z5500 dead, now what?

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crawlgsx

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 12, 2008
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So my Control Pod on my Z5500's quit tonight. Still turns on but get no digital input (even on analog) and no audio not even from input jack on the side.

Looked and saw it is common and the only fix is a new pod, which is scarce these days and a lot of money. If I'm going to spend $140+ on a new pod I figured it might be time to just move on :(.

Anyone have input on something in that similar price range to replace them?
 
Another thought is should I just buy a cheap(er) receiver and sub and re-use the z5500 satellites?
 
This has been discussed here many, many times.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1038945636
Yes, it is highly recommended that you get a receiver & bookshelf speakers. However, I would NOT use the z5500 satellites. If they sound anything like the z-560's which have the same cheap drivers & plastic construction, then I know they sound like crap.

For <$150 or even <$200, it is recommended by many that you get a 2 channel setup and add a subwoofer later. Buy a used receiver on Craigslist for about $75, find one that is a decent brand (Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer) that didn't come from a Home Theater in-a-box package. You will have to learn the manufacturers' naming schemes for models or google the receiver model before you go buy it.

You do not need HDMI, in fact, the ones without HDMI will likely be much cheaper. You can use Optical or coaxial output from your integrated motherboard audio.

Then, spend the remaining $75-$150 on a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. There are many options. Some notable ones include BIC DV62si, Dayton B652 if you're on a strict budget, Cerwin Vega, or Infinity Primus speakers. Polk bookshelf speakers are generally overpriced in my opinion. Yamaha & JBL also make good passive speakers.

J Macker said:
I'm going to link to a few threads where we've had some good discussions:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1618684
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1704161
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1670622
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1694469

I hope you take the time to read these because everything I would say to you has already been said. I hope these thread links are helpful.

There is one thing I'd like to point out; there are often used receivers available locally on craigslist that do not have HDMI out. Most if not all, will have a SPDIF input that is a digital signal and most motherboards have it as well. So, you can purchase a fully capable decent receiver for $100 and use it to power your passive speakers and also serve as a good DAC for headphone use.

I'm sure that there is a big difference in sound quality from a good headphone amp and a receiver, but a receiver is versatile in the sense that it can also provide good clean power for your speakers and has a subwoofer pre-out should you decide to add a sub.

Effectively, there is no reason to purchase a soundcard if you use optical out to a receiver. Think of your receiver as your new soundcard, but the only driver you need is the integrated motherboard driver.

The main reasons I chose to go with a receiver:
1. Provide good power for passive bookshelf speakers
2. No soundcard needed, no software
3. Future proof. I previously bought and used a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in the waning years of Windows XP. However, Turtle Beach never released drivers for Windows 7. Now I have a soundcard that I can't use. I never have to worry about that with a receiver.

The only major drawback for a receiver is the shelf space. It's big and it takes up a large portion of my desk.

When I want to use my headphones, I simply plug them into the receiver. It disables the bookshelf speakers automatically and it works great. I did have to purchase a 3.5mm female/male extension cable for my microphone headset however.
A USB headset would not be nearly as convenient.
Click to expand...

*side note*
Do you really use the integrated audio for your DT770 headphones?
 
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I have 0 complaints with the z5500 sound. I am not looking for an upgrade, I've had big home theater systems before and they are most certainly better but unnecessary and overkill for me.

I am just looking for an equal replacement or cheap way to bring mine back to life. Space is a factor, I have no interest in even bookshelf sized speakers. I could probably deal with the space a receiver takes up.

Thank you for the links, will browse through them.
 
dutnguye said:
buy another z-5500 :)
Click to expand...

facepalm.jpg


crawlgsx said:
I have 0 complaints with the z5500 sound. I am not looking for an upgrade, I've had big home theater systems before and they are most certainly better but unnecessary and overkill for me.

I am just looking for an equal replacement or cheap way to bring mine back to life. Space is a factor, I have no interest in even bookshelf sized speakers. I could probably deal with the space a receiver takes up.

Thank you for the links, will browse through them.
Click to expand...

I suggest either:
Swan M10

Or Swan D1010
 
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since OP asked for small footprint & trashy sound:

Go buy some Bose speakers.
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html#cubes

Read this and imagine the word "Logitech z-5500" everytime they say "Bose".

The $1300 Bose Acoustimass system implements five dual-cubed, 2.5-inch, paper-cone satellite speakers (incidentally you can buy these exact same drivers for $35 a pair here). The material that is used to build these speakers may seem adequate to the unassuming novice; However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that they are built with little regard for performance. For starters the cubes are made of what Bose once claimed to be "revolutionary new space-aged paper" when my own observations lead me to believe that they are nothing more than dyed Manila hemp. Paper grade is beside the point here as all large paper drivers have poor resonant properties in upper octave frequencies (2 KHz to 20+ KHz). When designing satellite speakers where size is the primary consideration, a conventional dome tweeter would perform much better than a cone tweeter. However Bose disregards this fact because the cost of making paper cone tweeters is much cheaper. You find this practice abundant in $200 Aiwa boom boxes and mini-systems by the way.

There is also something to be said about the diameter of the drivers. The 2.5-inch paper cone Bose uses falls into the range where conventional tweeter and midrange drivers perform weakest. This incongruous selection of dual 2.5-inch drivers is plagued with substantial shortcomings in the high and mid-frequency range. Remember that sound is merely the rapid movement of air so there are very specific driver sizes that correspond to the acoustic properties which allow for the magnet-coil structure to drive the speaker at its targeted frequency band with greater ease. In home applications, high-pass tweeters are normally between 0.5 to 1 inch in diameter, and never more than 2 inches. Larger tweeters are especially poor performers when underpowered by tiny magnets such as those used in the Bose system. The unusually large size of the Bose drivers creates a substantial frequency response limitation in the highs at 13 KHz. Midrange drivers should never be smaller than 3 inches in diameter, and are commonly 3 to 6.5 inches (ideally over 4 inches). The application of a 2.5 inch midrange driver creates another substantial limitation, this time in the mid-bass response. The smaller the driver, the less surface area on the cone--and thus the more excursion that is required to push the same amount of air need to produce the same audible sound. Thus with a 2.5 inch driver the physical excursion of the cone would have to be tremendous in order to perform like a standard 6-inch midrange. Unfortunately the Bose drivers do not possess this supernatural excursion ability, so the midbass drops off at 280 Hz.

Another one of the system's major flaws is the fact that it relies on one small driver to reproduce high and midrange frequencies together. I am of course referring to the satellite cubes again, which are forced to reproduce signal from 200 Hz to 20 KHz. You may argue that there are two speakers in each satellite, but there is also no active crossover separating the signal so both are driving the same frequency bands. In this type of speaker design, it is essential to use large cabinets and a line array to get any midbass due to the small radiating area and low X-max. But instead Bose tries to combine two imcompatible sound principles giving you the worst properties of both. Though they are entirely capable of doing so, no other consumer-market speaker company even considers building these pre-equalized miniature dual-driver "crossover-less" satellites because the resulting performance is evident in the sound produced (or rather not produced). However this isn't some major oversight in Bose's R&D team. This system was designed to be small, aesthetically appealing and achieve high wife-acceptance factor (WAF), and so this product is the outcome of those goals. If high and midrange frequencies each had their own discrete drivers with high quality crossovers, Bose would have the same speaker package as every other competitor on the market--except without remotely similar performance and thus nothing to market.

The cube satellites are also enclosed in cheap, thin plastic cabinets, which presents yet another weakness from an acoustic standpoint. The purpose of a speaker cabinet is to provide an inert barrier that absorbs sound, dampens resonance and prevents various levels of distortion and cancellation. The thin plastic enclosures that Bose uses are very light and resonant and thus fail at its primary purpose. When you push the speakers hard you can actually feel the entire enclosure resonating with it. This is the signature of a poor design. In addition the cube enclosures also fail at magnetically sealing the drivers so that it not only gives off electromagnetic interference (EMI), but also receives it with little resistance. With the price Bose is charging for all its speaker products, you could be paying for real wood or real veneer medium-density fiberboard (MDF) cabinets from other companies.
Click to expand...
 
@ J Macker

Well I appreciated the links but since you insist to force your opinion and audiophile cockyness on me, You can go away now.

Just because it isn't good enough for you, doesn't make it trashy. You will find MANY people that give the Z5500's praise. They were an amazing system for the time/money. Nothing Logitech made before, or since, is even close.

Are they top end, not even close. Will they compare to a $400-$1500 receiver, of course not.

I don't want that, you do, Cool! ;)

I can blast out my entire house and shake half of it with the Z5500's and I have never had anyone in person say anything but how great they sound. That is all I need. Thanks though.

P.s. I have never, and never will by overpriced Bose. The Z5500's thrash anything Bose has to offer and they were only ~$300-350 for the kit in 2008. I realize what you are saying, I don't disagree with your points, but that hardly makes them trashy or a bad product. Nor does it mean I need anything better/bigger.

http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-speakers/logitech-z-5500/4864-3179_7-31115626-12.html
 
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I've forwarded that to a buddy who works for Bose :D

The z5500's sound like shit, lots of bass and nothing else. if space is a concern checkout the A2's, much better sounding.

anyway there's loads of better options out there than the crap [speakers] Logitech makes.
 
If you'd read more, you'd have found out that I owned & used the z-560's for over 6 years. I am well familiar with the sound of Logitech speakers. I thought they sounded good too.

A blind man will never know how beautiful the world is.

Enjoy your z-5500's.
 
J Macker said:
If you'd read more, you'd have found out that I owned & used the z-560's for over 6 years. I am well familiar with the sound of Logitech speakers. I thought they sounded good too.

A blind man will never know how beautiful the world is.

Enjoy your z-5500's.
Click to expand...

I used to have a $4000 ground up home theater system with 4 full tower JBL speakers (that had tweets, mids, and 10" sub in each) as well as a 12" sub with a $1200 Yamaha Receiver.

I've also spent countless money on car audio (not just bass I mean full amped component speakers and high end decks) in almost every vehicle I have owned.

I realize the difference, I just don't care or feel the need in my home. They sound perfectly fine to me.

I am just content with the Z5500's, it is "enough" for me and with a very small footprint.

To each their own. I will continue to enjoy them, thank you :).
 
I also had the Z-5500 for awhile. They retailed for like $200-400 on sales. I got a set for $250 way back when and still felt ripped off on the quality. They sounded like $100 speakers at best for a set of 5 like that.

I'm not an audiophile by any means, but they just did not sound good in any way IMO.

You can do much, much better for the money.


For a 2.1 replacement I would recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=B0049P6OTI&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwpuresimula-20

1 set of:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002RMPHMU

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0063NU3AA

For a 5.1 replacement I would recommend:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...1-5.1-Channel-AV-Home-Theater-Receiver/1.html

3 sets of:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002RMPHMU

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0063NU3AA
 
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crawlgsx said:
Anyone have input on something in that similar price range to replace them?
Click to expand...

crawlgsx said:
Well I appreciated the links but since you insist to force your opinion and audiophile cockyness on me, You can go away now.
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you want in this thread since you ask for help and then you tell people to go away if they do. It seems you already had the answer before you posted this thread and just wanted agreement.
 
I had the z5500 and l also have no complaints about them since they deliver only so much for what their price range is, they have a a very cool looking Pod with a digital LCD in it and a bass very few system can beat for that price, I have switched to energy veritas V-5.1 because they my logitech has been with me since 2007 and though I'll needed an upgrade, the Energy Veritas are a blast along with my Yamaha RX-V567 but then again this set up cost me up what to almost 4 sets of z5500 would cost when purchased them. I respect that you've decided to just buy another Pod but the more time you spent with the z5500 the more difficult its going to be for you to get spear parts for the, let alone their age is going to start showing someday.
 
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