I made a decision about a year ago to simplify my life and living room, and make my G5 Macintosh my “media hub.” I purchased an external Miglia USB TV tuner with EyeTV DVR software, a 30″ Dell monitor (most HIGHLY recommended!), and sold my home theater.

At the time I had a modest Logitech analog system, which was good, but I wanted more. For a few years the Logitech Z-5500 Digital speaker system caught my eye, but the price was just a bit too high, and I just couldn’t justify the close to $400 price ticket for a second sound system. But now that this was going to be my main (and only), system, I decided to take the plunge.

I purchased the system through Dell for $278.95, and say what you want about Dell, they were the best choice when it came to this item as they had very reasonable shipping ($22.32), and this was a VERY heavy item (somewhere around 40 or more pounds). Another positive thing I found with Dell is they have a very fast delivery time.

I received my system in 3 days. The setup was easy and straightforward. Included in the manual was a quick setup guide with diagrams that made the initial wiring and placement of the speakers quick and painless.

The G5 has an optical audio out, and the Z-5500s an optical in (as well as a coaxial and the usual analogue connections), so the link between the two was made with one simple toslink/optical cable.

Although I originally had a rather thin, inexpensive fiber optic cable running between the two that was intermittently giving me a hard time with recognizing sound coming from the computer. I upgraded this to a $30 Belkin toslink cable which did the trick!

With a few quick sound tests I was up and running and the sound was absolutely SPECTACULAR! The sound was VERY comparable to my former home theater with Bose Acoustimass 5s.

The settings/adjustments are very simple and intuitive. There are adjustments for left, right, center, surround, and subwoofer levels. These settings can be adjusted either on the remote control or on the Digital SoundTouch Control Panel. There is a very convenient pink noise generator that allows you to test the levels of your setup, and separate level adjustments for all of the speakers and the sub.

There are two separate settings for music and movie modes, but I found that the “movie mode” was best for me at playing both music and movies.

For music, movies, and TV I’m still very impressed with these speakers, and I’ve had them close to a year now. The sound is clear and the imaging is realistic and warm. The highs are clean without being splashy and the massive subwoofer moves a lot of bass without being boomy or rumbly.

Here is a simple overview from the Logitech Web site:

• Onboard 5.1 Digital Decoding: Hear every detail of your favorite Dolby® digital and DTS soundtracks.
• THX Certified Sound: Settle for nothing less than the THX seal of approval for master quality.
• 505 Watts: Turn any room of your house into a powerful theater.
• 10″ Long-throw Subwoofer and Tuned Bass Port: Get 188 watts of powerful, distortion-free bass.
• Aluminum Phase Plug Satellites: Combine the clarity of a tweeter with the richness and fullness of a separate mid-range.
• Digital and Analog Inputs: Add up to 6 components simultaneously.
• Digital SoundTouchâ„¢ Control Panel: Change volume on all speakers, set inputs and more.
• Wireless Remote: Control up to seven sources, even PCs and video games.
• Wall-Mountable Satellite Speakers: Just rotate the stands to switch from desktop to wall.

I absolutely LOVE these speakers! I haven’t found a down side to them in all of the time that I’ve owned them (except maybe pissing off the neighbors from time to time! LOL!). The only issue that I have is with the gauge and quality of the speaker cable, but that’s the case with most in-the-box systems, and can be rectified with a trip to Radio Hack.

Here are the product specifications:

Hardware

• Drivers:
  Satellites: 3” polished aluminum phase plug drivers
  Subwoofer: 10” high-excursion ported driver with 6th order bass reflex enclosure
  Surround sound effects
• Hardware decoding:
  Dolby® Digital, DTS®, and DTS®, 96/24 soundtracks
  Dolby Pro Logic II (Movie and Music modes)
  6 Channel Direct
  Stereo x2
  Stereo
• Supported digital formats:
  Dolby Digital
  DTS and DTS 96/24
  PCM (uncompressed stereo): 44.1 kHz / 16 bit through 96 kHz / 24 bit
• Source Inputs:
  Digital optical for DVD or CD players, PlayStation®2, Xbox®**
  Digital coaxial for DVD or CD players or PC sound cards (requires coaxial cable, sold separately)
  6 channel direct (3 stereo-mini connectors) for 2, 4, or 6 channel PC sound cards OR
  6 channel direct (3 stereo-mini connectors) for 3 stereo analog mini audio sources, like CD and DVD players, Playstation 2, Xbox, or 2 channel PC sound cards (somedevices may require stereo mini to dual RCA adapter, sold separately)
  Analog stereo-mini (on side panel of control center) for portable CD, MP3,or MiniDisc® players

Technical Specifications

• Total FTC power: 505 watts RMS
  Sub-woofer: 188 watts RMS (into 8 ohms, @ 100Hz, @ 10% THD)
  Satellites:
  Left/Right: 62 watts RMS x 2 (into 8 ohms, @ 1khz, @ 10% THD)
  Center: 69 watts RMS (into 8 ohms, @ 1kHz, @ 10% THD)
  Rear Left & Right: 62 watts RMS x 2 (into 8 ohms, @ 1kHz, @ 10% THD)
• Total Peak power: 1010 watts
• Maximum SPL: >115 dB
• Frequency response: 33 Hz — 20 kHz
• Amplifier: Ultra-linear, high-capacity analog
• Signal to noise ratio: >93.5 dB, typical 100
• Input impedance: 8,000 ohms
• Compatibility:
  PC/Mac
  CD
  MP3
  DVD
  PlayStation®
  Xbox®

A direct link to the speaker system on the Logitech web site: Logitech Z-5500 5.1