Logitech z2300

[Wedge1]

The Logitech z2300 speakers come with an adapter for connecting them to a console unit. I don't have a console, but I'm curious if there is another way this adapter can be made useful?

 

[PurdueRy]

um, what does the adapter convert from and to?

 

[Wedge1]

I'm a bit confused on that as well. It looks like it takes a standard stereo plug and converts it to RCA.

 

[PurdueRy]

there are many ways that type of connection can be used for. For instance hooking a personal CD or MP3 player up to a stereo

 

[Wedge1]

Could it be used to attach more speakers in addition to the ones that come with the set?

 

[Wedge1]

Clarification: the end that looks like a standard stereo connection is actually the female end. So again, what could this be used for?

 

[PurdueRy]

yes it can be used as I said, and yes it could be used to attach more speakers. But you would need an amplifier assuming the ones you would hook up the the stereo female ends aren't powered. I use 3 of these to hook my computer up to my receiver

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

This is the adapter, right?

You could use it to hook up your speakers to your tv or DVD player if you wanted to.

 

[Wedge1]

Yes, that's the one.

I have a spare set of logitech speakers. Is it possible to use them along with the current. 2.1 setup I have?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Wedge1
Yes, that's the one.

I have a spare set of logitech speakers. Is it possible to use them along with the current. 2.1 setup I have?

Are you trying to make a 4.2 set out of two 2.1 sets? You don't need an adapter for that, just a soundcard that supports 4.1 or 5.1

Just plug the second speaker set into the rear output of your soundcard.

The adapter is only useful if you want to hook up something that has RCA output to something with 1/8" input. (or the other way around)

 

[Wedge1]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Are you trying to make a 4.2 set out of two 2.1 sets? You don't need an adapter for that, just a soundcard that supports 4.1 or 5.1

I was thinking of making a 4.1 set. But I need an adapter that connects two male rca jacks (the 2 spare speakers) to the soundcard's line out. They aren't equipped to plug straight into a soundcard. They are made to plug into the rca jacks of a self-powered subwoofer.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Wedge1

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Are you trying to make a 4.2 set out of two 2.1 sets? You don't need an adapter for that, just a soundcard that supports 4.1 or 5.1

I was thinking of making a 4.1 set. But I need an adapter that connects two male rca jacks (the 2 spare speakers) to the soundcard's line out. They aren't equipped to plug straight into a soundcard. They are made to plug into the rca jacks of a self-powered subwoofer.

I don't think that's going to work because the speakers need to have an amplifier between them and the soundcard. The amp is in the sub. I think the best you're going to get is run an extension cable back behind you (if the cord doesn't reach) and hook up the other logitech set normally with the sub turned all the way down (if you want the new sub to take care of the low end).

An alternative is to get a cheap amp for the back speakers and buy or make adapters that change speaker wire connections to RCA. Something like a Sonic t-amp for $20 would fit the bill, but it's battery powered and the whole project of setting it up is probably not worth it unless you like this kind of stuff.

 

[Wedge1]

I can't use the old sub because it causes crackling in the speakers, but based on a quick-test of them with the new sub, the speakers are fine.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a receiver. This should fit the bill too, right? I have 4 satellites from logitech + 2 aiwa speakers from a stereo that aren't bad.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Wedge1
I can't use the old sub because it causes crackling in the speakers, but based on a quick-test of them with the new sub, the speakers are fine.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a receiver. This should fit the bill too, right? I have 4 satellites from logitech + 2 aiwa speakers from a stereo that aren't bad.

You'd still have some issue of

1. changing speaker wire connections to RCA for the logitech satellites (and the other speakers if those aren't speaker wire connections)

2. It's not as easy to get true surround for everthing meaning you'd have to get
a receiver with 6 or 8 channel direct input
or
get a soundcard that can encode DD in realtime (like the HDA X-Mystique that I ordered today for $105 of newegg)
or
not get true surround sound in games and use prologic or something to get sound from all speakers, but not the true positioning (DVDs should still work perfectly though if you give a digital connection to the receiver)

3. Hooking up your logitech sub might be a little odd as it isn't going to hook up to the receiver without an adapter

4. Mixing different speakers for the front three speakers is not going to sound as matched as a set designed to work together (not a big issue)


So.... a receiver with 6 channel direct input is going to be like $200 for a refurb one I think (I think a denon 1705 would fit the bill)
Or get a receiver without that feature for less and get a soundcard that will give you surround through digital (or skip the soundcard and deal with stereo mode or prologic like I've been doing)
Or skip all this and instead of spending $200 or more to get this working correctly, sell your z2300s and spend $300 total to get a z-5500 set or $330 to get a Klipsch promedia set or get a real HTIB system (although you'll still have the surround issues in gaming).

 

[Wedge1]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Or get a receiver without that feature for less and get a soundcard that will give you surround through digital

I have the Chaintech AV710. I think it has that feature.

I'm checking out the links you provided; thanks for that.


Edit: wow, this receiver looks like the way to go to me, but then again, this is so new to me that I'm not really qualified to make that kind of judgement. So I'm trusting yours 🙂

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Wedge1

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Or get a receiver without that feature for less and get a soundcard that will give you surround through digital

I have the Chaintech AV710. I think it has that feature.

I'm checking out the links you provided; thanks for that.


Edit: wow, this receiver looks like the way to go to me, but then again, this is so new to me that I'm not really qualified to make that kind of judgement. So I'm trusting yours 🙂

Actually, it doesn't. I have the Chaintech card right now and like all other (except one) soundcards (I'm not including integrated solutions), it can only give you surround when it has already been encoded into a DD or DTS track like on a DVD. In a game, you're not going to get surround from it unless you use it in analog mode and hook up three 1/8" to RCA adapters and feed the receiver the surround info from the card.

So, as I've stated above, there is one card that currently supports Dolby Digital Live encoding, the HDA X-Mystique which I actually ordered today. This will encode surround effects into a DD stream for the receiver to decode correctly and I only need to run a single optical cable to it instead of three or four analog cables.

I've only been into this sort of stuff for a little over a year. I'm not an expert, but I spent many hours researching my purchases that make up my current ~$2500 HT system which was a pretty big purchase for a college student like me. I don't know much about speaker sets above $2000, subs more than $1000, receivers more than $700, or projectors over $2000, but under that range I've spent a lot of time looking at what's available. What I know about seems to cover almost all the questions that come up at Anandtech though 🙂

If it doesn't, I make sure to tell them to head over to AVSforum and read some stuff on other opinions. You should do that too.

My overall opinion of your situation right now is that if:
1. You want to have a surround system right now, but want to invest more in it later then get the receiver
(later upgrades could be a soundcard like the X-Mystique, real HT speakers, a real sub, bass shakers 😉, etc.)
2. You want to have a surround system that is complete and wont be adding to it then forget the receiver and associated headache and get a high end computer speaker set from logitech or klipsch. (note: the z-5500s with digital connection will have the same issue with surround in gaming as a receiver would unless hooked up in analog mode)

I wouldn't go the receiver route unless you think you might want the flexibility it provides later on for building a HT system. The hassle of modding your current stuff, buying extra cables, and the surround issues are a few things against it.

If building a real HT doesn't seem like something you're going to want to do (think $150 for an entry level sub, $450 for a decent one.... $300 for entry level speakers, closer to $1000 for decent ones etc.) then I'd say skip it and just get a dedicated computer speaker set that will do everything you want it to.