VERY powerful, but...
Pros:
505 big watts of power, lots of functions, good value, no distortion
Cons:
Lack of treble (no tweeters)
The Bottom Line:
Great quality, overall good sound (except for treble), big and powerful subwoofer... what could you ask more for such a low price? (OK, maybe tweeters)
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The Logitech Z-5500 is one of the most powerful PC speaker system you can get. At 505 watts RMS, this system rocks. Its giant 10'' subwoofer shakes the floor - and the walls and ceiling - like no other, and its five 3'' satellites reproduce almost perfectly every sound from mid-low to mid-high. BUT the Z-5500 is not perfect. You will definitely notice its biggest problem if you listen to music : this system lacks treble. And I tried everything to solve it; using optical input instead of direct, turning the bass level down, using an equalizer and turning the highs to the max... the sound isn't bad, it's even kind of good, but if you are an audiophile, you won't like it at all. But, apart from the lack of treble, the Z-5500 sounds great.
After using it with my PC for some months, I decided that I needed a system more suitable for music, which is almost the only audio my PC will ever output... So I now use the Z-5500 with my Xbox 360 and let me tell you that it's perfect like that. The Z-5500 sounds way better than many entry-level home theater systems, thanks to the enormous subwoofer. I would definitely recommend this Logitech system for playing games or watching movies... and even occasional music listening, if you aren't too picky about... well, treble.
Now, after the audio quality, let's talk about the ease of use of this system, which is pretty impressive : simply plug in almost any surround audio source (DVD player or gaming console - or high end PC - via optical or coax, PC via 3x mini-stereo jacks), select it from the SoundTouch control panel, and there you go! Also, apart from surround, you can connect 3 different stereo sources (via the same jacks you can use for a PC) - or even 4, if you count the aux input on the side of the panel (which I still didn't try, along with the mini-stereo output).
Another important thing : quality of construction. Well, as usual, Logitech uses good quality materials which feel pretty robust. Even the speaker cables (I have the version with 8 ohm cables, just like... normal speaker cables.) are of good quality and very long, which is a nice plus. However, I'm not pretty sure if the satellite would survive to a 3-foot drop, due to their somewhat heavy weight. Be careful to place them securely, especially if you use the swiveling stand to put them on a wall - another nice plus.
Finally, I wouldn't recommend the Z-5500 to anybody who lives in a condo, appartment, or any other situation where your floor is the neighbor's ceiling : the neighbor will hate you. But I would definitely recommend it to anybody who wants a powerful sound system that will never distort, even at extremely high levels... well, I personally never went to a level high enough for the Z-5500 to distort - and that's saying much.
