Question on quality with the Logitech z5500's...

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Barrack

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I have read here and there that this 5.1 pc setup is as good or better than most $400 HT 5.1 systems... Is this true or BS? My price range is $450 or under so I am wondering if going with the 5500's would be the wisest decision. I will be using them for the xbox360 via optical and for dvds as well..

If anyone could help me out I would appreciate it before I lay down a wad of cash. thx
 
I have that speaker system hooked up to my computer using x-fi soundcard and it is AWESOME! The sound is clear...no distortion....DEEP BASS (if you want) lemme warn you....the sub is very powerful!
 
Logitech bass is not particularly _deep_. It is _loud_. The two are not the same.
 
AdamW said:
Logitech bass is not particularly _deep_. It is _loud_. The two are not the same.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is very boomy at times, but nothing my Audigy 2 can't fix. Also I believe the placement of the Sub plays an important part on getting the boominees or cutting the boominess down.

But yes, I believe it is better than a 400 dollar HT.
 
yeah the 5500's are definitely better than a $400 HTiB. the only thing you might lose with 5500's is overall connectivity, but since you are you are only using 2 inputs (XBOX 360 - optical and dvd player - digital coax) you're fine.
 
those are the ones i might be getting. @ Newegg they are 257 w/ 50 dollar instant savings so 207 dollars right now! Do any of you know how long this instant savings will lasT?
 
iRoNeTiK said:
those are the ones i might be getting. @ Newegg they are 257 w/ 50 dollar instant savings so 207 dollars right now! Do any of you know how long this instant savings will lasT?
Click to expand...
i dont know how long itll last, but i wish i knew. any way, i have the Z-2300 set by logitech, and i LOVE them, a lot of people complain that the logitechs have to much bass, or "boomy" bass, and it did, AT FIRST, then i moved my sub, and it sounds MUCH better, i have never heard the Z-5500 set though, i thought about buying those instead of these but i got these 2.1 due to space constraints. The 5500 are close to these, but with just more power, more speakers, and a bigger sub. they have the same "cone" shaped drivers from which i have not heard any LACK of highs, they can squeel, granted i did have to tweek my EQ, but not much. So over all i think they would be the better choice too. so spend that extra $200 on something else, sound card maybe? or more games or controlers for your 360, that might help!
Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the response guys. Looks like I will be placing an order tomorrow with newegg :) I have the x-fi gamer card (Now that i think about it my sound card cost me more than my soon to be speaker setup.. LOL.. Not sure if that's a good thing) Anyways, hopefully it should sound sweet and a good alternative to when I want 5.1 sound vs using my sennheiser 595's with surround sound emulation via x-fi which can sound great depending on the source..
 
I just bought them, $227 shipped. That and the Audigy 2ZS platinum for $69.99 after $100 rebate at zipzoomfly. When I bought them there they were $169.99, they recently raised it to $179.99.
 
Oh doh..oh well i got them from newegg...for like 250 shipped..like 26 dollars shipping ! but i got a free logitech pencil holder lol!

--update--

they are 207 @ zipzoomfly but only 11 bucks shipping with UPS ground. So now i see why newegg has 50 dollars instant savings to make theirs 206.99...price match..nice..consumer wins!

when were they 170 or 180??
 
They were recently around $205 with free shipping from buy.com. Any deal on shipping is a good deal since they're about 60 pounds!

They're not going to be as good as a full sized, expensive home theater, but the 5500s are pretty good for the price and have decent versatility with the control pod. I've been happy with mine, and I think if you remember the price and that they're still technically computer speakers when you use them, you'll be happy with 'em too :D
 
I've got the Z-5500D's and they are phenomenal for the price. I run my dvd player and PS2 through them and they sound great. Definetly beats the hell out of those cheapy HT in a box systems.
 
I had the Z680's and then i got the Z5500 and I must say the difference is there, I love my new speakers, they get better sounding as the volume goes up, Beautiful system! :D
 
iRoNeTiK said:
z-5500 and z-5500d? same thing right?
Click to expand...

The D's are just a newer revision. Only difference I've seen is that the speakers are no longer hardwired, they have connections like that of a regular stereo system.
 
so i'm wondering, how exactly do you guys make your z5500 sound good? i've tried playing w/ the eq, but my music/movies don't sound phenomenally better. is it cause i'm running it through an onboard solution with analog? also, as of right now, my movies don't sound too great. i mean bass is definitely there. but the sound effects from the satellites and the dialogue from people sound very muddled. is it cause i'm running through analog and not digital? will digital make it sound MUCH better? can anyone test this for me and describe how much better using digital sounds when watching a movie?

other then that, the system is unbeatable in the $200 price range
 
Xeero said:
so i'm wondering, how exactly do you guys make your z5500 sound good? i've tried playing w/ the eq, but my music/movies don't sound phenomenally better. is it cause i'm running it through an onboard solution with analog? also, as of right now, my movies don't sound too great. i mean bass is definitely there. but the sound effects from the satellites and the dialogue from people sound very muddled. is it cause i'm running through analog and not digital? will digital make it sound MUCH better? can anyone test this for me and describe how much better using digital sounds when watching a movie?

other then that, the system is unbeatable in the $200 price range
Click to expand...
Yes there is a big difference. Get help here:
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=12170
 
If I had this setup I would probably end up remaking the sub enclosure. Probably make a sealed sub instead of the Ported.

If you really want to prove that there is no distortion, turn the speakers up really loud when the computer is turned on. Be sure that no sound is playing from the computer (Music, Instant Messages, etc.). If you hear a static noise, you have distortion. Most likely EMI.
 
TehRoflcopter said:
If I had this setup I would probably end up remaking the sub enclosure. Probably make a sealed sub instead of the Ported.

If you really want to prove that there is no distortion, turn the speakers up really loud when the computer is turned on. Be sure that no sound is playing from the computer (Music, Instant Messages, etc.). If you hear a static noise, you have distortion. Most likely EMI.
Click to expand...


In that case you would replace with shielded audio cable?
 
My DFI motherboard has S/PDIF in and out. Would you guys recommend using the S/PDIF-out on my motherboard? I will be using these speakers for music and games, not movies.

Do the z-5500's come with the necessary cable? If not, what cable am i looking for and where could i get one online or retail? thanks a lot.

I been looking into my DFI lanparty UT ultra-d motherboard with realtek audio and to enable S/PDIF i just need to enable it thru the icon in the taskbar..ok easy enough but then I ran into this..a review on the mobo by hardop herei s a quote about the layout and some jumpers:

"To the right of the audio header are the CPU fan and FAN2 headers, the onboard S/PDIF header and S/PDIF select jumper, and the USB power select and PS/2 power select jumpers. Note that both sets of power select jumpers control system wakeup based on rear panel port activity. The S/PDIF select jumper controls whether S/PDIF signals are output through the Realtek codec using the RCA ports in the rear panel or through the chipset. The chipset controlled S/PDIF signal goes through the S/PDIF header, which sits between the S/PDIF selection jumper and the rear panel RCA jacks."

Ok i found out what this means. Does the S/PDIF-out go thru the nforce 4 chipset or the realtek ALC850 codec? Which one is better? I would think a chipset instead of a codec but tell me different if im wrong and why..this stuff is weird :p

thanks guys!
 
I am thinking about getting a set of these for my Xbox360. I never connected my old Xbox to a Optical output before but i read someone saying that is uses a different Optical connector than the old one. I have my Xbox360 connect threw the Optical output on my HDTV reciever ATM. I noticed at walmart they have 2 different cables. One with a round plug and one with a squared off side on it. The 360 uses the cable with a Squared off side

Thanks
 
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