Hi All,
I've been seriously thinking about switching to this speaker system for my live guitar, vocals, and psr backing tracks. Then when i read Loungelizards problem with his going out on him in the middle of an event I am getting cold feet. The advantages are many...but unreliability is a deal breaker. I know some of you have been using them for awhile now and just wondering if there were any gripes.
Thank You Larry :-)

Hi Larry
I use mine everyday and take it out with me for jobs once or twice a week. It is still the best system for me. I love it.

Bernie

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bernie9:
[B]Hi Larry
I use mine everyday and take it out with me for jobs once or twice a week. It is still the best system for me. I love it.

I share the same feelings as Yamiguy, the unit was made for home use. Bernie, talk me into buying it.

John C.

I can not comment on it's reliability for road work as I have only been using it at home. But if you're careful I do not know why it shouldn't hold up. Hey, if I remember right didn't Loungelizard mention that he had been placing the control unit on his sub? I would not doubt that over a bit of time all that vibrations is going to cause some kind of problems to the control unit.
That sub woofer kicks out a LOT of bottem end! I would not expect any mixer. amp, effect unit or any other piece of electronic equipment to hold up very long if it is sitting on top of a blasting sub-woofer.
If indeed that was the case of Loungelizard.
I know heard somebody mention that's what they were doing.
I like my 5500's a lot. And once again want to thank Gary and others for their input.

------------------
The old Newb

I use my Z-5500s 2 to 4 days a week, they're awesome, and so far, not a single problem. In fact, just this past week I had a large party to play and it was the first time the Barbetta Sona 32C's have been out of the music closet since long before last Christmas.

Keep in mind that the Z-5500 was designed for individuals that wanted the ultimate blast from their video games and surround sound for movies on their home theater systems. It was not intended for transportating, therefore a certain degree of caution must be used with the lighter wires and small speakers. Pose placed a very delicate remote control reciever on top of his sub, which obviously had adverse affects. That being said, when he called for service, Logitech didn't hesitate to replace the unit at no charge. He didn't have to return anything, and he got to talk with real people--something that is quite rare these days.

I sincerely believe that a lightweight, three-piece system is the best way to go short of the Bose PAS, which is much too expensive at this point. The audience response for the Z-5500 has been extremely positive, everyone comments how clear, crisp and rich the keyboard and vocals sound, and they way I have my system set up the sound seems to be very evenly disbursed throuout the rooms I've played. The largest audience I performed for using the 5500 is about 125 to 130 people, which I believe is near the top of the range from the system. The sub is awesome, far more powerful than I need, and for someone playing disco, hiphop and some of the other new dance styles, 50 percent volume levels would blow the windows out of most clubs.

Someone posted something along the lines of "Talk me into buying the 5500!" I would not want anyone to buy anything based upin just my evaluation. The best advice I have is to buy the system from a vender who has a liberal return policy, take it home, hook everything up per the instruction manual, and at that point let your ears be the judge. If you'll recall, a few months back someone sarcastically said these are nothing but toys intended for video games--not for serious musicians/entertainers. He said that without hearing, seeing or touching the system. This year I will probably do about 200 jobs with the 5500s. If they survive one year of this kind of work, then the $300 I paid for them was a good investment. If not, the loss was not anymore than the cost of a good mic.

Good luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary

Just to reinforce what Gary, OldNewB and Bernie has said....thanks to Gary for my decision to buy mine and I use it all the time in my restaurant which seats 128 comfortable and 150 tight and no problems
here what so ever....I just bought another set to use for outside gigs to keep from setting up and braking down the one system all the time...
Tony Rome

Hi:
I took the controller apart, and was unable to get it working, I'm pretty sure that setting on the sub did it in, I really knew better, from years using piggyback amps setting on a stack of 12's and 15's playing guitar, I always had the amps bolted down, and the whole rig tends to walk the stage if you do'nt watch it. In this case I was crowded for room and it was easy to reach, setting right next to me. Just wasn't thinking, and did'nt move it until it started to make a racket, but it was too late.
Excellent service from logitech, however they were on back order, and hav'nt recieved the replacement yet. probably another 2 weeks on their estimate.
When I first got the system, I was impressed but, not overly, except the smallness of this system, after using it and tweaking the sound several times, I did'nt realise how much better the sound was, until I went back to the K1200's, Now I'm constantly tweaking this system trying to get close to the Logitech.
I'll post a update when logitech gets the replacement to me.

DON'T set the controller on the Sub, I'm going to use a old drummers throne stand to mount the control unit on. Will post a pic when it's complete and the new one mounted.

Would I buy another one, (you betcha) For 300 dollars and a two year guarantee, I think its a bargain. and I expect the next one will probably last several years.

Logitech treated me great and only requested one thing, They have a policy of making sure its really broke and ask you to try running another source thru (stereo tape player etc) to make sure its defective, then they give you the old one and send you a new one, no charge, period. (ain't that great!)

Cheers....Pose

Have you heard about the new Yamaha StagePas sound system. It is a 300 watt stereo 8 channel portable sound system. It has the speaker cabinets with 8 inch woofers and a high freq. compression driver horn and the mixer with power amp and reverb with 4 mic preamps is about 8" by 6" in size and fits right into the back of one of the speakers. The mixer attaches to a standard mic stand for stage use or can stay inside the back of the speaker because all the jacks are on the front panel. You can attach powered speakers or go into a larger pa by use of 2 1/4" output jacks besides the two main speaker out jacks. The sound is amazing. Yamaha has designed these so that the bottom end sounds like much larger speakers with no distortion. The selling price of the system is $549.00 and Yamaha has a roll around bag available to carry the whole system in with one hand. It's lightweight, portable, powerful and Yamaha!
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

I took the Yamaha PAS system out for trial. It does sound truly amazing. I did return it for two reasons. At the small supper club where I tried it, I had it wide open, as loud as it would go, and it was loud enough. It would not have carried anything larger. The Logitech 2200 is louder.
The other drawback was that the "reverb" was almost totally unusable. It seemed to be a delay, rather than reverb, and just seemed to muddy the sound instead of enhancing it.
I ran my mic through the SD1 and used the effects from there, but I did hook up a mic and try the reverb. Maybe I overlooked something, but I don't think so.
One other small drawback was that it isn't all that easy to reattach the back panels than hold the mixer and cords, particularly in low light. You have to get the little screws in just the right position and then tighten them with a coin. If they don't tighten properly the mixer could fall out during transportation.
It is a great concept, but I personally think they fell a little short.
George, maybe you can test the system in these areas and see if I missed something.
DonM

[This message has been edited by DonM (edited 05-04-2005).]

Hi All,
Nice responses...I also noticed yamaha coming out with the new system. I was planning on checking it out on Friday. I'll still look at it but i am all too familiar with weak built in effects in mixers....I have 2 of the Yamaha EMX powered amp/mixers.
I agree Gary, If you only use it for a year it paid for itself. The prob is...if there is any reliability issue...i'd have to carry two of them to be safe. Since I play guitar to backing tracks made on my psr and transferred to mp3, I wont have my onboard psr speakers to hobble thru the event. My yorkville powered sub is bulky tho. Can the z5500 sub be ran with my system to replace the sub. I know i'd still need to use my power amp for the mains, but at least the sub would be lighter. With a couple of AS108 yami speakers...it would still be small.
One thing i learned for sure...I've been setting my yamaha emx mixer/amp on my sub. Guess i'll rethink that!
Thanks, Larry :-)

Hey Don, do you mean z2200? Only reason I ask is because this is a thread about z5500 and I want to make sure you mean z2200 is louder. Three cheers for z2200 if so.

Right Z2200.
Don

Don,
You are right that the Reverb is more like a short echo mixed with reverb and there are no other choices. All in all, it's a good package with a lot of inputs and outputs and a nice small package. Here in my store the volume is quite loud, but I don't know how it would do in a large club without running additional speakers.
Your input is appreciated.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

For sure the best thing to do with any equipment is to get it from someplace that has about a 30 day return option.

I will tell you my experience with the z5500's. So far, I have found the best way for me to use it is to use only the sub along with my JBL Eon 10G2's. This sounds very good. The sub adds a nice bottom even in a small room. I like the feature of playing a demo on my Tyros that I recorded and step out into the audience area and use the remote control to fine tune just the right amount of bass. Not too much and not too little. I find that I need to do this because, so far my experience has been that the sub kicks out a lot of sound especially next to me. It really sounds kind of boomy and overpowering. But, out in the audience when set properly it sounds quite nice. I have noticed that the balance between different bass notes is not perfect. There seems to be a couple of notes that just kind of drop out. Seems to me "F" is one of them.

Now, I would hopefully expect this set-up to sound better that the z5500 out of the box because of the price and speaker and cabinet size of the JBL's.

As far as using the z5500 as a 2.1 or a 5.1, so far, I have been unimpressed. I can't believe that I'm the only one, but perhaps the one that's being vocal about it.

To me there is absolutely no mid-range.

I did pull out the satellite speakers the other day again just to experiment as a 2.1 set-up. I found that when I placed the speakers on the sub the way Richard Peck used to do with his Yamaha 2.1, that I didn't like the sound at all.

Then I placed the 2 speakers on top of my Tyros aimed directly at my face. I did find that the sound was actually pretty good sitting in front of the keyboard. Set up like this I almost didn't notice the lack of mid-range. I then let my onboard demo play and I stepped back about 6 feet. At this point the sound started sounding thin and small and undesirable to me, IMHO.

I have played with the EQ and the onboard compressor to tweak it so it sounds as good as I can get it.

I suppose I can again test it with the 5.1 setting, but, even with that number of speakers optimally placed, in my mind I can't see how those small speakers will ever fill a room with a sound I like where I am performing, regardless of the size of the room or the number of people. Unless those little satellites are aimed to such a degree that it actually would cover the entire area without any blank spots.

I am still open to any ideas or suggestions on how to optimize the sound of this to the point where I would be happy and comfortable about using these, but so far, even when I did try it as a 5.1 system which is how I did do the original testing, it is definitely not a sound I want to use.

I also found that the sound of the piano is a very noticalbe degradation compared to the JBL's.


So, these are my findings, IMHO. If they work for you and sound good to your ears, then I say, fantastic, good for you. I would love to be able to say the same, but so far it's been far from it.

I am open to any input and suggestions about my findings.

Best

Scott Langholff
http://www.ScottLMusic.com

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 05-04-2005).]

I am happy with mine its working out nicely , played for a wedding couple weeks ago 120 people volume at half got nice , comments about sound ,BENNO

I am new here and I am preparing to buy my first arranger (right now I'm playing at home with a cheap Yamaha PSR-83 plugged into a Roland XV5050 sound module) so I am not qualified to address how a speaker sounds for an arranger in a club. However, I have done DJ and karaoke shows full time for 10 years so I can tell you about my speaker experience.

I started with 2 200W 15" non-powered EV speakers on stands powered by a Peavey XRD 680+ mixer amp with build in effects. Good sounding system for small gigs where you don't need a long throw. The Peavey had to be serviced once but the speakers still sound like when they were new--10 years later. Great sound for the money. 300W total.

My second system is 4 350W powered 12" EV speakers and 2 400W EV single 18" subs powered by a Crest CA 9. I got a Mackie 14 channel mixing board and a Rane crossover. This system gives me a lot more power. However, I had to have all the 12" speakers serviced because there was a design flaw where the heavy amp would fall out of place. They paid to fix it, though and the problem hasn't recurred. This system gives good clear sound, but I have occasional problems with humming. I would probably not buy another powered speaker for a mobile application. Total 2,200 Watts.

My third system is all big JBL SR II stuff. 2 JBL 1200W double 18" subs each powered by a Crest CA12, 2 1200W double 12" speakers with 2" horns powered by Crest CA9s, and a 600W floor wedge powered by a Yamaha 5000.
I mix with a Mackie Onyx and control with a dbx Driverack PA. Reverb and delay are with a Lexicon PCM 80 and PCM 90. This system is the best and clearest by far. 10,000W at full blast.

Here are some lessons I've learned.

Powered speakers are problematic at times and heavy.
Rack EVERYTHING!! or you'll be sorry.
Don't UNDERpower your speakers. In general you should have at least the number of watts going into your speaker that is in between the continuous rating and the peak. For example, my JBLs are 1200W continuous and 2400W peak. You should send them between 1800W and 2400W each. I send them about 2400W at peak. This prevents my amps from overworking. Underpowering will blow speakers quickly. I found this out the hard way. Check with your speaker manufacturer for specific recommendations.
NEVER clip anywhere. NO red lights on anything from the gain light on the mixer to the LED on your amps.
Don't buy cheap mics. You can't go wrong with a Shure SM58. You can pound a nail with one and it sounds like new 10 years later. I have one from the mid 80s that looks like a joke, it's so bent up. But it sounds great!
Better to have too much PA and run at 50% volume than too little and overmodulate. The latter will grate people nerves and ring in their ears and they'll leave your show early. Quality and clarity are what's important. The person who complains that a show (at 60 db) is too loud and loves an Aerosmith concert (98 db) is really noticing the difference in quality and clarity, rather than volume.
Don't skimp on subs or people won't dance. Try cutting your bass one night and watch people walk off the dance floor. Again, quality and clarity in your bass punch are important. Don't overmodulate.
Understand that at my shows I go from singing Elton John or Merle Haggard to playing 50 Cent and the Black Eyed Peas and with the hip hop stuff and dancers you need a lot more volume than one would need in a Piano bar, especially playing at dinner time.
My goal is to get a Ketron SD1 Plus, Tyros, or Pa1XPro and merge it into my shows. I play 6 nights a week and as I learn songs I'll just play them and sing them instead of singing a karaoke song. Hopefully, with a lot of hard but enjoyable work I'll be able to do a show of just me singing and playing.
I am lucky in that I DJ all the time so I have an instant outlet for playing in public even when I learn my first song or two. I can't wait. And this forum has been so helpful and informative for me as I make my decision. I can't be helpful on arrangers yet, but I'll chime in on ancillary issues where I can be helpful until I know enough about arrangers to speak from experience.

StPatrick, I trust you are paid extremely well, else you wouldn't haul all of that around. Whew!

Yeah, most on here are more intimate venues or smaller venue / lower volume stuff.

That is what they pay for, hauling it in and out. But these are three systems I bought. I wouldn't use them all at the same show. I make $125 - $150 per night at the nightclub shows sun-fri. If I book a wedding or anything on Sat (my only day off otherwise) I charge $500 for 1-4 hours and then $100 per hour over 4. I probably do 25-30 a year. I recently did a wedding where the couple was so late starting and taking photos that I played for 1 1/2 hours for $400. And then they tipped me $50! (They booked a year ago under my old rate.) Let me tell you, the list of things I wouldn't do for $300 an hour is short!
I have a 14 foot trailer to haul the stuff. It's not too bad since I move it every day. Keeps you in shape, lol.

Hi All,
Scott...I found your experience to be really intersting. I can really picture thinking the same thing. But just to get an idea...i'm going to try hooking into a Boston Acoustic computer system that i have. Its a good system, with subwoofer, and that should give me an rough idea of the kind of sound to expect.
I've found from doing dj work...my regular saturday thing...that the BBE sonic maximizer is really essential for good sound. Guitar center was selling some that were the size of and 8-track tape for about 80 dollars awhile back. It really defines the sound better then i could ever do with an EQ. Everything seems punchier too.
I fit all my stuff in a honda civic so i cant do what Patrick is doing. I always appreciate listening to a big sound system tho...its nice. I remember my days hauling around my cerwin vegas.....
Keep on Rocking! Larry :-)

Hey Larry

Interesting. Which model maximizer did you use? I wonder which would be the appropriate model to try for my situation. If this does a good job,this could possibly beef up the sound of my JBL's or any other type of speaker for that matter. You've got me going on this one.

Scott

I used to use an Aural Exciter with my second system until it broke. But then a guy who fixes speakers said never to use exciters (maximizers same thing) because they blow speakers. But they sell a lot of them and I've never heard this from anyone else. Anyone heard this warning before and any idea if the guy was right?

Never heard that... tend to doubt that it's true. I know that Uncle Dave was a proponent of these devices at one time.

I did hear some smaller Logitech speakers at Office Depot awhile back. It was a 2.1 and sold for around $60. They were playing digital sattelite music. It sounded incredibly terrific.

This experience is tempting me to take my Tyros to Circuit City and plugging into a z2300 that I see they have as an experiment.

My guess is that there is a difference between digital CD's being played compared to an arranger keyboard where although they are extremely good still doesn't really sound exactly like the live instruments.

I am still waiting to hear some more good responses to my post. I hope I didn't offend anyone. It's just my experience. I really, really wanted to be able to like the sound of the z5500 out of the box.

My question I have repeatedly asked myself is why do I not like this sound at all and yet a number of people like them and think they are the best thing since sliced bread.

The only thing I can figure out so far is that there is something wrong with my z5500's which I don't think is the case. That there is a better setting of EQ or speaker placement, I don't think this will change it much as I've tried more combinations than I really wanted to.

I would guess that the hobbyist that uses them at home pointed directly at themselves will enjoy these. This is the way it sounds best to me. Getting just a few feet away from the forward blast of the speakers reveals to me what sounds like a very small speaker in a very small housing pushing out a bunch of highs. Not unlike the old speakers at outdoor theaters.

Then of course there is the very subjective thing of what sounds does a particular individual like?

These are very small speakers. Not unlike a boom box. I am wondering if the people that like the sound of the satellites like the sound of a boom box. I do not. A lot of people have become accustomed to hearing music through very small speakers. Not me.

I suppose the next thing is about the ability of a person to be able to hear. Is that persons hearing ok? Or, is there an actual problem with their ears (including mine). What about people that use a hearing aid?

Then I notice some of you mentioning positive audience response on their sound. Sometime I may take both systems to a gig and do an A/B test for the audience and then see what they have to say. I typically have audience members literally dropping theirs jaws when they are amazed at the sound I get and then be able to change to different band styles and solo voices.

Possibly since I had been in the home organ business for years and am used to hearing $50,000+ home organs that sound fantastic that I am using that as the barometer of measurement where the other players are using a comparison to a PA system which is what they are used to. For me the sound of an arranger keyboard through a standard PA system compared to a $50K home organ is very substandard.

OK, just a few more thoughts. This rather puzzles me really.

I am still all ears for ideas to my findings.

Best
Scott

Hi Scott,
Its model 264...heres a link to an amazing price on it. I may pick up another one at that price. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=bbe+264
I haven't seen them down at guitar center in years. I was really reluctant to pluck anything down on such a thing but i never looked back after hearing the sound. With the size its easy to vecro it inline. I hook my output of my mixer to this. Then the signal goes to the power amp. If you have an integrated mixer/amp or check to see how you'd hook it up before buying. I would imagaine effects loop.
I have also vaguely heard about the speaker blowing thing. If your pumping out clean signal and not overdriving it shouldn't be a problem. Dirty, distorted signals are a speakers enemy. There is a gain on the unit allowing you to potentially overdrive. I have used mine for about 7 years without any problems thru Community brand 12" mains with a sub...this is for high volume dj'ing!!. I really push them hard. The speakers i bought new and are prob 10 years old.
Best of luck. There may be better prices so look around. I just pulled up the first one that was in english so you could see the unit.
Take Care , Larry

One more idea about speakers.

A few years ago when I first got my PSR2000 my wife who also plays and worked at the organ store and I went to try speakers.

The assumption that the bigger the speaker the better. I was always told one needed a 15" speaker for keyboards.

What we found was that 10" speakers of any brand sounded the best. There was one exception the Roland KC500 sounded super but no way was I going to lug around 64 pounds of speaker cabinet. The bigger the speaker got, the more distrubing sounds were introduced. This suprized us because of what we had heard everyone say about 15" speakers.

Then a few months ago I was talking to Tony Barbetta who out of the blue said that keyboards sound better on 10" speakers compared to 15"'s.

I was suprized by his statement and asked him if that was the case why everyone has to have 15" speakers. He laughed and said they just think they need 15's.

Any comments of this?

Scott

Pose

Just curious are you certain it was the control box that went bad and that it was caused by having the control box on the sub.

Scott, its been a long time since I've bought amps and speakers but it seemed like a 15" was required in order to get down to a decent frequency range to produce quality bass...

but this was when the power terminology went from tube to transistor... now its digital

I was on a job at a hotel banquet room, we were on break. Went into the lounge to hear the group playing there.
Everyone was coming out of a set of Bose 802s. It sounded so great.

I looked into the Bose and when I found out the price, I continued carrying 400 pounds of amp and speaker cabinets around in an el camino

Scott,

You may have purchased a defective unit. I personally have used some very high end PA systems, some that sounded very good, some that did not.

As for the speaker size being too small for quality sound, todays speakers are much different than those of just five years ago. Bose pioneered much of the technological changes in speakers, utilizing new cone materials and longer throws on smaller speakers to produce those mid range sounds that small speakers of years ago were incapable of producing. Keep in mind that in this industry, Bose has created the ultimate with its PAS System, which utilizes a series of much smaller speakers than those of the Logitech Z-series. And, anyone that has listened to a Bose radio, which has a pair of very small speakers, has nothing but high marks for the sound quality from low, mid and high ranges.

Now for the hearing aid wearers. Hearing aids are nothing more than small PA systems with a mic and speaker. Most have a single EQ adjustment that goes from low to very high frequencies, thus providing the wearer the ability to amplify the frequencies he or she can not normally hear. As a performer, I cannot wear a hearing aid, mainly because it will block all of the sounds but the one it is adjusted to amplify with the EQ setting--not a good thing. Kinda' like putting a plug in your ear and just letting the high frequency sounds penetrate through a small opening in the middle of the plug.

I have found that I needed to set up 2 separate user EQ settings on the PSR-3000. One is for when I'm performing with the Barbetta Sona 32-Cs, and the second is for when I'm performing using the Z-5500 system. Every system is different, and the keyboard needs to be EQ'd accordingly.

Additionally, the size, shape, ceiling height, wall materials, layout, type of flooring, etc all have a bearing on the overall EQ settings for any venue. Then as the room fills with people, those EQ's may have to be adjusted to accommodate changes in sound distribution and the way the sound is absorbed. Lots of things to think about when deciding upon what system works best for you and your venues.

If I were 10 years younger I would likely be using a pair of Bose PAS systems, especially if I were locked into the nite-club scene again. I don't need loud or louder, just high quality sound that is well distributed throughout the room. However, at this stage of life, I'll go for lightweight, quick setup times and still have sufficient quality using the Z-5500s--it works for me!

Cheers,

Gary

.
<<< SCOTT: I did hear some smaller Logitech speakers at Office Depot awhile back. It was a 2.1 and sold for around $60. They were playing digital sattelite music. It sounded incredibly terrific. >>>>>>>>


I think I may have the speakers Scott is talking about: Logitech Z3's. Music CD's sound terrific on these. My YAM DGX sounds excellent also - almost all of the time. On some of the B3 voices I get too much low end on notes lower than middle C. It is as though the speaker is synthesizing a suboctave that seems to be lower than 40 Hz. There is no EQ to get control of this low range. I can work around this problem, and it is not enough of a problem for me to stop using the speakers. They are a little low on power, though. Fine for home but not enough for even small gigs. Very good value for the money.

I mounted the satellites to the underside of the KB so that they fire down and are nearly invisible. The effect of having the sound seem to come from everywhere in the room is pretty good, but nothing to compare with Scott's experience of fifty kilobuck organ systems. No wonder he is spoiled.

By the way, I am not at all offended by Scott's comments. He took pains to ensure that we all knew he was giving his own opinion and clearly expressed his respect for the opinions of others. I wish everyone were so careful.

Douglas Wolfe

.

Scott,
I actually traded my Barbetta Sona 32Cs for 31Cs last week. Although the 31s are not quite as powerful, they are plenty loud enough for 99% of what I do. They are smaller, and have a slightly shorter throw, but the bottom is every bit as good as the 15's. They are easier to handle and a little lighter in weight.
Light in weight is GOOD. Even a few pounds.
I suspect there must be something wrong with your Logitechs, or in your hookup or setup. I have experimented with all sizes of systems for many years, and the Logitechs sound really good to me. Maybe you are drunk or on drugs. Check and see.

DonM

You know I'm joking, right?

Scott Yee here. I don't know whether it's just because we SHARE the SAME first name or not, but following my own purchase, audition & subsequent return of this same Logitech system a quite while back) I've come to the same (listed below) observation conclusions Scott Langholff expressed re: the Z5500's & PA satellite speakers + sub woofer systems in general:


1) "there is absolutely no mid-range"

2) "I did pull out the satellite speakers the other day again just to experiment as a 2.1 set-up. I found that when I placed the speakers on the sub . . . that I didn't like the sound at all."

3)" placed the 2 speakers on top of my Tyros aimed directly at my face. I did find that the sound was actually pretty good sitting in front of the keyboard. Set up like this I almost didn't notice the lack of mid-range. I then let my onboard demo play and I stepped back about 6 feet. At this point the sound started sounding thin and small and undesirable to me."

4)"I have played with the EQ and the onboard compressor to tweak it so it sounds as good as I can get it. . . in my mind I can't see how those small speakers will ever fill a room with a sound I like where I am performing, regardless of the size of the room or the number of people. Unless those little satellites are aimed to such a degree that it actually would cover the entire area without any blank spots."

5)"I also found that the sound of the piano is a very noticalbe degradation"

I admit that the Logitech Z5500 produce an impressive overall bass response for such a small system, but the trade-off is no mid range clarity which is so essential to me as a singer (baritone-tenor). I just recently had another chance to both hear & myself play thru the Z550's at the recent FL SZ jam (thanks to Bernie9 for letting me plug the Tyros keyboard into his Z5500's), and with no personal insult intended towards Bernie9), the first thing that struck me was the amount of bass (full bodied but but a bit over emphasized) came thru, yet the mid range presence (clarity) was missing, of which is typical for sound systems which only relay on a a pair of tiny satellite speakers and a sub woofer, but nothing to really handle the overlooked mid range frequencies. I own the Yamaha Tyros MS01 Satellite/SUB woofer type PA system, but because I experience the same problem with it, never use that system alone, but in instead, in tandem with another speaker PA which can better reproduce (and with more clarity) the important mid frequencies which provide vocal presence.

In conclusion, Like ScottL, I too am glad so many of you are enjoying the sound of the Logitech Z550's so much. I guess it's back to the old "different strokes for different folks' thing again.


Scott

DonM: rotflmao. The only thing is, which part of that are you joking about. lol

Scott Yee
I am sure you are basically correct about satellite systems and midrange. However,at the East Coast Jam,I hadn't EQ'd my system at all for that room.This includes sub ajustment and BBE adjustment in my rack.

That being said,you still sounded good in spite of your temporary voice problems.

Bernie
ps
You know I wouldn't let you go without some response,right ?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Scott Langholff:
Pose

Just curious are you certain it was the control box that went bad and that it was caused by having the control box on the sub.[/QUOTE

Scott L: Not positive, but the three amps in the sub box seems to be amplifying to each speaker, so assume its the control. Gets the sound of surf and can be vol upped or down. It seem to be not getting any Imput into the controller, and won't amplify anything thats plugged into it???

Nice reading on this thread guys, Very interesting to hear pro's and con's on speakers, etc. I'm not all that good on amps and Pa's but have fooled with them all my life. Being mainly a guitarist I've learned a couple of things, 15" speakers are not the best choice, I tried for years to use them, because everone else was, and claimed bigger is better. I found a 10" speaker gives much more clarity, and can be driven to the point of drowneding out a 15 and still sound good, I've also noticed it seems to be the perfect size for other things also. I guess if you really build up a system you can put a lot of sizes into it and really get some nice sound, but for standing on the stage with a guitar amp behind you with 2 tens in it, its hard to beat.

Midrange sounds dead! I had the same problem initially with the Z5500 did'nt come together until the speakers were at ear level and a little to the front in the studio and behind playing out and a few feet left and right of the keyboard, the center speaker really needs to be about the same hight and behind the keyboard. I hear the midrange from the center speaker. Out front sounds great, but I have to adjust the keyboard eq to get the nicest balance. I listen for the mid to come in.

I found what works for me is to set the master eq by using grand piano and striking two harmonizing notes in the middle of the board as a piano tuner beating one note to the other, I set the eq to get the best piano sound possible, (checking low end and high end) and find after this is done everything else just seems to fall in place. The factory sounds seems to be set in accord to this. Then I set the vocal eq. my voice is barritone, and probably barritone is the hardest to get clarity, for me cranking low and mid (both settings) controls to max gets close to it. For a while I would set the vocal up and forget to reset when I had screwed around with the master eq. You know getting old etc.

Thought some may find my methods amusing

Regards.....Pose

@@@@@@@@ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT LANGHOLFF @@@@@@@


[This message has been edited by loungelyzard (edited 05-05-2005).]

Hey Pose

Thanx for the birthday greets. How did you ever find that out????????

" sound systems which only relay on a a pair of tiny satellite speakers and a sub woofer" ScottY

Bernie, do you use the z5500 with only 2 satellite speakers as a 2.1?

Larry

I checked out that link to the maximizer. It appears that that model may be out of production. I wonder what would be the closest that is actually available now in the current models?

Scott L
I use all 5 in stereo mode with BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer.

Bernie

Hi Scott,
Thats bad news. If i recall, the 362 is a full single rack space...quite big in comparrison. For that same tiny size i dont know any other product. Thats why i wanted to pick up one more. :-(
Tc, Larry

Scott:

Spy's....Spy's everwhere electronic Spy's..... pose