Need to replace my z-5500

T

TheMadHatterXxX

2[H]4U
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Sep 7, 2004
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I think my 5.1 z-5500 is finally on it's deathbed. I don't really need 5.1 anymore so I think 2.1 would be sufficient.

Would this work for my setup and how would it connect to my soundcard?

Audioengine A5+ Speakers​

Audioengine S8 Sub 250W​


Speakers connect to soundcard and then subwoofer connects to the speakers or does the subwoofer connect to the soundcard and then the speakers connect to the sub.?
 
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Those Audioengines just seem to be overpriced for what it's worth. At $400 you should be looking at Adam or Eve Audio pairs, both of which come no less than with hybrid tweeters. They'll outperform those, and for 50-100 bucks cheaper too. They have their own fancy subs as well AFAIK, considering you want to match it up with. Though at $750, you could get a receiver and a pair of towers.
 
Hallyday said:
Those Audioengines just seem to be overpriced for what it's worth. At $400 you should be looking at Adam or Eve Audio pairs, both of which come no less than with hybrid tweeters. They'll outperform those, and for 50-100 bucks cheaper too. They have their own fancy subs as well AFAIK, considering you want to match it up with. Though at $750, you could get a receiver and a pair of towers.
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Yeah I thought about the reciever but I don't really have room for a receiver or proper placement for floor standing speakers or surround speakers for that matter with my desk setup.
 
On the bright side, the Audioengine pair seems to have BT and stuff, which could be convenient for home usage. Stuff that isn't found on the actual studio oriented speakers I talked about. Would still take the latter though.
 
I know u said u don't need a 5.1, but personally I am going to get a Z906 when my Z5500 gives up the ghost.
 
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=38619

Plus any subwoofer of your choice.

One of the reviews:


Code: 
"Amazing PC desktop speakers with all the inputs!
First, I want to say that i auditioned these against the highly regarded Edifier S1000DB and the MM5 held it's own against them.

Pros of the MM5:
- USB connection for PC.
- Volume knob on the front of the speaker.
- Bluetooth sounds tad better than the Edifiers.
- Remote has adjustments for everything that is on the back of the speaker.
- Footprint is smaller, and unit looks sleeker.
- Bass is heavier hitting than the Edifier S1000DB

Cons of MM5:
None.

Pros of the Edifier
- Wood design looks more premium and heavier.

Cons of Edifier
- Bass is "too tight" on the Edifier, they lack extension that the MM5 has.
- The highs are way too bright and almost fatiguing to listen to , cutting down the treble didn't help.
- No front volume knob
- Remote has no adjustments for treble and bass.

Overall, the MM5 is more modern with it's input connections with a sound quality that is top notch, besting the the Edifier S1000DB in most areas."
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
I was looking at the z906 but decided against it because reviews said it was inferior to the z5500.
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While this is true, I don't think it would sway my decision. Reasoning behind it for me would be that I am so happy with the performance of the Z5500 & never been able to even turn the volume up past halfway without blowing my head off I figure the performance of the Z906 will be in It's ballpark meaning I won't be able to turn up the Z906 either so the difference would likely be unnoticeable. The main difference is the subwoofer of the Z906 is now an 8" vs the Z5500's 10" but again I don't think it would matter for me in a computer room.
Now if we are talking about a real home theater setup in a larger living room I would understand needing more power with more powerful drivers and subwoofer but in my very small computer room dedicated to just being a PC room the Z5500 is overkill I presume the Z906 would likely be overkill also & for 299.99 I would go for it without hesitation because of bang for the buck value & performance that hits hard & slaps lol
 
So I went ahead and got the A5+ and the A8. They're definitely not for everyone or for multipurpose uses because of the lack of modern input options on the speakers (NO HDMI, no optical...etc.) but I only needed them specifically for my PC since I already have a full 5.1 ELAC setup for my home theatre.

...I'm not really an audio expert but I gotta say WOW! I don't miss my z5500's at all after 3 days of use. The speaker clarity is phenomenal I can hear footsteps better now in games and be able to distinctly tell where someone is behind me or flanking me much better in games like Overwatch or Battlefield without needing the 5.1. The subwoofer is pretty much overkill though with it's downward firing cone, I can barely put the volume up a quarter of the way without it being wayyyyy too floor thumping booming.

A good way to test your bass output :)

 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
What a piece of shit, the left speaker died already!! Only after a week of use the sound is completely muffled! My z5500 speakers lasted like 17 years!!!!

I went ahead and processed a return with Amazon. I'm gonna try the Kantu YU6 now. (y)
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I think you'll be very pleased with the Kanto. I use the YU6 for my bedroom TV audio.

Zeos did a nice review a couple years ago...

 
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TheMadHatterXxX said:
What a piece of shit, the left speaker died already!! Only after a week of use the sound is completely muffled! My z5500 speakers lasted like 17 years!!!!

I went ahead and processed a return with Amazon. I'm gonna try the Kantu YU6 now. (y)
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Sounds like you probably popped a fuse from your tweeter amp. Were you playing at max volume before the muffling perhaps? :)
 
B00nie said:
Sounds like you probably popped a fuse from your tweeter amp. Were you playing at max volume before the muffling perhaps? :)
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Well maybe but doubt it, I don't know what full volume is since there's no indication on the volume dial lol. Also is not turning the speakers off from the power button a bad thing? Because I left them on 24/7 even though the computer was off.

But still I used to crank my z5500s on FULL and then if you hold down the volume button on the remote it goes 5 more bars even louder and they lasted so long.

I'm keeping the Audioengine S8 sub though ..unless someone tells me it won't work with the Kantu
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
Well maybe but doubt it, I don't know what full volume is since there's no indication on the volume dial lol. Also is not turning the speakers off from the power button a bad thing? Because I left them on 24/7 even though the computer was off.

But still I used to crank my z5500s on FULL and then if you hold down the volume button on the remote it goes 5 more bars even louder and they lasted so long.

I'm keeping the Audioengine S8 sub though ..unless someone tells me it won't work with the Kantu
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could be a dud, it happens. could be they werent broken in enough and popped when pushed. could ahve been dropped during shipping. ....
the sub should work fine, either go with just left channel or get a rca splitter.(sub has l/r rca, speaker has single rca out)
 
pendragon1 said:
could be a dud, it happens. could be they werent broken in enough and popped when pushed. could ahve been dropped during shipping. ....
the sub should work fine, either go with just left channel or get a rca splitter.(sub has l/r rca, speaker has single rca out)
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Yes the sub has RCA....So it will be just a 2 to 1 RCA splitter with both sides being RCA right?
 
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I was just thinking about this the other day. My Z-5500's gotta be 20 years old now. I noticed a couple of months ago that the backlighting on the control pod is out on one side. Otherwise, they are still kickin. I know there are better options out there, I just hate to get rid of something that still works. Especially when most of my audio time is spent using headphones anyway. I almost want them to fail so I won't feel bad replacing them...and now they will last 10 more years.
 
WTF This is so weird. So today I turned them on (the AudioEngines) and speaker is now working fine again. What the hells going on?
Well I'm not dealing with it either way, I shouldn't have to after only 10 days of use. I'm still returning them once my Kantus get delivered tomorrow.
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
Nope not at all. I didnt even touch it except just turn it off every night for the past couple of days instead of leaving it on overnight.
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If you played them too loud you may have triggered an internal thermal protection and it needed the speaker to cool down.
 
It's back to not working again so yeah it's fucked. I'mn not sure why it started working ok for a day again. Just waiting for the Kantus to get delivered today.
I'm guessing audioengine is aware there are issues because they put a huge heatsink on the back of the speaker.
 
Ehh I don't think the speakers were the issue ever. The same problem started happening with the Kantos.

So I suspect it's something with the soundcard: I eliminated the computer from the equation by connecting my phone directly to the speakers thru bluetooth and it works perfectly fine.
But when I use the computer/soundcard as the source, the scratchy sound from the left speaker comes back. So I think my AE-5 is kinda busted or atleast thru the 3.5mm output jack on it is....
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
Ehh I don't think the speakers were the issue ever. The same problem started happening with the Kantos.

So I suspect it's something with the soundcard: I eliminated the computer from the equation by connecting my phone directly to the speakers thru bluetooth and it works perfectly fine.
But when I use the computer/soundcard as the source, the scratchy sound from the left speaker comes back. So I think my AE-5 is kinda busted or atleast thru the 3.5mm output jack on it is....
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try cleaning the jack with iso and a interdental brush.
 
pendragon1 said:
try cleaning the jack with iso and a interdental brush.
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Well it was this stupid 1x PCI Express riser cable that I was using which was busted from the stress of the bends. When I plugged the soundcard directly into the PCIe slot scratchy scratchy gone from speaker. So I basically returned the AudioEngine a5 for no reason. Oh well I think the Kanto's are better anyway, more inputs!

I ordered a new 1x PCIe riser cable with a proper 90 degree from Amazon.
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
Well it was this stupid 1x PCI Express riser cable that I was using which was busted from the stress of the bends. When I plugged the soundcard directly into the PCIe slot scratchy scratchy gone from speaker. So I basically returned the AudioEngine a5 for no reason. Oh well I think the Kanto's are better anyway, more inputs!

I ordered a new 1x PCIe riser cable with a proper 90 degree from Amazon.
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This is why you're supposed to switch the left and right channels around when testing to verify the speaker is really the culprit instead of the source...
 
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