For someone who has chosen to go into a career where your primary focus is sharing information, embargos can make being a gaming and tech journalist very frustrating at times. Often you'll see something very newsworthy but not be able to say anything about it for a long time. Can you see traditional journalists having to wait to report exciting things like the terrible shark attacks in the streets of New Orleans during Katrina, or waiting to hear if you can run the latest Lindsay Lohan story?

I don't think so. But industry quirks aside, we have finally gotten word that we can do some reporting on our own brush with something that has a bit of sexiness and bite. No, it wasn't an intoxicated Ms. Lohan in a tangle with a shark, it was Logitech's new G51 gaming speakers.

At this past E3 we got a chance to shout with one of Logitech's friendly PR girls over these powerful little speakers and get an ears-on preview of their capabilities.

The feature on the G51 that Logitech is most excited about are the two "Matrix" modes, one for gaming and the other for music. Instead of making time slow down and your bedroom take on green tinge as I was expecting, it was explained to me that a processor in the system itself can take standard stereo input and virtualize it into a 5.1 signal before passing it along to the speakers. I think she sensed I was still a little skeptical, and so pressed the button on the control unit to enable it. I have to say I was pretty impressed. While playing the FPS they had loaded up you really could get a sense of which direction the bullets and explosions were coming from. I had to check the inputs from the machine to the speakers and confirmed that there really was only a standard stereo analog signal bridging the two. What's particularly intriguing about the possibilities of the new Matrix modes is the ability to revisit your favorite older games and play them again with added aural realism. We're excited to get the G51s in the lab so we can give you the final word on the Matrix's performance. [Don't take the blue pill! -Ed.]

Other new features of note are the independent mute controls for your microphone and speakers, a more vertically-oriented subwoofer will take up less real estate under your desk than previous models, and satellites which feature clear removable plastic casings. Meant to allow the modder in you to customize the look of the system, you can easily slip in artwork you've created with predefined templates they will provide. If that sounds a little strange to you, consider the swarms of people who customized Logitech's PSP Playgear cases.

The G51 Surround Sound Speaker System is expected to be on shelves in October for a MSRP of $199.99. Be sure and check back with Game Almighty soon to see our in-depth review.

Technical Specifications:

Power

• Total RMS power: 155 watts RMS

• Satellite powers: 20 watts

• Subwoofer: 56 watts

• Frequency response: 36 Hz – 20 kHz, +/-6dB

Drivers

• Satellites: 2-inch laser-tuned drivers

• Subwoofer: 5-inch high-excursion driver

Source Inputs

• Six-channel direct

• Stereo RCA

Control Center

• Master volume control

• Subwoofer, center & surround level controls

• Matrix surround sound music and gaming modes

• Independent audio and microphone mute controls

• 2 Headset jacks (microphone jack + headphone jack)