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,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System
Customer Review: Pretty Nice
Summary: 5 Stars
I waited several years before I purchased these. My Klipsch Promedia 5.1's bit the dust about 2 years ago, the infamous amp problem. I didn't really want to spend $300 on another set of computer speakers at the time, so I bought the Logitech G51's. They were pretty good speakers for the money. After owning them for 23 months, the rears stopped working. Logitech made good on their warranty, and I have a check coming for what I paid for those speakers, being that they don't make this model any longer. Figured now was the time to go ahead and get what I really wanted. I consider the refund a down payment for the 5500's. I saw the price here and at another retailers rise and fall, rise and fall again. One day, C*****t C**y puts these on sale here using the marketplace for a pretty good price, and even after the shipping costs, they were still cheaper than I have seen in years.
One thing I do not understand is why all of the high end sound cards for 5.1 and 7.1 speakers, when there are very few 5.1 computer speakers on the market anymore. These are the best 5.1 computers on the market now. These are not as good as my Klipsch were, but they are close. From most of the reviews that I have read, the longevity of these speakers is much better than the Klipsch ever were.
Now when these things land at your house, I hope you are strong, as the box is very large and heavy. As I was unpacking the box, I was very impressed by the quality of the speakers and the size of the sub. Holy cow, that sub is huge!! They give you a lot of speaker wire, doesn't appear to be the best quality wire, but it will work for now. Setting them up was pretty easy. I am using the RCA analog connection to my PC for now, as I am all out of optical cables at the moment.
Now for the good stuff. I have listened to these speakers at low volume listening to classical guitar, Phil Keaggy and the like to be exact. Now I am sure there are better speakers out there, but I am satisfied with the highs and the clarity of the music. I have had to turn the bass way down, and let me tell you, there is plenty of it. I love having the 5.1 speakers and being able to hear the sound all around you. I haven't had the chance to play any games on it yet, but I am looking forward to hearing things creep up behind me and raising the hair on the back of my neck just like my Klipsch used to do for me. Are they as good as the Klipsch, no, but they are pretty good.
I am not sure why more speaker manufacturers don't make 5.1's anymore. Once you have them, you don't go back to anything else.
Face it, you buy your speakers for the experience that they give you, and I believe these are the best 5.1's on the market right now. I know the price is high, and it waivers all the time. If you are on the fence, and you have the money and need quality computer speakers, wait for the right price point and jump in and get these. You will not be disappointed.
Customer Review: Amazing Speakers - Lightning Fast Delivery
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this speaker set on November 28, 2007 at around 5 o'clock in the evening using Super Saver Shipping ($0.00), and the box was on my doorstep at around noon on the 30th. The speakers shipped less than 3 hrs after I ordered them! I wasn't expecting to see them for 2 weeks! I am in the Los Angeles Area and the speakers shipped from Nevada, but I am still extremely impressed with the fast delivery. These Speakers are amazing. Upon opening the box, I was surprised to see how large the satellites are and they feel very solid. Even after reading ungodly amounts of reviews I cannot get over how big the sub is. I am in a fairly small dorm room, a single, that is about 7'x15' and when I watch explosions in a movie or listen to music with strong bass the entire room shakes. Its pretty ridiculous. I haven't even come close to full volume yet either. I'm not really an audiophile, but I like my quality electronics and I am more than pleased with these. I definitely didn't need the power that this system offered but I wanted the digital in. I use a tos-link cable (with a mini-adapter on one end, I bought the Belkin set for like $10.99) to connect the system to my Macbook Pro. The Macbooks and the Macbook Pros DO have optical outs (when you plug the fiber optic cable into the audio jack, red light comes out the other end, its pretty awesome. I was going to buy an external sound card and go with the Z-5300e set but I couldn't be happier with my decision to spend a little bit more and have flawless digital/optical connection. I was also surprised by the size of the control center. It's pretty big, but I don't really use it because the incredible wireless remote has every function. Its nice to be able to turn the sub up and down from my bed, especially when its Sunday Night and I don't want War of the Worlds in 5.1 Dolby Digital (which works flawlessly when playing through apple dvd player. The system automatically recognizes that there is 5.1 audio and switches modes from say the digital music mode) to wake up my dorm mates. I have read reviews, where people say they have received noise complaints. After hearing this system I would say that is completely plausible.I have been using this system for 4 days now and am completely blown away. Take the plunge you will love yourself for it.
Ahh, as far as wall mounting the rear speakers (or any of them they are all identical) goes I would recommend using nails and just hanging the speakers from them. The distance from the center of one hole to the center of the other is 3". The holes on the center speaker are 4 13/16" apart from center to center I don't know if that is a standard size. That is a number that I desperately wanted to know for mounting purposes and couldn't find anywhere! Also the set I got uses speaker wire not the attached other stuff.
Good Luck in Buying your own set of the amazing Logitech Z-5500 speakers
Customer Review: Great Speakers for Music and For Games
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought these speakers for my new Intel i7 920 PC that I just built. In combination with the Auzentech Forte, these speakers are simply amazing. This blows away my previous speaker system; Klipsch 2.1. Granted, this is totally different going from a 2.1 system to 5.1 but I'm amazed at the sound quality coming from these speakers. In a few forums, people were saying to me, get the Logitech Z5500 speakers; you won't be sorry. I'm g;ad I did. Listening to my songs from my ipod sound so crisp and clean. Playing my games, I'm amazed at the sound quality (Im hooked up with optical connection and Digital Effect. It sounds like your PC gaming system is sitting in the movie theatre with awesome sound! I have the volume on 4 bars, and it's loud. I have the subwoofer on 3 bars and I still feel the vibration.
Packaging and Connecting: Logitech does a good job packing a 56 lbs. box. Yes, the box is over 50 lbs.! You get 5 (including the center speaker) good sized speakers which I would say that they are about the size of a cordless telephone charging base station (the one with the answer machine built on it). The cordless base is a little wider but not by much. The subwoofer is HUGE! It's about as wide as a sliding file cabinet goes back pretty far. All the wires and manuals come in a seperate box within the heavy box itself. Be aware, a lot of wires will be dangling from all 5 speakers which eventually get connected to the subwoofer. Pretty simple to set up. I've typed all the extra slack from each of the wires using plastic ties that were provided by my Cooler Master HAF932 case (and my power supply unit). The central unit that you can control the input, effect, settings ect. is sleek and big also. Don't let the picture fool you. It's a little bigger than a speaker. One simple connection from the main unit from the subwoofer as well as wich sound connection you are going with (TOSLINK, Optical, Analog ect) and you are off to the races. When turned on, the LCD display shows a nice blue color, as well as the power button. The remote control is a very nice touch and very responsive.
My office/gameroom now sounds like a movie room with the help of these speakers! My games sound so much more crisp and enjoyable. Anyone looking for great speakers should invest in these. By the way, with the Auzentech Forte and the Z-5500 speakers, there is no crackling and/or popping sounds.
Be warned, that if you don't get free shipping, you're gonna probably PAY big time for these since the weight I believe was about 57 lbs. I got this for $280 with free shipping and no tax (at the "egg"). Since Amazon charges tax now for New York State residents, I went elsewhere to buy these. I buy DVD's and other smaller items from Amazon though.
Customer Review: So why did I not get these sooner?
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to have Logitech X-230s. They were good speakers, but they were 2.1s and didn't really do an X-Fi XtremeMusic justice. Therefore, I decided to upgrade.
Please note that I am not really a "hard-core audiophile" and my "taste" in speakers is more in line with the average consumer than the studio mixer or hi-fi nut.
Short Pro and Con List
Pros
- Can you say LOUD AND CLEAR? No distortion even when I crank the thing to maximum
- No hardwiring on satellites. The wires can easily be extended. From what I read of some earlier online reviews, the original design had hardwired satellites which meant that if you wanted longer wires, too bad. Mine does not suffer from that problem.
- Good for movies, music and games
- Easy-to-read LCD on the control center, which is very easy to use ("Digital SoundTouch" is what they call it).
- Subwoofer with enough power to flatten a building
Cons
- The subwoofer on its own weighs in at a massive 40LBS+, the system is thus hard to move
- System needs about a week of gentler use before it can sound its best.
- Hardwired cable on the back of the control center is ANNOYING and limits where you can place your control deck relative to the sub (which it plugs into)
- Only comes with the basic cables for a computer soundcard, even though the system supports digital optical and digital coaxial inputs as well
Overall, a great buy! If you need speakers for a gaming/media PC look no further. These speakers are so powerful that anything more than 1/3 power on your average song is a bit unbearable. There isn't much that can touch these for the same or similar price. The system supports a "Boost Mode" that takes it to an earth-shattering 1000 watts of power. To activate, turn the volume up to full and keep spinning the knob. It should say "Boost 1." If you keep going, you can go all the way to Boost 22. However, anything past 12 causes sound distortion, and level 22 WILL damage your speakers.
Advice for New Owners (which I got from another owner)
1. Do NOT go for full power right away, as you will most likely damage the speakers!
2. Keep the volume control under half for the first week or so, then move up from there
3. The "Boost Mode," which takes the speakers past the "maximum" volume on the control unit, can be dangerous both to the speakers and your hearing! DO NOT USE in the first week of ownership.
4. Don't play with the dial. Yes, it's pretty, but twisting the volume control up and down a lot may blow the fuse on the back of the subwoofer.
5. Don't push the sub too hard until you break the system in, either.
Customer Review: Perfect except for one caveat
Summary: 5 Stars
I was setting up an entertainment center and was in need of good speakers to listen to shows off of my computer. I checked out the reviews on the logitech and decided to go with them.
Mind you, I've never had a bunch of 5.1 set ups in the past, but the sound is great (again, with nothing to compare it to). I have my pc connected through it's digital coax connector option. I also bought a digital optical cable and connect my flat screen to the them as well. I took my time and ran all of the wires in the wall (got really good with snaking wires and patching sheetrock.) and up into the attic, so it looks real nice and professional.
If you think these are your typical pc speakers you'd find on your desktop...forget about it! The subwoofer alone has to weigh at least 30 lbs, maybe more! I set my tv to pipe all of it's sound to the digital optical output, then I had to set the logitech to the dolby surround sound setting so that it would do the typical 5.1 that everyone expects (with it's standard setting, it was only doing 2.1). I still have to play with the settings, but the sound is awesome!
There is one caveat, however: mounting the speakers on the wall! The subwoofer obviously sits on the floor and is not an issue. It's clear, however, that the four satellite speakers were done as an afterthought in terms of how to mount them. It appears that they were really meant to be mounted on stands. You'll have to get washers to make sure that the rubber in the hole is not holding up the speakers because they're not strong enough to hold the speakers! You pivot the stand for the wall, but you also have very little room to drill them into the wall. Anyway, it was doable.
Mounting the center channel? Ugh!!! The instructions say that if you want to mount it on the wall, back out the screw in the neck, flip the base, then screw it back in. However, when I got my system, the screw was one of those smooth heads, so this is an impossibility! When I called logitech, the guy *tried* defending this by saying, "Well a lot of people were mounting the speakers incorrectly, so we don't want you mounting them on the wall anymore." I said, "Well what about the other four speakers? Why didn't you change those as well? And why does it say you can wall mount it?" He had no clue as to what he was talking about.
Bottom line, I wanted to keep the speakers, so I made a small, very attractive shelf and mounted that right about my tv and put the center channel on that. Just beware of this.
For the price, quality and ability to hook up multiple sources to this unit, however, it's hard not to give these puppies 5 stars!