Logitech Z-5500

Z

Zetherin

Gawd
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
765
Just wanted to ask a quick question:

I've had the Logitech Z-5500's for a little under a year now and have enjoyed them incredibly. Amazing sound for the money. The thing is, I've only used the 6 channel direct (3 lines) and was wondering if it's worth it to buy an optical cable to use the system digitally? Would there would be a good improvement in sound quality? Would it only be noticeable for some games/movies?

Thanks,

Z
 
For stereo music, I noticed an improvement going from analogue on-board sound to digital and would regularly switch between analogue and optical. However, there was no improvement when using a decent sound card so I now just leave it on analogue.

In fact, if you're using a good quality sound card and you want multichannel high definition sound such as DolbyTrueHD, you need to go analogue anyway as optical can't handle this (not enough bandwidth).
 
I just wanted to bump this to see if I could get any more opinions on the matter.

Thanks, echn111, for responding.
 
You could get a cable for cheap from Monoprice and try it yourself.

You'll definitely want to keep analog for 5.1 surround sound in games, though.
 
I agree with echn111 somewhat. On my prelude, testing the digital and analog - switching back and forth, I barely notice any sound quality differences. But after a thorough listening period, I do notice that overall sound via digital is a tiny tiny bit more crisper. Although on analog, the bass sounds more stronger.

The only reason I have it on analog at the moment is the fact that I can't control the volume with my keyboard on digital connection.
 
If the computer is the source, using the digital is not worth the hassle or perceived improvement.
 
In my experience I have found the DAC on z-5500 to be pretty good for music and use an optical cable. I think it depends on your soundcard. For instance some auzentech's have great DACs and analogue output might be the way to go.
 
I actually use my Z-5500's for my home theater. HDTV box= optical, DVD player= coaxial, Wii= direct. Way more than I ever used when hooked up to my pc. If you were playing games with a soley digital connection, don't plan on 5.1 sound unless you use a different setting on the Z-5500 control panel.
 
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