So I have an audigy 4 sound card set up with the logitech z-5500 which sound great by the way. So I'm messing around with the sound blaster settings and I discover that only the front side speakers are test able even though I get all speakers with movies and games. After messing around with it I decided to call logitech because the speakers didn't seem to work properly with the realtec onboard audio on my asus a8n-sli deluxe mobo either. So Logitech tells me that I have to turn off the digital encoding on my Audigy 4 as it conflicts with the onboard decoder! So basically, if you have a sound card and this set up your sound card becomes obsolete according to logitech. Didn't like that at all so I called soundblaster who pitched me on their speaker set up but I think I'm going with the klipch pro media 5.1 ultra instead. Anyway, so I learned how to disable the audigy 4 and the speakers still had the same problem with the test. Either way I'm hugely disappointed with logitech for not makeing it possible to disable the decoder and a little disappointed with tom's hardware for missing such an important detail. I just lost $100 in shipping costs. Anybody want to pick up my set-up in L.A.? Price is $210 (I paid $254+$50 in shipping) or you can pay for shipping everywhere else $50. I'll also throw in the digital coax cable for free (a $10 value). BTW, don't get me wrong here, I think it's a great deal for someone who doesn't already have a sound card and is using the onboard or for some one who is using it for their dvd player. Just don't want to lose out on already purchased audigy 4.
Logitech Z-5500 Not compatible with any sound cards
- Thread starter Michaelbgrant
- Start date
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
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This issue has been covered before but not with the Logitech Z-5500's. It is true that you have to make a decision for a digital decoder. If your speakers have a digital decoder and you want to use it, then you have to connect them with fiber optic (TOS-link or mini-plug) or digital coax. Then goto volume settings and check the "Digital Output only" box under advanced settings.
If you want to use the Audigy decoder then you need to use the 3 pairs of stereo cable to connect speakers and sound card. Am not sure how to specifically enable or disable digital decoding on the Audigy Board. I just use the drivers and none of the special software Creative provides on their CD.
With either setup you can get TRUE 5.1 audio. I'll let you decide if Logitech's or Creatives decoder sounds better.
The whole "Decoders intefering with each other" sounds a little shady. You cant use both at the same time becuase of the connections involved. If the Audigy is hooked up by digital coax it is not decoding anything. Its just sending out data. Then your speaker system decodes it. I think the phone support person doesnt really know anything about audio.
Any more questions please PM me. I know many folks have this problem when starting in the world of surround sound.
If you want to use the Audigy decoder then you need to use the 3 pairs of stereo cable to connect speakers and sound card. Am not sure how to specifically enable or disable digital decoding on the Audigy Board. I just use the drivers and none of the special software Creative provides on their CD.
With either setup you can get TRUE 5.1 audio. I'll let you decide if Logitech's or Creatives decoder sounds better.
The whole "Decoders intefering with each other" sounds a little shady. You cant use both at the same time becuase of the connections involved. If the Audigy is hooked up by digital coax it is not decoding anything. Its just sending out data. Then your speaker system decodes it. I think the phone support person doesnt really know anything about audio.
Any more questions please PM me. I know many folks have this problem when starting in the world of surround sound.
Thank you for responding, you obviously seem like you know this stuff pretty well so I tried again what I had tried before as you had suggested and no cookie. Both the digital and analog setting don't produce sound out of both of the rear, center channel or the sub speakers no matter what sound out put I use(realtec onboard/audigy 4 in combination with digital or analog input on the logitech 5500). I don't know if it's the speakers are screwed and logitech doesn't want to own up to it's mistakes or if that is not the case than the customer support has no idea what it's talking about and still cost me $100 in shipping. I am willing to try anything else as you have instructed.
The realtec and the soundblaster software that comes with the motherboard and the soundcard respectivly.
Aren't those sorta similar to Z680s? I have them hooked up to an Audigy2 ZS notebook and I get 5.1 fine.
When I want to watch movies and whatnot, I have it set to external decoder and then switch my input to the optical. When I play games I turn that option off and the sound ouputs via the analog wires to the speakers. Even NWN gives me 5.1
Anyway, sucks if Logitech changed things...
When I want to watch movies and whatnot, I have it set to external decoder and then switch my input to the optical. When I play games I turn that option off and the sound ouputs via the analog wires to the speakers. Even NWN gives me 5.1
Anyway, sucks if Logitech changed things...
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,080
- 136
ALMOST FORGOT!!!
Go to Control Panel.. Sounds and Audio Devices.. Volume Tab.. At the bottom under speaker settings there is an advanced button. Hit it and under the speakers Tab there is a pull-down menu, You need to make the cute little picture match what you have. This simple setting overrides ALL other settings. Even screws up surround video games like Max Payne 2.
Go to Control Panel.. Sounds and Audio Devices.. Volume Tab.. At the bottom under speaker settings there is an advanced button. Hit it and under the speakers Tab there is a pull-down menu, You need to make the cute little picture match what you have. This simple setting overrides ALL other settings. Even screws up surround video games like Max Payne 2.
" Aren't those sorta similar to Z680s?....Anyway, sucks if Logitech changed things... "
I'm not sure if your speakers are different in this respect. I do know that the 5500's have an onboard decoder which frankly sounds great but it will not allow the decoder to turn off and (at least mine don't) it won't play to the correct speakers from the creative audio test. Now, when playing games and movies, everything is great. It just isn't your audigy decoder doing the work.
"Go to Control Panel.. Sounds and Audio Devices.. Volume Tab.. At the bottom under speaker settings there is an advanced button. Hit it and under the speakers Tab there is a pull-down menu, You need to make the cute little picture match what you have. This simple setting overrides ALL other settings. Even screws up surround video games like Max Payne 2."
Good point but I had that covered too. Do you have this speaker set up aswell? Logitech has told me directly that the 5500 audio system is not compatable with any predecoding. But even when it's not on, the speakers do not pass the audigy sound test. Now just to make sure I have my bases covered I tried it with both the onboardsound and the sound card and both had problems. To make sure it is a software issue, I will run a test with the klipsch promedia arriving in the mail next week.
I'm not sure if your speakers are different in this respect. I do know that the 5500's have an onboard decoder which frankly sounds great but it will not allow the decoder to turn off and (at least mine don't) it won't play to the correct speakers from the creative audio test. Now, when playing games and movies, everything is great. It just isn't your audigy decoder doing the work.
"Go to Control Panel.. Sounds and Audio Devices.. Volume Tab.. At the bottom under speaker settings there is an advanced button. Hit it and under the speakers Tab there is a pull-down menu, You need to make the cute little picture match what you have. This simple setting overrides ALL other settings. Even screws up surround video games like Max Payne 2."
Good point but I had that covered too. Do you have this speaker set up aswell? Logitech has told me directly that the 5500 audio system is not compatable with any predecoding. But even when it's not on, the speakers do not pass the audigy sound test. Now just to make sure I have my bases covered I tried it with both the onboardsound and the sound card and both had problems. To make sure it is a software issue, I will run a test with the klipsch promedia arriving in the mail next week.
http://www.tweaknews.net/forum/viewtopi...postorder=asc&highlight=z5500&start=50 these guys seem to have answered the question. You hook your speakers up with the supplied analog connection, and like the person said above you take a MONO phono plug adapter and a digital coxial cable and hook it up digitally that way. inside the sound card properties there's an option to turn off digital decoding. Then all you have to do is switch via your z-5500 form analog for games to digital for movies. the link should explain in better detail.
and when you do their "test" you wont get any sound from the back speakers. Something about it not being supported.
and when you do their "test" you wont get any sound from the back speakers. Something about it not being supported.
sounds great but what hes not getting is distinct 5.1 dts. Is yours? and this may very well be a creative problem. Does your m-audio do decoding? i think it does
Okay, so I did all those things that people have talked about in multiple forums. The best advice came directly from logitech who told me the z-5500's are not compatable with predecoded sound, fine so I used my onboard sound and turned the decoder off. The logitechs sounded great and I was getting the logitech onboard decoder to produce a 5.1 surround no problemo. It's very hard to beat the z-5500's w/o any decoder for the price as they sound great. But if you want the audigy 4 to produce the decoding, then you gotta run something other than the z-5500's. I bought the klipsch pro media ultra 5.1's and they sound great and I'm still going to be doing that review when I get around to it.
Anyway, the audigy 4 has problems of it's own. If you want to use non-creative surround (CMSS) such as EAX DTS NEO 6 etc. for your music you have to use their player, no itunes, no win amp, just the creative player. I haven't called yet but I cannot find a plug in on the net and if anyone has a solution here, I'd like to see it. It can't even produce the surrond in the player that uses the remote control. That's right the remote control is for one type of player, a player that is designed for when you are not using the computer at all as it takes up the entire screen. So the remote is useless except for sound in all other applications, to me that is stupid. Also, it's not clear to me how you select between different cinima sound modes that are not CMSS when playing a DVD. I have not investigated all these problems for the audigy 4 so I can't say how terminal that they are at this point, just that it isn't pretty. That remote should work in any application just like the controls on my keyboard, just me.
Anyway, the audigy 4 has problems of it's own. If you want to use non-creative surround (CMSS) such as EAX DTS NEO 6 etc. for your music you have to use their player, no itunes, no win amp, just the creative player. I haven't called yet but I cannot find a plug in on the net and if anyone has a solution here, I'd like to see it. It can't even produce the surrond in the player that uses the remote control. That's right the remote control is for one type of player, a player that is designed for when you are not using the computer at all as it takes up the entire screen. So the remote is useless except for sound in all other applications, to me that is stupid. Also, it's not clear to me how you select between different cinima sound modes that are not CMSS when playing a DVD. I have not investigated all these problems for the audigy 4 so I can't say how terminal that they are at this point, just that it isn't pretty. That remote should work in any application just like the controls on my keyboard, just me.
hi there i just wanna ask abt my system as i currently am using soundstorm from ma abit nf7-S mobo and also have the 5500s.im connecting them using the optical cable and i dont know why but the sound is really crap compared to ma previous audigy1/z680 combo.the bass and treble is very soft and nearly non existent.I have a coax cable as well with an adapter but i cant seem to get it to work either.u mentioned abt not letting ur soundcard do ani decoding.how do i do that on ma soundstorm.i just got the 5500s 24 hours ago and im still trying to get good sound
pls help
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