Modifying a Logitech 740 5.1 speaker system

[BonzaiDuck]

Now I'm adding another thread, only vaguely related to the one I'd just posted about HTPC and Media Center.

The Logitech sound system I mention here is the sound system I might want to use concurrently with my AVR/HDTV setup.

The cabling for the system is limited. The center-speaker has the 6' wires with 3.5mm plugs that fit my PC. The speaker wires (AV/RCA plug-ins to the woofer) are much longer, so I can deploy the speakers in the corners of the room as I might desire. The woofer is connected to the center-speaker by a very thick cable -- also <= 6' in length.

If I can extend the 3.5mm-plug wires to the PC with simple 3.5mm stereo cables from Radio Shack, I can orient the center speaker and woofer on the opposite side of the room. There would be no requirement to lengthen either the Center-to-Woofer cable or the Woofer-to-satellite speaker wires.

What are the drawbacks with this? As I understand it, the longer the speaker wires (of either sort in this context) -- the more the power-loss.

Any thoughts about this? Moving the PC to the opposite side of the room is not an option at the moment, and I don't want to complicate my 4-PC-with-KVM-switch with wireless solutions.

 

[Billb2]

The smaller and the longer a wire is the more "power" will be lost in it.
So, to make longer wires just use bigger wires and you'll be fine.
I don't know what size the wiring is that you have now, but most likely you'll not notice a difference extending it a reasonable length, like 20 feet or so. You're probably not turning the volume up to "10" now anyway, so there's more room left there too.

And are you sure those aren't Dell or Altec Lansing speakers as Logitech doesn't make speakers with that model number?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The smaller and the longer a wire is the more "power" will be lost in it.
So, to make longer wires just use bigger wires and you'll be fine.
I don't know what size the wiring is that you have now, but most likely you'll not notice a difference extending it a reasonable length, like 20 feet or so. You're probably not turning the volume up to "10" now anyway, so there's more room left there too.

And are you sure those aren't Dell or Altec Lansing speakers as Logitech doesn't make speakers with that model number?

You know -- I'm sorry -- that's the way I remember the Logitech kit, which I bought for $80 around 2003 or '04. Maybe it was "Z740" or "740Z." I'd have to look . .. wait a minute . . . I'm sorry, the woofer is tucked way back under the desk, and if anything would have an indication. The center-speaker unit doesn't.

So it was an approximately "$130" 5.1 Logitech speaker system that I supposedly got for only $80. And I bought it in 2003/2004. I don't know what the wattage is, but I suspect less than my ONKYO AVR.

Lemme put it another way. I don't always get "the best" of everything, but I make use of what I have. The Logitechs are "OK" for surround sound. The ONKYO is near second-place in their model line for that year, and the JBL speakers which match the output/channel were highly rated or a bargain for the price.

as for the wiring, it's "a segment" added to the wires leaving the woofer and going to the satellites. Ultimately, I can compensate any problem by shortening those wires. So I'll need to buy 20 to 25' 3.5mm extension cables with the right male-male/female connectors. Probably better that I try one of them and see if I can't evaluate by ear as comparison.

See -- I'm an old fart, and messing with the way these wires are laid in this room is a pain in the ass -- literally.

And fact is, after I began using the Logitechs again after three years or so gathering dust, I now remembered the center-speaker has its own volume control, as does the woofer. The distribution of sound is almost the same as my AVR layout after an adjustment. I'm beginning to think I don't need to move the woofer and center speaker to the opposite side of the room . . ..

If I want "perfect 5.1 surround" -- however I think it should be -- I can always switch to the AVR 5.1.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Just for the record, without starting another thread.

This Logitech 5.1 speaker set is at least ten years old.

I started tweaking the center-speaker volume and the volume control on the woofer.

I'm actually quite surprised. I don't have a tin ear. I had the piano lessons in early life, taught myself guitar and flute, and I can whistle Bach's Brandenbergs for every single melody note.

Some people tell me they can tell the difference between this and that soundcard -- and for some cards, I could believe it.

Now I got this . . . ten-year-old Logitech 5.1 speaker set, plugged into my ASUS motherboard sound ports. I can't remember if it's "Realtek" or something else -- it's the P8Z68_V-Pro board. I didn't even reinstall the specific drivers for it: it's only recognized in Dev Mgr as a generic High Def Audio Device with a Microsoft driver.

It sounds great. I'm not even sure if it's noticeably worse than my JBL 5.1 speakers.