[attachfull]1213[/attachfull] Today I am going to take a look at the Logitech Z5500 5.1 speaker system. This speaker system is very similar in specification to Logitech’s Z680 5.1 Speaker system. The Z5500 is a high end speaker system for computers, and is currently one of the best on the market. The system can produce ground shaking bass with low distortion sound. The Z5500 retails for around £200 brand new, and I can tell you, its money well spent. In this review I will show you that the Z5500 5.1 Speaker System is a must have for both gamers and audiophiles out there!
Features and Specs The information below contains the specifications and features from the official Logitech site: Total RMS power: 505 watts RMS -Satellites: 317 watts RMS (2 x 62 W front, 2 x 62 rear, 69 W centre) -Subwoofer: 188 watts RMS Total Peak power: 1010 watts Maximum SPL: >115 dB Frequency response: 33 Hz — 20 kHz Amplifier: Ultra-linear, high-capacity analog Signal to noise ratio: >93.5 dB, typical 100 Input impedance: 8,000 ohms Drivers: -Satellites: 3” polished aluminium phase plug drivers -Subwoofer: 10” high-excursion ported driver with 6th order bass reflex enclosure Surround sound effects : -Hardware decoding for Dolby® Digital, DTS®, and DTS®, 96/24 soundtracks -Dolby Pro Logic II (Movie and Music modes) -6 Channel Direct -Stereo x2 -Stereo Supported digital formats: -Dolby Digital -DTS and DTS 96/24 -PCM (uncompressed stereo): 44.1 kHz / 16 bit through 96 kHz / 24 bit Source Inputs -Digital optical for DVD or CD players, PlayStation®2, Xbox®** -Digital coaxial for DVD or CD players or PC sound cards (requires coaxial cable, sold separately) -6 channel direct (3 stereo-mini connectors) for 2, 4, or 6 channel PC sound cards OR 6 channel direct (3 stereo-mini connectors) for 3 stereo analog mini audio sources, like CD and DVD players, Playstation 2, Xbox, or 2 channel PC sound cards (some devices may require stereo mini to dual RCA adapter, sold separately) -Analog stereo-mini (on side panel of control centre) for portable CD, MP3,or Minidisc® players Features [attachfull]1214[/attachfull] Dolby® Digital is the universal standard for 5.1 digital sound. DVDs, PlayStation®2, Xbox®, digital cable, satellite TV, and HDTV all use Dolby Digital. The Z-5500 Digital includes a hardware Dolby Digital decoder for full, rich 5.1 sound. [attachfull]1216[/attachfull] THX® certification is the "seal of approval" for speaker quality. It is an absolute assurance that these speakers accurately recreate the full sonic experience of a movie theatre. The Z-5500 Digital is one of a select few speaker systems that meets the rigid standards for unparalleled THX-quality sound. [attachfull]1215[/attachfull] DTS® Digital Surround delivers 5.1 digital sound that rivals master soundtracks. DTS soundtracks are included in many DVD videos, DVD Audio discs, and PlayStation®2 games. The Z-5500 Digital includes a hardware DTS decoder for master-quality sound. The Z-5500 Digital also includes support for DTS 96/24, an enhanced, higher-resolution, studio-quality format available on many DVD video and DVD Audio discs. Powerful, distortion-free bass: The new, larger 10-inch long-throw subwoofer driver with flared bass port delivers 188 watts of thunderous bass. Innovative driver technology: Polished aluminum phase-plug satellites combine two drivers into one--the clarity of a tweeter with the richness and fullness of a separate mid-range. Digital equalization: The Z-5500 Digital actively adjusts frequency response in real time for the cleanest, most accurate sound reproduction. DTS® 96/24 support: Enjoy studio-quality sound thanks to the Z-5500's support for 96 kHz / 24-bit digital audio streams Amazingly powerful controls: The Digital SoundTouch™ Control Centre lets you control volume to all speakers, set inputs, and much more. And the separate wireless remote is great for home theatres and video game consoles. Innovative satellite design: Cloth grilles are removable for a pro-audio look. Pedestals rotate for easy wall mounting or desk placement. Centre channel can be mounted on wall, above or below monitor. Connect to multiple sources: Simultaneously connect 6 audio sources including PCs, video game consoles, and DVD, CD & portable music players… and control it all from the Digital SoundTouch™ Control Centre.
The Product Ok, now for a look at the speaker set. The box for the Logitech Z5500 is massive, I am using it as storage now, and was able to fit 3 full size 15” monitors in and other stuff and with the subwoofer in, its really really heavy to lift, its a wonder the delivery guy could even pick it up! First off is the Z5500 Manual and the Install Guide, I apologize that the instructions are messy. [preview]1217[/preview] [preview]1218[/preview] [preview]1221[/preview] The instructions are easy to read, the diagrams are easy to understand, this will make installation go allot faster without any problems, you also get a manual, its pretty thick, that’s because the manual has lots of other languages in it. [preview]1219[/preview] This is the Digital SoundTouch Control Centre, This is were everything is controlled from, it houses the Dolby Digital and DTS decoding. All of the connections are located at the back. [preview]1220[/preview] A control is also included; handy if you’re using the Z5500 in a main room with a TV. Batteries are also included. The only cable included in the package was the patch cable for connecting the speaker system to the soundcard, i would of thought that they would include an Optical or Coax cable.
The speakers [preview]1226[/preview] The satellites consist of a 3” polished aluminium phase plug driver that is 62W RMS. On the back there is a tuned port for better handling the mid range frequency’s. Another thing about these speakers are that the wire is not hardwired into them; this is good if you need to extend the speaker cable. [preview]1224[/preview] As you can see, you can either have the front speaker grills on or off, having them off gives a more professional look. [preview]1226[/preview] When theses speakers are really turned up, they really do move air through that tuned port on the back. When I first turned them on, I was surprised at the fact that with some songs. You can have the subwoofer turned to 0 and still get enough bass. These little satellite speakers are exceptional in the mid and high end, although some people may not agree there as these satellite speakers don’t have a tweeter. [preview]1227[/preview] If you’re short of space these handy little speaker stands also swivel 180 degrees to act as a wall mount. Unfortunately it’s pretty hard to mount these speakers on the wall as the actual speaker gets in the way when trying to get the screws into the wall. The performance of these speakers is exceptional. On the control centre, the volume can go up to 20 bars, then if you keep turning the volume up it goes into “Boost”, and you get an extra 11 bars. These speakers never distorted until Boost 10 out of 11, and at that level, all you want to do is turn the volume down because it’s so loud, yet so clear. I had a big headache after trying it at boost 10. [preview]1223[/preview] The centre speaker uses the exact same 3” polished aluminium phase plug driver, but the centre runs at 69w RMS. This is because the centre is responsible for most of the sound in movies. You may have noticed that in a Dolby Digital 5.1 movie if you muted the centre speaker, you won’t hear any of the vocals. [preview]1222[/preview] The other difference about the centre speaker is that it’s turned horizontally from the main speakers and the stand is different. Because these speakers are magnetically shielded, they can be placed near your monitor, the centre speaker can be placed on top of your monitor. The back of the speaker is exactly the same as the other speakers.
The Subwoofer Ok, this speaker system is complemented by one massive beast of a subwoofer for a computer 5.1-speaker system. Just to illustrate its gigantic size, here is a comparison of the Z5500 subwoofer (bottom) to 2 other average computer subwoofers: [preview]1228[/preview] [preview]1229[/preview] Right, this subwoofer features a 10” high excursion driver. Some people have been fooled into thinking its a 12” driver due to the grill. The 10” driver has a dedicated 188W RMS, and that’s a hell of a lot for a computer sub. In fact most decent all in one home theatre subs don’t have as much power as this sub. The sub is a really good performer. I had the volume turned up to the highest levels and this sub did not distort at all. The bass was absolutely amazing, my whole room was shaking, and I had to turn it down because the neighbours soon started complaining. The sub on some notes is really defining, that’s just how powerful it is! The bass is a little boomy, some people will like that, but some people won’t. It’s only a minor thing that can easily be solved if you don’t like it by altering your equalizer or turning the subwoofer down a little more. The sub has a sturdy front metal grill, making the sub look really cool, although I think it would have been better if they gave you the option to either have the sub grill on or off. Also, here are 2 videos, the first one is to show the 4" port pushing lots of air, second is to show just how much bass this sub can put out, on the second video i was at the other side of the room in the bass hotspot of my room, at points of the strongest bass you can see my sound sensitive cathode reach Video 1 Video 2 [preview]1230[/preview] On the side here is the 4” tuned flared port--so big I can almost fit my arm down it to my elbow. When the sub is really turned up, that port also shifts some air. To again illustrate the massive size of the sub, I placed one of the satellite speakers on top. [preview]1231[/preview] Now, on to the rear of the sub: this is were everything connects. You have connections for the Digital SoundTouch Control Centre, power cable and speakers. In the older revisions of the Z5500, speakers were connected to the sub via RCA connectors, which makes extending cables harder. Now the z5500 uses connectors like proper home theatre systems. The amp is located inside the sub and is passively cooled by a fairly large heatsink. When you’ve had the volume up high for quite a while, the heatsink does get really hot, almost too hot to touch, so this needs some good ventilation. I wouldn’t recommend having the back of the sub closer than 6” to a wall. The heatsink does do its job well though, considering that its cooling a 500W/1000W amp! If the amp does get too hot, then the speaker system will shut off thanks to some thermal protection Logitech has implemented.
Digital SoundTouch Control Centre [preview]1232[/preview] Everything is controlled from here. Like I mentioned earlier, the control centre houses the decoding for Dolby Digital, pro logic and DTS. First off, you’ll notice the size of this control centre. It’s pretty big, but this isn’t a bad thing. It has a nice big screen that’s a lot easier to see than the Z680’s control centre. There is a large knob for the volume, looks like the sort you get on hi-fi’s, the control centre is really stylish and sleek looking; it’s modern but has been kept simple. The features on the control centre are: -Input: Optical, Coax, Direct (this is standard and most sound cards like integrated sound uses this. -Effect: 6 Ch Direct, Stereo, Stereo 2x, Dolby Pro Logic 2 Movie, Dolby Pro Logic 2 Music. -Settings: Setting like Panorama, Dimension, Centre width, Surround delay. -Level: Allows you to adjust volume of Subwoofer, Centre and surround and master volume. -Mute: Mutes sound on or off. -Power: Power on or off. [preview]1233[/preview] The back is were you connect everything. On the left you have the standard 3.5mm jacks, coax and optical connections. There is also a little switch on the right for switching between stereo and all 6 channels. In addition to these connectors on the right side you get 2 extra connectors for headphones and other devices such as MP3’s or CD players etc. I find that sometimes the control centre can get quite hot at the back, but keeping it in an open area should help keep it cool. [preview]1234[/preview] The screen is simple, clear and easy to understand, although they could have made the screen a little more interesting. The actual screen is colourless, they could of made the screen a nice colour such as light blue, or some other funky colour but nothing too over the top that could make the control centre look cheap and nasty, I also thought that the power light could maybe rotate through a series of colours like, blue, green and red or something similar, but its nothing to put you off of this product. Its hard to read anything on the display at any more than a 80 degree angle, though. [preview]1220[/preview] Now let’s get onto the remote! The remote allows you to change all of the settings you would use the control centre from, much easier too. There are separate sub, centre, surround, and master volume buttons. This is also the case for direct, optical and coax inputs. It’s very useful, and even though the control centre is about 10” away from me, I still use the remote.
Logitech Z5500 Review Conclusion Performance: The performance of this system is unrivalled in the pc speaker industry. I found the sound is brilliant, though I have to say that the subwoofer was lacking a little in the lows. Apart from that, everything is good. Through the high-, mid- and low-frequencies, the sound was perfect. The system is 500W RMS,----now that’s a lot---especially for a speaker system for a computer. I had the subwoofer set turned all the way up, and the master volume on 4, even then the walls were shaking, the bass was strong. Movies: I recently tested the system out with a movie, the movie was called the Pay Check. I was using my soundcard’s onboard decoder for decoding Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, and all I could say is wow! Everything was spot on, crystal clear, bullets whizzing all around the place, you will notice when the subwoofer kicks in on loud explosions. You will be hoping your neighbours are out, as those explosions really do shake you up. I can’t say a bad think about watching movies, the sound is perfect; the Z5500 makes watching movies a real pleasure. Music: I have tested all sorts of music from bass testers, jazz, hip hop, pop, classical etc, and it all sounds amazing. The Z5500 really is at it’s best in jazz music though. I really did not like jazz music until I listened to it on the Z5500. On the bass testers, the bass was so powerful that it was drowning out the vocals--that was too much bass. I don’t know about anyone else but I do like a lot of bass, so this is saying quite a bit. Games: I played Unreal Tournament 2004. It’s really good when you know which direction someone is shooting you from. It’s the same with games as it is movies: the explosions are really amazing, and games are really were the Z5500 shines. Looks: The z5500 is very stylish and professional looking. The silver and black really does go together well and they’re the most popular colours for things like speakers, TV’s and computers at this moment in time. Even the satellite‘s drivers look really stylish with the phase plug, it kind of looks like a bullet, or the middle of a jet engine. Connectivity & usability: The Z5500 can be connected to lots of devices at the same time. You could have your computer, XBOX 360, PS2, mp3 player all connected at the same time and not have to keep switching cables to connect a device. I don’t think anyone will ever use this system up to its full capacity. I have had it a few times up to nearly max, and the neighbours complained, so it’s really best to live in a house in an open area where there are very few neighbours near you if you want to go loud, or wait until your neighbours are on holiday. Ok, so we can safely say that this system is ideal for gaming, music listening and movies, audiophiles and gamers alike will be happy with this system. The High’s: 10” high excursion subwoofer with 4” flared port Looks Quality and sound level good enough to please anyone Low’s: Bass is a little too boomy. No tweeters on the satellite speakers. Rating: 4.5/5
