Since its inception, members of the videogame industry have been looking for ways to reach through your monitor or television and affect you in ways that go beyond simple visuals. Today, we see examples of this in technologies like Phillips’ AmBX system and in devices like guitar shaped controllers. But with such limited and specific applications, they aren’t likely to reach into everything we do as gamers. That is not true for sound, however. So it’s one of the areas you would be wise not to cut corners on. With developers now directing more and more of a game’s budget towards sound effects and score, it's important to have the right equipment to take advantage of that.

Logitech has always one been one of the most visible companies gamers could turn to to get a quality speaker setup designed specifically for them. Different models targeted players with different economic means, with some of their most powerful systems costing well over $500. With the recent release of the G51, Logitech seems to have hit a sweet spot though that carries a very accessible price, an impressive list of features and powerful sound. Now I say “recent release”, but the G51 really came out late last year, I just couldn’t quash my curiosity after having seen it at E3 that year and hearing about how great it was from others. One of the things I remember being most impressed with at E3 was the system’s “Matrix” mode which seemed to do an amazing job of creating a surround sound experience out of a standard 2-channel stereo source. The first time I heard it it sounded fantastic, but there was a lot going on in the relatively small room we were in, and I couldn’t always tell who or what was the source of what I was hearing. Well after a couple weeks with the G51 (my apologies to Logitech for the slow turnaround time), I am pretty amazed.

The Matrix Surround Sound feature is toggled on and off by way of a switch on the new control pod. On some of Logitech’s other 5.1 systems the device you use to control the volume, source, etc. is vertically-oriented and can take up a fair amount of real estate on one’s desk. They looked half-way decent and it allowed them to also act as IR receivers for a remote control, but the G51’s new control pod is much smaller and a good example of Logitech’s design sensibilities. It’s horizontally-oriented, weighted, and has no-slip pads on the bottom – perfect for a gamer’s desk.

The control pod also houses the master power switch, level controls, pass-through mic and headphone jacks, and two independent mute buttons for the speakers and the mic. The separate mute capability is brilliant and should be very useful for players who use voice chat.