# Logitech z506 system behaving strangely



## Eliomiller (Mar 13, 2017)

Hi.I got the following problem. Yesterday my z506 5.1channel system started to behave strangely. The rear right speaker died (lower volume than all the other speakers; it was already weak and it failed completely), but now the front right which is the master is having random lows in volume. When I press the power on/off button it get back to a normal output but it start making noise and then it just shut off. I dont know if my other speaker is affected by this? Will this speaker affect the others? What's happening exactly? If I need new speaker where to get the spare part for this set? What should I do in order to get it back to work properly? The other 3 speakers and the sub is working properly: I don't know for how long. Since the knob and the power button affect this issue I'm turning the set off until I get an answer to stop further damage. Thanks in advance


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## ruff0r (Mar 13, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> Hi.I got the following problem. Yesterday my z506 5.1channel system started to behave strangely. The rear right speaker died (lower volume than all the other speakers; it was already weak and it failed completely), but now the front right which is the master is having random lows in volume. When I press the power on/off button it get back to a normal output but it start making noise and then it just shut off. I dont know if my other speaker is affected by this? Will this speaker affect the others? What's happening exactly? If I need new speaker where to get the spare part for this set? What should I do in order to get it back to work properly? The other 3 speakers and the sub is working properly: I don't know for how long. Since the knob and the power button affect this issue I'm turning the set off until I get an answer to stop further damage. Thanks in advance


If you still got warranty RMA it to Logitech.
If you dont have Warranty anymore ...well its time to move on.
Most of the time when channels die on Audio devices its the caps inside failing due to age.
So what i presume is happening some of the Caps for the Channels you described are slowly falling beyond their rated capacity level and due to that you lose Signal Strength and the channel all together at given time.
But if you really want a precise answer you will have to find someone to Repair or send it to Logitech.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 13, 2017)

It's 1 year old only.I still got warranty I'll try to RMA it. Isn't it related to something in the master speaker itself as its linked via a sort of "vga" style cable with 9 pins if I'm not mistaken. I never set the volume higher than 50% on the speaker and 20% in windows.


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## revin (Mar 13, 2017)

Mine X540 has had a dirty volume knob for couple years now. Sometimes some will loose volume.
Have you tried swapping the cable from speaker ports to see if it's a speaker or not issue? [will follow if it is speaker]
Also try twisting the RCA jacks while your at it. Could be just dirty connection


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## jboydgolfer (Mar 13, 2017)

i have the lesser version of that system, and it is kickass...i love it. as far as your issue, Logitech support has always been pretty good ime, you should be golden as long as there has been no tampering etc.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 14, 2017)

Tampering? You mean that there's no physical damage right? I'm not in the country I purshased the product from: because it was a gift. Though the guy told me he'll send me the reciept.

I tried the following: I plugged the front audio to my phone and I couldn't get anything out of my speakers. Tried twisting it a bit in the hole and it started giving some noose then bam some music. Through the sound is not crispy like it was.
I did the same with center sub and rear. Again after twisting a little I could get the rear right"death" speaker to get louder. After more fizzing with them I tried plugging in my sound card and could get away without twisting. Sound wasn't crisp through all the speakers gave sound except the sub who gave a quieter than average boom. I repplugged back in the motherboard and I got them all working but again it was noisy as hell.putting some pressure on the 3.5mm Jacks helped a bit but things wasn't crispy


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## sneekypeet (Mar 15, 2017)

Simply put, if you are having issues, get the receipt and RMA it. The only other option is to try to tear it apart, voiding the warranty, and try to figure out the issue on your own. If it were me, Id be emailing the guy with the receipt and contacting Logitech for a replacement.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 15, 2017)

I did: they emailed me with a list of things to try ect. I told them that the problem persist. Let's wait. They aren't replying


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## Dethroy (Mar 15, 2017)

I hope you'll get it sorted. But do yourself a favor and buy some quality bookshelf speakers instead. A good budget option would be Pioneer's *SP-BS22-LR* designed by Andrew Jones. Don't buy Logicrap.


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## peche (Mar 15, 2017)

i have one Z506 for moar than 3 years or so, incredible durability, if yours is giving you hard time or malfunction ju might RMA as soon as possible...

Regards,


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## jboydgolfer (Mar 15, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> Tampering? You mean that there's no physical damage right? I'



yeah, anything that would cause logitech to not honor the warranty...ime their speakers, and other devices are real durable, so i figured id mention it ...


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## Eliomiller (Mar 16, 2017)

Actually there's 3 small scratches but on the metal casing of the subwoofer. Nothing is broken though. I told them that it worked when I applied pressure on/twisted  the connection. They said that they think it's a hardware issue and they asked me for my PID (or reciept)my S/N and M/N. I don't know what those mean. PID is used to know the manufacturing date though I don't know how to decrypt it. I provided those to them. They asked for my adress and those stuff. They said they would ship during business days. Do they ship a prepaid box to send my item back? Or an actual new system? Any previous experience with their speaker RMA? I heard that sometime they let you keep the old mouse but never heard about the same being true for speakers



Dethroy said:


> I hope you'll get it sorted. But do yourself a favor and buy some quality bookshelf speakers instead. A good budget option would be Pioneer's *SP-BS22-LR* designed by Andrew Jones. Don't buy Logicrap.


I liked those. Might get them when I get some cash flowing along with the pioneer sub

Now the speakers are working with random volume over each channel. I don't know if it's still viable for RMA. The rear right don't output any bass when tested compared to the others. They didn't get back to me so I guess it will go for monday


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## Filip Georgievski (Mar 17, 2017)

Sounds like bad regulation on treble, mid and bass from the amp.
Try this for a change:
Get a good working home amp and run the speakers on it and see if you get the sound you want.
That way you can eliminate the posibility of blown out speakers.


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## revin (Mar 17, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> I tried the following: I plugged the front audio to my phone and I couldn't get anything out of my speakers. *Tried twisting it a bit in the hole and it started giving some noose then bam some music*. Through the sound is not crispy like it was.
> I did the same with center sub and rear. *Again after twisting a little I could get the rear right"death" speaker to get louder*. After more fizzing with them I tried plugging in my sound card and could get away without twisting. Sound wasn't crisp through all the speakers gave sound except the sub who gave a quieter than average boom. I repplugged back in the motherboard and I got them all working but again it was noisy as hell.putting some pressure on the 3.5mm Jacks helped a bit but things wasn't crispy



Sounds like there is still some corrosion keep twisting and plugging in and out to get the jacks to grip some fresh metal.
Also keep playing some sounds and turn the volume knob up and down fast, to see if it also had bad contact.
I've had this same issue with my X set over the years, it just dirty connections, but my volume knob needs  cleaning inside desperately


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## Eliomiller (Mar 18, 2017)

It seems that they nonetheless want to send a replacement. Maybe replacement cables; maybe replacement of some" I don't know what". Or maybe a full set. Here what they sent me after 2 days:
"I understand that you would like assistance with your Surround Sound Speakers Z506.  At this time there is no need for you to return your speakers.  I will need your phone number and a valid shipping address to submit the RMA.  Thank you!"
So I don't know what they will do. I already gave them the adress and phone number. I resent the adress and phone back.



revin said:


> Sounds like there is still some corrosion keep twisting and plugging in and out to get the jacks to grip some fresh metal.
> Also keep playing some sounds and turn the volume knob up and down fast, to see if it also had bad contact.
> I've had this same issue with my X set over the years, it just dirty connections, but my volume knob needs  cleaning inside desperately


I did what you asked for. Checked the Jacks but 1 year isn't enough to get such kind of wears. I tried the volume knob and I noticed that the volume didn't go up and down progressively. My knob isn't dirty though. I though that "miracle" happened and I got a better sound on them after this but seems like a bad connection.crossing my fingers. Hope they won't go into the "it's working you're not getting a replacement" sh*t. I'm noticing that some songs that used to have bass in them early in the first 10 secs or so don't get to be heard on the speakers.
edit: to see if the right rear speaker is faulty or not I swaped it with the rear left speaker and vise versa. I got the same unresponsiveness on the initial rear left and a crisp bass on the rear right speaker. So I guess it's the sub is the problem.


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## revin (Mar 18, 2017)

Well darn !


Eliomiller said:


> but 1 year isn't enough to get such kind of wears


Even though you had it a short time, it may have been sitting a long time, like in a cargo container or such but it may have been around a environment like close to ocean that can accelerate the dirty connectors thus after twisting that you got better connection, but limited amount of time.  You mentioned the small input connector also changed when you twisted it. maybe try that some more.
Also twist the bass adjust knob fast with medium loud sound.  It still sounds like there is some issue of dirty connections involved.

This may have been first purchased from a B-grade/ Overstock seller because of that very issue, a Stock of them found/recovered from a shipping company ect.....it happens a lot that an entire shipping container is found in the back of a Port or where ever and usually the insurance company had already paid out, so the lot is auctioned off
We can keep hoping that your seller will send you the invoice and that Logitech will repair it or exchange it.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 18, 2017)

I hope so. I tried to do that with the bass knob. Ithe went from high bass to no bass without intermediary steps (by a chock) tried to do the same with the speakers connext or but it didn't change anything.i guess its from circuitry. 
For future reference. Do you think that putting a dehumidifier(passive dehumidifying box) near the sub would give it a longer life if there's some humidity?


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## revin (Mar 19, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> tried to do the same with the speakers connext or but it didn't change anything


Are you playing music with the windows volume turned up ?
When you said before that turning the Logitech volume knob up and down real fast it actually played better. Same s twisting the speaker connections and even the 3.5 input jack all had some effect, so it just seems that as mine there is a dirty connection at least partly in play. Now this could also be an electrical issue in the unit also.

Be sure that the windows mixer volumes are turned play some music and keep twisting the Logi volume knob to see if it can scratch off the resistor pad to get a cleaner connection.





As far as the possible humidity issue, if it happened to be exposed to it, that damage was done long before you got it or even the previous owner. so the only thing that can really be tried now is to use something like scotch brite to clean all the RCA speaker jacks, and not too sure what to use to clean inside the small 3.5 jack holes.
This is just a 50/50 shot as from the way you have reported so it can still be an electrical issue in the amp also. As for cleaning the Logi volume knob, I have yet to do anything after 2+ years of it being scratchy. But it would need an electrical spray clean at the least to fix it. I sometimes turn it all the way up then use windows control at 50% and then use say YouTube volume control to adjust the volume watching a clip


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## Eliomiller (Mar 21, 2017)

They think I'm a spam because : you know my adress is not in the US. I will never get logitech speakers another time. They are not replying to my mail and they closed the case and told me that if I had issues to reopen it.


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## sneekypeet (Mar 21, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> They think I'm a spam because : you know my adress is not in the US. I will never get logitech speakers another time. They are not replying to my mail and they closed the case and told me that if I had issues to reopen it.



So reopen it! If they do not work as intended, are under warranty, and you have proof of purchase, keep on them until you are satisfied.


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## WhiteNoise (Mar 28, 2017)

Yeah re-open it. Logitech have always treated me right. I owned a 5.1 speaker system of theirs once before and it died within warranty. They send me a brand new 5.1 system at no charge to me and all I had to send back was the cut cables from my original 5.1 system. That saved me some coin in shipping for sure.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 28, 2017)

I tried reopening but they aren't replying anymore.probably the last set I get from them. They just send me some bot based answers.


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## WhiteNoise (Mar 28, 2017)

call them. That is what I did.


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## Eliomiller (Mar 28, 2017)

Can you furnish the number you called them at? Also do you remember how long the call was? I mean telecommunications is costy here. It might cost more than their price


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## WhiteNoise (Mar 28, 2017)

The last time I called them was back in 2007. I remember it being painless but not how long it took.

Support / Warranty Claims
+1 646-454-3200


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## Eliomiller (Mar 28, 2017)

Thanks for the info. I'll call them in the following days as I'm having a hard time now. Will keep you updated


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## Eliomiller (Apr 5, 2017)

I'm updating: after a a dress problem they exceptionally accepted to ship a replacement to a US adress I provided. I attached their message. They are asking me to destroy my speakers. I don't know how I should do that as they provided a general procedure which I don't know how to apply to my case. Will the replacement be refurbished or what? Anything that tells that the new set wont be worse in frequency response than the old one? Any experience with this procedures?


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## WhiteNoise (Apr 7, 2017)

Yeah they did this with me too but I just had to send them the cut cables. As I said earlier int he thread Logitech are great with customer service. You'll most likely receive a new unit. They are even known for sending upgraded current models when the bad model is not being manufactured any longer.

Just cut cables, open up the sub and break the circuit board somehow, take the pictures and email them to Logitech. Once you do that they will ship your new speakers.

This is easy and doesn't cost you a thing but time.


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## Eliomiller (Apr 7, 2017)

I'll do that: first time I get asked such a thing . Should be fun.  I'll keep you updated.


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## WhiteNoise (Apr 7, 2017)

It does seem odd but they do it to prove that you aren't just keeping the old unit to use. It ultimately saves money on shipping. They do this often and it is quite normal from them. I know a few real life friends that have had to do it to. And of course me too.


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## Eliomiller (Apr 8, 2017)

Some odd thing happened today. I asked them for a proof that it's them asking me to destroy it not someone else and rhey did . They said that it was pretty approved. I told them I'll destroy the set this Sunday due to time problem's. They said that they will wait for me and them wishing me a good weekend. Today I received a mail saying that my RMA was approved and that I'll receive the shipment information's later. I received an automated response then saying that they were shipped and that I'll receive the shipping number in the following days. Now I'm lost: should I destroy the speakers or no? What does this messages mean?

"Excellent! we will await your response!

Have a wonderful rest of your Weekend!"

"Your replacement has been approved, you should receive an automated e-mail with tracking number in the next few days. We will proceed to close this case, please do not hesitate to reply with an update in case you do not get this notification."
" This is an Automated Notification - Please DO NOT REPLY to this email --


Case number xxxxxx- Replacement Product Released -


Dear Elie,

This Automated Notification is to let you know our Return Center has received your RMA package and released your replacement for shipping.

For US customers, we recommend signing up for UPS MyChoice. It’s free and lets you sign up for delivery alerts on your computer or mobile device, check the delivery time, and authorize shipment release to members of your household. You can get delivery alerts by email or text the day before delivery and the morning of your delivery, along with confirmation of delivery to you or a UPS Retail location. You can also save the names of people in your household who can accept packages that require a signature. Plus, you can also add vacation options. Unfortunately, this service isn’t currently available outside the US.

You can expect to receive an email notification with a Tracking Number from us when your replacement ships from our Distribution Center.

Regards,

Logitech"
Then I received a survey. 
Thanks for helping me figure it out as it's really odd for this to happen


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## AsRock (Apr 8, 2017)

Eliomiller said:


> I hope so. I tried to do that with the bass knob. Ithe went from high bass to no bass without intermediary steps (by a chock) tried to do the same with the speakers connext or but it didn't change anything.i guess its from circuitry.
> For future reference. Do you think that putting a dehumidifier(passive dehumidifying box) near the sub would give it a longer life if there's some humidity?




They will most likely just send you another without the need of returning the other.

To me it sounds like a bad solder joint or 2 and as for the bass knob it sounds like it needs some TLC with some CRC electronic cleaner.

And yes they will ask you to destroy it in some way or form, typically ask you for pictures too. Thrustmaster do this too, they ask you to cut cables and stuff.

Once new item is received it be time to open the old one up to see what was wrong .


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## Eliomiller (Apr 8, 2017)

I don't understand the paradox: saying that they won't approve before me sending the photos and later they approve so I have sent the photos but I didn't so they shouldnt approve but they approve. my mind is blown. Ill certainly open the old one and see what's wrong after receiving the rma unit


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## AsRock (Apr 8, 2017)

Yeah that is odd to say the least, just be grateful . 



Eliomiller said:


> Ill certainly open the old one and see what's wrong after receiving the rma unit



Looking forward on hearing what you find.


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## Eliomiller (Apr 8, 2017)

I'll try to not break anything at least


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## WhiteNoise (Apr 10, 2017)

wait and see if you get a tracking number. If you don't within 3 days then send pictures. They may have approved it and sent that response but will still wait for pictures before actually shipping, or they may just ship and you are good.


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## Eliomiller (Apr 10, 2017)

They didn't send a tracking number yet. They said they proceeded to close the case. I recieved this automated message on Saturday.  I'll wait a little more before destroying


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## WhiteNoise (Apr 10, 2017)

TBH if the thing is bad why not just destroy and send pictures? It sounds like you want to keep the bad speakers *and* get the replacement.


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## sneekypeet (Apr 10, 2017)

WhiteNoise said:


> TBH if the thing is bad why not just destroy and send pictures? It sounds like you want to keep the bad speakers *and* get the replacement.



I also feel his emails were automated replies, and the longer he sits thinking he is golden now, they will just close the case and not send him replacements at all!


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## Eliomiller (Apr 10, 2017)

It's not this. I just have a lot of exams recently so I don't have time. For the sub I don't care as its bad but I was thinking of keeping the small satellites in case any other blow out ( they don't work on any other amp as the crossover is in the sub so pretty pointless to destroy something not usable. And the replacement will take a lot of time to reach my country (1 month to 2) so I'll need an alternative and even 3 channels out of 5 would be better than having no sound at all. spare parts are always welcome in DIY projects. If if dont get any response within Thursday I'll destroy them send the photos and rent a mono speaker for 1 month.
Edit: TBH; if you read the post above: they closed it already. so I'll reopen it to send the pictures.


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## Eliomiller (Apr 10, 2017)

Update: I received a tracking number minutes ago. I think this thread don't need to stay open anymore as the case was closed. If you want close the thread @sneekypeet . 
Thanks for the various recommendation's I received. Logitech support is slow but effective


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