Logitech Z-5500 Digital Soundroom

[allen337]

Im using onboard sound right now and the speakers are awesome, hooked up optical. Can anyone suggest just what sound card I need in this rig. Whats the best and what is overall best value. thanks in advance. ALLEN

 

[rampage]

I' not sure if you guys/girls know if there any telescopic stands that can be used on the speakers. I will be mainly using the setup in my room as a home theater and don't have anything to place the speakers on and don't feel like mounting the speakers on a wallpapered blue stone wall ..

 

[gerrynicol]

We just had a power cut and the 2A fuse blew, no probs I had a few spare, they all blew as soon as I put them (well unit powered off, put fuse in, turned on then pop) anyone else had this?

EDIT: I think I was using normal 2A fuses, I will need to make a trip to Maplin for a 10pack of 2A Slow Blow fuses,(£1.49)

 

[twicksisted]

Im using onboard sound right now and the speakers are awesome, hooked up optical. Can anyone suggest just what sound card I need in this rig. Whats the best and what is overall best value. thanks in advance. ALLEN

Optical from motherboard is great for stereo as it dosent matter what soundcard you use, becuase the sound stays in the digital realm and isnt affected by the ADC DAC quality of the soundcard. It just passes straight through to the speakers without getting processed.

The only issue comes in when you want to use all 5.1 speakers (not just stereo).
Then I would reccommend the Azuntech Prelude, Asus Xonar or high end Xfi as they have optical output & Dolby / DTS encoding for surround sound and games / movies. They have good quality DAC/ ADC's and for PC multimedia & Gaming will bring the most out of your speakers.

I am very happy with my Asus xonar, has solid vista 64bit drivers and OpenAI for future direct X10 games... optical output with 24bit 192khz output on a 5.1 speakers (Xfi & Azuntech have only 24/192 on front stereo and 24/48khz for the rest)... Also looks the dogs with its moulded heatsink and colour LED inputs on the back.

 

[Black Panther]

We just had a power cut and the 2A fuse blew, no probs I had a few spare, they all blew as soon as I put them (well unit powered off, put fuse in, turned on then pop) anyone else had this?

EDIT: I think I was using normal 2A fuses, I will need to make a trip to Maplin for a 10pack of 2A Slow Blow fuses,(£1.49)

I heard that if you switch on/off the Z-5500 from the switch at the back of the sub there is more chance to blow the fuse. I haven't tested it personally though (not eager to blow fuses myself).

And yes get the slow blow fuses. The other type will just blow out fast!

 

[gerrynicol]

Yeah I think the guy at the local hardware shop just sold me a mixed bag lol. Will be getting the fuses before I go to work so I won't find out till I get in tonight if that sorts it out.

 

[gerrynicol]

I just found this on the logitech site Link it says to use a 4A Slow Blow, not the 2A Slow Blow that is stated on the back of the sub

I take it thats due to the high fallout of 2A slow blows

EDIT: Oops 4A is for the US systems

P=IV 440W=4A*110V

and 500W=2A*250V

 

[Mussels]

Im using onboard sound right now and the speakers are awesome, hooked up optical. Can anyone suggest just what sound card I need in this rig. Whats the best and what is overall best value. thanks in advance. ALLEN

as has been said - if you want stereo music and games and use the upmixer, it doesnt matter what soundcard you have. everything thats not pre-encoded (movies) will only be 2.0 sound however.

If you get a card, one of the auzentech cards or an asus xonar. The latest from both not only encode in dolby digital (which lets you get 5.1 over optical) but DTS as well (which lets you get AWESOME sound over digital)

To everyone else:
I've switched mine on and off from the back with no fuses dying. It may depend on load as well - if you start playing audio with the unit off, realise its off and go switch it on, it may not like powering up to make noise instantly.

 

[chargerblender]

Just placed order for the z5500's, can't wait!!
can u get 6 ch output from an ipod (with right cables) or, if that ain@t gonna work
is the analogue mp3 input on the side of the control hub decent enough, like all the channels.

 

[DanishDevil]

Set the unit to PLII Music when you put your iPod in

Added to soon-to-be.

 

[Mussels]

Just placed order for the z5500's, can't wait!!
can u get 6 ch output from an ipod (with right cables) or, if that ain@t gonna work
is the analogue mp3 input on the side of the control hub decent enough, like all the channels.

what danish said is correct. because the Ipod does not support surround sound, it only gives 2 channel audio - whatever port you use you can use teh speakers dolby pro logic 'music' mode to get noise out of all the speakers. (While it comes out of every speaker, its still technically not 5.1)

 

[DanishDevil]

It's 5.1, but fake 5.1. Music (unless it's from a DVD usually - they do have DVD-Audio CDs) is stereo. PLII Music actually does a really nice job with music, I think, though!

 

[Mussels]

the way i see it, is its all about the source.

You can use double adaptors and connect 20 sets of speakers to a single stereo port - doesnt mean its 40.1 channel audio

Its a tecnhicality, but one i argue (even the logitechs agree - besides pro logic the other option is 'stereo x2', so dolby music would be 'stereo x2 + fade effect + center channel')

 

[twicksisted]

Stereo X2 is just the front and rear speakers playing the same thing
FL + RL & FR + RR

No centre channel

 

[Mussels]

Stereo X2 is just the front and rear speakers playing the same thing
FL + RL & FR + RR

No centre channel

yup. the point i'm trying to make is many, many people would call that 'surround sound' or '4.1' sound simply because its coming out of 4 speakers (and sub) - thats why i am making the distinction based on the audio SOURCE

 

[chargerblender]

So a ipod with a line in to the side of the control hub, with PLII enabled, sound will come out of all speakers +sound gd, i hope.

 

[twicksisted]

So a ipod with a line in to the side of the control hub, with PLII enabled, sound will come out of all speakers +sound gd, i hope.

Yes...
Basically its a 5.1 speaker system, amp & receiver... you can connect a multitude of devices to it... either mono, stereo and up to 5.1 surround over analogue or digital inputs.

If you do use a stereo (2 channel) source (eg: ipod)... then it will play stereo (2 channels/ speakers) or you can upmix it using either your computers soundcard or the receivers built in Stereo X2 or Dolby PLII settings which will send it to all of the surround speakers

 

[rampage]

yeah PLII will turn a 2.0 stream into 5.1 stream based off of the origional 2.0 stream, but overall music quality will depend of the quality of the 2.0 stream (the quality of the mp3 on the ipod)

 

[chargerblender]

kl thankyou,
although i just found out apple failed to repair my ipod under warranty
because the bastards worked out i put it in my washing machine

 

[DanishDevil]

Oooo. Ouch.

I'm trying to grab myself a new Zune 80GB. Anyone have/had one that liked/hated it? I played with one for a bit, and it seems like a pretty sweet toy. Definitely an upgrade from my 60GB iPod Video (anyone wanna buy it? )

 

[malware]

Hi, can anybody tell me where can I buy online an Auzentech X-Fi with custom OPAMPs from USA. Is there a place different from their own page where I can buy one and choose custom OPAMPs?

 

[Black Panther]

I' not sure if you guys/girls know if there any telescopic stands that can be used on the speakers. I will be mainly using the setup in my room as a home theater and don't have anything to place the speakers on and don't feel like mounting the speakers on a wallpapered blue stone wall ..

The speakers cannot be used on telescopic stands unless you plan some warranty-voiding modding.

I had seen a mod of the satellites somewhere on the net in which they put the satellites on stands. I'll search it for you and post the link if I find it again. However you have to practically open up the satellites and void the warranty to do so. Hence it wouldn't be worth if you're still within warranty.

EDIT:

I found the link on how to mod them.

But you have to open them up like this (hence my warranty warning)

The final result would be:

It's much worth having a look though because the instructions are step-by-step and really simple.

I can't resist linking to a picture of the final result next to the modder's one-eyed cat:

 

[twicksisted]

Hi, can anybody tell me where can I buy online an Auzentech X-Fi with custom OPAMPs from USA. Is there a place different from their own page where I can buy one and choose custom OPAMPs?

I could be wrong on this entirely... but from what I know if these cards... the opamp is an analogue amplifier that you can add on... and becuase of this it will only affect the analogue output of your soundcard... (so if you using optical, its not gonna be used).

Also... the Z5500's are great computer speakers, but hardly audiophile equipment deserving custom amplification... I think it wouldnt be noticeable atall on these speakers and you better off getting a standard azuntech and using optical... but thats just me personally

 

[malware]

I could be wrong on this entirely... but from what I know if these cards... the opamp is an analogue amplifier that you can add on... and becuase of this it will only affect the analogue output of your soundcard... (so if you using optical, its not gonna be used).

Also... the Z5500's are great computer speakers, but hardly audiophile equipment deserving custom amplification... I think it wouldnt be noticeable atall on these speakers and you better off getting a standard azuntech and using optical... but thats just me personally

Maybe you're right, I found a way to purchase from USA and have better prices than the PC magazines here in my country, so the ~50$ I'm going to give here for warranty and the standard card could go to the custom OPAMPs from USA, that's all. We'll see what happens in the following weeks, most probably I'll listen to your words and purchase the original version after all.

 

[twicksisted]

If you did go down the opamp route... i think it only affects the stereo left and right channel... and the rest are amplified by the normal soundcard pre's... (so its pointless for 5.1 and cant be used in DTS surround).
also... you would probably have to use analogue to use the opamps... and then you wouldnt have DTS digital surround.

i have paired my Z5500's up with an Asus Xonar D2X and am very glad that I did... great interface... easy to use and not a single issue in vista 64bit atall