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

[K4Y0]

Today that I checked again I can upload images! So, here is my creation!

Nice!!!

 

[l0NeXuS0l]

For those who want to get rid of POD Control and use the subwoofer and speakers!
It's a video that shows how to do this Bypass at the POD!

 

[kudykam]

Hi, I need an advice about film capacitor on preamp board.
On youtube video there is tutorial to replace old capacitors with 470nf axial film capacitors, but this is for newer version of board. I have older version like @scratje describes on page 32, but he uses 220nf in combination with original resistor.
I already bought 470nf capacitor, so can I use it without original resistor, like on the video?
thanks

 

[pikokk]

Hi, I'm trying to repair my system, I have a popping and noise problem, I read that it could be the db-15 port on the woofer, I disassembled it and I realized something strange, basically when the sk preamp It is NOT fixed to the frame, the system works perfectly, but when it is fixed to the frame I get these noises and popping

I tried to isolate the sk preamp from the chassis, putting plastic tape between the supports and the chassis, but nothing changes

to make it work well at the moment I have to have the sk preamp free in the woofer...

Do you have suggestions and ideas?

no noise
https://files.fm/f/wdgv87nj8m

noise
https://files.fm/f/m5s7vbsbaz

 

[agentrfr]

So, I did this mod as per OP. I replaced the 6 opamps in the pod, the 5 opamps in the sub (technically the pre-amp circuit), the main power rail caps in the sub, and all the power rail caps attached to every opamp. I used TI OPA 1602 opamps and nichicon caps.

The response from the speakers is vastly improved. The bass hits hard and recovers quickly, with the new opamps mid tones are far clearer and voices are much less muddied. However, high pitch sounds are still 'missing', but I am sure this is the fault of using the default speakers. In any event it is much better now than it was with the old opamps.

Here is a response I measured before and after the modification, though it is not with a calibrated microphone. (https://postimg.cc/gallery/xSzNDrq)
Note the new response (green line) is far flatter, but still warm in shape.

Circuit boards before and after (https://postimg.cc/gallery/CD9J86m)

 

[agentrfr]

Hi, I need an advice about film capacitor on preamp board.
On youtube video there is tutorial to replace old capacitors with 470nf axial film capacitors, but this is for newer version of board. I have older version like @scratje describes on page 32, but he uses 220nf in combination with original resistor.
I already bought 470nf capacitor, so can I use it without original resistor, like on the video?
thanks

Two 470 nF capacitors in series is equivalent to 235 nF. If you have enough you can double them up

 

[Peppie1980]

What great result!
I havent tried it yet on my z-5500, because my left rear speakers suddenly crackles all the time while playing anything. no normal sound comes out.
other speakers are fine. i already switched out the cable and speaker with known working stuff, but still same result. i suspect a broken opamp or capacitor on any of the boards.
So i was wondering where to look first now, in the volume unit or the mainboard in the woofer?

 

[K4Y0]

So, I did this mod as per OP. I replaced the 6 opamps in the pod, the 5 opamps in the sub (technically the pre-amp circuit), the main power rail caps in the sub, and all the power rail caps attached to every opamp. I used TI OPA 1602 opamps and nichicon caps.

The response from the speakers is vastly improved. The bass hits hard and recovers quickly, with the new opamps mid tones are far clearer and voices are much less muddied. However, high pitch sounds are still 'missing', but I am sure this is the fault of using the default speakers. In any event it is much better now than it was with the old opamps.

Here is a response I measured before and after the modification, though it is not with a calibrated microphone. (https://postimg.cc/gallery/xSzNDrq)
Note the new response (green line) is far flatter, but still warm in shape.

Circuit boards before and after (https://postimg.cc/gallery/CD9J86m)

Did u have trouble removing op-amps from the control pod. I saw a video on youtube and the guy ripped the pads off the board of 1 of the op-amps because its somehow glued to the board.
Secondly, how can i bypass the subsonic filter? Is it built into the pod or the subwoofer amp.

 

[agentrfr]

Did u have trouble removing op-amps from the control pod. I saw a video on youtube and the guy ripped the pads off the board of 1 of the op-amps because its somehow glued to the board.
Secondly, how can i bypass the subsonic filter? Is it built into the pod or the subwoofer amp.

No problem no, I just used some liquid flux and air that was quite hot (380C, medium speed, small nozzle). There was a glue but it came away as soon as it was hot enough quite easily.

Do you mean the opamp input filters, or the output filter capacitors on the speaker outputs? The opamp input filters are present on the pod and the amp, but the speaker output filters are only present on the sub daughter board inside the sub box right next to the speaker connection terminals

 

[K4Y0]

I

No problem no, I just used some liquid flux and air that was quite hot (380C, medium speed, small nozzle). There was a glue but it came away as soon as it was hot enough quite easily.

Do you mean the opamp input filters, or the output filter capacitors on the speaker outputs? The opamp input filters are present on the pod and the amp, but the speaker output filters are only present on the sub daughter board inside the sub box right next to the speaker connection terminals

The preamp board was removed in later models and the op-amps were soldered onto the main board instead. I believe my model is r740. I want to know about the subsonic filter which is present in this system. Its like a highpass filter which prevents the subwoofer from playing lower frequencies. This is set to around 35 or 40hz in z5500. I asked a few people and they said its located in the control pod along with highpass filters for the satellites. And going through this thread, Many people have managed to mod the system and achieve a better sound from the satellites as well as a deeper bass from the subwoofer.

So i want to know which parts must i modify to get better lows or even completely bypass the subsonic filter.

 

[Bruno44100]

Hello everyone

Having a Logitech Z5500 kit since 2007, knowing that it was possible to make improvements, especially on the Control POD, led me to register on this forum.

Here, I would like to be able to change the original OpAmps of the Control Pod. I saw here that it was possible.

So, has anyone among you been able to put in higher quality OpAmps or even Hi-FI?

There are the Texas Instruments OPA1602AID or OPA1612AID that some have mentioned here (they are double OpAmps It seems to me.).

But I was thinking of models even higher in terms of relief and sound precision, like Discrete SPARKOS SS3602 (using a soldering iron of course, because unlike a SoundBlaster AE-9 Sound Card or ASUS Xonar sound card, OpAmps are not removables directly).

There are also the MUSE OpAmps.


Have any of you tried it? If so, what was the result ?

(I also thought about the BURSON V6 or V7, Classic or Vivid, but they are too big to insert, while the SPARKOS are flat. So we can forget them.).

Thank you for yours answers.

 

[agentrfr]

Hello everyone

Having a Logitech Z5500 kit since 2007, knowing that it was possible to make improvements, especially on the Control POD, led me to register on this forum.

Here, I would like to be able to change the original OpAmps of the Control Pod. I saw here that it was possible.

So, has anyone among you been able to put in higher quality OpAmps or even Hi-FI?

There are the Texas Instruments OPA1602AID or OPA1612AID that some have mentioned here (they are double OpAmps It seems to me.).

But I was thinking of models even higher in terms of relief and sound precision, like Discrete SPARKOS SS3602 (using a soldering iron of course, because unlike a SoundBlaster AE-9 Sound Card or ASUS Xonar sound card, OpAmps are not removables directly).

There are also the MUSE OpAmps.


Have any of you tried it? If so, what was the result ?

(I also thought about the BURSON V6 or V7, Classic or Vivid, but they are too big to insert, while the SPARKOS are flat. So we can forget them.).

Thank you for yours answers.

You can see above, I used TI OPA 1602 opamps. Yes they are stereo chips. Also, keep in mind that inside of the woofer box the amplifier is class D, so there is only 'so much' you will be able to get out of it. Replacing the caps to high quality nichicons (and returning the capacitance and internal resistance to something much closer as when the set was newly manufactured) will produce a much better sound. After the mods, you are limited by the speakers and LFE really. The pod decodes AC3 (dolby digital) 6ch correctly, but there is only so much detail you can have at 640kb/s on a codec old enough to drink. It is fine for watching movies but not good enough for 'audiophile quality' music.

I built a script to transcode modern audio formats (atmos, trueHD, flac and opus etc.) and downmix to AC3 6ch so that I can send the raw video and audio up the HDMI cable, and raw bits using the optical cable to the pod to decode as dolby digital. The results were pretty good, but it isn't a life-changing surround sound system, although it does beat most 1000$ systems today.

If you want better for music, then effort and money would be better spent going something like a Wiim amp and ELAC debut 3 bookshelf speakers.

 

[Bruno44100]

You can see above, I used TI OPA 1602 opamps. Yes they are stereo chips. Also, keep in mind that inside of the woofer box the amplifier is class D, so there is only 'so much' you will be able to get out of it. Replacing the caps to high quality nichicons (and returning the capacitance and internal resistance to something much closer as when the set was newly manufactured) will produce a much better sound. After the mods, you are limited by the speakers and LFE really. The pod decodes AC3 (dolby digital) 6ch correctly, but there is only so much detail you can have at 640kb/s on a codec old enough to drink. It is fine for watching movies but not good enough for 'audiophile quality' music.

I built a script to transcode modern audio formats (atmos, trueHD, flac and opus etc.) and downmix to AC3 6ch so that I can send the raw video and audio up the HDMI cable, and raw bits using the optical cable to the pod to decode as dolby digital. The results were pretty good, but it isn't a life-changing surround sound system, although it does beat most 1000$ systems today.

If you want better for music, then effort and money would be better spent going something like a Wiim amp and ELAC debut 3 bookshelf speakers.

 

[Bruno44100]

thanks for the info.
For the Subwoofer, what exact reference of capacitors do you need and how many do you need to change ?

Although for now, it is immediately at the level of the OpAmp of the Control pod that I want to act.

 

[Bruno44100]

on the mouser website, there are several types of Op amps with references ranging from 1602 to 1642.

What do you recommend for the Control POD Z5500?


https://www.mouser.fr/c/semiconduct...qaiE_wEP8Zhrz1cGo6PMrvQhuLDCqieQaAoc_EALw_wcB



And if I want to change the original capacitors in the Subwoofer, with DENON capacitors, what reference exactly do you recommend ?