no subwoofer, you can't expect miracles in the bass department. We noticed the lack of bass as soon as we switched them on, as although the satellite speakers do very well in the higher end of the spectrum, they simply don't cover the lower end.
Thankfully, the speakers go some way to making up for things by reproducing medium and treble frequencies very well, with plenty of volume and a sharp, well-defined output. A small subwoofer could actually have turned the SRS-Z100 into a decent 2.1 speaker set. However, as it stands, this 2.0 set is rather over-priced.
In the end, there's not much to say about this speaker set, apart from the fact that you'll forget about it within about 10 minutes of opening it.
Pluses
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Compact
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Upper end of the spectrum well reproduced
Minuses
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No bass
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Minimalist controls
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Out-dated design
This Sony SRS-Z100 speaker set is over-priced, ugly and lacks bass. It only just scraped a 3-star score and we're still wondering why you might want to buy it.
