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: Best for the price...
Summary: 4 Stars
Let me start off first by saying that my experience with Logitech products has been mixed so my review is fairly unbiased. I had a much much smaller 6 piece Logitech setup before this and the subwoofer burned out because it had no ventilation ports (excellent.) However, I bought this set after much research. The way I have my computer set up is kind of like a HTPC, although it sits at a desk. I have a big 27" LCD TV that is great for watching movies so I wanted some speakers that could supplement the experience. I have a motherboard with Dolby Digital support (older Nvidia Soundstorm) so I planned on buying a receiver and some nice home theater speakers. However I changed my mind after reading the reviews on this, and I'm glad I did. It saved me a lot of hassle, and I got a nice integrated system with DTS encoding. As far as sound quality goes, this system is excellent. It is very clear on Half Life 2 and Call of Duty 2, among others. Additionally, when running a DVD through PowerDVD and with DTS enabled, the sound quality is unparalleled for the price. As far as bass output goes, some people have a tendency to exaggerate. At first the bass output is very unimpresive until you tweak some settings. Once you get it figured out, the bass on this setup is king, as far as computer setups go. However, it is not earth shaking like some proclaim. I have a feeling some people have never heard a loud car subwoofer or bigger home theater sub. I will say though, that at about 3/4 volume with bass turned all the way up, all the pictures in my room shake and the disturbance in the living room is very profound. The other great aspect of the sound quality is you can crank it up to max with no distortion. At max volume it is so loud I can't be in my room but it is perfectly loud enough for when having small parties. Being as loud as it is it keeps people from snooping around in my room during these parties :)
There is one somewhat minor problem that leads me to only give it four stars (this may have been mentioned.) The speakers will often make a loud pop noise whenever another electrical device is turned on. Having two roommates, this happens more than I would like. My neighbor, who bought the same speakers after hearing mine, experiences the same issue. There may be a fix for it, I just haven't gotten around to looking. All in all though, I would recommend these speakers.
Customer Review: "Hello, 911? I just heard a bunch of explosions!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Been listening to these for the past week and wowzers, they are nice. The clarity is unreal and the power is scary. Been gaming with them and I'm affraid some one is going to call the police with all the gun shots and explosions going on in my computer room, well not really but you know what I mean. This thing shakes walls and rattles windows. I got the sub-woofer down to near minimum and that's plenty for me. But its nice to know that if my upstairs neighbor decides to play their crappy music too loud that I can blow them away easily. >=)
The first thing that struck me was the sub-woofer..Good lord it's HUGE! It's more like a canon than a speaker. As a reminder, keep it at least 2 feet away from your PC or other sensitive electronic devices. You don't get the warning until you open the box and if you plopped it down next to your PC before reading the warning...Well a freshly re-built system is always nice.
What's weird is that I'm trying to adjust to sound fullness versus loudness. I don't have it up very loud, but the sound is so rich that it sounds allot louder than what it really is. I don't know if that makes sense but it's just another indicator of quality.
Now I did notice a very faint crackle at a certain frequency but that seems to have occurred with only one CD in a certain drive. WAV (game) output is flawless and the other CD drive played fine. So I'm not so quick to say its the speakers, they just reproduce what they are fed for the most part. And with an old Audigy X-Gamer sound card and old CD drive...Allot can happen to cause this, but I'm just picking nits at this point.
The pros:
1. Big BIG sound
2. You don't just hear explosions, you feel them. And if you're a retarded attention whore and like to ruin music with ridiculous bass volume, you'll love them.
3. Great sound customization
4. The remote
The Cons:
1. Expensive
2. The stands on the speakers are kind of lame and not too adjustable.
3. Having to go out and buy two speaker stands for the rear channels so as to better focus sound than rely on the mounts/stands.
4. If you live in an aprtment, restraining your self from cranking it up so as to be a good neighbor.
5. Shipping costs
Customer Review: A tale of great frustration that lead to great satisfaction.
Summary: 4 Stars
First and fore most I just Love my decision to purchase this system. Most of the reviews you will read about how great this system sounds is spot on. I thought I would miss my old 15" sub but the sub that Logitech has included delivers with a punch. I purchase this system as a replacement to my main stereo system. Because I live in a apartment the main objective was take away the clutter. So I did not want no receivers, amps and large speakers. My first focus was on the Bose Lifestyle series but at that price range don't think so. After reading many reviews and focusing on system under $1,000 but over $500 and not finding what I was looking for. Then I remember that some of the computer speakers systems out there were pretty good but could they replace a home stereo system. Upon researching some more the product that repeatedly came up was the Logitech Z-5500. I went to a store tested them out and I knew that these were it.
My main complaint has to do with mounting the speakers to a stand. Logitech did it absolute best to make sure that this operation was as difficult as they could make it. If you want to mount your speakers on anything but the little desk prong that it comes with be ready for a dandy of a time. To remove the little stands is not simple at all they even fill in the Philips head so you could not get the screwdriver in for removal. I had to use needle nose pliers and twist away this process got cuss meter started because pliers keep slipping. After removal of the stand the Logitech engineers did it to me again the bolt inside the speaker was not fix to the speaker so it rattle around inside and in order to attach the bracket and fix the rattling bolt you must take the speaker apart. I had to do this operation 4 time and cuss meter went way way up. This is quite a shame coming from Logitech because one of the most important things in order to get full enjoyment of these speaker or any speaker system is PLACEMENT so you need the flexibility to use what ever mount you fancy. I have own Logitech speakers before these speaker were of the cheaper verity and they had a metal prong stand and not cheap plastic and a nice big Philips head for easy mounting. Being that this is one time deal unless you need to change your stand. But once it done you will gets to enjoy a great system.
Customer Review: Sweet , Sweet , Sweet. Some minor issues though.
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very sketchy about buying this system. i thought wow, 400.00. i could buy a better system for that price. But i did some research and found it for 280. i took the deal. And man , this sound system kicks. I put it in my basement which is a pretty big area. I am here to say it gets the job done. i have it hooked up to my HD DVD Player, my HD Cable Box, and my Xbox 360. Now this is one problem. The dvd,cable box, and xbox 360 require Optical cables to run surround sound. So when i have to unplug my optical cable and plug it into what ever unit i want to use. There are switchers out on the market i understand where you can just buy 4 optical cables which could be exspensive and just push a switch to what ever optical cable you want to use. Id suggest that.
Bass is good if you are close up to it. I think it is a little underpowered for my basement. THe bass would be really good in a smaller room. BUt dont get my wrong it is stilll really nice for a big room. But i had to turn down the center speaker to about 25% or lower soo i can hear the other speakers and the bass.. This is no problem to do. STill sounds amazing. This system is loud. Dont let the 505RMS fool you. Its really loud.
The control panel is really easy to use. Pretty big. but looks cool. Also the woofer is HUGE. IT gets down pretty low too.
I watched tokyo drift the other night and the first street race with the viper and that muscle car where crashig into each other. Parts were flying everywhere and i heard a whooosh sound on teh side of me. IT was parts flying by. IT sounded soo real. IM telling you, Dont pay 500 or more on a system. Computer speakers are the same quailty. Logitech rocks. I also have the z-2300 and ill tell you. those are just as nice too. Logitech hasn't let me down yet and im sure they wont let you down. I really liked how you can adjust each speaker volume. Cool feature. LIke i said before if you want more bass just turn down the center speaker because its really loud and will drown out the bass if you are in a big room. Also in regular tv you can set it to the Prologitech movie mode and will get surround sound on regular tv. Another great feature. But i hav Digital cable so im not sure if that matters. i could go on and on abou this system but i think you guys get the point.
Customer Review: Simply Stunning
Summary: 5 Stars
I was able to finally get this system this year. The install took about 30 minutes. Living in a dorm room, I mounted the satellites to the ceiling using 4 large 3M Command Strips/speaker (as we are not allowed to drill holes in the walls/ceiling).
I connected the system via the optical connection to my computer, and I used one of the 3 analog inputs for the feed from my laptop's docking station.
Just in stereo, this makes music sound amazing. The Dolby Digital Pro Logic II encoding capabilities that this system utilizes is flawless. It is simply awesome listening to stereo music and movies in surround sound.
It took a little bit of trial and error, but I was finally able to configure my computer's sound card to allow the DTS and Dolby 5.1 audio signals to be passed through to the speaker system.
The DTS and Dolby Digital decoding is also amazing. I work as a projectionist at a movie theater. The DTS and the Dolby Digital sound from movies that I own sounds exactly what I would expect from the theatre.
Hooking up a game console (play station 2) or playing a computer game is also fun. With surround sound (be it Dolby Digital, DTS or Pro Logic), it adds a whole new level of feeling like you are in the game.
Overall, I am highly impressed with this system. If I would have to choose one drawback, it is the satellite speaker joint design. Since the speakers only swivel one way, it can create a problem if you need them to face the other direction.
I found that the system by itself is easy to set-up. However, configuring the other devices (i.e. computers/game consoles) to work properly may be troublesome if you don't know what to do.
Being in a dorm setting, I typically have to keep the bass down so that my whole floor isn't feeling the vibrations from my sound system. Others may run into this situation when living in situations similiar to dorm life (apartments). However, the sound is still awe-inspiring with the bass down.
In forums that I have seen across the internet, people have commented that the speaker system uses RCA plugs for the speaker connections. Logitech must have re-designed this, as my speakers connect to the sub via standard speaker connections.
I did purchase monster cables to connect the center and satellites to the subwoofer.