Almi's Logitech Z-5500 Mod (High-End upgrade for the speaker system)

[ramachandra]

Usually strong magnetic field surrounding transformers, without a proper shield necessary to keep them away from the Amp and wires what is not directly connected to them. Advised to not cross or run together wires belong to them with others either. Keeping a distance between the two toroids is not necessary, but if you have enough space can't do any harm.

 

[scratje]

Back again!
 
I have bin bussy lately doing other things (3d designing) so not much time.
About the Logitech Z5450; i sold the system before modding the control pod, so i won't be able to tell if that mod is necessary

 
In the meanwhile, i came across a Chinese website that sells inverted blue/white replacement LCD displays for the Z5500.
I was not totally satisfied with my blue led mod, so i ordered two of them.
This display is just like the display in the Z5450 and i am very satisfied with it.
 
 

 
Here is the link to the website that sells them.
Service is good, i might say...................... ordered two of them but only got one.
After i emailed them, they responded within a few hours and admitted they had made a mistake.
I could choose between a refund or resending the second display (for free) so i chose resend.
 
http://cart100.com/Product/35873223262/Genuine_Pegasus_TM202QDCU6_LCD_LCD_scree
 
 
Happy modding

 

[artsgr]

Hi ,all.
 
I have to admit that "ramachandra" you have done a magnificent job.
 
I have the old version of  5500 with the opamps on the plug PCB, and the power transistors on the bottom PCB.
 
It is almost the same as "scratje" mod.
 
I need some help in order to do the "third" mod  version by exchanging the opamps with the capacitors.
 
I dont know witch opamp is for what.
 
 
 
Thank you in advance
 
Aris

 

[Benny-x]

This really is a fantastic thread, and I'm so happy to see people keep posting in it. 
 
I've got a different brand of active monitors/speakers coming in, Emotiva Pro - Stealth 8s. Once I get comfortable with them I'll take the leap and open them up and see how I can mod/improve them inline with these Logitechs. I'm definitely going to need some help in 5-6 months when that happens, so I hope you guys are still interested in this thread then. I guess I'll have to get the wiring schematic for it before that so that I/we can study what to do with it.
 
When the time comes I'd be happy to post up all the details and pics and stuff of the mod procedure, in case anyone else ever wants to take a stab at it with the Stealth 8s, and of course to just provide more reference points for modding active speakers. 
 
Congrats on the OP for the great work and advice to everyone and to the guys who have done it themselves since then.

 

[ramachandra]

Hello Aris,
 

Once I had an amplifier board from the older version. In those days I had working on several newer boards simultaneously what I bought or I got from my customers. This older was just sitting there, I did not know what should I do with it, knowing it is an unwanted hassle to repair and experiment without an old Pod. Meanwhile I salvaged some parts from it to fix the faulty. After I have done the others my enthusiasm was running low, yet I had all the components to go ahead with The third mod on it, and my plan was to improvise a cable to do the testing.
It was complete, but by mistake I have soldered back a faulty regulator and the troubleshooting didn't go well either. Most of the TDA Amps had a smoky day. I thought I had fun enough, and took what was worth to be saved and get rid of it.
 
That time not much happened on this thread and I have no photo (or deleted) from the finished preamp board unfortunately. The Third Mod is easily doable on it. I have marked the important areas with different colors. I had to borrow the image from scratje, so your board have skinnier blue caps on it.
 

 
 
Red: Belong to the Surround, they all have to go, after that you have space for the 5pcs 0.47uf film capacitors.
 
Blue: Belong to the Sub. Change the OpAmps + electrolytic capacitors, and the green films & ceramic capacitor if you wish.
 
Purple: This circuit is turning on/off the Amp. Changing the two electrolytic caps all you can do.
 
Yellow: the pins of the D-Sub connectors soldered to the PCB, you can find the pin outs on the first page of the thread. Use the diode tester function on a multimeter to find the 5 pins of the surround channels and connect one leg of the 0.47uF film cap to each.
 
Orange: The color code in the Z haven't changed since the old, so in the description of the Third Mod you can identify the 5 pins of the surround. Then all you need is to connect the remaining 5 legs of the 5pcs 0.47uF capacitors to the same channels.
 
On the back on the preamp panel you find the SMD caps belong to the Zobel network. Remove them and use the 0.22uF film capacitors according to your preference.
 
For me the main Elna for Audio filters yet was able to sit between the wires on the prototyping panel, on the location of the two old 10000uF Su'Scon caps. The rest is just to swapping  capacitors on the Amp board to audiograde. There is one difference if i recall correctly. One cap is a 33uF maybe 50V, on the new it is the 16V 22uF.
 
This is how i remember after 2.5 years later, and like I have mentioned I have never been able to find it out if it worked correctly or not. I don't remember which OpAmp is for what.
 
 
One more thing. The same treatment apply to the C100, C200, C300, C400, C500 as in the new version. I think the numbering is identical in both.

 

[artsgr]

Hello Aris,

Once I had an amplifier board from the older version. In those days I had working on several newer boards simultaneously what I bought or I got from my customers. This older was just sitting there, I did not know what should I do with it, knowing it is an unwanted hassle to repair and experiment without an old Pod. Meanwhile I salvaged some parts from it to fix the faulty. After I have done the others my enthusiasm was running low, yet I had all the components to go ahead with The third mod on it, and my plan was to improvise a cable to do the testing.
It was complete, but by mistake I have soldered back a faulty regulator and the troubleshooting didn't go well either. Most of the TDA Amps had a smoky day. I thought I had fun enough, and took what was worth to be saved and get rid of it.

That time not much happened on this thread and I have no photo (or deleted) from the finished preamp board unfortunately. The Third Mod is easily doable on it. I have marked the important areas with different colors. I had to borrow the image from scratje, so your board have skinnier blue caps on it.





Red: Belong to the Surround, they all have to go, after that you have space for the 5pcs 0.47uf film capacitors.

Blue: Belong to the Sub. Change the OpAmps + electrolytic capacitors, and the green films & ceramic capacitor if you wish.

Purple: This circuit is turning on/off the Amp. Changing the two electrolytic caps all you can do.

Yellow: the pins of the D-Sub connectors soldered to the PCB, you can find the pin outs on the first page of the thread. Use the diode tester function on a multimeter to find the 5 pins of the surround channels and connect one leg of the 0.47uF film cap to each.

Orange: The color code in the Z haven't changed since the old, so in the description of the Third Mod you can identify the 5 pins of the surround. Then all you need is to connect the remaining 5 legs of the 5pcs 0.47uF capacitors to the same channels.

On the back on the preamp panel you find the SMD caps belong to the Zobel network. Remove them and use the 0.22uF film capacitors according to your preference.

For me the main Elna for Audio filters yet was able to sit between the wires on the prototyping panel, on the location of the two old 10000uF Su'Scon caps. The rest is just to swapping  capacitors on the Amp board to audiograde. There is one difference if i recall correctly. One cap is a 33uF maybe 50V, on the new it is the 16V 22uF.

This is how i remember after 2.5 years later, and like I have mentioned I have never been able to find it out if it worked correctly or not. I don't remember witch OpAmp is for what.

Thank you so much for the immediate reply and your help!!

Due to summer vacations (two kids ) the project needs to wait for two weeks.i will come back with pictures and info A.S.A.P.

BR Aris

 

[Z5500owner]

I just recently started "working" on my Z-5500 again. It has been laying in the attic for some time (as in years LOL).
My Z-5500 PID is R:605 (so from what I understand it is one of the first revisions 2006 week 05).
 
I bought this Z-5500 as defective. But before I bought it I did some research on the internet and found many Z-5500 during that time had blown a CS42526-CQZ chip inside the control pod. The unit would go on, display would show information, just no 'sound' due to the blown chip (small venting hole where the magic smoke got out I guess)
I managed to score a replacement part (allthough it had a higher revision compared to the original part).
 
As I am not skilled in SMT soldering (lol, I'm not even a novice in soldering at all). I managed to get it replaced. But somehow it got f*ed up, because allthough the chip got replaced, the unit wouldn't powerup at all (not even standby).
 
Few months later I managed to buy another control pod, but this one is PID:R850 (2008 week 50), so a POD from the new version. Connected this in the hopes of getting a full functioning Z-5500. But offcourse, no success (I was unaware of any revision changes during that time). My symptoms are similar to those of EdgeSRB, I will only get front stereo (and front and rear sound when in stereo:x2 mode). Digital input not working.
 
Quote:

  EdgeSRB
 
I do not have the images you need, I only worked on 2 new pods, and I had an old amplifier board here a while back.

Hope these are clear enough, if you need more detailed ones (from certain areas), please let me know
_{Excuse the 'tinypic' as I couldnt upload these to the forum}
 
PID R:605
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=30xkgtf&s=8
_{(this image is not mine, but shows all wires connected. From what I can see, this one is the "old version" <- missing yellow wire + component top right corner)}
http://imageserver.qik.nl/dukebox/z5500pod.jpg
 
PID R:605 vs PID R:850
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=16bfw43&s=8
Notice the difference in the top right corner (yellow connection and  SMT component)
 
PID R:605 vs PID R:850
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=o6kapi&s=8
Notice the difference in (what I assume are) power regulators / controllers.
 
15 pin SUB-D Pinout (PID R:605):
 
01 - Brown
02 - Grey
03 - Yellow / Black
04 - Blue / Black
05 - Yellow
06 - N/C
07 - Blue
08 - White
09 - Purple
10 - Red
11 - Darker Green (non shielded)
12 - White / Black
13 - Lighter Green (shielded)
14 - Red / Black
15 - Black
 
Now its back to browsing the internet to get some more information

 

[ramachandra]

The images are not good enough to precisely identify wire colors, if you post me the WA numbers/wire colors (on the back of the PCB) for both, i will be able puzzle something together. The only two differences between the panels is a good start.

 

[Z5500owner]

  The images are not good enough to precisely identify wire colors, if you post me the WA numbers/wire colors (on the back of the PCB) for both, i will be able puzzle something together. The only two differences between the panels is a good start.

Hi ramachandra, thanks for the reply
 
To be honest, these are the two noticable differences between the two PCB's. I really should do a component by component comparison just to be sure. But these components are tiny, need to find myself a proper magnifying glass
 
Regarding the wire colors :
 
15 pin D-Sub connector female :
http://stuartconnections.com/products/Computers/Peripherals/LCDs/Dell_2001FP/CD/GRAPHICS/15PIN.GIF
 

Pin	Color	Function	WA#	Pin	Color	Function	WA#
1	Brown	Right Rear	WA8	1	Brown	Right Rear	WA8
2	Grey	Subwoofer	WA9	2	Grey	Subwoofer	WA9
3	Yellow / Black	Left Rear	WA7	3	Red	VDIG	WA7
4	Blue / Black	Center	WA6	4	Green	DGND	WA6
5	Yellow	Left Front	WA4	5	Yellow	Left Front	WA4
6	Not Connected			6	Orange	Mute center	WA16
7	Blue	Enable amplifier	WA13	7	Blue	Standby	WA13
8	White	Enable mute	WA14	8	White	Enable mute	WA14
9	Purple	Right Front	WA5	9	Purple	Right Front	WA5
10	Red	+8 V	WA10	10	Red / White		WA10
11	Dark Green	On / Off	WA11	11	Green / White		WA11
12	White / Black	Mute	WA12	12	Black	VREGSS	WA12
13	Light Green	Ground	WA17	13	Blue / White		WA17
14	Red / Black	+18 V DC	WA1	14	Brown / White		WA1
15	Zwart	-18 V DC	WA3	15	Black / White		WA3

[td=colspan:4] PID R:605 (first revision)
[/td] [td=colspan:4] PID R:850 (second revision)
[/td]

 
The information for the R850 POD (regarding function) has been scavenged from the internet, the picture has also been posted in this thread :
http://skyxu.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/z5500pinout.jpg
 
So as far as my observations tells me, to make a R850 POD into a R605 POD :
 
- Verify R850 wiring colors vs function (as the information provided on the internet doesn't seem to be complete / incompatible)
- Verify all components are similar between boards
 
If above steps provide the correct information (pinout compatible, components compatible)
- Remove orange wire (connected to WA16)
- Remove yellow wire bridge (connecting CN1 <-> CN4)
- Remove SMD component near WA16 (0 Ω Resistor bridge/link if I am not mistaken)

 

[ramachandra]

We are thinking the same way, this list is exactly what i wanted to make. The image is look convincing as a leak from the factory, and maybe it is, still the description of the wire colors and functions are messed up. http://skyxu.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/z5500pinout.jpg If I'm wrong, the cable i have made to replace the Pod for the new version is not supposed to work, and that's not the case. I have the feeling the "PID R:605 (first revision)" Functions apply for both, the few wire colors are changed only by practical reason. The extra WA16 orange is maybe related to the on/off function the WA2 black wire perhaps part of a better shielding for the new Pod.

 

[Z5500owner]

My thoughts exactly
 
What baffles me though is why the old vs new revision POD (or more as in connecting a new revision POD to an old revision SUB) will give that functionality error (only analog stereo / stereo 2x available) and all digital inputs not working. At least in a few threads I found on the internet this always comes up.
 
The PCB's for both are indentical (or at least the markigns on the PCB are identical), just some components are different :
 
Voltage regulators :
 
R605 : LM317
R850 : LM317D2
 
A quick glance over the datasheets reveals to me that it was only a package size switch
 
Amplifiers :
 
R605 : R4580I (56MA5C964)
R850 : R4580I (BAKD3FYG4)
 
Guessing the last part is somewhat related to fabrication date or something
 
My suspicion is that probably the firmware is responsible for this ?
 
R605 : Firmware version unknown due to not powering up
R850 : Firmware version 2.1
 
Allthough I did not come to this board hoping to find a solution, it would be sweet if we somehow by brainstorming could make a "simple" fix.
I am "lucky" to have both type of revision boards on hand and can make "detailed" pictures / comparison if needed to provide all the information (too bad I dont have DLSR) but for now my Olympus 3040Z does the job.
 
As a lot of information had been shared here, I just wanted to do my part and provide some extra information which I could not find anywhere else (or my GoogleFu skills are not that great

)

 

[ramachandra]

Lets hope the firmware have nothing to do with the 5.1 sound or the digital input. A while back jayjayuk done a great job to draw a schematic from the new preamp panel. https://d1jesv1uvhg9i4.cloudfront.net/a/a5/a5dc69f0_MB_Z5500-PRE-AMPBOARD-SCHEMATIC.png If the conversion of the the Pod doesn't bring the breakthrough, try the other way around, build the circuit and convert the old Z to the new version. I'm looking forward to your progress.

 

[Z5500owner]

  Lets hope the firmware have nothing to do with the 5.1 sound or the digital input. A while back jayjayuk done a great job to draw a schematic from the new preamp panel. https://d1jesv1uvhg9i4.cloudfront.net/a/a5/a5dc69f0_MB_Z5500-PRE-AMPBOARD-SCHEMATIC.png If the conversion of the the Pod doesn't bring the breakthrough, try the other way around, build the circuit and convert the old Z to the new version. I'm looking forward to your progress.

 
I will heat up the old soldering iron tonight .
 
As a first step I will confirm Sub-D pinout vs wiring color vs WA# connection by desoldering wire by wire and use the multimeter to confirm. I didn't do anything with the new POD, as I didnt wanted to tamper with the "working" POD yet
Regarding converting the old one to the new one. The old one is "broken" and I am in no position (toolwise and experience) to desolder the CS42526-CQZ and resolder a fresh on one it (still got 2 spares lying around.... _somewhere

). At least I can use the old one as spare bin for SMD components if I spot a difference between the two (and offcourse document it for future reference)
I wished I had a scope / logic analyzer (and the know how how to use them haha) here so I could at least verify if and what changes when I start tampering with the POD.
 
After verification of pinout / colors / WA# I think I will first start with opening up the bridges (yellow wire, SMD component).
 
Are there any other things I could do with just my simple multimeter ?

 

[ramachandra]

"Regarding converting the old one to the new one." I mean make changes on the preamp panel. The circuit simple enough to build, and you need to disable the existing on/off circuit, then connect the new to the pins of the D-Sub on the back, according to the schematic. So, if the conversion of the Pod fail, this is an option.
 
"Are there any other things I could do with just my simple multimeter ?" I have good use for the diode and capacitance tester, to compare identical circuits when I looking for a fault for example. The readings on the in circuit components are usually inaccurate, still supposed to be almost identical on the two PCB. This may sped up the compatibility check.

 

[artsgr]

Hi all. I finnaly got back in lab so I am uploading some pics to help me solve the riddle ...