Speaker - General Discussion

[MiniFranki]

I dont know how many i want to pay.... All will depend of your product. If your product is cheap, i will pay a cheap price. I'll not buy the z5500 because have some fuse and accoustic problem. And, subwoofer is too big. And more, no subwoofer magnetic shield. Sub magnetic shield is important for an audio system for PC. Its why, i have the z-5300e. But this system have only 505watts. I try to buy a new system with 1000 watts but I not found it.

[Astrallite]

I seriously doubt the Z-5500 can output an aggregate of 505W. Very few subwoofer amps can put out that kind of power, and they cost alot. 

They say 188W is allocated to the subwoofer, which might be realistic, but there's no way an amp that size can simultaneously power all channels to 70W/channel. I'm 99% certain they measured the maximum power rating while feeding one channel, and then just "multiplied it." In reality the maximum continuous output for the Z-5500 is probably in the 300W or under range.

You want to buy a system with 1,000W?

The cheapest receiver I can find with that kind of power is the Onkyo TX-SR806 - 140W/channel x 7 channels, which you can find for about $600+ online. Add a discrete sub and some speakers and even with some extreme budgeting and you're looking at $1200+.

Now if you are looking for this elusive "1000W" system in the Logitech Z-5500 price range, I suggest a garage sale.

As for the subwoofer being too large, smaller subwoofers require stronger drivers and more power to output the same volume as a larger subwoofer. If you want a small, powerful subwoofer, I would look at Sunfire subwoofers, as they probably the most famous and popular small subwoofer manufacturer. Their most inexpensive subwoofer, the Sunfire Solitaire 10, is $1,550, but you do get a 1,250 W subwoofer that's only 2/5 the size of the Logitech Z-5500 subwoofer.

Message Edited by Astrallite on 11-10-2008 09:05 PM

[kgb808]

a sub that big you have on the floor, the closest I have had mine set up to my pc (and other sort of sensitive components)was about 1 meter so magnetic shielding while nice is not that important. I personally think that 10" is about as small as you want to go for a sub that has to deal with any power **EDIT: as astral says there are small units but im taking into account cost per performance ratio, if you have the space and not the money the choice is clear**, which will take up a huge box if you want to give it enough breathing space (unless its an open air design, though I believe they cost to make due to the dynamics of pushing the air or something but tbh I didnt listen that closely when it was being explained to me so I could have it totally back to front), if anything Im tempted to take the amp out of my z5500 sub box so its bigger (on the inside) though that would make the sub box a bit smaller on the outside since I would have to take the heatsink with it.

and just so ppl can understand what sort of power we are talking my z5500 sub really does shake the floor, Ive NEVER had it to max volume and unless the speakers were really spaced out or in the open air and i wasnt too close to the sub front or port I wouldnt (not for their sake but mine) Ive NEVER even been close to tempted to overdrive it (which you can but its not recommended unless its to fix a low power source issue) I live in a large 5 bedroom single story house in the country with no close neighbours (the living room is a hexagon which is 30' from corner to corner and has a roof that is quite cool and has 3 panels making a triangular based pyramid where the point in the middle of the room would be 16' high on the inside and this meets the walls at the lowest point at about 11' up the wall with a large dining room attached in an open plan way) and I have held parties in this room where the music was making the whole house shake (wood frame, timber floors) and that was before ppl started dancing - you couldnt hear someone 2 foot away from you talk unless they shouted.

the only reason I would want a louder system is if I was using it for open air or a really large space, on the other hand I would prefer slightly better boxes for the satalites and possibly a dual set up (mid range / tweeter) for them to give better bass distrubution though I havent heard the other brand of PC speakers that offer a >500rms 5.1 set up which seems to offer these upgrades over the z5500 for close to the same rrp(though the z5500's are easy to get way below that and these arent yet at least and came to Australia only recently and way after i bought my z5500's so werent a choice for me) so i cant say if this system actually sounds better or if through poor design or by saving costs in other areas they have reduced this advantage or even reversed it.

also any increase in sound quality be it from better drivers or amp or where ever would be good, but everything costs money. I expect if they do offer a revision or slightly up model version of the z5500 it will have all of the features of the aforementioned competition for around the same rrp, maybe a little more if they improve in other areas but still under the US$1000 rrp deffinatly, cause i cant imagine there is a market for computer speakers at above this price that is worth aiming for. I love logitech so if they offer a product that is as good for the same price ill take it over the competition, but I love them cause so many times they have offered something that was better or worked better or for longer than the competition that I came into contact with, and they sorted out the only RMA Ive had with them well. this doesnt mean they dont need to make top quality products at a competitive price to get my business and im sure they realise this - being a much larger and more successful company than when I first fell in love with their mouses and joysticks I hold them to this much more than a smaller company that must innovate on a tighter budget.

Message Edited by kgb808 on 11-10-2008 09:25 PM

Message Edited by kgb808 on 11-10-2008 09:28 PM

[MiniFranki]

ok... If i put the 5500 subwoofer at the left of the desk and my computer at the right of the desk(1 meters of distance), your sure my computer is safe??? Oh and, my desk have a metal frame. The 5500 sub is near of the metal frame at my left(1/2 inch) and my computer is near the metal frame at my right(1/2 inch too)... Its safe too??? The magnetic of the sub can be transfered by the metal frame on my computer???

[MiniFranki]

up

[Mike_M]

Hi All,

As has beenn stated before, many times, you would need a magnet the size of a small car to affect your computer's hard drive. Almost all new hard drives are shielded from EMF now. You could get some distortion on a CRT if the sub were too close to it : ~4 inches or less.

The reason for distance is airflow.

Message Edited by Mike_M on 11-13-2008 02:49 PM

[MiniFranki]

ok... 5500 have a magnetic shielding??? And why he have this message(http://tweaknews.net/reviews/z5500/img/z22.JPG) on the 5500 subwoofer if the magnet can only do effect at 4 inches or less????

Oh and, i hear about fuse problem... This problem is fixed or not???

And i hear about "CLAK" problem... This problem is fixed or not??

z-5300e or z-5500(coax) have the best sound quality???

Message Edited by MiniFranki on 11-13-2008 03:54 PM

[kgb808]

mike is saying that your HDD is shielded so they wont be a problem. magnetic media (for example HDDs and FDDs and even the old cassette tapes if your old enough to remember those) is going to be the main problem as these devices are the most sensitive to strong magnetic fields - taking out the magnetic plater of your HDD and running a magnet over it will wipe the whole thing. as with most field equasions magnetism is exponentially weaker as you move away from the source of the field (tbh i didnt do physics for very long in high school, and i didnt pay very much attention so i could be wrong here but its not just some vague memory im going off, its also personal experiance) this means that when you are twice as far from the magnet you will have far less than half the field strength. mike is saying that you will probably have to move the z5500 to within 4 inches to magnetise your old crt screen (requiring a deguase) the warning label is saying that all sensitive equipment will DEFFINATLY be ok if its over 60cm away (if i understand what putting such a warning with your products does to both the companys rights and the consummers rights correctly then you would be able in theroy to sue logitech for any damage done if you could prove this direction was followed to the letter and the damage was the result of their product)

as for the fuse issue i have never experianced it, i have run my system sustained at high volumes and as i live in Australia and i believe air conditioning is evil this is sometimes on days in the 30 - 40 degree celcius (86 - 104 F) since i havent had the problem i cant really comment on this other than to say "not on my set"

the clak issue i assume your talking about the faulty batches. i originally bought a faulty batch brand new, logitech replaced this with a non faulty version via RMA and since then i have had no such problem. if you are buying brand new then logitech will replace any faulty set with a non faulty set (so long as the problem was their fault) if your buying second hand i recommend not buying the faulty version, you can find out the PID codes by asking a logitech rep

i dont have a z5300e set so i cant compare one vs the other but im going to go out on a limb and say the z5500 would win hands down. both systems are THX so no issue or differance there, but im reading that the z5300e doesnt have digital inputs, and i know the sound quality is far better using a digital input when playing from a digital source (like my PC soundcard for example, but NOT an old record player) i can hear the differance when i switch on my z5500s as i use direct (analog) for gaming (only way to get 5.1 without using dolby digital decoding which games dont allow) and digital for my music (as it allows stereo X2 and dolby it can use the rear speakers) ontop of that the z5500 is a more powerful higher end product so if logitech did have the z5300e sounding better even at low volumes they have made a serious error in design.

Message Edited by kgb808 on 11-13-2008 07:26 PM

[MiniFranki]

Yeah... i prefer z-5300e for bass. I can get a big bass with low sound. With the z-5500, i cant do that. I bought the z-5500 today and i prefer the z-5300e. The z-5300e can play on the 5 speakers when i listen music(not 5500 because the Stereo X2 only use 4 speakers). I think the Pro Logic 2 use 5 speakers but the rear speaker have a very bad sound(sound is deform). And with the 5500, the bass is not high when you play a low sound(same if you put the sub at the maximum in option). I dont understand why i cant put more high the sub sound for profit of the sub power. I find that stupid

Ok, yes... 5500 have a digital input but you cant use him for 5.1 gaming. That come the same of the 5300e because you need to use Jack for play with "direct 6 ch". The 2 only advatange i found on the 5500 is... the quality of sound is better and he have a wireless control. I dont accept to put more then 300$ for a system when a 100$ system is better(not in all point)

I will refund my z-5500 tomorrow if i dont find how to put sound more high of my sub

Sorry for my english

[kgb808]

well at the lowest volume setting for me with all the levels on half way i can hear my sub easily, and with the centre and surround set to 1 and the sub set to max it sounds a bit silly unless your just trying to hear the bass. and thats before i touch the EQ on my source

what are you powering it with and how are you connecting it to the z5500?