Z-5500 & CMSS3D (X-FI XTREME)

[houndawg]

Hi all, do u guys enable CMSS3D Stereo Surround for music listening? I kinda like it
enabled with the settings set to 50%. it sounds clearer, louder & more powerful than any
other mode available on the Z5500's control pod. but the main drawback is that i can only go as high as 6 bars (out of 20). anything higher sounds way too loud plus distortion
begins to make itself audible & this is unacceptable as it spoils the whole listening experience.

I have everything maxed on the conrtol pod..sub, center & surround. in XP's
volume control panel, treble is maxed, bass about 2 notches to full & master vol. one
notch to full. one more thing, do u guys often get the feeling that u're never really quite
satisfied with the sound quality of your speakers because you believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'? i often feel this way..i'm might be expecting too much.Do u guys
have the same perfectionist problem as me?

 

[uclaChris]

I have it enabled on mine also at 40%. I try not to alter it too much once I tune it to sound good with the certain type of music at a decent listening volume. I rarely listen to music extremely loud unless some friends are over. But mostly I dont like messing with the settings because I cant be doing other more important stuff like actual work!

I have a friend that adjusts his audio settings daily though so I guess your not alone.

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: houndawg
do u guys often get the feeling that u're never really quite
satisfied with the sound quality of your speakers because you believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'?

Heh, nope not anymore , but I understand the feeling.

If you're a 'perfectionist' you probably wouldn't have the treble and bass sliders up, nor have CMSS enabled. Perhaps your "doesn't sound quite right" impression is a result of these configurations.

When I was younger I found some thrill in raising treble/bass on speakers, but it didn't take long before I realized that it's a BAD thing for sound quality. There are ways to improve the frequency response of the speakers in-room, but that's a complicated venture.

 

[acole1]

Originally posted by: houndawg
Hi all, do u guys enable CMSS3D Stereo Surround for music listening? I kinda like it
enabled with the settings set to 50%. it sounds clearer, louder & more powerful than any
other mode available on the Z5500's control pod. but the main drawback is that i can only go as high as 6 bars (out of 20). anything higher sounds way too loud plus distortion
begins to make itself audible & this is unacceptable as it spoils the whole listening experience.

I have everything maxed on the conrtol pod..sub, center & surround. in XP's
volume control panel, treble is maxed, bass about 2 notches to full & master vol. one
notch to full. one more thing, do u guys often get the feeling that u're never really quite
satisfied with the sound quality of your speakers because you believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'? i often feel this way..i'm might be expecting too much.Do u guys
have the same perfectionist problem as me?

i dont like to use the XP settings for mine because of how poorly it handles the sound. that is 90% of the reason behind why you are destorting IMO.

i dont remember if i use the CMSS3D or not... it's whatever is default with my audigy2. the more you try and tweak the sound the more likely you are to get a distorted sound.

at default settings you should be able to get a good sound at max volume (just hold your ears).

z5500's are good bass and good tenor but mid range is a little weak. no need to force more out of the top and bottom.

 

[houndawg]

ok guys thanks for taking the time to reply.. i feel somewhat much better now after listening to your input. it may be the lack of midrange that i'm not satisfied about these speakers when it comes to certain types of music but its awesome for DVD movies. thanks once again.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: acole1

Originally posted by: houndawg
Hi all, do u guys enable CMSS3D Stereo Surround for music listening? I kinda like it
enabled with the settings set to 50%. it sounds clearer, louder & more powerful than any
other mode available on the Z5500's control pod. but the main drawback is that i can only go as high as 6 bars (out of 20). anything higher sounds way too loud plus distortion
begins to make itself audible & this is unacceptable as it spoils the whole listening experience.

I have everything maxed on the conrtol pod..sub, center & surround. in XP's
volume control panel, treble is maxed, bass about 2 notches to full & master vol. one
notch to full. one more thing, do u guys often get the feeling that u're never really quite
satisfied with the sound quality of your speakers because you believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'? i often feel this way..i'm might be expecting too much.Do u guys
have the same perfectionist problem as me?

i dont like to use the XP settings for mine because of how poorly it handles the sound. that is 90% of the reason behind why you are destorting IMO.

i dont remember if i use the CMSS3D or not... it's whatever is default with my audigy2. the more you try and tweak the sound the more likely you are to get a distorted sound.

at default settings you should be able to get a good sound at max volume (just hold your ears).

z5500's are good bass and good tenor but mid range is a little weak. no need to force more out of the top and bottom.

Originally posted by: houndawg
ok guys thanks for taking the time to reply.. i feel somewhat much better now after listening to your input. it may be the lack of midrange that i'm not satisfied about these speakers when it comes to certain types of music but its awesome for DVD movies. thanks once again.

Actually its probably the high's you are lacking. The Z-5500's do not have tweeters and therefore must always rely on the 3" driver to produce all entire frequency range. This is the one of the main weakpoints of this speaker set.

 

[InlineFour]

the z5500 are one of the best bang for buck speakers.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: acole1

z5500's are good bass and good tenor but mid range is a little weak. no need to force more out of the top and bottom.

TRUE. This took me a year to figure out....but they're still great speakers. They definately are lacking in the mids. The trebles are fine, no doubt about that, but the mids. Also this is a ported sub we are talking about, and an underpowered one at that. Thats why its great for movies...once the amp gets the air moving, it can keep it up, but the sub is generally pretty bad at producing a hard, clean kick. It usually takes a split second for the full force of the beat to hit, and when it does, its a very muddy beat. But if you love bass and want something thats great for movies, this is the system to get.

If you're a big music buff and care how your music sounds, I'd look around some more.

 

[alcoholbob]

Originally posted by: houndawg
Hi all, do u guys enable CMSS3D Stereo Surround for music listening? I kinda like it
enabled with the settings set to 50%. it sounds clearer, louder & more powerful than any
other mode available on the Z5500's control pod. but the main drawback is that i can only go as high as 6 bars (out of 20). anything higher sounds way too loud plus distortion
begins to make itself audible & this is unacceptable as it spoils the whole listening experience.

I have everything maxed on the conrtol pod..sub, center & surround. in XP's
volume control panel, treble is maxed, bass about 2 notches to full & master vol. one
notch to full. one more thing, do u guys often get the feeling that u're never really quite
satisfied with the sound quality of your speakers because you believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'? i often feel this way..i'm might be expecting too much.Do u guys
have the same perfectionist problem as me?

Sounds like you need to listen to some good bookshelves for music : P

 

[jondl]

Originally posted by: houndawg
..believe that its supposed to
sound 'better than that'? i often feel this way..i'm might be expecting too much.Do u guys
have the same perfectionist problem as me?

Tell me about it.. i went from a z-5500 to what i have now and the difference is like two sides of a coin. But back on subject.. when i had my 5500s i did turn on CMSS3D.

 

[alcoholbob]

Wow 2 Ascend owners with Panny XR55s posting right after each other. Some coincidence eh? Too bad the AV123 X-LS is starting to pose a threat to the "most linear bookshelves under $1000" right next to the Ascends...it's only $200 too.