Should I Buy the Z-5500 or is the Bass Too Powerfull at Low Levels

I think I'm not getting any responses because my post is too long and scaring away people so in short "can I mute or drastically lower the base on the Z-5500"

-please help as Iv stopped all entertainment on my pc until I buy some speakers. I've read a lot of posts on 5.1 sets and it seems to be a great experience and I don't want to continue anymore without them.

- Original Post

At first I wasn't sure whether to get the 5300 or the 5500 as the price difference is almost doubled and I definitely don't need the extra watts, but from what I read the 5500 have a lot better quality sound witch is a big push in their direction.

Another reason I'm leaning towards the 5500 is that I read you can set the base lower than you can on the 5300 witch is my main concern as I live in an apartment. I currently have the Logitech X-230 and the bass knob in the back is always set to the lowest and its still too loud for my bedroom. In fact I have it stuffed in a drawer full of pillows with a sock in its intake just so I can use my speakers at night(I am Audiotarded). As you see this is something I want to avoid because I cant even close my drawer or use the one under it and it looks very unattractive.

I tried tweaking the bass on the master volume in windows witch was shadowed by the Realtek driver equalizer that I'm using, but it had zero effect on the base level from the speakers. Might this be because the base isn't directly connected to the base I/O on the motherboard but to the Line in? And if thats the case how do the 5500 connect and would it be any better?

P5KC is the mother board I have and I haven't yet looked into other drivers that might work better as I already spent too much time with audio drivers just to get my audio working(new windows installation). So this is the last thing I want to try but I'm willing if I must and if so what can I use?

I'm definitely looking to upgrade to a 5.1 system and I think the Logitech Z-series is the way to go. I should also mention that this will be mostly for gaming and movies. I think the best response I can get is from someone who has experienced both X-230 and/or at least the Z-5500 and can tell me if I'm going to have this problem.

Oh and also I'd like to add that I don't have a sound card but I have HDAudio on board the motherboard and I don't have a clue to what that is. Is it sufficient for the Z-5500 and would it use it to it's full potential? would I benefit from a sound card? I never needed one and I don't look forward to ever using one.

Any help is gladly appreciated and thnx in advance.

What exactly is your budget for this setup and how big is the room that your putting it in.

lve had experience with the z5300`s as my teacher has them in his classroom thats huge but tbh its way too powerful for that room as we had it on a medium setting connected to a low output from his projector which acts as a switch box for his dvd playeréxbox. We had teachers complaining about it from the math wing which is 30 feet out the door and downstairs

Those sound like some powerful speakers but was the base set to the lowest level? I hear the Z-5500 are ABLE to produce a lower bass. The room is 100' by 173' or that's 2.5M by 4.4M btw, and I'm nothing of a rich person but I'm willing to spend enough for good quality. Just 2 weeks ago I wouldn't think of spending 300 on speakers but here I am about to do so.

well for my bed room my setup has 4 60watt fidek rear speakers hooked up to a 200watt akai stereo receiver. Sound is amazing and it only cost me 30bucks for the whole setup

Well I'v taken a look and I don't see any fidek speakers in my local retailers besides I don't even know what a stereo receiver is. Iv been reading a lot and it seems like the Z series is by far the best in quality and it seems like a stable system and not something that a person like myself that has no idea about speakers has concocted himself.

wow........ not knowing what a stereo receiver is???? what decade were u born in?

l bought my speakers at walmart brand new but they were on clearance but it was awesome 30bcks for 200 dollars worth of speakers

but if you truly think the z5500 would be the best be my guest

Right so this $30 set was on clearance and it really costs $200 so I really can't get it for $30 or anywhere clost as that. So are you trying to help or just braging about a good deal you got?

trying to help but w/e if you truly think your room can handle a 500watt set then be my guest.

... what do you mean handle? if I can turn the bass down witch was my original question then I wouldn't have a problem would I?????????? Do you read peoples questions or do you randomly post because you have some sort of a quota witch allows you to stay in the top 5?

Don't abuse my senior members.

SWK thinks that the system you are considering is excessive. I tend to agree with him. Unless you are a serious audiophile (which we already know you are not), a sub $150 amplifier set will likely do you just fine.

Hell, for $150, you can get a decent set of sound-canceling headphones and have all the best sound in the world without running the risk of offending anyone else, least of all the one guy willing to help you and a moderator.

What he think is what he thinks and he may be right for all that matters, but I can't read minds so unless he knows how to explain in words he is not much help. However I was a bit annoyed with the comment and the fact that he abused his power in giving me a negative reputation witch at that point comments went south but I apologize. I wasn't aware that he was a moderator but if you look at our posts names and status put aside you might notice that I hold some merit in the conversation. Aside from that I am thankful for his "attempt" at solving my problem even though he omitted the actual question.

In response to you I may not be an Audiophile but I don't think you need to be one to notice and appreciate the difference in quality of the highest end speakers. Also with a good set like this its very unlikely it will be thrown away and replaced by another set very soon and I can always place it in the living room or use it for another purpose in the future.

I am new to message boards and so I'm treating it as a real life face to face conversation witch might be a mistake to do. So again Thnx and apologies.

Disagreeing is not an abuse of power.

Disagreeing because a person is hell-bent on throwing a large amount of money is, in my opinion, reasonable.

His point, and mine, are that you are looking to spend too much money on a set which you will not get your money's worth... it's like a self-supported college student buying a ferrari to commute 15 miles to and from the dorm-- yes, it's a great car, but does the expenditure justify the use to which it is put?

Well if you read my post correctly then you would see that I didn't link his "disagreeing" to "abusing power" but to something else and I'm not going to explain myself, if you wish to argue you can just RE-read the post correctly.

On the other hand your totally right about getting something that too much for me. I am looking into something else right now.