Logitech Z5500 Digital PC Multimedia Home Theatre Speaker System - 505 Watt (Total)

I purchased a Xbox360 a few months back, and gradually been trying to get the most out of it but updating the rest of my technology arsenal. From a new HD TV, Windows Media Centre and now this amazing sound system. I've always used a normal PC for decent sound output, and have used surround sound before but never on a PC. After digging around for basically the cheapest surround sound platform with an amp I opted for this, and I am very impressed. Regardless what others say, the sound quality is truly amazing. Watching films like The Matrix or playing a game like GRAW2 really shows it off. The packaged size is large, but you can fit the box in the back of your car / get it through your door fine. Same with the weight - was a bit of a strain but nothing over the top. (image 2 desktop PC's to top of each other!) As others have said, the system is both well packaged and looks stunning. Subtle and easy on the eye, not so on the ear! Setup is easy as can be. (Although note that 2 out of the 5 cables are longer than the rest. Logitech do have them in a seperate bag but I didn't realise it at first!) Get your sub/amp, connect all the speakers using the very generous cables (in terms of length you shouldn't need anything than what is provided!) to the well labled back of the sub and then connect the control unit. Finally add power and then connect to your output using either coax, optical or old fashioned analogue. A couple of people gave it 4 out of 5 due to the fact that you need to have the sub 2ft away from other electrical equipment. This is very unfair, as you don't need to have the sub in the middle or just behind you - it's non-directional - so you can place it where you like. I've got a 3 meter optical cable between by Xbox (which is underneath my TV) and the sub is completely out of the way, with the bass as good as if I placed my head next to it. Bass is incredible. I enjoy dance music (trance, house and tech) so decent, but not overwhelming bass is a treat I can only normally enjoy in a good nighclub or with my Shure earphones. Now I can also please my ears at home. Booming, non-directional bass coupled with the high clarrity of the satelites is a delight for the ears. Can't fault it. Great value for money, amazing output and awesome power from such a cheap system. BUY BUY BUY!

The product itself is of a very high quality build. The most notable feature is of course the massive subwoofer, for a PC speaker system you will struggle to find a more beasty (its the only word to be used) unit. This is not however what defines this system, you are given 5 very high quality speakers, which when played even at extreme volumes will produce undistorted sound, which I was very impressed with, my old 5.1 system was quite the opposite. The system also has added compatability. For instance it has a digital optical input, coax, 3.5mm additional jack on the side and the traditional three 3.5mm jacks for connecting to a sound card. This added compatability turns the system into a home theatre system, though perhaps not as effective as one. For example once mounted the speakers cannot have their direction adjusted they will point where they were designed to and nothing more. But we must remember that these are PC speakers after all, such power isn't needed for watching movies or standard television. The system proves itself as extremely high quality for PC speakers, and the added compatability is indeed very impressive. They would perhaps not compare to a home theatre system of a similar price, but neither would that home theatre system perform well if it was used with a PC. The control panel itself, can tramsmit any input into several effects: Dolby pro logic II movie, Dolby pro logic II music, stereo, stereo x2 (through front and surround speakers), or simply direct which allows external hardware to dictate the process (my sound card which cost nearly as much as the speakers :)) The control panel also allows you to adjust the surround delay, which I find very useful it makes the rear speakers more apparent when listening to music if you have a large delay, though when watching tv it is intolerable as any delay in speech can be. I've read of interference with windows media centre computers, I can only put this down to the hardware that such PC uses. My laptop for example has a built in infra-red sensor which to my suprise I discovered while using an infr-red keyboard on another computer. The remote does not interfere at all, which suggests that its hardware related. If you are unlucky enough to have such interference then perhaps you could look into disabling the infrared device in the device manager or else simply adjust the volume by hand. Something to note also, you may expect the speakers to have phono plugs, but with this system you simply get two wires (colour coded) the ends of these wires are exposed contacts twisted with a factory finish. These contacts slide into the speakers and subwoofer (also colour coded)and are locked in place by a spring loaded system. Which also means, you can buy standard speaker wire from your local hardware store, in order to extend the reach of the speakers, no room is too big if you purchase extra wire which is mostly quite cheap. In conclusion this system is of the best quality I have thus far observed in PC speakers, my only complain perhaps is that the remote is infrared and with my layout the control panel is often out of sight, a bluetooth remote would be much preferred but even the most expensive TV's don't have such remotes. I think as a solution I should simply stop being lazy and adjust the volume myself.

I've had the Logitech Z560 ( 4.1 Analogue) system for years which for the price is simply amazing, so I decided to try out the the Z5500, mainly for its digital surround and the larger sub. The Z5500 satellites use the same drivers as the Z560 but they differ in that the reflex ports open at the back not the front. Having them wall mounted, I was not happy with the sound at all, no stereo imagery and poor sound in general. I replaced the front L and R pods with two of the old Z560 ones which improved things a bit. I also replaced the long 18 AWG wires with some fancy shorter 16 Gauge wire since I had some sitting around. I general I'd say my set up now is quite sensitive to signal quality but the Digital pro-logic is very good. It's perfectly good enough quality for gaming / movies and TV. I have the Z5500 set up in a small room ( my 2nd bedroom used as an office/ games room ) so need to keep the Sub. well turned down or it drowns out the rest. I have a B&W set up downstairs and the Z5500 is not as good in terms of sound quality, ( I actually thought it might be ) My B&W sub is a similar size for example but sounds so much better , MUCH MUCH DEEPER ! In terms of sound 'Quantity' I can't see any one having any complaints. The surround processing is also very convincing and sounds zip around the room with DTS games ( GT 5 ) and Avatar Bluray. Despite the large size of the sub, this system is still in fact better suited to a desk mount set up , I have the fronts either side of my 42" Plasma on the wall and I just think they used to sound better when they could be precisely positioned on the desk, nearer to the listener. It's a great sounding system considering and the whole lot costs about half the price of a decent set of HIFI speakers. On the down side there is only one optical input, the satellites loose too much mid range power if wall mounted too far from the listening position. I'm sure this system will /eventually/ get replaced and there will be bargains to be had , however it's still a pretty good system at this price, especially if you intend to put the speakers on your desk. 7/1/11 I have put the original speakers back at I decided the old z560 sounded a bit boxy. It all seems to have bedded in a bit now and the sound is superb ! Just a shame the price 20% hike !

I've now gone through 2 of these units in the space of 2 months. During this time the units were used infrequently and never pushed anywhere near their limits. Im an audio engineer by profession so Im not completely in the dark about this type of item. Don't get me wrong, the sound generated from this kit is pretty good as far as consumer audio goes (but it's also pretty expensive for a consumer product). On to the main issue. The sub unit (through which everything is routed such as the power, speakers, control interface), has a power switch on the rear side. USE THIS AT YOUR PERIL. ONE day after recieving this kit I switched it off at the rear of the sub (as every environment consious person should), then popped off to bed. Got up in the morning, switched it back on and NOTHING. No power. Tested everything from the small replaceable fuse on the back of the amp, to the pwer cable and plug fuse. Returned it to the retailer, who agreed it was faulty and provided me with a refund. Thinking this was just bad luck I re-purchased the kit (since it did sound good for the short period it worked.) Now 2 months later exactly the same has happened again. No power. Nada. Both times the unit has not moved an inch from where it sits in the room, so damage from physical interation can definetly be ruled out. I can only assume that there is a fault in the design of this kit. I have managed to find a couple of other instances of this in forums, but expected more. So if you have had the same problem with this unit, it may be worth putting your tuppence worth in. If I am actually in the minority, I can only assume that it's because most people are not using the power switch on the back of the sub unit, and simply putting it on standby via the interface. Oh you naughty people.

Logitech - Z-5500 5.1 Speaker System Mixed feelings really : when it worked, the sound was great for the price and it was very versatile in terms of connectivity options. The great weakness seems to be the controller, which worked without problem for about 6 months, then started to malfunction (it would turn itself off, or it would suddenly start recognising and only outputting to headphones that weren't actually there). The on/off button in the centre of the controller seemed a particularly weak link. Mostly, a complete power down and unplug from the mains would sort it out, but that can be qute distracting in the middle of a movie, or whilst battling some monster on your XBox. Finally after about a year the controller has packed up altogether. It's then that the fun really begins. You find the guarantee no longer covers you, that Logitech don't have the controller units available as spares and that you are faced with junking the speakers and enormous subwoofer. This is very disappointing.

This system might have a awesome sound in a large room in a home theatre system, which I wouldn't know, since I have not tried to use it in large living room. But this system sound is really awful, if you use it as a computer speakers, say in a bedroom, despite this speakers system is clearly targeting computer users as well. First, this system requires a very very large room to work well, because of the huge subwoofer. In a small room, the bass is just simply bouncing aroung the room and as a result, the sound is serious lacking in details. Well, huge subwoofer requires a very large room is a common sense for AV enthusiasts. Also, as someone has stated the special cable leading from the control center and the subwoofer is very short. You might not be able to put the subwoofer in a optimal position for sound quality. Also, the huge subwoofer requires a very significant distance between the listener and the subwoofer to work well. If you are a PC user, are you need to place this subwoofer, 2 feet ahead of you, under the table, even in a large room, I assure you the sound is extremely terrible. Absolutely no details, only the continuous echos of the bass. Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, the subwoofer requires you not to put any electrical products within 3 feets of it, becuase the stong magneitc effect from it, is not properly shielded. Anyway it would be nice and is a good business practice to let the customers know this important little fact, say before they purchase the product, rather than after they have purchased and opened the product only to find this little bit of important information printed on a warning sheet placed on the subwoofer. (Again if you are a computer user in a bedroom, and considering the length of cable from the control center to the subwoofer, how can you possibly do this?) My subwoofer is currently continuously giving out a very low humming sound 24hrs a day(though is not very audiable), even if it is turned off to stand-by mode, I wonder if it is because it is within 3 feets of other equipment.

Before I say anything, I'd just like to note that through amazon these speakers had a frustratingly long process time (estimated at 1-2 months, but were dispatched just after 2 weeks) but I chose to go with amazon and not ebay or other seller as I wanted full confidence when spending this kind of cash. Well, my Z-5500's arrived friday morning 7AM sharp via citylink less than 15 hours after they were dispatched, and I've spent all weekend setting up my new room now that they arrived. I have my new HDTV cinema setup and ikea lounge chair with my 5.1 system perfectly configurated to my seating position. All wired up digitally to my PC and PS3. With the frankly gigantic subwoofer hidden tidily behind my HDTV far enough away to not cause any damage to nearby electricals (even at 1/3 bass output my neighbour thought I was having a party..) I have to say I am somewhat surprised how simple the z-5500 was to setup out of the box. I've watched so many video reviews and unboxing videos that I literally knew the system inside and out when I finally had it in my hands. But its all so well designed that it doesnt have the usual 'brain-storming fiddly setup' that high range systems of any media usually require. The clarity, given the right input, is staggering. Dolby really is given so much to work with in this system. All the channels, especially in games on the PS3, are perfectly balanced in Dolby Pro Logic II Movie Mode. The 96khz audio input is also a great bonus as the audio is quite clearly non-compressed and given the right acoustics sounds almost as if it's not coming out of speakers in the first place. I would note that the control pod is alot larger than the photo's seem. It is bigger in height than the satellite speakers, and I can't help but feel that it could have been smaller. When it is essentially a volume/input selector and connection pod. But you have to remember these speakers are reaching their 5th year in production now so a modern version would probably solve this. However it is quite clear that logitech do not need to update this system. Afterall what could they improve? The 500watt system has more power than any house can even handle. It has all the studio-quality inputs and outputs any audiophile could want, and it looks incredibly slick in a modern living room. Most importantly its hard to imagine this system sounding any better. Just watch the dark knight on blu-ray with this system setup via dolby digital and you'll realise just how much of a bargain this system is. So glad I decided to get them over the G51 fake-surround speakers. More than worth the price jump =)

There's no denying how great this system looks and how fantastic it sounds. Any of the other reviews will tell you that. I didn't buy this to compliment my desktop pc. I bought it to be central to my bedroom home cinema experience. With that purpose in mind, there are a few things to mindful of before parting with your hard earned cash, but it's worth pointing out that these same niggles could be true of almost all 'desktop sound systems' if you try to use them as a 'small scale' home cinema system. Firstly, as you would have read before, the sub is huge. I considered this before buying, but it's only when you get it out of the box you can truly appreciate how huge. You then have the dilemma of where to put it. You are restricted in your choices by the fact that the sub must be at least 60cm away from other electrical equipment to avoid interference/damage but can be no more than 2 metres away from the Sound Touch control centre (the box with the volume knob on). This also then gives you the potential problem of where to site the Sound Touch control centre. The satellite speakers seem to be very directional. That is to say, if you point them directly at you, you get pin sharp crystal clear sound with plenty of top end. If they're not pointing directly at you, you do loose a bit of clarity and top end. This is only noticeable however if you keep comparing the two. I don't have them pointing directly at me and I am still very happy with the sound. This brings me on to the next consideration. The speakers are wall mountable, but you cannot angle them point to where you want. You are stuck with where they want to point. This clearly highlights my point above even more. A final word of caution is this... At the centre of my set up is my windows media center. Something of extreme annoyance is the fact that on my system some of the buttons on the remote control for the Logitech have undesirable effects on my media center. For example, if I press the volume down button on the Logitech, it is the equivalent of pressing the back button on the MCE remote. More of a problem is pressing the input source on the Logitech remote to 'coaxial' (which is how my MCE is connected to it). When I press this button it shuts down my MCE PC! How annoying is that! I've done a quick bit of googling into this and found no-one else with this problem yet, so this could just be me, but worth you noting. I of course give this five stars, as it is well deserved. I hope you haven't found my review negative as there are many, many positives about this system. But you can of course read those on every other review on this site. I wanted to give you some information that perhaps isn't mentioned at all or at least very often. Final word. I'm really pleased I bought this system, despite the few annoyances I have with it, I certainly wouldn't give it back! Playing XBOX360 through it is just brilliant!