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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System
Customer Review: Boomy Bass, No Tweeters, Overpriced
Summary: 3 Stars
The Good: Digital inputs, many features. Optical, coaxial in, extremely loud. The large array of inputs and easy setup is the main attractive feature of this set and should not be looked down on by the casual user.
However, all of these various bells and whistles add up to something: cost. Since these are so costly, obviously, a lot of the add-ons like optical/digital inputs (which are completely unnecessary for you if you have a decent sound card in your computer, as digital input will actually downgrade your sound if you do, because the DAC's in the control pod of the Z-5500's will be inferior to the ones in your sound card... better to go with analog in that case.)
For a casual user with a few things that they want to easily switch back and forth with, these are excellent and top of their game. For music listeners or people who use their computer as a main source of entertainment, they should re-consider with Edifier S550's (if available) or an older-upgraded Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1
The Bad: Lack of a tweeter (makes for a so-so high end), midrange is nearly non-existent. Bass is one-noted and boomy, not very tight at all. At low volumes, bass struggles to be put out. Speakers are difficult to wall-mount. A bit of a disconnect between the speakers and the subwoofer. Speakers only rated at 12w power with a 25w peak.
Don't be fooled by the wattage specs on these guys. They state the satellites are able to put out around 60-70 watts, but, the official documentations on the Tangband mid-range drivers incorporated in the satellites specifically states they have a rated output of 12w with 25w as their peak.
Also, if you listen to music that isn't bass heavy and have a careful ear, you'll hear a lot of holes in music, especially if you've heard high quality Klipsch, Bose, Edifier, etc. systems.
The subwoofer is definitely loud. No denying that. It rattles everything. However, if you really care for music, you'll notice that it is really one-noted, only making a repeated booming sound with no real significant definition.
The mid-range is almost nonexistent. An audio friend of mine ran a frequency test on these and they cut out the heart of the mid-range. There is no tweeter on these either, so, they lack good highs. The bass is so loud and boomy compared to the satellites that it can drown out music and vocals (which are already lacking in the Z-5500's.)
The mid-range is the weakest point. It's very poorly defined. The 3" midrange driver struggles with it, and there is no tweeter either even at such a high priced object, which is disappointing.
If you are a casual user of computer/media, then these are fine for you. I doubt you'll notice or care that much, but, really, the older Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 set dominates these in all areas of sound frequency. Too bad the amp's bite the dust (though, you can fix this permanently/cool the system).
There are other issues, such as the control pod going out on the Z-5500's, however, these are detailed more in-depth in other reviews. Honestly, for the price that these guys are at now, just get a cheap receiver or home theater setup. You can use one on your PC as well, if so inclined. The Z-5500's were priced at around $180-$220 at one point. About 3 years ago in fact, when I bought my Z-2300's. I wish I went for the Z-5500's back then, now, they're just extremely overpriced. Not worth what you're paying for, in my opinion.
Customer Review: Very Good
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very impressed with these speakers. I have not yet gotten a digital connection, but I can't wait. The sub is quite powerful, but not as big as so many people mention. I have a little hiss from my front right satellite, but I think I can fix that. I got the speakers refurbished, so that is why they're like that. The controller is very nice to have and I use it all the time, and I'm in a small room. I just like to be adjusting the volume wherever I am. Like others have said, the midrange is a little lacking, but its so small of a problem that it doesn't matter, unless your an audiophile. It would bother you then. The control box is very nice and has quite a bit of good functions. You can select input, the effect of the audio, the settings for the input, the volume level of the Sub, Center speaker, and back two surround speakers, mute, adjust the master volume, and Turn the whole system to standby. Also it can go very loud. I keep my computer volume all the way turned up so I only listen to the speakers turned up about 4 bars. There are 20 total bars and 11 boost bars. I don't know if the speakers can take going that loud, but I know that my ears can't. I don't like listening to music very super loud, but I know that I can anytime I want.
The Subwoofer.
The sub is a ten inch long throw woofer. Looking straight at the woofer, Its 13 inches tall, 13 inches wide, and 18 inches back (including the cooling fins and speaker grill). The cooling fins must be 6 inches away from anything (according to the manual). They are 1.5 inches long, 9 inches tall, and 8 inches wide. There are the five wire connectors for the speakers which are labeled for easy assembly. There is also the connection for the control pod, the power cable, a fuse, and a master power switch on it.
The Satellites
The satellites are 3 inch drivers with a metal spike in the middle that doesn't move. The center speakers stand twists up and down for wall mounting and aiming the speaker. The rest of them only point one way unless you want to wall mount them. Then you just twist the base counterclockwise and it twists up. There are no included screws for wall mounting though.
Speaker Wire length:
Front left/right and center-15'(4.6m)
Back left/right-25'(7.6m)
Direct Connection Cable:
7 feet with three mini connectors on each end.
DSUB cable:
7 feet. This is the cable that connects the control pod to the Subwoofer.
The Remote
The remote has 16 bottons. Power, Test (sends hissing sound through all the speakers one by one), Direct input, Optical input, coax input, effect, settings, sub + and -, center + and -, surround + and -, main volume + and -, and Mute. Its about six inches long and two inches wide. It takes two AAA batteries. Also it doesn't go through objects but it can bounce around if pointed right. I'm not sure how far the remote reaches because I went all the way to the other side of my house and it still worked. Thats more than fifty feet.
I am very happy with my purchase. I only paid [...] dollars for it with free shipping refurbished off of Ebay. It costs [...] at Best Buy so I'm very glad that I found it at that price. I recieved it very fast too. Nothing except for a little bit of hiss out of the front right speaker is wrong with it either. I recommend this product to everyone. :-)
Customer Review: Very impressive but Mac users please read
Summary: 5 Stars
This speaker system recently replaced a Klipsch Promedia GMX 5.1 set that I've had for years. I thought my Klipsch set was good until it developed a bad hum, but I was wrong. The Z-5500's are in another league.
The sound quality is amazing, the build quality is sturdy and the main controller is attractive and very easy to use. As another reviewer pointed out, this system could easily replace an audio receiver for a home theater on a budget.
One thing that impressed me was the volume range. If you don't have neighbors you'll be just fine. These things are LOUD. I rarely dial my volume control beyond the quarter point and the clarity is brilliant whether you have them whisper soft or cranked to the "Boost" mode. I haven't turned my set all of the way up out of a small fear that my home would explode.
There are a few Easter Eggs included in the set, one being the boost mode. Once you go past the maximum volume, you go into a series of boost modes. Another hidden surprise is the Second Skin mode. If you hold down Input, Effect, Settings and Mute for six seconds (in that order) when the system is on standby, you can activate it. It just provides a different menu design and more vivid colors for the bottom right button. It's a fun feature for a few minutes.
I have nothing to complain about with the Z-5500's aside from the moderately ugly Logitech logo that adorns each speaker.
Now for the downer for Mac users. While the optical connection that's include on Mac Pro's and even Mac Mini's will give you excellent audio output and connects just fine with these speakers, Mac's don't have native support for Dolby Surround or DTS. That means that the speakers will have to decode the signal -- which thankfully they do just fine. But if you expect the "DTS" letters to appear on the control receiver, it's not likely. Your system will be stuck between Dolby ProLogic II Music and Movie modes. You can also use stereo and stereo 2 of course. Regardless, you'll still get surround sound decoded by ProLogic II so don't get frustrated in trying to figure it out. You can however send a clean 96/24 signal to the system so unless you're an extreme audiophile, you're not going to notice. The trick to sending the 96/24 settings is opening up "Audio Midi Setup" in your utilities and changing the settings for the digital signal to 96/24.
Now, Mac users smarter than me can and probably have figured out how to activate DTS and Dolby on these speakers but it's not easy. I had it activated for a bit on a DTS DVD through Plex and supposedly you can do it using VLC but that's just too much troubleshooting for most folks. I gave up when I realized that the sound is already amazing and I'm wasting time trying to get some letters to appear on the control pod. Silly, I know.
I would recommend the Z-5500's to anyone who appreciates excellent sound in music and movies. I'm not a gamer but I'm sure it would provide a rich gaming experience if arranged correctly. And as for the price, I think it's a heck of a deal.
Finally, do yourself a favor and pick of a spool of decent speaker wire. Those who complain about the cables being too long or too short should splice them to fit and that's easiest with a nice fresh spool. Save the stock wires with the box to eBay down the road when Logitech releases a better set -- which I doubt will be anytime soon.
Customer Review: The typical flaws....
Summary: 4 Stars
This system has got the goods and the bads just as I expected them to be. I'll put things pointwise:
- Value for money! - Can't get a system as complete as this [with the control pod cum decoder ..etc.] for 25000 Indian Rupees.
- The Sub "booms" - mind you, this one won't give you a tight punchy articulate bass. If there's an explosion in the movie you're watching you'll hear and feel it alright but don't expect bass strings to sound resolved on this Sub. I'll like to discuss this matter in a little detail: The older model z680 had a 8 inch woofer as compared to the 10 incher on this one, but the power has remained the same - 188 watts. Now subwoofer construction is a complex subject, especially when you are considering a 10 inch woofer. Most PC speaker systems have about 6 inch woofers. One can expect to push that to 8 inches. But frankly making a 10 inch woofer and making it sound articulate is in my opinion beyond a company that specialises in computer peripherals. Secondly, the notorious shortcoming of Subwoofer-Satellite systems is the lack of coherence between the Subwoofer and Satellites. The bass and highs are taken care of but the midrange suffers. Now this shortcoming will only be exaggerated when the woofer size is increased from 8 to 10 inches making it even more difficult to bridge this gap between the low and high frequencies. Thirdly, a 10 inch woofer will take more than 188 watts to be properly controlled. Most 10 inch woofers are powered by 250 watts or more. Logitech having enjoyed good success with z680 have pushed the envelope by replacing a 8 inch woofer by a 10 incher. I think this effort should have been directed elsewhere. An excellent solution is what Klipsch [A speaker specialist] has done - used 2 8 inch woofers instead of 1 10 incher. This solves 2 problems : one is that such a woofer would in some ways be easier to make. Secondly, with a single woofer room interactions can get very problematic causing booming at some frequencies. Infact room interactions are an almost incurable disease in the subwoofer breed. The only satisfactory solution is to have more than 1 woofer!
But all in all the sub is alright. It gives a good visceral impact. the bass output is kinda variable. At times is excessive but sometimes you gotta turn it up.
- The control pod is fine. The signal decoding works without a glitch.
- No complains regarding the Remote. The good thing about the remote is that the button layout is simple and feel of the buttons is good.
- About the satellites - well nothing much to say about them. They are above average in terms of sonic clarity. Construction is good.
- Although the other reviewers have mentioned that this system is loud enough to scare you neighbour, I beg to differ. It gets loud but not so loud. A related point is that there is absolutely no distortion at max volume - indeed commendable. But is the max volume deliberately kept low so as to avoid distortion? Anybody's guess!
Overall I'm happy with the system - be it movies or music. [I'm not a gamer]. There are no serious flaws. It has the shortcomings that most sub/sat systems have. A point of improvement would be the subwoofer. I guess logitech should toughen up the woofer [now that they are committed to 10 in woofers!]. It vibrates quite a deal and need more bracing and more power.
Guess that'll be it.
Customer Review: Worth MORE than five stars in my book...
Summary: 5 Stars
These speakers are by far the best I've EVER heard. They surpass my Yamaha 7.1 surround receiver and Bose speakers in quality. And as for loudness....how loud do you want it? The mains are fantastic. 3" drivers are a plenty, and they can pound out the midbass, midtones, and highs like nobody's business. The subwoofer is crafted extremely well and makes my father's 12" klipsch look like a waste of money. 188 watts continuous power is a gracious plenty, and it's just the ratio I'm looking for.
I'm very pleased with the quality of workmanship in all the parts. I especially like the optical and coax inputs, because now I can connect my laptop (with a Sound Blaster 24-bit external card) to get dolby digital and dts 24/96 surround sound. The imaging is, in a word, perfect. If you have any second thoughts about this system because it's from Logitech and not Yamaha, Infinity, Klipsch, or any other big brand name, don't worry. They sound fantastic, and the digital controller is more than I could ever ask for for the price. If you don't have a 5.1 digital or direct connection, don't worry. The unit can create lifelike surround sound from a simple two-channel stereo source. (Though I'd recommend getting a digital sound card with a coaxial or optical output if you want to watch movies in surround sound.) Even older movies like Blade Runner that are only in two-channel sound fantastic. But newer ones in Dolby Digital are amazing to hear. I've watched Top Gun and The Lord of the Rings on this system via my computer and it gave me chills to hear the sounds. Oh, and you know about the THX screen that's at the beginning of movies like Star Wars? It sounds awesome. The lightning strikes are placed perfectly. I've also played Halo which supports EAX surround effects, and with direct 5.1, you can experience this in gameplay. Positioning is perfect.
There is an undocumented feature called Night Mode, which only appears when playing movies from a digital source (as far as I know). From what I can tell, it reduces the dynamic aspects of sound, enabling you to turn up the volume without disturbing others in another room, etc. with booming explosions. The dialogue still comes in clear and audible and the surround effects still sound great. It's nice to have, since I spend a great deal of my time in a dorm room at school.
Another undocumented feature is the "boost" mode for the amplifier. Keep turning the volume knob past the maximum for several notches. You will see "Boost 1,2,3,4,...11" appear in the screen. This is an extra bit of power from the amplifier, but keep in mind that (and I've tested this) the amplifier is pushing the speakers more than their rated power in this instance and they will distort some. However, I've never been able to use the "boost" mode, because I can't hardly stand turning up the volume past the "e" in "volume" on the screen. Yes, they're THAT loud.
Bottom Line: This is the most excellent surround system I've seen, regardless of price (unless you're talking about tube amps and high-dollar Infinity speakers or something). It is a perfect compliment to any computer with a decent sound card. Oh, and after listening to these, I'd even use them as a home theater surround system. Why not? You get full control of the unit via the remote control!
Five...no, wait... TEN STARS!