Logitech Z-5500's DACs

I'm assuming no one knows what the DACs in the 5500 are, beacuse I hear a lot of people mentioning around here that no one's opened their 5500's yet to check.

Now, I wasn't about to open my logitech's control center and attempt to break it, but there is a low density grating on the back of the control center... and with a decent flashlight you can see some of the chips on the circuitboard.

Now I'm no audiophile so I can't make heads or tails of what's on the chips, or if the chips I'm looking at are actually the DACs, so I'll just post what's on them here.

Obviously the grating on the back of the control center isn't large enough for me to see all of the chips on the circuitboard, but one very interesting thing is that the three most visible chips through the grating have been blacked out with permanent marker so that you can't read them. This included one very big chip which I could tell was a Cirrus Logic chip (the logo wasn't blacked out).

One of the blacked out chips was still readable, barely:

ZiLOG
3202AR020
Z8 Encore
0502 DT

there was another Cirrus Logic chip that wasn't blacked out:

Cirrus Logic
CS42526-CQZ
130206wacxfx0520

and two more really tiny Cirrus Logic chips, they were the same chip, and due to being so small, I'm guessing these aren't the DACs:

Cirrus Logic
CS5351-KZZ
NAEXJI0526

so assuming no one knows what DACs the z-5500's use, that's a start.

CS42516/26
110/114 dB, 192 kHz, 6-Channel CODECS with S/PDIF Receiver
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1047.html

CS5351
108 dB, 192 kHz Stereo A/D Converter
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1002.html

The Zilog Z8 would be a Z80 microprocessor. (remember those? )

More than likely, the culprit in question would be the CS42526 CODEC chip, since that has the S/PDIF input controller, plus can do 6-channel DAC. The CQZ is the higher quality component compared to the DQZ.



This would put it on par with the CS4382A chip used on the Audigy2ZS and X-Fi base models.



And under the CS4398 on the X-Fi Elite Pro and the Audigy 4 Pro.

Chastity said:

CS42516/26
110/114 dB, 192 kHz, 6-Channel CODECS with S/PDIF Receiver
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1047.html

CS5351
108 dB, 192 kHz Stereo A/D Converter
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1002.html

Click to expand...

So how do this compare to a regular X-Fi? I'm thinking about equal?

Moofasa~ said:

So how do this compare to a regular X-Fi? I'm thinking about equal?

Click to expand...

See my edits above The rest of the output stage is still unknown, like opamps.

Right, there's a lot more involved than just the DAC chip itself. You'd expect the X-Fi to be better given it's basically $100 worth of digital to audio conversion (which is a soundcard's basic job) versus $200 worth of digital to audio conversion PLUS DD decoding PLUS amplification PLUS five speakers PLUS one subwoofer (that's stretching $200 an awfully long way...), but it's hard to tell without hacking them to bits. Or just listening, of course. That'd do too.

Chastity said:

CS42516/26
110/114 dB, 192 kHz, 6-Channel CODECS with S/PDIF Receiver
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1047.html

CS5351
108 dB, 192 kHz Stereo A/D Converter
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1002.html

The Zilog Z8 would be a Z80 microprocessor. (remember those? )

More than likely, the culprit in question would be the CS42526 CODEC chip, since that has the S/PDIF input controller, plus can do 6-channel DAC. The CQZ is the higher quality component compared to the DQZ.

Click to expand...

What a good post, datasheets and all. Those Zilog processors, those are what power your Texas Instruments calculators too, to put that in perspective. I think they are like 6 to 24 mhz or something

AdamW said:

Right, there's a lot more involved than just the DAC chip itself. You'd expect the X-Fi to be better given it's basically $100 worth of digital to audio conversion (which is a soundcard's basic job) versus $200 worth of digital to audio conversion PLUS DD decoding PLUS amplification PLUS five speakers PLUS one subwoofer (that's stretching $200 an awfully long way...), but it's hard to tell without hacking them to bits. Or just listening, of course. That'd do too.

Click to expand...

Well, in the case of the X-Fi, a significant fraction of that $100 is not simply for digital to audio conversion. Don't forget the DSP hardware...

thomase said:

Well, in the case of the X-Fi, a significant fraction of that $100 is not simply for digital to audio conversion. Don't forget the DSP hardware...

Click to expand...

So I think my original comment stands, for people who use the HDA + Z5500 (digital) set up, it should sound similar to those who use the A2/X-Fi + Z5500 (analog) set up.

Moofasa~ said:

So I think my original comment stands, for people who use the HDA + Z5500 (digital) set up, it should sound similar to those who use the A2/X-Fi + Z5500 (analog) set up.

Click to expand...

What about A2+Z5500 (digital) setup? I use analog now but was considering whether to start using digital for movies etc.

tornadotsunamilife said:

What about A2+Z5500 (digital) setup? I use analog now but was considering whether to start using digital for movies etc.

Click to expand...

It would be the same as the HDA setup, since you would be using the Z5500's dacs instead of the A2's dacs.

But note you will only get true surround sound from previously encoded material (basically only movies). Everything else (games and music) you would get stereo (only two channels).

So just stick with analog, digital really won't get you anything in this situation.

That's fine with me.

Moofasa~ said:

So I think my original comment stands, for people who use the HDA + Z5500 (digital) set up, it should sound similar to those who use the A2/X-Fi + Z5500 (analog) set up.

Click to expand...

Only difference is that your audio would be compressed for the 640kbps bandwidth of DD Live.

Deadlierchair said:

What a good post, datasheets and all. Those Zilog processors, those are what power your Texas Instruments calculators too, to put that in perspective. I think they are like 6 to 24 mhz or something

Click to expand...

Yeah, I like it when I don't need to click on links to refer to info in the thread. It also helps that I can host the pics.