Great Logitech Z5500 Mods WOW!!!

From YPKO forum.....

"Here's a link to my latest alteration of the Z5500 system for Keyboards.
Pics, step by step building and schematics etc."

pose
http://www.box.net/shared/14xluc8w04

Thanks for the link Donny.

Super job this guy has done, almost makes you want to buy one!!!

Dennis

Dennis yes it is a really clean job professionally done....I'd love to hear one also.

Yeah, ditto that!!

What a piece of work, lots of creativity. That's a love of labor, Pose's not only a talented musician but wood craftsman as well.
very cool

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 07-07-2008).]

WOW ... what a great job ... interesting to read in one of the posts that he is sending it to Scott Yee ......

t.

T check your mail

This is amazing work.

Since Pose is using two Cerwyn Vega speakers to substitute for the lackluster center speaker that came with the original Z-5500, I am wondering why he couldn't have built a 3 way speaker system - Subwoofer and two satelites. He would have gotten a better stereo split, not just for the audience, but for the performer.

There is definitely nothing to disparage about this man's workmanship.

Scott Yee is ecstatic with the sound of this system, at least for indoor use.

Pose has turned a high end amateur system into professional gear. It's amazing that you can get all of this for $300 if you're handy enough.

Beakybird

Yep, I indeed am the lucky recipient of Pose's custom rig (Poz-1) and really enjoying it alot. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it sounds, especially with the 2 additional 6" center speakers + tweeter. Nice rich full bodied STEREO (and 5+1 surround).Those two added "Cerwin Vega" 6" center speakers + tweeter has solved the lack of mid-range frequency presence that I felt the stock z5500 system alone lacked.

I find this 2 piece rig easy to transport(20 lbs lighter than my EV SxA100's) with its rubberized grip retractable handles (@32 lbs each piece) and compact (mid speaker cab: 19" x 22" 9 "; sub: 13" x 13" x 15") making it an easy fit in my car trunk with plenty of room to spare for my other gear as well. This rig offers 3 quick setup configuration options:

1) the multi-speaker cabinet sitting on floor tilted back on it's side mounted cool 60's retro looking geniune CHROME Fender tilt back legs (aka: wings) . . . yeah . . . . I especially love these.

or

2) the multi-speaker cabinet sitting atop my Ultimate Support tripod speaker stand (1-3/8" pole diameter)

or

3) the mid cabinet speaker sitting directly above the sub on the sub's pedestal (as pictured below)

Ok. I received the Poz-1 last week and immediately noticed how clear, rich & full my vocals and acoustic piano sounded, and when playing in arranger mode, appreciated hearing all the instruments each with individual expression & character with the beat (groove) full of energy.

I tried it out for the first time on a gig last Saturday at an outdoor block party gig and it packed plenty of outdoor punch to keep the crowd dancing and groovin' all afternoon. That said, I think this system most ideally suited for small-medium venues (up to 100-125 people). My deepest gratitude & thanks goes out to my buddy Pose (both a terrific musician & talented craftsman), who lives 300 miles north of me (near Susanville, CA), for designing and building this custom rig for me. A big thanks also goes out to Gary Diamond for encouraging me to take another look & listen with the Logitech Z5500 PA option, and Larry Cochran for his electrian knowledge and additional reassurance that this surround sound system able to deliver the pro level PA results required of pro keyboard/vocal musicians. This is one hell of a PA system and I'm quickly discovering that it's got further potential & power to sound 'even better' after some further tweaking (Tyros2 Keyboard EQ & Z5500 parameter adjustments).

I realize that some people here will stick steadfast to their notion that the PC intended Logitech Z5500 surround system can't possibly sound very good or have the power & ruggedness required for a gigging Keyboard PA, and that's fine with me. I'm simply going to laugh my way to the bank, having saved myself hundreds (thousands?) of dollars in compared to the named brand Pro PA's: JBL, EV, Mackie, Barbetta, Bose L1, etc as the stock Logitech Z5500 alone will cost me less than $200 (after manufacterer rebate).

If anyone's interested in building one of these, Pose has generously shared all specs and building instructions here

Ok, here are some pics I took of my new rig. - Scott










------------------
Scott Yee Entertainment

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 07-14-2008).]

Scott great photos, that squirrel likes the Poz-1 as well

Question for some of our members:
Does THIS Z-5500 set-up look professional enough for you ?!?!?!? ...
t.

Sure it looks professional enough.

It looks like the subwoofer can easily get scratched. Maybe at the very least those metal thingies can be put on the corners.

Beakybird

I put speaker carpet around mine ......
t.

I guess it just looks weird to the eye or audiences' like the Bose PAS......but it doesn't mean it cant sound good enough to do small jobs with...looks a bit top heavy for me in this configuration ...I would try to use the side-legs and lean the speaker cabinet back....the sub can go anywhere...personally I would stick with what I have. But if it works for you & your happy with it all the better....time will tell.

Good Luck..



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 07-15-2008).]

Beautiful craftsmanship but why do I get the nagging feeling that it might have originally been designed to detect incoming ICBMs during the cold war?? Just my evil mind at work!!!!!!!!!!!

pose - a couple of questions:
It looks like you used heavy duty 'plywood' - for easier transporting, could a lighter wood be used?
I see a picture with the speakers in the unfinished cabinet - did you paint the cabs with the speakers in them?
thnx,
t.

Great piece of craftsmanship. I hope it is worth the work. One wonders if all that time and supplies might not translate better into a system already on the market. If not, then it's a great investment.

Lets face it...if you dont have the tools & the ability to build this it aint gonna look like that....what It sounds like is another story....without hearing it who knows? Regardless of the design.. I'm confused a $3400.00 Keyboard through a $179.00 home speaker system..why?

Because it sounds really good ?!?!? ...
t.

Oh Boy.........shhhhhhhhh keep it a secret we dont want everyone to run down to Best Buy and take all the Logitech units ....I'll bet it take less then $50.00 for logitech to make this unit...
I'm not convinced by any means....but as I said if you think it sounds great buy it use it and enjoy it....just aint for me at all...

So does a $1000 arranger... Mind you, a $3500 arranger sounds better.

Depends on how good you want to sound, I guess...

We are a duo playing French Bohemian Music on the Oregon Coast.
As we were browsing looking for more info about the Bose L1 PA, we came across your mod for the LOGITECH Z-5500.
We also want to attempt a Mod possibly an array type "a la" L1.
We will want to improve on the mids like you did for this MOD.
Too bad we cannot get to your instructions,Pics, step by step building and schematics etc.
This link is dead.

Can you repost a link to them?

Elge

New link to POZ P1


URL[http://www.box.net/shared/hig5gvvmbq]URL


[This message has been edited by loungelyzard (edited 08-31-2008).]

LoungeLyzard: Thanks for posting the 'new' re-uploaded link to the Poz1 'construction instructions, of which was so generously shared by Pose the designer.

Hi Elge. just to let you know that I know another guy who has already nearly completed building a Poz1. If you email me, I can put you in touch with him and/or Pose himself.

This all said, I continue to use & enjoy (more than ever) the z5500 Poz1 that Pose built for me.

Scott

Scott,
Thanks for posting these pictures.I have some questions,please clarify.
1.What type of Cerwin Vega" 6" center speakers you are using?please give the model number of these speakers.

2.Are you using same brand"Cerwin Vega" for tweeter?please give the model number.

3.Is is necessary to put three holes in front of the box?what is the diameter of these three holes?Are you using any glasswool inside the box?

4.What is the effect you are using on Logitech z5500?There are 5 effects such as prologic 11 movie,prologic 11 music,6channel direct,stereo x2, stereo. So which effect gives good sound? what volume level you set for satellite and centre speakers?
Please clarify.

Thanks,
Sunny


[This message has been edited by sunny152 (edited 08-31-2008).]

Sorry Sunny, I don't know of any model number for either the 6" or the tweeter. Pose informed me these are simply basic (generic?) Cerwin Vega standard stock.



Sorry, but I don't know any more than what was included in the documentation provided in the link LoungeLyzard gave above. If you want more details, I suggest emailing Pose directly.



These are the settings I like:

Effect: PLII Music

Settings:
* panarama: off
* dimension: center position
* surround delay: lowest setting

Level:
* subwoofer: 2
* Surround: 3
* center: maximum
* Volume 10

Scott

That link didn't work for me.

Hi ScottL, how have you been ol' buddy?

The link LoungeLyzard gave worked 4 me. Try this direct link:

http://www.box.net/shared/hig5gvvmbq

Scott

Hi Scott, been doing well. Good to hear from you again.

Hi ScottY

Didn't you post somewhere that this was the best sounding PA you've ever used? That says a lot coming from you. You've peaked my interest and may have to pull out and dust off my z5500.

Could you give the EQ settings that you've found work the best for you? Yes, I'm getting the idea to see if my father-in-law would build me one of these. I'm considering having it done as 2 seperate cabinets to make it a bit lighter and also to be able to stack them on top of each other on top of the sub. Maybe even go for an 8" or 10" speaker. Also considering using black carpet for the covering. We'll see

It sounds like the POZ setup takes care of my only objection which was no mids or depth of sound. May as well give it a try as long as I have one.

I have to admit when I used to hook up my JBL 10 Eon G2's WITH the z5500 it was really quite nice.

Best
Scott

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 09-06-2008).]

Hey there Mr. Langholff. Here's more specifically what I believe: the PozI custom configured z5000 setup's the best sounding stereo in a single cabinet + sub system I've ever heard thru the Yamaha Tyros2.

Though I'm very impressed with the Bose L1 sound, especially on vocals & acoustic instruments, unless you can afford to purchase two of them, due to 'phase cancellation', Yamaha's 'stereo sampled' keyboard voices (especially acoustic GRAND PIANO) still sound 'to my ears' pitifully thin & unacceptable when mixed to a single (mono) Bose L1 unit, even after attempting to tweak and adjust them to sound as good as possible thru an L1.

What amazed me most about the z5500 (2nd to the sound) is its incredibly low price. After rebate, I got mine (from Amazon.com) for $175.

Having owned the Motion-Sound KP100S and heard the larger KP200S, I'm inclined to think the z500 Poz system to be a comparable match soundwise to the newest Motion Sound KP500SN , and at a fraction of the cost and twice the power output as well. That said, I'd love an opportunity to put these two units up against each other in a sound test.



Here are the z5500 settings I use:

Effect: PLII Music

Setings:
Panorama: OFF
Dimension: Center position
Center Width: Center position
Surround Delay: Lowest Setting

Level:
Subwoofer: Level 1 or 2
Surround: Level 3
Center: Level 10
Volume: Level 10

Tyros2: Compressor - ON
Compressor Type: Attacky or Full Bit

If you need more details, feel free to call me on the phone. It would be great to chat again.

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 09-07-2008).]