E-Peen's Logitech z-5500 5.1 Digital Speaker System Review

Hey OCN, welcome to my fourth review! This will be a review on the Logitech z-5500 5.1 Digital Speaker System. This speaker system has always been a big discussion on OCN when it comes to speaker systems and just audio in general. It has been used in countless arguments, and many people just do not like it, they feel it's too expensive, etc. I'm inclined to agree that it IS too expensive for the sound quality, however, I do feel it is still a great speaker system.

Onto the pros & cons!

Pros:

• Volume. The volume on this speaker system is impressive. For example, I really never need to turn my speakers more than 3 volume bars for a normal listening experience, and even sometimes that's too loud, and I'll need to bring it down to 2. As far when I go to mix, and I like to have things nice and loud so the sub kicks hard, anything over halfway is too loud for a simple room setup. It just has very impressive volume control.
  
• Very intuitive control pod, it does exactly what it needs to do. It has multiple settings for different things: Movies, Music, etc. Volume knob is comfortable to turn, LED text is very readable, etc.
  
• The subwoofer is very impressive, and packs quite a punch. Although the bass can be quite muddy at times, it's still a great sub for what you pay. When watching movies, the sub can literally shake the walls and floor of my room, it's just great. For music, the same, but again... this speaker system is NOT for music in mind, it's for movies and video games.
  
• Very long speaker wires. You should have no issues routing the speaker wires from the subwoofer to the satellites.
  
• Build quality is great, the subwoofer is a tank and the satellites are built very sturdy as well.
  

Cons:

• I will go into depth as well as I can with this, because a lot of people always bash the z-5500s and say they are a bad speaker system, etc. The z-5500s are NOT for music. It's not that music is unplayable with these speakers, in fact, it's still great. However, this speaker system is primarily for video games and movies in mind, that's just where the quality shines. For music, you have to mess with EQs a lot to get a desired effect, and it all changes and varies based off of the genres. For music, I had to spend a few hours messing with my sound card's EQ to get a somewhat desirable music result.
  
  Now, do not let this hold you back from a purchase. The speaker system still handles music well, and I use this system for mixing EDM at home. However, do NOT expect the sound quality of studio monitors or speakers dedicated to 2.1 / music in mind. That is NOT what this system is primarily for.
  
• It's a little expensive for the sound quality it offers. From what I heard, it was at least $200 cheaper back in the day, but now it's close to $450 these days, at least that's what it was when I bought it around two years ago.
  
• The mids & highs aren't anything to write home about because it lacks a tweeter.
  
• Control pod cable is short, which bothers me, and it may bother you too depending on your room setup. I believe it's only 6ft long.

Overall:

This is a great speaker system for movies & video games, but lacks in the 2.1 and music department. However, as I said earlier in the review, don't let that stop you from purchasing this system if it's what you have in mind. Also, as I mentioned previously, this system has had its fair share of controversy on OCN, and it's usually always bashed. It definitely doesn't deserve the bashing it gets, to be honest. It's a great speaker system and really brings out the best in your movies & video games. Overall, I would say this is a solid purchase for a speaker system, just try to get it a little cheaper than what most people pay for it ($400+ range).