Connecting Bookshelves to Z-5500s

Mansize_tissue · 18 Oct 2007 at 22:34

I'm thinking of connected a pair of bookshelf speakers to the Z-5500 subwoofer--well, the amplifier really--to replace the two front satellite speakers; is this possible?

Mansize_tissue · 20 Oct 2007 at 00:29

Any advice?

Dr.EM · 20 Oct 2007 at 22:24

Its possible yeah. May not give particularly spectacular results though. Since the output to the satellites is high pass (ie not bass is passed) the sub will still need to be active to achieve and acceptable balance; you couldn't use it in place of a conventional stereo amplifier. If you planned to keep the sub anyway it should work alright.

Mansize_tissue · 20 Oct 2007 at 23:24

Thank you for your reply. I decided to connect an old pair of Sony bookshelves I found in the loft and, from what I can hear, they're a slight improvement over the satellites. The crossover frequency is way too low for anything other than highs to be produced by the bookshelves. So, in this respect, they're very much like the satellite speakers. However, although they don't produce mids very well, the highs are a lot better due to the tweeters. I can hear stuff in songs that I've never noticed before. It's great--well, not great, but an improvement nevertheless.

I'd like to buy a better pair of bookshelf speakers without breaking the bank. I don't want to spend more than £60 really because the improvement isn't really enough to justify any more. Also, they have to be pretty small to fit on my desk. The Sony ones I'm currently using are 220mm deep, so I'd like a pair either the same size or smaller if possible. Do you have any suggestions?

Also, is this likely to damage the amplifier at all?

badbob · 20 Oct 2007 at 23:30

Most likely the amp is designed for those speakers, eq and crossover frequency. So other speakers won't sound right.

If you want proper speakers, only use the Logitech subwoofer as a subwoofer, not as amp/high pass filter, not the outputs. Like this..

Mansize_tissue · 21 Oct 2007 at 09:11

That's interesting, badbob. Although, how exactly would I connect the amplifier to the subwoofer? Also, would I lose my rear and centre channels?

badbob · 21 Oct 2007 at 12:11

ok, from the amp (pre-outs) send centre, surround RCA cables. You'll need a av amp.

Mansize_tissue · 21 Oct 2007 at 19:22

Hmm, after spending £200 on the Z-5500s I don't really want to have to buy another amplifier, so I think I'll just get some bookshelves. Can anybody recommend some smallish bookshelves (220mm deep or less, if possible) that would be appropriate to replace the front satellites with (oh, and I don't really want to spend much more than £40 on something which isn't going to make an awful lot of difference)?

Mansize_tissue · 25 Oct 2007 at 19:34

Would anything bad happen if I connect these speakers to the Z-5500 amplifier?

They're 2 ohms less than the smaller Sony bookshelves I have connected right now. I just wanted to see if these sounded any different.