[Review] Logitech z-5500

[TITO786]

Well I got these speakers a while back. They are great like everyone has been saying. So far I have not had any problems. I wall mounted them in my room, pretty cool. These speakers take anything you throw at them. All the audio stuff I have is now connected to the speakers. I recommend them for anyone who is looking for speakers with versatility.

[bracket_cable]

I live in Edmonton, Alberta. This is a province in Canada. I'm having serious difficulty finding the newer, better revision of these speakers with the detachable speaker wire.

I *need* the detachable speaker wire because of the setup of my basement where my computer is. I need to be able to run the cables along the ceiling/walls. Also, I have frequent Xbox Halo2 parties with friends, so with occasionally having to transport these speakers, the hardwired connection permanently connected to the speaker is an obvious weak spot - if it gets worn out or tugged because someone trips on the cables, there's no way to fix that one wire because it's permanently connected.

I want to make sure that I get the version with speaker wire, but after having tried five computer and electronics stores, none of them will help.

Two of the five had only the display model left, which in both cases had the older RCA style plugs on the sub. At Future Shop the clerk I talked to was clearly blowing me off and didn't seem (for all I know) to understand the difference I was getting at. I brought printed pictures (some from this thread) of the back of the sub/satellites for both the speaker wire and RCA versions in order to explain the difference, but the clerk refused to look at them. I'm not really good at confronting people like that, I guess. :blush:

The other two computer shops were sufficiently polite but did not have a display model, only had a few Z-5500 boxes "in the back" -- but of course with Logitech's brilliant decision to not put any kind of "revision #2" marking on the box, I was out of luck. Basically, I couldn't find even one store that would open a box to check whether the speakers had the old hard-wired connections or the new detachable speaker wire.

To fellow Canadians:

I'm getting desperate here. :( Does anyone know of a Canadian store (or website store, as long as the price is the same as in a physical store) where I can be SURE that I'm getting the detachable speaker wire version? Have any of this new speaker wire version even gotten to Canada? Does anyone in Alberta have the new version? This is ridiculous! I can't understand why Logitech would make the z-5500 with anything BUT the standard speaker wires. Arrgh.

Edited April 25, 2005 by bracket_cable

[plaskos]

amazon.ca

tigerdirect

ncix.com

buylogitech.ca

I myself bought from Logitech.ca but all of the above stores should be shipping the new version.

[bracket_cable]

amazon.ca

tigerdirect

ncix.com

buylogitech.ca

I myself bought from Logitech.ca but all of the above stores should be shipping the new version.

585828669[/snapback]

Cool! Thank you for the info. That helps a lot. I was leaning towards TigerDirect.ca, but does anyone know from personal experience which store, between TigerDirect.ca and NCIX.com, is more reliable? (especially in the warranty/returns policy area)

(PS: Amazon.ca does not sell the z-5500. The American .com version does, not the Canadian .ca one. "Buylogitech.ca", Logitech's own official webstore, has them for $170 dollars CDN more than the prices at TigerDirect and NCIX. And "Logitech.ca" is not the website for the electronics equipment company, it is the website for a consulting firm.)

[DarkAurora]

*Please delete*

[DigitalN.]

Cool! Thank you for the info. That helps a lot. I was leaning towards TigerDirect.ca, but does anyone know from personal experience which store, between TigerDirect.ca and NCIX.com, is more reliable? (especially in the warranty/returns policy area)

(PS: Amazon.ca does not sell the z-5500. The American .com version does, not the Canadian .ca one. "Buylogitech.ca", Logitech's own official webstore, has them for $170 dollars CDN more than the prices at TigerDirect and NCIX. And "Logitech.ca" is not the website for the electronics equipment company, it is the website for a consulting firm.)

585829180[/snapback]

they are both great stores.

[plaskos]

Cool! Thank you for the info. That helps a lot. I was leaning towards TigerDirect.ca, but does anyone know from personal experience which store, between TigerDirect.ca and NCIX.com, is more reliable? (especially in the warranty/returns policy area)

(PS: Amazon.ca does not sell the z-5500. The American .com version does, not the Canadian .ca one. "Buylogitech.ca", Logitech's own official webstore, has them for $170 dollars CDN more than the prices at TigerDirect and NCIX. And "Logitech.ca" is not the website for the electronics equipment company, it is the website for a consulting firm.)

585829180[/snapback]

Whoops, you're right about logitech.ca, I meant to say .com

And I realize they're marked a lot higher off of that site, but I'll let you in on a secret, if you have a friend that works for either Best Buy or Future Shop, see if you can strike a deal with him to order these speakers online for you. Employees of Future Shop or Best Buy get everything off of logitech.com half price. And my shipping cost was only 18 dollars.

Don't let too many people know about this because we're limited to one order per product per quarter.

If the above doesnt work for you I'd recommend whichever website is offering the best shipping price, NCIX wanted to charge me 60 bucks.

[B|izz]

Hello,

I just ordered these speakers, after reading this thread im still unsure what cable I need to hook it up digitally.

http://www.dse.co.nz/

Is my local electronics store. I've searched for both optical/coax, only one is needed right?

Can anyone recommend me a cable from that site?

Cheers.

[B|izz]

Oh yeah , I have an Audigy 2 ZS.

[B|izz]

heh, all good. Found an RCA – Mini Jack cable amongst all my junk. Seems to do the trick.

[Sytadel]

Getting a set of these on monday.

How do these speakers compare against real 5.1 set ups from actual brand names?

For instance which is better, my friend is buying this set... http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...ssPageName=WDVW ...and he reckons it will blow my Z-5500 system out of the water - it looks like some kind of hong kong speaker set, I mean look at the price. I'm getting worried thinking he's right, THX is a really good thing right?

Also, will the subwoofer knock over my cd and dvd racks? I hate it when they shake and vibrate my tv too ( that was with the z530's) the 5500's will destroy my tv.

[Thingfish]

The bass from the logi will be more.

But the logis dont stand an even remote chance , in sound quality.

The logi's are the best for PC speakers. But real hi-fi is leaps and bounds better.

Take my setup for instance, I went from logi's to it and its night and day, in sound quality , loudness and accuracy. ( See my Sunfire Subwoofer review )

You cant represent an entire frequence spectrum, from 20-20,000 hz with a 10" and the rest 3" mids. The sub wont do over 120 and the 3's wont do under 250 or over 6K or so. With any real output at least.

[Sytadel]

I understand that, but the speakers I gave you the url too are very cheap and nasty, quality is not a word I would use to describe them. Surely you know were i'm coming from?

[Gotchaforce]

Getting a set of these on monday.

How do these speakers compare against real 5.1 set ups from actual brand names?

For instance which is better, my friend is buying this set... http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...ssPageName=WDVW ...and he reckons it will blow my Z-5500 system out of the water - it looks like some kind of hong kong speaker set, I mean look at the price. I'm getting worried thinking he's right, THX is a really good thing right?

Also, will the subwoofer knock over my cd and dvd racks? I hate it when they shake and vibrate my tv too ( that was with the z530's) the 5500's will destroy my tv.

585854844[/snapback]

never heard of those speakers

looks like some cheap crap set

tell him to stop being so damn gullible and pick up some real speakers like polk/klipsch/jbl/yamaha/infinity etc etc.

[Thingfish]

http://www.dreamacoustics.com/

Do your research guys.

The DA's are going to eat the logis alive. You cant go by an auction price, I have seen Merceedes sell at auction for under 400 dollars.

So your thinking is, that since its so little money, Its cheap and nasty.

And dont be under some assumption that logis are all that. They are great PC speakers, but not even close to being " hi-fi".

[Gotchaforce]

http://www.dreamacoustics.com/

  Do your research guys.

  The DA's are going to eat the logis alive. You cant go by an auction price, I have seen Merceedes sell at auction for under 400 dollars.

  So your thinking is, that since its so little money, Its cheap and nasty.

And dont be under some assumption that logis are all that. They are great PC speakers, but not even close to being " hi-fi".

585856712[/snapback]

I cant find one review OR one official retailer for dream acoustics. Thats like buying some mystery brand car that says its better than a ferrari and lamborghini for a fraction of the price, but no one is allowed to drive the thing!

[Thingfish]

I guess everybody has to start somewhere. I have no idea why there are no reviews , so on.

Like I said before, the bass will be nothing close to the logi's. However, the DA will be better sounding just for the fact that they have the capability to reproduce a wide frequency spectrum, that is impossible for the loigi's. There is no way around it.

Even if they aren't all that good, they still have major advantages over any setup that uses a small midrange driver, to reproduce mid-bass and high range. It can't happen.

Remember we are comparing computer speakers , to a full floor standing surround setup. Its a totally unfair to begin with.

And loudness? If he can power em they will be far louder. Just by virtue of cone area.

The DA has MANY MANY times the cone area of the logis, and that moves more air.

More air movement = more volume.

[Chanser]

Indeed you can't compare PC speakers to HiFi ones.

[Sytadel]

So what your saying is I should of gotten some Dream speakers instead of my logitech z5500's? I need them for my xbox, I have a lounge room, but I didn't want those huge speakers taking up all that space when logitechs look so much more stylish and sleak and produce over 500rms and over 1000watts anyway. I like the idea of having smaller more stylish speakers. Cheap is cheap, alot of people and I mean alot have purchased those dream speakers on ebay, the price will not rise at all, that's the standard they have set, noyone will pay anymore for them.

[Thingfish]

No, I am saying enjoy your bitchen logi's. They DO rule. I ran the 560's for a few years, and loved them.

The best way to improve the logi's is to use a set of good bookshelf speakers, instead of the stock logi satallites. I personally used JBL northridge N26's.

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_d...rId=NRE&sCatId= ( mine are black )

THEN you are ready to do some damage. WITH maximum sound quality.

[Gotchaforce]

i have no doubt that the dream acoustics could very well be better than the logitech (i am not all that impressed with logitech sound quality listening to music, muddy lows, not enough highs), but theyre still very ambiguous as to how good they are.

btw, i have a pair of polk bookshelf speakers, you think they could be driven by the amp on the back of the z680 subwoofer? thats all im worried about, the amp not being able to supply enough energy to the bookshelf speakers and just shorting itself out quicker than i want it to.

[Thingfish]

YES ! Will work perfectly. There will be NO problem powering bookshelf speakers with a the 680 amps.

There will be no chance of shorts, as the majority of home speakers are between 6 and 16 ohm ( I am assuming your polks are 8 ohm ) the impedence is within spec for the 680's.

Thing-

[B|izz]

AVI's encoded with .AC3 sound are 5.1 right? How do I get them to play properly?, Currently when using PowerDVD and selecting coax as my input, it's only allowing me to choose stereo sound, but it's trying to play them in 5.1 (I can't hear vocals etc) :blink:

[Sytadel]

My z5500 arrived yesturday. Wow. There are no words. Bare in mind I went from the x-530's to this...it's a huge step up in quality and loudness. My dear lord watch out neighbours!

A quick question, what kind of wall anchors and screws are suitable for these speakers? Any online stores have them?

Thanks in advance.

[deedub]

I'm in the UK, where is the best place to get these in terms of price and also to ensure that I get the revisions with the detachable speaker cables?

Do you think that by now all the old fixed cable stock has filtered through the system?

Also, please can somebody tell me how much the complete box weighs so I can calculate some shipping charges?

Cheers