Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System
by Logitech
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Our Price: $962.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $260.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System
Customer Review: Definately Not for Audiophiles
Summary: 3 Stars
My Klipsch Promedia 5.1 system crapped out a few weeks ago (began producing an incessant hum) and I began troubleshooting it and came to the conclusion it may be better to just replace it. So I began looking at the better 5.1 computer systems. I discovered that the Klipsch system was no longer available...as a matter of fact, Klipsch no longer even produced computer speaker systems at all. I was aware of this Logitech system from a couple of years ago and I also considered the Creative system. I went with the Logitech because I always liked the company's support and customer service and I have had great luck and service from all of their products...and I have owned many.
Going straight to the point now...I was disappointed with the sound quality for music. The midrange was sucked out, the highs were not all that crisp but not bad....and the bass lacked the detailed punch (putting it lightly) when compared to my old Klipsch system. I have tweaked and twisted my sound card and the speaker system every which way and they still just sound fair. Now you must put my opinion into context though...this is ONLY a computer sound system, and they may STILL be the best sound, at least one of the best on the market in this product niche.
The system has a full 2 year warranty with great customer service, The features and inputs are immense...so if you want this for movies and gaming and music is only somewhat important to you this is the one to get! It is wonderfully versatile and probably dependable.
If you are buying primarily for music reproduction I would advise you to consider an old set of Klipsch Promedia's if you can find them. (they are not all that reliable mechanically though) or just get you some kind of home theater sound system and forgo the computer sound system option altogether. Or give a listen to the 2-3 other options out there that I did not audition or mention. (There is not a LOT of direct competition for this product.)
I rate 3-3.5 stars due to only decent music reproduction and probably 5 stars overall for those who will enjoy and use all the included features.
Customer Review: Unimpressed...
Summary: 3 Stars
This purchase was for a second set of 5500's, as I gave the first set to my son. My original assessment remains unchanged and follows...
Pros
Digital input, decoding & remote
Cons
Satellite stands are cheesy
Woofer not "musical"
Not sensitive enough (needs more gain).
Additional Thoughts
Being familiar with Logitech speakers, (I have two sets of 560's, and a set of 2200's) I bought the 5500's expecting to be blown away by the sheer volume and clarity. Sadly, this is not the case.
First, they are connected to a USB audio system (M-audio's Sonica Theater) through what Logitech calls direct mode (analog). With all the mixer faders at maximum, the level (SPL) achieved is unremarkable. Another disapointment is the sloppy, uncontrolled sound coming from the woofer. I realize that the box is ported for efficiency and small size, but I've heard better from ported systems. In fact, it seems to me that the 560's produce a more controlled low end and sound better when reproducing music.
Next, I used the coaxial digital input through the Sonica Theater and was pleased that the level came up dramatically, as did the clarity. Still, it seems as if there's more untapped power even with the volume maxed.
Connecting the coaxial digital to a DVD player playing Pink Floyd's 1994 concert "Pulse", I was again left wanting more!
Scottie! We need more drive!...
The imaging seems adequate -- mid's and highs are there, but upper bass seems a bit thin. I won't dwell on the lows.
To be fair, it's entirely possible that the 5500's would be a blast (literally) in games and movie tracks. But as to music (my purpose), I'm left wanting.
An addition...
I recently installed the 5500's in my living room to compare with a set of AR10 Pi's. I was shocked to hear how dead the Logitech's sounded in comparison. No real highs, poor detail, and horrible bass clarity.
I realize the price point involved, and that considered, you get a fair deal for your money. Just be forewarned, these are not Hi-Fi speakers!
Customer Review: A Monster!
Summary: 4 Stars
This really is a monster of a system, I have to admit I was not really aware of what I was getting into. I just wanted something that would accept The S/PDIF optical output from my soundcard, I was tired of the clicking buzzing of cheap phono plugs in my 10-15 year old Altec system. Most of the weight and bulk is in the 10" Sub, but I really like the way it sounds, more natural than the smaller ones. Remember though there are 5 other speakers to hookup and you may not have the layout to do that easily. I found the 25' wires for the rear speakers could have been even a little longer in my case.
I was going to fore-go hooking up the rear speakers, but I'm glad i didn't and found a way to place the speakers. The special-effects mode
Stereo x2 is really great. This is my favorite mode as i don't have much 5.1 material. This single mode makes me feel that the system was a real upgrade.
The control unit is also larger than many of the other systems because it has all the electronics in it for decoding and mixing the channels. As other have mentioned it has a few inputs and the standard headphone jack. The control unit also has a standard phono input jack easily accessible next the headphones jack, this is convienent for quickly connecting as digital music player, camera audio, or any device temporarily. If you don't want to use 5.1 sound, one unique input allows you to input 3 separate stereo inputs and switch between them. The IR wireless remote is probably something I'll never use but in some systems this could be a real useful feature, just program it into a universal remote. My control stand didn't have a level base, which is annoying, but not bad enough to ship it back, I just shimmed it. The cable on the control unit could also be a little longer, so the Sub could really be out of the way.
So while costly I'm happy, and this system is working well for me. While I usually still prefer to listen to CDs on my stereo, this system is capable of producing great sound; I'm listening to a 96KHz 24bit recording right now from DVD.
Customer Review: Awesome system, only a few con's
Summary: 5 Stars
This system is a great first system, my room in my apartment is where i'm using it (which is actually more like a jail cell). It's currently hooked up optically to my xbox360 and through digital coax to my Blu-Ray player and the sound is amazing, I almost think that i've gotten better at gaming now that I can hear what is coming behind me and from the sides, etc...
The system was a breeze to set up, hook up the wires, run wires through my room and mount the speakers in a 5.1 setup, just a forewarning, the sub is HUGE, the good thing is that it has a "night mode" which tunes down the base, which is great if you live on the 2nd or higher floor and people live below you as it does get fairly loud. The included wire was not long enough to run it how I wanted ( I don't like visible wire so I ran it longer to hide it better, though it should be fine if you don't mind visible wires. Other than that you pretty much just plug and play. The control unit comes with a remote and is nice and large with a good screen on it, you can run a quick "test" of all the speakers once youre done mounting them. The surround speakers are a little hard to mount to the wall as the speaker blocks a screwdriver from really getting in there, it took a little longer but it got in. Just a minor nuisance but i think it could be the fact that i didn't have a longer screwdriver.
There isn't much in terms of options, Center speaker volume, sub volume and surround volume, all the speakers sound great for what you pay, i'm not expecting AMAZING sound from it, but at this price point you are getting a GREAT deal with some GREAT sounding speakers, the bass kicks perfectly and the mids and highs are excellent. I have a speaker in my living room that I use my iPod with, so I don't listen to much music on these speakers so I couldn't give you a total description, but for movies the score sounds amazing and the special effects sound like you're in the middle of the action
Overall, for this price i'd buy it again if I ever needed to for some reason, glad I chose this system!
Customer Review: Horrible speakers
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these after my old Logitech Z-560's finally died out (amp gave up). They had a great run from 2002 until about a week ago. They were clear, packed a good punch, sounded great. So naturally I went with it's spiritual successor, the Z-5500's.
First off the wiring is madness. Routing to the sub through the control box, then from the control box to the PC (or whatever device you choose). Both are about 6' cables... thus if you have a setup like mine (sub on left side of the desk, computer on the right, and three monitors with no space for the control box there so it would be on a shelf near the sub)... you're screwed out of the box. That's ok though because I can pick up another longer cable or extensions and rectify that situation for me so I let it slide.
Then I turned them on. Started with the sub level at zero... holy crap these sound horrible. My Motorola Droid sounds clearer and packs more of a punch (Ok maybe not really but it's the analogy that counts). Cranked the sub level on and it became 'bearable' at best. The full midrange is driven almost entirely through the sub so there's no clean bass and no clean mid. The highs are extremely lacking to say the least.. the stock JBL stereo in my Tacoma puts out vastly clearer sound. Gaming sounds horrible as well as it's all mixed up in sound again. This is verifying the sound running via the onboard realtek controller on my gigabyte board (same driver I was using on the Z-560's). Positioning is ok. Dolby effects work for mixing the music channels and such... but no matter how much I try to tweak software EQ's there's no salvation.
Save your money on this $400 (retail) set of speakers and put a few extra dollars into a home theater in a box... it'll be 3x the system and just as easy to use.
Also I'm extremely disappointed in amazon. I know it said this item was unavailable for returns but come on. The magnet is really hazardous cargo and enough to prevent returns? Hopefully someone on craigslist will buy them otherwise I'm out my cash on these.