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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/08/2008
- Released on: 06/15/2006
The Zvox 325 measures 5 inches high and 17 inches wide and deep, which is about the size of a typical five-disc carousel-style DVD changer. The solidly constructed medium-density fiberboard cabinet feels strong enough to easily support the weight of a modest-size flat screen or direct view TV--although we'd probably recommend against it. The 325 comes in suedelike black or silver finishes. Peering through its curved, perforated metal grille, we spotted three 3.25-inch full-range drivers, and inside the cabinet is a 4-by-6-inch subwoofer.
The 325 was designed to hook up to the headphone jack on, say, an iPod, or the stereo audio outputs of your TV, PC, radio, CD player, and so on. There are three total inputs; the rear panel houses two minijacks, including one dedicated input and one that can either be used as an input or an output to a powered subwoofer (Zvox includes all of the necessary cables to hook up standard red-and-white audio outputs to its minijacks). A third minijack input on the front is available for quick hookup to an iPod, an MP3 player, or a game console. The front panel input, when active, automatically mutes the rear panel inputs, so it doesn't lend itself to keeping components permanently connected.
The little 3.4-by-1.6-inch remote has just three buttons: volume up, volume down, and mute. It ramps the volume up and down a little too quickly for us, but we eventually got the hang of it. The previous Zvox model, the 315, didn't come with a remote, so it's nice to be able to make adjustments from the couch--especially the emergency mute. Other controls on the unit itself include a master power switch and a woofer volume control for the internal woofer. The large wall-wart power supply looks like it means business.
After we set it up in our listening room, the Zvox 325 spread the sound of the phantom left and right "speakers" two to three feet to the sides when we were watching DVDs. The believability of the illusion was superior to those of most single-speaker virtual surround systems we've tested. Surround effects weren't evident from the rear of the room but were projected toward us. All in all, that's impressive performance from a single speaker. Dialogue was natural sounding, without the hollow processing effects we sometimes experience with other virtual surround speakers. The PhaseCue knob on the front panel is adjustable and controls the surround effect--turned all the way down, you just hear the sound of the Zvox 325's three speakers without any processing, but as you turn the PhaseCue up, the apparent soundstage width increases.
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