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Why does everyone hate the z5500s?

S

samssf

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Joined
Jun 27, 2008
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Ok, so I'm in the market for a new audio system... and in many forums and reviews around the net, the Z5500s are praised. I've heard things like, "for the price you cannot get a better HTiB system". I've heard you can't even buy separate components for the price. I have a piano and in the piano forums I was told it's one of the best for that purpose, also.

However on this forum the Z5500s get a lot of criticism, but I haven't seen anything that actually explains why they suck compared to other systems at the same price... but I constantly read that "they suck obviously because they're PC speakers and are marketed to a different audience".

My question: Why do people say they suck because they're "PC speakers". What's the different between a PC speaker and a "normal" speaker. As far as I know a speaker is a speaker... so if you are comparing other systems with two drivers, same size drivers, same size sub, etc... then it seems lame to give the reasoning that they're "PC speakers".

Anyway, I'd like to know why they suck, and which other comparable systems are better for about the same price. I'm looking for something that could potentially be used for digital piano, computer, ps3, home theater, etc... and around the same size.

Link for setting these up for piano gigs: http://psrtutorial.com/Resources/Articles/Logitech.html
 
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samssf said:
Ok, so I'm in the market for a new audio system... and in many forums and reviews around the net, the Z5500s are praised. I've heard things like, "for the price you cannot get a better HTiB system". I've heard you can't even buy separate components for the price. I have a piano and in the piano forums I was told it's one of the best for that purpose, also.

However on this forum the Z5500s get a lot of criticism, but I haven't seen anything that actually explains why they suck compared to other systems at the same price... but I constantly read that "they suck obviously because they're PC speakers and are marketed to a different audience".

My question: Why do people say they suck because they're "PC speakers". What's the different between a PC speaker and a "normal" speaker. As far as I know a speaker is a speaker... so if you are comparing other systems with two drivers, same size drivers, same size sub, etc... then it seems lame to give the reasoning that they're "PC speakers".

Anyway, I'd like to know why they suck, and which other comparable systems are better for about the same price. I'm looking for something that could potentially be used for digital piano, computer, ps3, home theater, etc... and around the same size.
Click to expand...

This has been answered to death, you didn't search well enough - clearly.

The piano forums suggested what!? They are crazy. I frequent on Piano forums myself, and would laugh at such a suggestion - it's mostly studio monitors that are suggested there... not "PC Speakers". Those would be anyone's last suggestion.. ESPECIALLY for a piano, and why would you need 5 speakers?

The Z-5500 has boomy, muddy bass with an unchangeable crossover. Sound VERY congested if there is a lot of stuff going on, can't expect more than that from those puny satellites. They suffer with almost no mids, and I've also heard that their enclosures are very poorly built. They are OK for gaming at that price point if you really need 5 speakers, but for music they aren't so good at all.

I've had the X-540 -> Z-5300e -> Z-5500. I thought they were amazing, until I got some monitors for half the price of the Z-5500 .... the Z-5500 are pretty shit in comparison I must say. Think about it, 5 speakers plus a sub in a package? Quality gets lost somewhere. Or two speakers for that same price? Much higher quality.

http://www.theaudioinsider.com/product_info.php/p/swan-m200mkii/products_id/80

^^^ This is amazing for the price, it's been on sale for a while now, and would absolutely blow the Z-5500 out of the water, then castrate it in mid-air.

TWO high quality speakers > 5.1 junkie ones. So much better to start off with two, then get a sub, then get a center followed by two rears. It'll take time, but the end result will be much more pleasing.
 
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You're right in that speakers are just speakers. But you have to keep in mind that it isn't US saying they are PC speakers. Logitech MARKETS them as PC speakers. It's our way of mocking them in saying that PC speakers are crap. If it has to be marketed as PC speakers, then it's crap. By marketing them as PC gaming speakers, Logitech expects consumers to lower their expectations out of speakers by saying "Well, they are just for the PC gaming, not for music or HT, so it is acceptable to have 'acceptable' quality instead of good quality sound."

The better question is why does LOGITECH have to market them as PC speakers?

Anyhow, the Z5500 suck. Period. The only good thing about them is that they generate sound from more than 2 speakers and they come with a sub. They don't have a high level of detail and their audio fidelity (producing sound as similar to the source as possible) is weak. The sub is loud and boomy and isn't very accurate or fast.

Does this satisfy your angst about us crapping on Logicrap (love their keyboards though) speakers?
 
Logitech's subs are muddy, and I agree about the mids. The speakers are tinny to me.
 
We really need some type of sticky on this topic. This is getting out of hand.
 
It's a shame that our lone audio forum is "Computer Audio," or that there's no child board that focuses on better quality hardware.
 
more like fortunately..spending a few months away from head-fi and avsforum has saved my wallet immensely. Though [H] has the hot deals thread to suck away your money weekly, albeit at smaller amounts.
 
Adreneline said:
Those would be anyone's last suggestion.. ESPECIALLY for a piano, and why would you need 5 speakers?
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That was my question as well. Recommending the Z-5500s for a pianist is so completely bizarre I can't even wrap my head around it.

My recommendation for a pianist? Probably KRK Rokit 6 G2s.
 
I would suggest Adrenaline's advice and build up your system piece by piece unless this is gonna be the last bit of disposable income you get for the next couple years. Otherwise, I would recommend you find a cheap Onkyo 5.1 setup that should outdo the Z5500.
 
The answer is simple, people have money to buy something better that is more expensive.
 
You may be asking because there seems to be a focus on the z5500s. I think it's because so many people think they're the pinnacle of computer audio, so there needs to be equal or greater opposition. Many people seem to be under the impression that only "computer speakers" can be used with a computer. This impression is fine if all they'll be used for is playing mp3s.

Games do (or should) come with high quality audio. For music, once you go FLAC with nice speakers, you'll never question it again.
 
Good responses, thanks guys =). Good note about Logitech specifically marketing them as "PC" speakers. My thought is that if a person insists on a 5.1 setup, then there isn't much better *for the price*. But, it sounds like Onkyo has one in the price range.

Now, the reason I've considered them is 1) because of the digital in (wouldn't require a receiver / dac), which allow its use with PS3, as well as the physical size of the speakers. I move around a lot, and don't have a lot of space. I'm dealing with small rooms and therefore don't need a lot of power. I do however want accuracy, and I care about mids...

Wires piss me off... less to clutter my room is better. Also I don't really have room for big monitors on my desk.

What's the smallest physical solution with the best sound? I saw some planar speakers listed on another forum but found they were discontinued.

Any advice would be awesome... Money is not too importance since I can buy separates as I go along. However, please keep in my physical size, number of wires, and sound reproduction accuracy. Also, I'm dealing with two small rooms (12 x 16 living room and 12 x 11 bedroom). I have some good headphones but don't like to wear them all the time =)

Any lesser-known cool components that are high quality and combine multiple tasks (sub with integrted receiver, small profile receivers, DACs, etc... anything to help reduce clutter / complexity would help)

My piano is in the bedroom... I was going to move it into the living room and position everything so that I can mount the speakers and use everything with the same setup... but unfortunately I think it might be too cluttered or wouldn't sound good (incorrect speaker positioning).
 
criccio said:
:eek::confused::eek::confused:

Speechless...
Click to expand...

My exact reaction when I read that....

Wow. How awful does that look, can't imagine how awful it fills a room. Two studio monitors are begging to be put up in there... and I can't see how the monitors would be HARDER to put up there than the Z-5500s.... what was this guy thinking?
 
But it's surround sound!

lol.

Anyway, I just bought a pair of Audioengine A2s. Small enough for my desk, got 25% off, but should be good sound for the money.

Now just need to solve the audio for piano and projector screen.
 
Hate is a strong word... And when you start talking about bang for the buck it largely depends on what you're paying for those Z-5500's... Price can vary by as much as $100 depending on where you're getting 'em at. For $200 or so I think they're a decent set if you absolutely need a surround set, 'specially if you mostly intend to use 'em for gaming and not much else.

For $300 you can easily do much much better (even if you succumb to getting a HTiB rather than piecing it together yourself), 'specially if you intend to use it for movies/music. If you intend to use it for music primarily (or a piano for that matter), you probably shouldn't even worry about getting a surround set as a pair of active monitors for $150-200 will produce much cleaner, accurate, and full-bodied sound than plastic PC speakers. The Logitech set has it's place, but people vastly overestimate it's capabilities and range, and you've fallen in that trap. Just gotta listen to the difference to believe it.

If you want technical reasons why speakers of that kind or a surround set bought piece-by-piece will out-perform a set of plastic PC speakers I'm sure it's not hard to figure out once you start doing some actual research... The size of the speakers and the drivers is hardly the sole determining factor in quality, construction of the enclosure (MDF vs plastic) and the amp will have just as much of an effect, etc etc.

If you want a set of really small monitors for music, take a look at the Audioengine A2's, they're probably not much bigger than some of the satellites in larger PC 5.1 sets but they'll do much much better with music... There's several codes floating around to get 10-20% off their price. If you need a surround set but can't deal with a receiver and want to avoid as many extra wires/desk space as possible you're not stuck with the Z-5500's either, but your options are more limited.

All depends on what you're paying for those Z-5500's too, for $200 it's hard to find alternate surround solutions (though again, you're making a compromise in sound quality), but for $300-400 you can get something many times better that will probably blow you away if the Z-5500's are about the best speakers you've ever listened to for any long stretch of time... Energy's Take Classic set sounds pretty nice for it's price/size, though you'd need a receiver.
 
Impulse said:
Hate is a strong word... And when you start talking about bang for the buck it largely depends on what you're paying for those Z-5500's... Price can vary by as much as $100 depending on where you're getting 'em at. For $200 or so I think they're a decent set if you absolutely need a surround set, 'specially if you mostly intend to use 'em for gaming and not much else.

For $300 you can easily do much much better (even if you succumb to getting a HTiB rather than piecing it together yourself), 'specially if you intend to use it for movies/music. If you intend to use it for music primarily (or a piano for that matter), you probably shouldn't even worry about getting a surround set as a pair of active monitors for $150-200 will produce much cleaner, accurate, and full-bodied sound than plastic PC speakers. The Logitech set has it's place, but people vastly overestimate it's capabilities and range, and you've fallen in that trap. Just gotta listen to the difference to believe it.

If you want technical reasons why speakers of that kind or a surround set bought piece-by-piece will out-perform a set of plastic PC speakers I'm sure it's not hard to figure out once you start doing some actual research... The size of the speakers and the drivers is hardly the sole determining factor in quality, construction of the enclosure (MDF vs plastic) and the amp will have just as much of an effect, etc etc.

If you want a set of really small monitors for music, take a look at the Audioengine A2's, they're probably not much bigger than some of the satellites in larger PC 5.1 sets but they'll do much much better with music... There's several codes floating around to get 10-20% off their price. If you need a surround set but can't deal with a receiver and want to avoid as many extra wires/desk space as possible you're not stuck with the Z-5500's either, but your options are more limited.

All depends on what you're paying for those Z-5500's too, for $200 it's hard to find alternate surround solutions (though again, you're making a compromise in sound quality), but for $300-400 you can get something many times better that will probably blow you away if the Z-5500's are about the best speakers you've ever listened to for any long stretch of time... Energy's Take Classic set sounds pretty nice for it's price/size, though you'd need a receiver.
Click to expand...

Here in Canada, the retail stores have 'em up for around $499. I used to work for Best Buy, the best sale price they had was around $279 for a couple of days, not bad, but not good either. It's ridiculously overpriced. Online stores aren't too much better - I bought them off Tiger Direct (before I sold 'em) for $239 - now it's $355, :eek: and $420 at NCIX.

What is happening to Canada in electronics/PC equipment? Jesus.
 
Yeahm I've no idea how such an old product can vary so much in price to this day... They're going on five years since release now, I think the only reason retailers can get away with the $350+ price tags is the overblown expectations people have created for such a system... That and all the 5 star/editor's choice reviews from magazines and sites which don't have much business reviewing audio products (or not much of a basis for comparison).

I mean, many $250 HTiB systems will easily do much better w/movies than a set of Z-5500's (and you'll have plenty of inputs for any gaming console, DVD/BD player, etc); and they're hardly a hallmark of quality either, but 'least they're moderately priced.

I've seen the Z-5500's for about $399 here in Puerto Rico as well though... Mostly everything here is sold at a slightly higher price point than in the US due to shipping/taxes, 'cept at stores like Costco and Comp USA after they re-opened (awesome prices there now compared to Best Buy and Circuit City RIP). What I wouldn't give for a Fry's or a Microcenter down here... Heh.
 
I don't know what's worse.

This thread, or the fact that people don't use the search button.
 
Z-5500, best speakers sub 250$ If you buy a setup with bookshelf speakers even the receiver alone will cost more than the Z-5500
 
persisting1 said:
I don't know what's worse.

This thread, or the fact that people don't use the search button.
Click to expand...

Well, I actually did search and read a lot of threads about the z5500s, but there's still a lot of opposition on the matter, so I wanted to hear more detailed arguments / reasons. But I've been convinced by the messages there. Thanks.
 
zyklon said:
Z-5500, best speakers sub 250$ If you buy a setup with bookshelf speakers even the receiver alone will cost more than the Z-5500
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used receiver with both digital / analog inputs ~$75-$100
tSc P6-PR - $89
tSc 8" sub - $99
that's about $250 and much better sound then the Z5500

or grab a set of monitors and a sub still about the same price
Z5500 are a marketing ploy, I went from Klipsch 4.1s to Z5500 to Klipsch5.1s even the Klipsch don't sound as good as a decent set of monitors / bookshelf speakers, they don't have the drivers to produce a wide enough range of sound, but mop the floor with the Z5500 in both highs and lows(not muffled bass)
Z5500 1 2.5"? or 3" for both mids and highs
Klipsch 1 3"mid + 1" tweeter
the 3" doesn't really get low enough to reproduce rich mids and doesn't get high enough for the highs, the Z5500 are like the bose of computer speakers :)

Out of all PC speakers,I'd say klipsch made the best ones, but still not as good as monitors/receiver+bookshelf for the same price.
 
What new HTiB that costs the same or less than Z-5500 but sounds better? People keep mentioning about these HTiBs but don't give an example. Btw I said new, if you want to compare with used speakers, why don't you compare with used Z-5500 as well.
 
alg7_munif said:
What new HTiB that costs the same or less than Z-5500 but sounds better? People keep mentioning about these HTiBs but don't give an example. Btw I said new, if you want to compare with used speakers, why don't you compare with used Z-5500 as well.
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I said used receiver, not used speakers, either way, you can buy NEW active monitors with a NEW subwoofer for around $250 and still have better sound then Z5500

either way, the only people that the Z5500 will sound "good" to are people who haven't heard anything better, or anything outside of the computer speaker world

and btw it was in response to this
Z-5500, best speakers sub 250$ If you buy a setup with bookshelf speakers even the receiver alone will cost more than the Z-5500
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no where does it say new used or anything, just a $250 budget
 
true..but I'm not sure I'd want the kind of active monitors and sub that can be had for 250 combined..that sounds like it would have more compromises than a HTIB to me. Cheap 8" subs are not worth it either IMO.
 
jterp7 said:
true..but I'm not sure I'd want the kind of active monitors and sub that can be had for 250 combined..that sounds like it would have more compromises than a HTIB to me. Cheap 8" subs are not worth it either IMO.
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but cheap Logitech subs are worth it :p?
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
but cheap Logitech subs are worth it :p?
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Lol. Seriously.

My Energy ESW-8 and Swan D1080MKII rock on my LAN setup. Admittedly, the sub doesn't hit too hard unless it's a relatively small room, but its not bad at all (especially for the price).
 
I have my Audioengine 5 and Asub (10") setup in a small office, 12 x 10. I don't think I could ever go smaller than that. When we move into our single family in a few months, I know both will be inefficient for a HT in a room, even say 14 x 16.

And no Viper I was not defending the logitech's lol. My point is that a cheap setups are not worth it in general. I did a lot of research before ending with AE5s, which for me were the budget choice, my dream choice were these.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...nal_Audio_S1A_S1A_200W_5_.html#specifications

For me the AE5's were the only reasonably priced choice with a decent amp behind them.
 
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jterp7 said:
I have my Audioengine 5 and Asub (10") setup in a small office, 12 x 10. I don't think I could ever go smaller than that. When we move into our single family in a few months, I know both will be inefficient for a HT in a room, even say 14 x 16.

And no Viper I was not defending the logitech's lol.
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I have a decent sized room probably 20 x 12 or so and I'm using an 8" sub and for HT and music it's more then enough, really how much bass do you need, does it need to overpower everything else? in that case maybe you you do need a 12"
 
alg7_munif said:
3-1/4" drivers
8" woofer

How much better could it be?
Click to expand...

For me when it comes down to that, I would (and have) gone with quality over channels. Unfortunately for some people its surround sound or bust which just isn't my thing. Get a really good 2.0 setup from a company that has a matched center, surrounds and sub for the main L/R's and pick them up when you can afford it.

If you are going to do it, do it right the first time.
 
criccio said:
For me when it comes down to that, I would (and have) gone with quality over channels. Unfortunately for some people its surround sound or bust which just isn't my thing. Get a really good 2.0 setup from a company that has a matched center, surrounds and sub for the main L/R's and pick them up when you can afford it.

If you are going to do it, do it right the first time.
Click to expand...

I agree and that is what I did before, but not all people are willing to spend more.

When I was around here some time ago, this "go big or go home" attitude wasn't here yet.
 
alg7_munif said:
I agree and that is what I did before, but not all people are willing to spend more. When I was around here some time ago, this "go big or go home" attitude wasn't here yet.
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I didn't mean "go big or go home" to begin with. Like I said, you can pick up a reciever and bookshelves that are within your budget to begin with (which by themselves will probably blow away the logitechs), then expand with a sub, then a matched center, then some surrounds.

Sure it takes a bit longer, but you get a quality system without the large initial investment.
 
zyklon said:
Z-5500, best speakers sub 250$ If you buy a setup with bookshelf speakers even the receiver alone will cost more than the Z-5500
Click to expand...

I love when random people with no knowledge about speakers come in here once in a while and say how great the Z-5500 is.

Sorry sir, there are far better options. Far better.

Yes in that price range.
 
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