The Logitech Z-5500 Digital system plays quite loud, well exceeding100dB at the listening position. The subwoofer is equally loud (if not more so) though not as tight asyou may find with some more costly dedicated units. I found the overall subwoofer performance to beexcellent for creating creepy ambiences for games like Doom3 and the Half Life series. It has aneffective room-filling sound that helps put you in the middle of the gaming environment. Just fire upthe system and play Doom3 at nightaloneand you'll see how easy it is to get pulled into thegame (on more than one occasion I nearly jumped out of my seat when a creature came out of nowhere -sound haseverythingto do with accomplishing this.)
The satellites are workhorse speakers. You can crankthis system up and the Z-5500 speakers will handle whatever you feed them without overt audibledistortion. The only time I coudl see doing this, however, is if you intend to use these speakers in aroom that is larger or in a configuration that departs form the recommended near-field positioning. Ifound them to be well-blended with the sub. A quick in-room sweep with the satellites close-mic'd usingthe Rives Audio Pro Test Kit yielded the following results:
Logitech Z-5500 Subwoofer Only
The brains behind the Z-5500 Digital Speakers is the SoundTouch Control Center. It features a two-line LCD screen and has inputs for optical or coax SPDIF, 6-Channel Direct (using the analogue outputs of a digital audio card), or three pairs of stereo inputs. We've put everything you need to get started with your Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speaker System right here. If you still have questions browse the topics on the left. Logitech Z906 Vs Philips HTD5520/94 here Philips is good enough to complete Sony in surround effect but also Powerful in bass like Logitech z906, almost equal to Logitech in bass, and also it provides 5-tower speaker in place of satellite speakers so this is best choice if not buying Logitech z906 go for Philips.
Logitech Z-5500 Subwoofer Problems
I ran the test from 200Hz up to get an idea of howthe satellites were performing within the full frequency range apart from the subwoofer interactingwith the system. A separate sweep from 20Hz to 500 allowed me to see the subwoofer performance, thoughat lower frequencies you are likely showing off room interaction as much as the subwoofer's frequencyresponse. The Logitech Z-5500 full range 3' satellites sounded pretty close to this graph - a bitlacking in mid-bass and a tad peaked in the 2 kHz to 3 kHz region. It is this peak that contributes tofatigue when listening at high volume levels (though I realize everyone is terribly impressed with theability these speakers have to reach high SPLs.) In my opinion, these speakers sounded their best whenthe volume levels were around 75dB and the main speakers were toed in only slightly (not completelyfacing the listener as recommended in the setup manual.) This preserved the soundstage while rollingoff some of the crispness I experienced when toeing them completely in. This is entirely subjective andwe encourage you to experiment to discover your own preference.
In listening to music, we found the Z-5500 to yieldgood overall response, and we had some great results bringing up CDs and MP3 tracks alike using boththe analogue audio inputs and coax digital S/PDIF. The sub module was tuned to handle a lot of theworkload and therefore sounded boomy on several tracks, but I believe this to be a common scenario withsmaller satellite systems in this price range. Sure they could have made the system perform evenbetter, but then you are going to pay more money - I think the balance struck by Logitech was a goodone overall.
Conclusions and OverallPerceptions
Logitech Z 5500 Digital
Witha street price of around $280, I found the THX certified LogitechZ-5500 Digital Multimedia Speaker system to be more than sufficient forcreating realistic gaming effects. It is also a flexible enough systemto allow use with either multiple stereo input sources, or acombination of 6-channel input and coax/optical S/PDIF output from a CDor DVD player. This is a full surround sound system plus a prettysophisticated digital compact receiver. In addition to its standardrear inputs, you can also connect a stereo MP3 player or minidisk tothe additional side input.
This system is an absolute mind bogglingbargainfor those looking to eliminate the need for a separate A/V receiver. The Z-5500SoundTouch Control Center handles everything except video switching - which typically isn't needed (orfound) in a lower-priced setup.) If you're getting into surround sound for the first time, or you'dlike a system that can also handle DVDs and CD playback, then you will have averyhard timefinding this type of integrated system at this level of performance for less (it's as if you're gettinga mini receiver for free.) We congratulate Logitech on the innovation and performance this systemdelivers at such a reasonable value.
Logitech Z 5500 Subwoofer Specs
Logitech Z 5500 Manual
Logitech,Inc.
6505 Kaiser Drive
Fremont,CA94555USA
Phone: 800-231-7717
http://www.logitech.com/