Logitech Z560 speaker system

[Nebulous]

I was looking into rearranging my office section in my livingroom. Anyways I was looking into either a new pc speaker system or use one of my vintage amps or recievers for sound. Looking at my Logitech Z560 system I remembered buying them used from another member here who was, at that time, a close friend. The Z560 is still kicking. Hard to believe I bought these used for $50. Only thing I had to do over 2 decades of owning it, was I had to replace the control pod that developed a static in the volume pot. I purchased a replacement control pod from ebay for $10. I still have the original pod. I might open it up and clean out the pots with some Deoxit.

Found this review dated December 25 2001. https://hothardware.com/reviews/logitech-z560-thx-certified-41-speaker-system

Anybody else have a pc speaker system as old as mine still working prefectly?

 

[EarthDog]

I dont have anything that old... but do have z265 2.1 system which is a few (5+) years old.

But my Logitech had the same problem with static in the volume knob. Some quick 0-100-0 twisting the knob and it goes away for a while. I normally have cans on when gaming so it's not too bothersome for my use case.


EDIT: That's awesome you still have those and they work! Wonder how they sound compared to newer Logitech?

 

[Nebulous]

I even have a few old sound cards when I first got the Z560's.

 

[JLK03F150]

I have a Harman/Kardon HK695 2.1 setup with my gaming PC. They date back to about 2000 & they still sound good enough for me. They originally shipped with a Dell Dimension 8100.

I have several old Sound Blasters in the basement but I've only been using onboard for years.

 

[EarthDog]

Honestly... I've never owned a sound card. I've tried some, but never kept them. I don't use my PC for HTPC or critical audio listening so I never felt the need to upgrade. That said, I typically run motherboards with flagship-class audio on them so... there isn't too much I'm missing otherwise (right?).

 

[JLK03F150]

When I first got into PCs motherboards didn't have onboard sound.

 

[Nebulous]

I was using sound cards because back then the boards didn't have onboard sound. And then when onboard sound became mainstream, it lacked detail in my music and gaming sounds.

Another thing I remember was that the Z560's sounded so good, I never needed to swap it out for something newer. My kid is using my intel build (Z270/7700K) and using onboard sound with a pair of cheapo dell speakers. I've been trying to talk him into getting a new pc speaker set with at least a sub, but he's not interested and says the little cheapo dell ones are more than enough and sound perfect.

 

[EarthDog]

but he's not interested and says the little cheapo dell ones are more than enough and sound perfect.

Sounds like gamers saying 60 Hz is good enough for monitors. I mean, it is.........until you play on 165Hz+, lol.

 

[Janus67]

I still have a Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 speaker set, although it needs some work done to it (fix/replace the amp, etc). By now I have moved on to small home theater speakers (vanatoo T0s) for my desk and they are great for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Zerileous]

I have a ProMedia 2.1 from 2003 or 4 (or 5 or 6 idk). I had to replace the surround on the sub a while back. IIRC when I unhooked them maybe something wasn't working right but 20 years is pretty good. I'm not sure what I'd use em for now, maybe hook em up to a cheap streamer in the garage if I get around to it. On the other hand, 20 y/o electronics in a non-climate controlled garage in the midwest might not be the best.

 

[Nebulous]

I dont have anything that old... but do have z265 2.1 system which is a few (5+) years old.

But my Logitech had the same problem with static in the volume knob. Some quick 0-100-0 twisting the knob and it goes away for a while. I normally have cans on when gaming so it's not too bothersome for my use case.


EDIT: That's awesome you still have those and they work! Wonder how they sound compared to newer Logitech?

I have it setup as 2.1, and sounds incredible when I crank it. I clean the dust out if the giant porthole and she putts right along. I've been quite fortunate as I haven't needed to buy new speakers for the rig. $60 total investment and has lasted 21 years, 3 moves and a slew of new builds.

I notice the differences when I swap sound cards. I might get a newer one.

 

[Celeron_Phreak]

My first real PC speakers were the logitech Z-340. I cannot remember what in the world happened to them through all of the moves in the 2000s.

I do still have my Logitech Z-680 system that I bought when I went "no-budget" back in 2004. It was great on the Audigy 2 ZS for the original call of duty games, and then bluegears came out with the X-Mystique, followed by the Auzentech X-Plosion with the real time DTS encoding. PC gaming with EAX on that system was something else.

It's packed up in the original box with the original plastic shipping bag over it, in my storage unit. One day when I get a place with enough space for a dedicated gaming room, I'll set it up again. It worked great on my PC back in the day, then moved it to the TV to used with the original xbox with XBMC streaming my movie and music collection.

 

[MisterEd]

I was using sound cards because back then the boards didn't have onboard sound. And then when onboard sound became mainstream, it lacked detail in my music and gaming sounds.

Another thing I remember was that the Z560's sounded so good, I never needed to swap it out for something newer. My kid is using my intel build (Z270/7700K) and using onboard sound with a pair of cheapo dell speakers. I've been trying to talk him into getting a new pc speaker set with at least a sub, but he's not interested and says the little cheapo dell ones are more than enough and sound perfect.

I think I know what you mean. I remember playing a game on two different computers. One computer used an old Soundblaster sound card while the other used onboard audio. I remember being able to hear some sounds with the Soundblaster that I couldn't with the other computer. Do remember what type of sound they may have been?

 

[Nebulous]

I think I know what you mean. I remember playing a game on two different computers. One computer used an old Soundblaster sound card while the other used onboard audio. I remember being able to hear some sounds with the Soundblaster that I couldn't with the other computer. Do remember what type of sound they may have been?

Yep, that's exactly why I used sound cards. I remember people using sound cards were using Sound Blasters. I was the Turtle Beach sound card fan. I also remember when people were using Nvidia graphics cards. I was using ATI. The Turtle Beach sound cards were wayy ahead of their time and I noticed a huge difference between TB and Sound Blaster.

I tried to stay current with Turtle Beach sound cards, but then they stopped production of new cards and updating their drivers and that was the end. I thought Turtle Beach was way better than Sound Blaster. A shame they fell off. I think I may still have a Turtle Beach sound card somewhere. Would be nice if they came back. I'm sure they'll give Sound Blaster a run for their money.

 

[NiHaoMike]

Every modern GPU has a built in sound card of sorts. https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/gpu-hdmi-audio-document/

 

[Niku-Sama]

i'm using some Logitech Z-2300 still.

i had to replace the caps and tighten down some of the internal hardware on the sub but that was it.
i was having feedback\grounding issues but it turns out it was the crap wiring in my parents house. i dont have that problem at all with the place i am in now