Logitech Z-5500 Digital Soundroom

[nareshseep]

Guys check this out, I know this is the logitech thread.
http://www.edifier-international.com/product.php?seri=7

to me it looks just like the 5500, but has a tweeter!!! l same control pod, same features

 

[Mussels]

naresheep: it might LOOK similar, but the specs show it to be nothing like it

- Power output: RMS 2 x 10W + 20W (THD=10%)
- Signal to noise ratio: >=85dBA

edit: i think you meant the S750 set. that sets specs are similar, and while it claims to have seperate treble control the rest of it seems inferior... it doesnt have DTS decoding, for example.

 

[majki84]

Hello from Poland First, i'd like to say that I like this forum very much and read all this topic and dozens of others similar and didn't find the answer, so maybe You will be able to help me.

I'm going to buy a new PC with Logitech Z-5500 and some decent sound card. The setup will be used for: 40% movies, 35% music, 25% games. I was thinking about getting Asus Xonar DX or D2(X), but i heard that there are some problems with sound in the games (but it's not that important, maybe it's just drivers). I want to watch dvd movies or even Full HD (I'll get 24-26 inch lcd), listen to music in FLAC and play FPP (mainly)games. I want the best sound quallity i can get not spending a fortune. Question is: Can i get DTS 96/24 on Xonar DX (which doesn't have DTS encoder, but speakers has) through optical out? Coz someone told me that it's posible only via coaxial out and DX has Optical.
Another Q is: I read that if you connect speakers digitally to sound card, the latter doesn't do practilly nothing with the sound, just passes through to speakers which makes all the rest (and Z-5500 has all decoders I need - DTS, DD, DPLII), so why do I need expensive sound card? The cheap one with digital out should do the thing?
I was told that it's good to have speakers connected also via analog for games (digital for the rest), coz not all the games are in 5.1, but through analogs i will get 5.1 sound(?). Soundcard is very important on analog for decent sound, point to Xonar. Do i really need analog nowadays?
Will I hear the deference between DX and D2(x)? On digital rather not, but what about analog? I think that DX is good enough for this speakers or should i move to D2 for triple price for this tiny better quality sound and built-in DTS en/decoder (do i need it?, it's already in z5500)?
I just want to hear all the hot stuff like DD, DTS and have decent 5.1 sound in games. What should i choose? The more i read the forums worldwide the dumper I am Help me please

 

[freaksavior]

thanks for the links freak, they should be added to the first post.

Your welcome. I played the sub test on my dads klispch and i had to turn it off les than half way through it

 

[Darren]

I was thinking about getting Asus Xonar DX or D2(X), but i heard that there are some problems with sound in the games (but it's not that important, maybe it's just drivers).

Sounds like bad rumors, the Xonar's drivers are one of the best, really stable. You will have less driver related problems in games with a Xonar than with a Creative product.

I want the best sound quality i can get not spending a fortune.

You don't need to spend a fortune, but if you want quality products you shouldn't be looking for "computer speakers", you should be looking at home cinema systems and bookshelf speakers.

Coz someone told me that it's posible only via coaxial out and DX has Optical

That is because Dolby Digital or DTS can only be transmitted through a digital data cable e.g. Fibre optical, coaxial, and HDMI.

so why do I need expensive sound card? The cheap one with digital out should do the thing?

Not all soundcards with digital outputs have the same capabilities, for example most sound cards only support stereo through the digital outputs and can only carry 5.1 streams if the data is pre-encoded prior e.g. DVDs/HD DVDs/Blu-Ray are usually pre-encoded in 5.1 and hence why most sound cards with digital outs can pass these 5.1 channels to the decoder/AV receiver opposed to the usual stereo.
The only way to get Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 though the soundcards outputs in material which isn't pre-encoded such as stereo content e.g. MP3 files, games, downloaded videos, is to purchase a sound card capable of encoding the material in real-time into 5.1 streams ready for the receiver/AV. Only a few sound cards are capable of real time pre-encoding such as, Asus Xonar (D2, D2X), Auzentech X-Plosion, Auzentech X-Meridian, Auzentech/Creative Prelude. There are a few other cards which I can't remember the names of.

coz not all the games are in 5.1, but through analogs i will get 5.1 sound(?).

Using analogue you'll only get PCM stereo. The only way to get 5.1 is to use the receiver's Prologic feature which wills up mix the channels to Prologic 5.1, also you will be unable to get DTS or Dolby, not even in DVDs.

I think that DX is good enough for this speakers or should i move to D2 for triple price for this tiny better quality sound and built-in DTS en/decoder (do i need it?, it's already in z5500)?

The Z-5500's only "decodes" you still need a soundcard to "encode" the data into 5.1 bit streams to so the The Z-5500's can decode it.
You will not hear any difference in sound quality between the D2 and D2X, the difference is in its interface. The D2 is for PCI expansion slots and the D2X is for PCI-Express expansion slots. The DX version can only encode Dolby Digital but not DTS that is why it's cheaper. (bare in mind it can decode DTS just not encode it. It can however encode and decode Dolby Digital)

PS. You talk as if the Z-5500 is this fantastic product, It's like 5 year old piece of hardware, if you're serious about movies you'd invest in a home cinema system and bookshelf speakers and leave the plastic toy looking computer speakers alone.

Edit:

3. Analogue will indeed get you 5.1 sound. That was a... big mistake on darrens part. Of course analogue works in 5.1, or else theres a lot of idiots out there with analogue speaker sets! analogue just doesnt sound as good as digital

I hold my hands up; I should have been more specific. I meant that you can't get Dolby 5.1 or DTS 5.1 bit streams through analogue.

 

[chron]

was thinking of cleaning my desk and room before these pictures, but i figured, what the hell lol.

I've got this system pared with an X-Fi platinum on the pc, and I'm using optical in from my DVR along with hdmi on the monitor. Right now I'm watching pbs at 720p/DD

 

[Mussels]

long message

I'll just reinforce some points that darren made.


1. optical, coax, HDMI - all the same. Digital is digital.

2. for media, there is no use with a better soundcard. your 2.0 stuff is never going to become anything else, and your 5.1 dolby digital and DTS sound is getting passed through without being touched by the soundcard.

2.1 For *GAMES* you will only get 2.0 sound without a sound card capable of real time encoding. For 5.1 games you need analogue, or a card with encoding. that is where these expensive cards come into it.

3. Analogue will indeed get you 5.1 sound. That was a... big mistake on darrens part. Of course analogue works in 5.1, or else theres a lot of idiots out there with analogue speaker sets! analogue just doesnt sound as good as digital

 

[majki84]

You don't need to spend a fortune, but if you want quality products you shouldn't be looking for "computer speakers", you should be looking at home cinema systems and bookshelf speakers.

You will not hear any difference in sound quality between the D2 and D2X, the difference is in its interface.

PS. You talk as if the Z-5500 is this fantastic product, It's like 5 year old piece of hardware, if you're serious about movies you'd invest in a home cinema system and bookshelf speakers and leave the plastic toy looking computer speakers alone.

I know that there's no deference between D2 and D2X, I wrote DX vs D2X. Will I hear the deference in sound quality on z-5500? Do i really need this D2's dts de/encoder in my case? Is there dts in games? I think it's only in movies and there sound is pre-encoded so DX should do just fine, passing sound to speakers with dts decoder(?).
I know home cinema is better, but I don't have place for big speakers (small room in the flat) and good columns and ampli is way more expensive then this setup.
So DX or D2X? Which way to go?
Oh, and do You know how to recognise revision 2 of this speakers? Someone wrote here that all the speakers made after 2007 (so R-7xx) are free of popping sounds etc. I want to buy the speakers on pixmania.com and they wrote that they are selling this model from: 01/10/2004

Ref. Constructeur : 970115-0914

Will they be ok?

 

[Darren]

I wrote DX vs D2X. Will I hear the deference in sound quality on z-5500?

No. You will not hear a difference in sound quality. The main difference that separates the DX version is that it lacks the DTS encoding, but it does have Dolby encoding, Dolby decoding, and DTS decoding. Apart from that I doubt you'll hear a measurable difference. If the D2X is too expensive there are other alternatives such as the Auzentech X-plosion which is way cheaper and supports everything you need.

Do i really need this D2's dts de/encoder in my case? Is there dts in games? I think it's only in movies and there sound is pre-encoded so DX should do just fine, passing sound to speakers with dts decoder(?)

Games, MP3 files, any other multimedia file that is downloaded from the internet are usually in PCM Stereo. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 is only in AC3 files/store bought DVDs and hence the sound is passed through to the decoder (this can be achieved with any soundcard with SPDIF/digital out)

However if you want Dolby Digital in games, MP3 files, any other multimedia files you'll need an encoder type soundcard e.g. Xonar, Auzentech.

Oh, and do You know how to recognise revision 2 of this speakers? Someone wrote here that all the speakers made after 2007 (so R-7xx) are free of popping sounds etc. I want to buy the speakers on pixmania.com and they wrote that they are selling this model from: 01/10/2004
Ref. Constructeur : 970115-0914

Personally I wouldn't buy computer speakers especially ones which were almost 5 years old, let alone one which has a history of making popping noise. But as far as revisions go, it's completely random which batch you receive.

 

[Mussels]

DEcoding is almost wortlhess as it can be done in software.
Only movies are pre ENcoded, no games come in dolby digital or DTS.

The only reason to get an ENCODING card is to move an analogue 5.1 source (games!) over to digital 5.1!

 

[majki84]

So i understand that if dx has dolby digital encoding it will be enough for gaming, i don't need dts encoding here? Also i don't need dts encoding for movies and music as they are already pre encoded and my speakers will decode it with no problem(via optical)?so why would i need dts encoding in d2x in daily use? Sorry, i'm still not convinced which card to choose :/

 

[Darren]

so why would i need dts encoding in d2x in daily use? Sorry, i'm still not convinced which card to choose :/

DTS encoding is a personal choice if you don't need DTS encoding get the DX otherwise get the D2X if you want both Dolby encoding and DTS encoding. It's a personal choice which soundcard you purchase because know one can "convince" you which to select, all I can do is explain the features and you will have to choose based on which features will satisfy your needs and financial budget.

Personally I've got an Auzentech X-Meridian soundcard and when playing MP3s and MPEG files I rather the sound of DTS encoding opposed to Dolby encoding. Dolby tends to have a more focused center for dialogue whilst DTS tends to have weaker dialogue but heavier surround effects. But everyone's has their own preferences and experiences will vary depending their speaker setup.

 

[majki84]

Personally I've got an Auzentech X-Meridian soundcard and when playing MP3s and MPEG files I rather the sound of DTS encoding opposed to Dolby encoding. Dolby tends to have a more focused center for dialogue whilst DTS tends to have weaker dialogue but heavier surround effects.

That's what i wanted to know! To sum up: dts encoding can be used in music but it just differs from dolby encoding(inc.in dx)in surround effect. I still can be able to watch stereo movies and mp3s in 5.1 on dx thanks to dolby. If dolby encoding for stereo content suits me,then i really don't need dts encoding actually. Even when watching dvds and blue ray movies i don't need dts encoding as they are already pre encoded and z-5500 will decode it(only via digital,so in dx - via optical). So in my case it's not worth spending a fortune od d2x for just dts encoding which will give me only diferent surround effect. All the movies are preencoded? What about quallity. As far as i know dts has better bit/kHz then dolby. Will i be able to hear flac files, blue ray moviec on dx?

 

[twicksisted]

That's what i wanted to know! To sum up: dts encoding can be used in music but it just differs from dolby encoding(inc.in dx)in surround effect. I still can be able to watch stereo movies and mp3s in 5.1 on dx thanks to dolby. If dolby encoding for stereo content suits me,then i really don't need dts encoding actually. Even when watching dvds and blue ray movies i don't need dts encoding as they are already pre encoded and z-5500 will decode it(only via digital,so in dx - via optical). So in my case it's not worth spending a fortune od d2x for just dts encoding which will give me only diferent surround effect. All the movies are preencoded? What about quallity. As far as i know dts has better bit/kHz then dolby. Will i be able to hear flac files, blue ray moviec on dx?

If money is no object and you want the best, then go for the azuntechs or the xonar...
If you want to get the full potential out of blue ray movies and their higher quality sound in comparison to normal dobly surround aswell.
DTS uses less compression than dolby in the same way as a flac uses less compression than an mp3 for a higher quality. You will find DTS on the better cards and in my opinion, yes, it is worth it

Ive often bought stuff only to replace it a while later with the best that money can buy... becuase usually you get what you pay for and in this case its not that much more

 

[chron]

With my x-fi card, I find that surround stereo at 50%, 50% crystalizer, and the eq set to country, you get very crisp music. The bass seems to go up when you set the stereo surround to 50% which makes up for the lack of it in the country eq setting, then the 50% crystalizer just boosts everything.

Anyone else have any prefered X-Fi / Z-5500 settings?

 

[DanishDevil]

I set similar settings to those, but I used a custom EQ to bump mids and treble, and kept the speaker settings default, but bumped the bass and surround a bit. Of course, DDL because I had an Auzen X-Fi Prelude, but with my old Creative X-Fi, I just went analog.

 

[Bellamy29]

Personally I wouldn't buy computer speakers especially ones which were almost 5 years old, let alone one which has a history of making popping noise. But as far as revisions go, it's completely random which batch you receive.

Try to find something in it's price range that even measures close to price and value point. Also, have you heard these speakers? I'm guessing no. All the reviews, people are just crazy? The speakers obviously appeal to the masses, and unless you view the masses as crazy people, they have a say too. No, it won't be audiophile equipment, but come on. I have a $4000 klipsch surround sound setup in my living room. Do these hold a candle to it? No. They aren't that bad.

The DX is completely fine for your Z-5500, most if not everyone recommends it over the X-plosion and other cards in the price range. But if you really want DTS, then get the X-plosion I would recommend.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

hey hey hey - better get a seat warmed up for me - I will hopefully have a set of 5500's by tuesday/wednesday next week

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Just placed an order for my speakers - they will be here in 4 days time. cost me a grand total of $349.70 (converted from GBP)

how much can u moobs in the US get it for??? Im guessing probably around $300

 

[TheGuruStud]

Just placed an order for my speakers - they will be here in 4 days time. cost me a grand total of $349.70 (converted from GBP)

how much can u moobs in the US get it for??? Im guessing probably around $300

175 with free shipping

 

[FreedomEclipse]

175 with free shipping

:shadedshu

*sigh* Welcome to Europe - home of the 17.5% VAT (Value Added Tax) & assholes that fix their prices.

$349 'IS' the cheapest i could find in the UK.

the price of any item in the UK is split in many different ways via tax's & this is all before the retailers had to put the product on their shelves & in a desprite bid to cover their costs & of course their margin of profit

its daylight robbery

 

[TheGuruStud]

:shadedshu

*sigh* Welcome to Europe - home of the 17.5% VAT (Value Added Tax) & assholes that fix their prices.

$349 'IS' the cheapest i could find in the UK.

the price of any item in the UK is split in many different ways via tax's & this is all before the retailers had to put the product on their shelves & of course adding their own 'cut' for gross profit.

its daylight robbery

Well, it could be worse. You could live here...oh wait, you do. United Tyrannical Gov of Britain/America.

What's their justification for these taxes, BTW? So prince douche can pilot a chinook helicopter to his girlfriend's house and show off?

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Possibly to bail out banks that are going or soon to be bust. they say tax's are in places to run the country - the only thing ive seen is a member of parlament take a taxi from london all the way to Scotland on 'tax payers' money. & of course Prince Douche can pilot a chopper to his girlfriends house.

weve got so many tax's (stealth tax's included) in this country - so many people pay their tax's & as direct result a member of parlament can take a london taxi all the way to scotland. - I hope he achieved whatever he went to scotland to achieve.

the justification is that us working class people are forced to work longer hours to pay for overpriced things then we get blamed for 'slump in profits' because were all to busy working to shop & then they tax our earnings when we havent even seen the light of day in how many years????

there is no end to this. & its even worse with this recession/credit crunch - this time we lose our jobs, some people wont even get paid because their companies gone bust - welcome to the UK! what want your salary? wait i'l just ask the manager if he will give us back the half a mil bonus we paid him.

 

[TheGuruStud]

Does anyone know if Asus plans on fixing the D2 equalizer? It's crap haha.

And does everyone's Z5500s have 2 khz just shrieking at high volumes? I have to significantly cut the frequency. It's killer on you ears and sounds staticy. (did it before with onboard ADI too)

 

[Darren]

Try to find something in it's price range that even measures close to price and value point. Also, have you heard these speakers? I'm guessing no. All the reviews, people are just crazy? The speakers obviously appeal to the masses, and unless you view the masses as crazy people, they have a say too. No, it won't be audiophile equipment, but come on. I have a $4000 klipsch surround sound setup in my living room. Do these hold a candle to it? No. They aren't that bad.

I know that the Z-5500 are good computers speakers but I try to be as objective as possible and therefore meaning that I have to say a few negatives as well as positives otherwise I sound like a fan boy. My only gripe with the Z-5500 is the price tag because in the United Kingdom they are between £200-350 ($400-700 US) which is a stupid amount considering they are five years old. In the UK £130 can buy you a decent AV receiver with Coaxial/HDMI connections with all the standards you'd expect such as DD, DTS, Prologic IIx, DTS Neo - extras such as FM/AM radio etc. £50 can buy you a pair of decent bookshelf speakers, not the best but better than the satellites on the Z-5500. So that's £100 for four bookshelf speakers. £70 can easily by a active subwoofer, so in conclusion although the Z-5500 are good speakers, here in the UK the Z-5500 is not much cheaper than a mediocre home cinema system which will would have more features and be slightly better spec'd

The DX is completely fine for your Z-5500, most if not everyone recommends it over the X-plosion and other cards in the price range. But if you really want DTS, then get the X-plosion I would recommend.

I think majki84 went with the Asus Xonar DX