Logitech Z-5500 Help - Speaker Out

H

hhara

Gawd
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May 8, 2009
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This has been an issue for a couple of years now. Basically, the left speaker will randomly stop working. It will continue to stop working for anywhere from a day to a month, and then randomly begin working again.

I have done a couple of things to try and diagnose the issue and I already know that the issue lies with the sub woofer. This is because the outlet is the issue and not the actual speaker. I can plug the front left speaker into the front right outlet (or any other outlet) and the speaker will work fine. Furthermore I know its not something computer related because the "Test" option on the remote (which sends a "Pink Noise" to each speaker) does not work for the front left outlet.

I am a Computer Engineer and Electrical Engineer (currently obtaining this Bachelors degree) and I have opened the sub woofer just to take a peak around. Everything looks in working order but I am not sure exactly what could be causing the issue. I suppose I could upload a few pictures of the inside of the sub if that sounds helpful.

The strangest part to me is how it randomly works and stops working. When it does work it continues to work and then just turns off regardless of how long I continuously play sounds through it or how loud they are.

Anyone have any tips or ideas?

Thanks
 
You may truly laugh at this, but does this occur with weather or climate changes? Say for example it is hot at your house one day and cold the next, or the A/C is on one day and off the next. The sub may be expanding and contracting and that is causing the short when a connection is pinched.

Cheers,
Earl Keim
Audio Editor
HardOCP.com
 
Last edited:
EarlKeim said:
You may truly laugh at this, but does this occur with weather or climate changes? Say for example it is hot at your house one day and cold the next, or the A/C is on one day and off the next. The sub may be expanding and contracting and that is causing the short when a connection is pinched.

Cheers,
Earl Keim
Click to expand...

It could def be a possibility because I am always turning the AC off and on, fluxuating the temperature from ~70 F to ~85 F.

A note to add though - Like I said this has been going on a while and I did attempt to put a large fan next to the heatsink a long time ago. To be honest I don't remember if it continued to work for a while with the fan, but since I left it there for a while I am assuming it did.

I am going to put that fan back there again and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion/reminder.
 
What you saying reminds me of the Klipsch subwoofer problems and the people that do repairs on them because of the overheating. I saw a repaired model compared to the old and what a difference the mod made!

Good luck,
Earl Keim
Audio Editor
HardOCP.com
 
Try plugging some headphones into the jack on the control pod and then unplug them. My left speaker has stopped working a couple of times after I had been using headphones and plugging them in again and then removing them fixed the problem.
 
Blown Cap said:
Try plugging some headphones into the jack on the control pod and then unplug them. My left speaker has stopped working a couple of times after I had been using headphones and plugging them in again and then removing them fixed the problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion - no go though.
 
I have z5500's and love them and they work flawlessly however Logitech has an immensely awesome customer service department. You need to check the connection. Take any old bare speaker, a car speaker if you will and connect them to the leads that are on that speaker. If you continue to hear audio up's and down's then you know it's the speaker and not the lead coming from the sub/amp. If it doesn't go on and off like the original speaker did check the connections on the sub/amp side of that wire. If they are solid then it could be the amp at that point. Whichever conclusion you come to, sub or satellite speaker call Logitech. I've had logitech give me all new parts even after stuff is out of warranty because they are that awesome. Even if they don't hook you up like that maybe you can purchase a refurb'd speaker or sub. Logitech is a great company and that's why I continue to buy their products. Give them a holler you may be surprised.
 
Yea, I have the super old version of the Z-5500s with the old-school outputs (see image below) so I cant really just use any diff speaker. I still know its the sub though because other speakers that work on their connection, like the front right or center for example do not work when plugged into the front left connection.

Like I said this has been going on for a while, and I have tried contacting their support. I had no way of verifying at the time that my speakers were still under warranty without sending in my control pod. I was almost certain they were out of warranty, so I never bothered - and now I am absolutely certain they are out of warranty.

The fact that this is the older model sub woofer makes it that much harder to find a replacement.

Thanks for the suggestions anyways.

z5500b.jpg
 
I am not one to bump a really old thread - but I am just looking for some more ideas anyone may have?

I honestly think I can hear better in my right ear now because I am spending 4+ hours a day listening to the majority of sounds through my right ear (and that has been going on for 2+ years).
 
Could the RCA plug on the back of the sub that you connect the speaker to be worn out? When you plug in the speaker, wiggle the connection around or spin it around if you can. Maybe the insulation is worn or you have some corrosion inside the RCA connector?
 
My friend just bought a Z-5500 set and is having the same issue with his newer version.

Since he didn't feel like a RMA, he used the digital input into the Control Pod instead, since the problem was limited to the analog inputs.

Are you connected to the control pod via the analog inputs?
 
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