Logitech Z 5500 vs THX Z-5300e

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rgratto2

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I am in need of some advice. To preface, I am by no means an audiophile - I use onboard (Realtek) sound on my motherboard, and know generally little about audio.

I am looking to upgrade from my aging speakers, and have been looking at the Logitech Z 5500 and the Logitech THX Z-5300e. Basically, I don't really know enough about such things to differentiate between these 2 sets. My last speakers were like $60, so for me this is splurging a bit, and I just don't know what a reasonable upgrade is. Is it worth the extra $ for the 5500s? Would I notice the difference between these using onboard sound? Any general advice greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
With your onboard sound you won't notice much difference. Some people say even with a decent sound card, there's no noticeable difference between the two. For me, using the Prelude - I do notice a pretty big upgrade in sound quality moving up from the 5300s to the 5500s. Also, the digital inputs and the built in decoder is definitely a big plus - if you're into that sort of thing.

If you have the spare cash, I say go for the 5500. Also, the price is fairly low currently with the rebate and free shipping.
 
Well, there is a 5% off coupon for buy.com, that makes it $187.50 after the rebate, and i should also be able to use google checkout, making it $177.50 AR shipped. I guess the 5300's are $153.70 shipped. The Z5500's are up near 240 before GC and rebate, which is a lot...

This is actually a christmas gift that I'm requesting, so I'm trying to leverage what amount I can feel OK with asking for :p.

Edit: What does the built in decoder do?
Edit x 2: Should i be concerned with the size of the bass? Also, what is an appropriate distance that it should be from my PC?
 
Built in decoder allows for you to decode audio from a digital connection like optical or coax. Say you have an XBOX 360/PS3, you can connect it to the speakers for 5.1 sound. Consoles don't have analog 5.1 support so you have to use optical or hdmi to get 5.1 audio.

"Edit x 2", if your talking about the size of the sub, as long as you have room for it, then it should be fine. Don't worry too much about how far away from the computer it needs to be. Logitech says like 2 feet for liability reasons, but its pretty well shielded.

BTW the 5300e's have been seen for as low as $50 AR so don't pay $100 for them. I think the Z5500's are the way to go for sub $200 pc speakers.
 
The 5300e's are easily worth $100, but if you need the extra connection options or the decoder built into the 5500 amplifier, then your choice is clear.
 
I just upgraded from the Z5300's to the Z5500. All I can say is WOW. For $200 these things are awesome. The bass, clarity, highs, lows, mids...all better than the Z5300's by a mile. The bass on my z5300 is there...but it booms and rumbles too much. It was great for gaming, but music was so-so. Don't get me wrong, they were a lot better than any previous computer speakers i've owned.

However, you'll be pleased with the Z5300's, just as I was for over 2 years. Other than the sound improvement, the only reason I bought these were the digital optical input and DTS support for hooking in PS3/Xbox360. Its a sad day indeed when a man's 37" LCD HDTV and surround sound is coveted by his wife more than he does, so I needed a DTS system for my computer...and for cheap/compact.

If you can find the Z5300's for around $100 or so, get 'em. But, if you'll think you'll use the extra inputs the Z5500 offer spring an extra $100. They are definitely worth it.
 
Well, I just ordered the Z5500's. Hopefully theyll arrive before I go out of town :(
 
Wow. Ordered Monday afternoon, they arrived today with 7-9 day shipping. The warehouse was downstate a little bit. They sound pretty sexy so far. Unfortunately, I can't really give them a true test run until i get back to my place at school, but sexy nonetheless. Oh, and... the sub.... its huge!

Thats what she said. ;)
 
I currently own both sets sitting in the same room (the z5300 actually use an audigy 2 and the z5500 use onboard sound), and the z5500 speakers are definately better in every aspect than the z5300 speakers.

I listen to them both, but when I want to hear something and crank it, I shut down the z5300s and crank it up on the z5500s.

If you live in an apartment - z5500 will get you evicted.

That is not to say that the z5300s aren't good, they are, but the z5500s have a better sound from high to low.

(Then again, I miss the old z-680, I thought those were better than the z5300 or 5500 speakers).
 
azure said:
If you live in an apartment - z5500 will get you evicted.
Click to expand...

Haha, I will be going back to my apartment in about a month... lets see how much self restraint i can have :eek:. I did actually already get a noise complaint with my crappy old speakers!

With great power comes great responsibility.
 
I feel bad. I got the 5500 for $280 incl shipping in '06. at the time i bouht them i had to have them. im wondering for those of you in apt's etc, do u still feel good about these speakers? i realize college dorm's (not the suites) may be an easier environment to play loud music than say an apt complex where u dont know people. people r older etc
 
I own both,I notice a diffents right off the back. after I got them. i gave my Z5300 to my dad and he gave them back after buying pos speakers. thats the only reason why there sitting in my closet.

I mostly use my Z5500s for DD live(RC2 driver) and my headphones for analog. But I do some times plug them into analog to show off. then it backs to digital with them.

Actually if you live in a house if you play too loud you can get a noise ticket I could had got one if my bro hadnt told me he could hear it from outside in the drive way. And it sounded like a loud party. he heard the bass.
 
Z-5500 > Z-5300e

Running from PC below, there was worlds of difference between the two.
 
Admiral-how big was the lot? god i guess i should get a country house lol. damn i hope these r worth it in an apt
 
I still use the z5300e as the main speakers in my daily drive since 2005 when they launched. I swapped out the center speaker for a nice jbl mid channel when I put an LG C1 48 next to my monitor for 4k movies and games as it made dialogue quite a bit better while adding some more bass outside the woofer. The woofer still shakes my house quite convincingly.

In all honesty I'll continue using this until it breaks. The powered, wired controller also has a headphone jack that can power sennheiser hd 650s without needing an additional headphone amp, and there is zero noise or crosstalk even with the volume maxed out (which is too loud to listen at anyway)

anyone that still sees one of these at a good price, or the z5500 for that matter - it's a great investment for a no-brainer 5.1 setup.
 
OFaceSIG said:
Holy old thread rivival batman!
Click to expand...
To preface my revival, I was trying to search the web to see how much power the actual control jack with the headphone out on the z-5300e delivers to headphones, as I had been using hd-598's on it forever, and just swapped out my pc cans to hd-650s. If i turn it up all the way, it's so loud, that it's beyond deafening, but clearly delivered enough power to impressively bring the 300ohm impedance to fully glory. There is zero crosstalk or fuzz even with the volume absolutely maxed out when not playing audio. I just ordered a headphone amp for the 650s, but now I'm almost thinking I don't need it as I play full bitrate 4k blurays through powerDVD ultra, and there's an amp on the back of the z-5300e subwoofer that powers the headphone out on the control panel attached by thick cord.

Sometimes when you buy a new piece of pc equipment you hit those 'oh yea' moments where you're just mesmerized by your experience. I was watching the new 4k release of The Shining on my c1 oled via hdmi 2.1, and listening to the soundtrack as the car drove up the mountain simply took my breath away. These moments are harder to come by these days when video cards just give you a few more fps at the same settings, and cpus are already pushed to their breaking points by amd and intel.

I'll add another post when the magni 3+ amp arrives, and compare it with the sound coming from the z-5300e. Who knows, i might just prefer what I already have. If I had to say what the best pc related component I ever purchased was, it would be a toss up between the z-5300e, and the brushed aluminum CM stacker case I bought on launch that I still house every new build in to this day. Sadly the fw-900 was retired from part time use when the oled landed on my dresser.
 
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