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bose companion 5 vs logitech z-5500
- Thread starter aue4414
- Start date
footballforlife
Don't let the name fool you.
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I've never heard the companion 5, only 2 and 3 (roommie has 3), so can't say too much beyond I think Bose is overrated. I recommend Logitechs in general, and the Z-5500 is solid (other roommie has). I definitely prefer Z-5500, better bass, crisper and more powerful sound.
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Depends.. do you have room for 5 speakers or just 2?
The Bose will try to "mimic" the 5.1 sound using only 2 satellites + 1 small sub.
The Logitech is a beast of a system. It's 5 satellites + 1 GIANT sub. 505 WATTS RMS/1010 WATTS PEAK POWER!!
The Z-5500 is hands down one of the best PC speaker systems ever made. It rivals many home theater systems, when Z-5500 wasn't even designed for that environment. It has enough power to blow you out of chair
Bose quality isn't up there either, but if you don't have the room for the Z-5500, then it's a better choice.
Here is a video demonstration on the power of the Z-5500's subwoofer:
twin logitech z5500's pumping bass and shaking things on my desk ! like mad no joke !!
Hope that helps,
~ Basim
P.S. - I own the Z-5500, so if you have any specific questions on it, I'll try my best to help you.
The Bose will try to "mimic" the 5.1 sound using only 2 satellites + 1 small sub.
The Logitech is a beast of a system. It's 5 satellites + 1 GIANT sub. 505 WATTS RMS/1010 WATTS PEAK POWER!!
The Z-5500 is hands down one of the best PC speaker systems ever made. It rivals many home theater systems, when Z-5500 wasn't even designed for that environment. It has enough power to blow you out of chair
Bose quality isn't up there either, but if you don't have the room for the Z-5500, then it's a better choice.
Here is a video demonstration on the power of the Z-5500's subwoofer:
twin logitech z5500's pumping bass and shaking things on my desk ! like mad no joke !!
Hope that helps,
~ Basim
P.S. - I own the Z-5500, so if you have any specific questions on it, I'll try my best to help you.
Don't buy Bose... Period! You're buying nothing more than their name, and that's about it. They use extremely small drivers to handle their mid range frequencies, when the job should be put to much bigger speakers to properly output the sound. The same can be said for their sub woofers. Sure, they're small, but the other companies have bigger drivers for a reason. Bose woofers simply do not have the capability to play low enough, with enough excursion. Plain and simple.
I too own the 5500 and it's a beast of a system. I no longer use the satellite speakers though. I have a 5.1 amplifier outputting to in-ceiling speakers, and then the Logitech sub nicely tucked away in my closet. It's a perfect blend and the best part is you can't see a single component! The bass is extremely loud, well worth what you pay for it.
Call it a day, and go with the 5500. You'll be happy you did. As for hooking up to a TV, yes; you can plug it into a tv. Your tv must have RCA or digital outputs though. Shouldn't be a problem, almost all tv's have some sort of output. You should be good to go!
I too own the 5500 and it's a beast of a system. I no longer use the satellite speakers though. I have a 5.1 amplifier outputting to in-ceiling speakers, and then the Logitech sub nicely tucked away in my closet. It's a perfect blend and the best part is you can't see a single component! The bass is extremely loud, well worth what you pay for it.
Call it a day, and go with the 5500. You'll be happy you did. As for hooking up to a TV, yes; you can plug it into a tv. Your tv must have RCA or digital outputs though. Shouldn't be a problem, almost all tv's have some sort of output. You should be good to go!
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Yeah for sure. It depends on your T.V. though. If your television has a digital coaxial cable input OR an optical input, then you can get true 5.1 surround sound (depending on the broadcast of course).aue4414 said:
If not, you can hook up the 2.1 stereo connections (red or white.. forgot which one) on the back of your TV, into the coaxial cable output of the Z-5500's control panel (http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2004/11/30/logitech_z/logitech_z5500_5.jpg). The Z-5500 has a built in DTS 96/24, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Pro Logic II decoder.. so you can use the control panel to "upmix" the 2.1 source to 5.1 surround sound.
^^ That's how I have my Z-5500 hooked up to my T.V. I also have analog cables (green, black, orange) running from my PC's soundcard to my Z-5500 & an s-video cable going from my graphics card to my T.V. This allows me to watch & hear anything on my PC directly on my T.V. and Z-5500.
Not sure if you understand all that, but it's really not that hard once you have everything in front of you, trust me
~ Basim
I just bought some Z5500, the reason I bought them because my Bose companion 3's broke after many years of owning them, and after searching through the internet and reading all the rave reviews about the Z5500 I figured id go buy them. """" oh no bose are bad, oh yea logitek, oh yea, bose suck blah blah blah''''
HUGE MISTAKE
After having the screw around with them for a good 40 mins trying to figure out why all the speakers werent working, and why the controll pad looks so damn big and ugly, and feature limiting. I turned it all on and played my first song, which afterward left me with some stuff to say, which im posting here on this thread.
They are by far the worst speakers ive ever bought for the money, and im returning them tomorrow and getting some Bose ones, they dont compare in the slightest to my companion 3's, and I mean damn, they are WAY worse then my brothers 99$ bose speakers, and thats embarassing.
You guys kidding me? the only thing these speakers would be good for is games, the sound is so damn scratchy, if you love listening to music, don't get these, if you love listening to explosions, then by all means buy them.
Not to mention these are advertized as computer speakers, not for a car, or something else, that bass is retardedly big, and isnt at all more impressive then the mini bose one, I mean the bose one sounds all around better.
I wanna say something about all the people trash talking Bose ( not like you guys actually had first hand experience, and just... like sheep, followed the heard, you can talk numbers all you like, but what it comes down to is how it sounds, I dont give a damn if all these others speaker systems out there have better numbers when they sound like trash.
Sure Bose charges alot, but why not, they sound the best, so I could care less if they use paper cones and it doesnt cost nearly the ammount it takes them to make it, but they sound the best compared to any other lower 3 digit system ive ever heard, and they last a long time, and they are consistent.
Ive asked so many people out there just on the street and everyone has WAY different opinions on which kind of music speakers they like, its very personal, I know on average more people like the way bose sounds. And from experience, I say Bose
Ultimately if I was you id go to a music shop, and TEST out the speakers your going to buy, if they dont let you test them at the store dont buy them or go somewhere else, and find out first hand what you think sounds the best
Dont make the same mistake I did in the past and listen to people about whats the best, you know whats the best
HUGE MISTAKE
After having the screw around with them for a good 40 mins trying to figure out why all the speakers werent working, and why the controll pad looks so damn big and ugly, and feature limiting. I turned it all on and played my first song, which afterward left me with some stuff to say, which im posting here on this thread.
They are by far the worst speakers ive ever bought for the money, and im returning them tomorrow and getting some Bose ones, they dont compare in the slightest to my companion 3's, and I mean damn, they are WAY worse then my brothers 99$ bose speakers, and thats embarassing.
You guys kidding me? the only thing these speakers would be good for is games, the sound is so damn scratchy, if you love listening to music, don't get these, if you love listening to explosions, then by all means buy them.
Not to mention these are advertized as computer speakers, not for a car, or something else, that bass is retardedly big, and isnt at all more impressive then the mini bose one, I mean the bose one sounds all around better.
I wanna say something about all the people trash talking Bose ( not like you guys actually had first hand experience, and just... like sheep, followed the heard, you can talk numbers all you like, but what it comes down to is how it sounds, I dont give a damn if all these others speaker systems out there have better numbers when they sound like trash.
Sure Bose charges alot, but why not, they sound the best, so I could care less if they use paper cones and it doesnt cost nearly the ammount it takes them to make it, but they sound the best compared to any other lower 3 digit system ive ever heard, and they last a long time, and they are consistent.
Ive asked so many people out there just on the street and everyone has WAY different opinions on which kind of music speakers they like, its very personal, I know on average more people like the way bose sounds. And from experience, I say Bose
Ultimately if I was you id go to a music shop, and TEST out the speakers your going to buy, if they dont let you test them at the store dont buy them or go somewhere else, and find out first hand what you think sounds the best
Dont make the same mistake I did in the past and listen to people about whats the best, you know whats the best
I would get Bose, I own a Z5500 from Logitech, and I own a Bose companion 3, they dont even compare AT ALL to the companion 3 from Bose, and my brother has 99$ Bose speakers, and the z5500 gets beat out by even thoes, and thats pathetic.
The only use I can see for the Z5500 is playing games, maybe movies, sure as hell aint for music, sounds so damn scratchy, if you like explosions though then go for it.
Really though, you buy speakers based on how they sound, go to the store and test everything, you know whats the best, 99% of the time when you follow the heard they lead you right off a damn cliff, trust yourself.
The only use I can see for the Z5500 is playing games, maybe movies, sure as hell aint for music, sounds so damn scratchy, if you like explosions though then go for it.
Really though, you buy speakers based on how they sound, go to the store and test everything, you know whats the best, 99% of the time when you follow the heard they lead you right off a damn cliff, trust yourself.
GSingh
Well-Known Member
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- 1,469
WOW talk abut necro-thread. lol It's from MAY guy, I"m sure the guy's already bought his speakers. And you're right the 5500's suck ass. As do the Bose. They just packaged a big ass sub with the z5500's cuz they know all people care about is how much bass there is and don't give a shit about fidelity. The only "computer speaker that is worth the purchase is Klipsch pro-media. Other than that, I'd say pick up a pair of studio monitors, preferably something by SWAN audio. Then maybe people will see that music has boundaries past 220hz.
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People seem to forget that the Z-5500 is a PC gaming system, not a home theater system (even though many people use it as one, since it has the ability). Logitech doesn't even compete with Bose in home theater systems, so you're comparing apples to oranges. Go visit avsforum if you care about high end surround sound systems and want to pay good $$$ to be an audiophile.
I bought my Z-5500 for less than $200 shipped (about how much they are worth imho). If you can show me a complete 5.1 system/HTIB that is less than $200, which can hook up to a computer's sound card and has as many inputs (or more than the Z-5500) AND can decode DTS/Dolby Digital/etc... I would be happy to say the Z-5500 sucks.
I use my Z-5500 for gaming and watching movies, so for me, it does everything I need it to (plus more). The only thing I wish they had was a HDMI connection on it (which are more common now for passing digital audio.. and video if needed), but considering the system was released back in 2004 (YES, that's right.. we're talking about a 6 YEAR OLD product here), I don't hold it against Logitech for not including one.
~ Basim
P.S. - The Klipsche ProMedia Ultra 5.1's are discontinued and have had major problems with their amp's blowing (where are built into the subwoofer). They were the only real competition to the Z-5500 in 5.1 PC gaming speakers.
I bought my Z-5500 for less than $200 shipped (about how much they are worth imho). If you can show me a complete 5.1 system/HTIB that is less than $200, which can hook up to a computer's sound card and has as many inputs (or more than the Z-5500) AND can decode DTS/Dolby Digital/etc... I would be happy to say the Z-5500 sucks.
I use my Z-5500 for gaming and watching movies, so for me, it does everything I need it to (plus more). The only thing I wish they had was a HDMI connection on it (which are more common now for passing digital audio.. and video if needed), but considering the system was released back in 2004 (YES, that's right.. we're talking about a 6 YEAR OLD product here), I don't hold it against Logitech for not including one.
~ Basim
P.S. - The Klipsche ProMedia Ultra 5.1's are discontinued and have had major problems with their amp's blowing (where are built into the subwoofer). They were the only real competition to the Z-5500 in 5.1 PC gaming speakers.
GSingh
Well-Known Member
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- 1,469
Basim hit the nail on the head.
Money = everything
The z5500 is a steal at $200 but everyone has different tastes. I would not reject them if someone gave them to me lol but at the same time, I wouldn't go and buy the system either, since one could get these, these and this.
Put all that together with a 5.1 receiver from ebay and you have a BEAST for under 350, keeping in mind that it will sound as good as if not better than a bose and that sub will deliver a better kick.
As a package the z5500 is still a good option but in terms of sounds quality, I just think they cut corners and threw in a giant sub to compensate. The satellites are small and run a really flat sound rather than a warm and lively sound. I used them for about a month (roommate) and it was a lot of fun disturbing the neighbors but eventually I grew tired of that haha.
At the end of the day, anything but bose.
Money = everything
The z5500 is a steal at $200 but everyone has different tastes. I would not reject them if someone gave them to me lol but at the same time, I wouldn't go and buy the system either, since one could get these, these and this.
Put all that together with a 5.1 receiver from ebay and you have a BEAST for under 350, keeping in mind that it will sound as good as if not better than a bose and that sub will deliver a better kick.
As a package the z5500 is still a good option but in terms of sounds quality, I just think they cut corners and threw in a giant sub to compensate. The satellites are small and run a really flat sound rather than a warm and lively sound. I used them for about a month (roommate) and it was a lot of fun disturbing the neighbors but eventually I grew tired of that haha.
At the end of the day, anything but bose.