Logitech THX Z680 Speakers

I

icehokplyr

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 9, 2004
Messages
411
I just got the Logitech THX Certified Z-680 5.1 with 500 Watt Silver speakers. I am having two problems:

Problem #1:
My center speaker only works when I use 6Ch. Direct, and the PL2 Movie Effect. Overall, the speakers sound much better and cleaner using the Stereo x2 effect but the center speaker does not work in this mode.

Problem #2:
I cannot get the digital input to work. I just plugged in a digital cable and......nothing.

I am using a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 with Dolby Digital EX
(digital audio: 24-bit)

Thanks for any help :)
 
Your center channel is only going to work with a 5.1 source unless you use one of the built in effects (6ch direct, PL2 Music, PL2 Movie)

If you are hooking these up to a sound card you should use the analog connections and let the Audigy 2 do the work. If you really want to use the digital connection you have to set your sound card for digital out and set the input on your speakers for the digital connection.
 
Thanks for your reply. I feel better knowing there is nothing wrong with the center speaker.
I have the speakers hooked up to the sound card and I'm using the analog connections but I just thought that the sound would be better with digital.

I'll leave it alone. Thanks again. :)
 
yea i had the same issue with my z680, took me a few weeks to find out that this is actually a working set.
 
Manuals are included for a reason ;)

The 6 Channel direct mode actually doesn't apply any processing to your sound, that's the mode you use to play games using 3d audio or to watch dvds with 5.1 tracks. The 2x stereo effect is used to make the system seem like a 4.1 setup, thereby removing the center channel.

Generally most of the audio on your system, for example mp3s are just 2 channel. If you want them to cover all of your speakers, then I recommend using the Prologic 2 Music mode. If you have video files on your system, they may sound better in Prologic 2 Movie if they were broadcast with Dolby Surround (most shows are).
 
I read the manual. Twice. I was just um....... Yeah, I was just..........

Where is that thing? ;)

Thanks Bro.
 
Aha!! i see the problem here. You bought logitech speakers.
 
bjornb17 said:
Aha!! i see the problem here. You bought logitech speakers.
Click to expand...

haha :p
i have the x680s myself..they work fine with my audigy 2 zs. the center channel not working is probably just the mode you hvae it set at on the control module thingy
 
I wouldn't ever use the digital on a set of Z680's with a soundcard. Only if you had Sounstorm (on either a motherboard or Xbox). With such a nice soundcard, I'd be watning IT to be doing the decoding.
 
firey-eyez said:
haha :p
i have the x680s myself..they work fine with my audigy 2 zs. the center channel not working is probably just the mode you hvae it set at on the control module thingy
Click to expand...

With some help here, I did finally figure it out. Thanks.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
I wouldn't ever use the digital on a set of Z680's with a soundcard. Only if you had Sounstorm (on either a motherboard or Xbox). With such a nice soundcard, I'd be watning IT to be doing the decoding.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that. I always thought that digital was better. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks for the advice.
 
Well, it's not so much that digital is bad, as the sound is digital up to a point; with your speakers, you get to determine where it goes from digital to analog; in your case, with your soundcard, you will get better quality by using it instead of the speakers. If you had Soundstorm, you would be better off letting the speakers do the work. Just a matter of what is now becoming even more obscure research; this is the best place to learn I've found :)
 
icehokplyr said:
I used to swear by Altec Lansing
Click to expand...

Why the change of heart? :p

btw I just bought the MX5021's and damn do they sound good. The clarity and balance of it is considerably better than my ACS48 which was very popular back in its day. I am still partial to Altec Lansing much over Logitech Speakers.
 
I used to have the acs45 and 48's, and well, um, heheheh the z680's are about 100000000000000000000000000 times better than them and twice as good as altec lansings closest competitor. And the Klipsch and Gigaworks offerings are a step above that!

IMHO altec lansings high end computer offerings simply can't compete with anything by klipsch, creative, or logitech
 
IdiotInCharge said:
Well, it's not so much that digital is bad, as the sound is digital up to a point; with your speakers, you get to determine where it goes from digital to analog; in your case, with your soundcard, you will get better quality by using it instead of the speakers. If you had Soundstorm, you would be better off letting the speakers do the work. Just a matter of what is now becoming even more obscure research; this is the best place to learn I've found :)
Click to expand...

I'm learning alot from all the advice and input I get from here. Thanks again for your help. I found it useful and will annoy you again in the future when I need more help. ;)
 
N_Raged said:
Why the change of heart? :p

btw I just bought the MX5021's and damn do they sound good. The clarity and balance of it is considerably better than my ACS48 which was very popular back in its day. I am still partial to Altec Lansing much over Logitech Speakers.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that one.
A buddy of mine told me about the Logitechs and kind of talked me into it. I felt that a change might be good. I like the speakers, don't get me wrong, but I was just used to the Altec Lansing I guess.
Thanks for your help.
 
computerpro3 said:
I used to have the acs45 and 48's, and well, um, heheheh the z680's are about 100000000000000000000000000 times better than them and twice as good as altec lansings closest competitor. And the Klipsch and Gigaworks offerings are a step above that!

IMHO altec lansings high end computer offerings simply can't compete with anything by klipsch, creative, or logitech
Click to expand...

These do put out a good clear sound. I'm happy with them.
 
heh, I wasn't trying to compare the Z680's to the Altec's I mentioned. They're totally different packages with different features, and the Altec's I mentioned are 2.1 setups while the Z680's are a full blown surround setup. So it wouldn't be right to compare the two. Just trying to clear things up. :cool:
 
i've always loved the high end altec lansing products, such as the ALC 641s. they were awesome, in my opinion they sounded my smoother side my side to the promedia 4.1. sub played pretty deep too (27 hz), so i have a few sets of those around my house on various computers. for this computer i "upgraded" to the logitech z680s just to find out that it wasnt and upgrade at all. then they blew on me. after i returned them to newegg i ran down to best buy and got the promedia ultras. they were sweet! Then i bought a MTX 12" sub for the SWS link. Then i bought two MTX monitor 10s for the front left and right channels. took ultras back to best buy and bought a reciever and 3 more MTX speakers and here i am :D
 
yep, dual 6.5 woofers and dual ports. great sub for a multimedia system, about equivalent to the promedia 4.1 sub. However now I'm really enjoying my 3 12" woofers and dual 10"s :D
 
Dual sub woofers must sound awesome. I'd never leave the house. Well for the first few days anyway...... ;)
 
speaking of tha, anyone know where to get a klipsc sws subwoofer? I'm gonna pick up the ultra's and add 2 or 3 subs to them. I can't find them anywhere though.
 
Klipsch doesnt make them anymore, but you can add any make and model of powered subwoofer to it actaully. You can get a 12" MTX SW2 at circuit city for about $150, thats what i have and its good. or if you want to stick with klipsch, you can get a KSW-10 at best buy for around $400.
 
are you serious? Any sub will work? Because I am planning on buying a 1000w svs CS Ultra sub for my HT that I'm building in a few months, but you're saying I could buy it now and use it with the ultras? That would be sick... I would prolly have to turn it WAY down though, think it would be too powerful?
 
Nah :D just all the more fun. and yep, the SWS link is just an RCA jack like the sub out on a receiver, will work just fine :)
 
Kinda off your topic boys, but I just got these the other day as well, and was wondering if anyone knew how I would go about hooking up my gamecube do these, and if they can do Pro Logic II which the Cube supports and all, how I would connect my Cube to this to get this sound?
thanks
 
bjornb17 said:
adding it to cart reveals:
"The Klipsch SWS is currently not available for purchase."
Click to expand...

That's strange. Sorry if I got your hopes up. I'll keep my eyes open for you though.
Let me know here if you find them okay? I'm interested.

Thanks :)
 
ryman606 said:
Kinda off your topic boys, but I just got these the other day as well, and was wondering if anyone knew how I would go about hooking up my gamecube do these, and if they can do Pro Logic II which the Cube supports and all, how I would connect my Cube to this to get this sound?
thanks
Click to expand...

I would imagine that if the Game Cube has a place in the back of it for the wires to hook up to, then it should work fine with it. I'm not positive though as I don't own a Game Cube.
I'm a PS2 and computer gamer.

Good luck!
 
they arent in production anymore so no luck of finding one. Also, since they cost about $150 or $200, you can get a much better sub in that price range. I recommend the MTX SW2 (12", 100W) at CC for $150 usually. It's very good for the money
 
ryman606 said:
Kinda off your topic boys, but I just got these the other day as well, and was wondering if anyone knew how I would go about hooking up my gamecube do these, and if they can do Pro Logic II which the Cube supports and all, how I would connect my Cube to this to get this sound?
thanks
Click to expand...

To get surround sound with your gamecube you just need to figure out a way to feed the analog audio from your gamecube into the speakers. The easiest solution seems to be using a RCA>stereo minijack converter and plug it into the aux connection on the front of the 680s. Basically go to radio shack and find something that takes in two composite RCA jacks and turns it into a single 1/8" minijack.
 
bjornb17 said:
they arent in production anymore so no luck of finding one. Also, since they cost about $150 or $200, you can get a much better sub in that price range. I recommend the MTX SW2 (12", 100W) at CC for $150 usually. It's very good for the money
Click to expand...

Thanks. Saving money is good. Very good. I'll take your advice and do some research myself.
 
tenken said:
To get surround sound with your gamecube you just need to figure out a way to feed the analog audio from your gamecube into the speakers. The easiest solution seems to be using a RCA>stereo minijack converter and plug it into the aux connection on the front of the 680s. Basically go to radio shack and find something that takes in two composite RCA jacks and turns it into a single 1/8" minijack.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude that's what some other people told me.
 
icehokplyr said:
Thanks. Saving money is good. Very good. I'll take your advice and do some research myself.
Click to expand...

glad i could help :D
 
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