Question regarding upgrade options and using 5.1 Speakers with a 7.1 Amp...

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Daddyj

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#22488 29-May-2008 14:46

Hi There,

I'm looking at upgrading my Sony 5.1 home theatre in a box solution (DAV-500w I think) and need some expert help! The main reason for the upgrade is a recent purchase of a Playstion 3, and I’m very keen to use the HDMI connection in order to have surround sound for games and of course blu ray movies.

I am thinking of purchasing an Onkyo TX-SR605, and using the speakers from the Sony unit. I'm I crazy doing this? I understand this will mean I will only have 5.1 sound, which I'm quite happy to put up with until I get more money together.

However, will the Onkyo work okay with this setup? Are there better options than the Onkyo for 5.1 sound with the ability to repeat HDMI audio from my Playstaion (and not have to use an optical cable etc etc)

Any help much appreciated.

bazzer

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#134181 29-May-2008 15:23

"Better" is pretty subjective, but I got a good deal on a Denon AVR-2308 and it's pretty nice. The good thing about that is that if you're notusing the full 7.1, you can use two of the channels to bi-amp your fronts (I'm not convinced they sound better but I'm a sucker for stuff like that).

It doesn't decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA but that doesn't matter too much because the PS3 can't output a bitstream (yet?). It just does 7.1 PCM (which is identical, still lossless).

I don't know what your current speakers are like but as long as the meet the specs of your new amp I don't know what the problem would be. Probably just won't be doing the Onkyo justice...

Disrespective

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#134192 29-May-2008 15:49

Daddyj:
Hi There,

I'm looking at upgrading my Sony 5.1 home theatre in a box solution (DAV-500w I think) and need some expert help! The main reason for the upgrade is a recent purchase of a Playstion 3, and I’m very keen to use the HDMI connection in order to have surround sound for games and of course blu ray movies.

I am thinking of purchasing an Onkyo TX-SR605, and using the speakers from the Sony unit. I'm I crazy doing this? I understand this will mean I will only have 5.1 sound, which I'm quite happy to put up with until I get more money together.

However, will the Onkyo work okay with this setup? Are there better options than the Onkyo for 5.1 sound with the ability to repeat HDMI audio from my Playstaion (and not have to use an optical cable etc etc)

Any help much appreciated.

I have just recently been through this process and have a few things for you to think about:
First of all, i was looking at the SR605 also until i talked to one of our A/V gear suppliers and was talked into getting the Marantz SR5002. They're similar money in the shops and the Marantz seems to have a bit better feature set as well as reputation among the A/V enthusiasts.

Secondly, check your sub is an active sub (does it have its own power cord, and switch onthe back) as neither the 605 or 5002 can power a passive sub.

5.1 speakers work fine on a 7.1 amp. With the 5002 i can tell it which speakers i have and which i use. This lets it sort things out.

Daddyj

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#135195 3-Jun-2008 15:04

Thanks all for your help, very much appreciated. For the record I got the 605 and have it working with my old speakers (I had to buy additional speaker wire to connect them as my old system was wireless). The only potential gotcha was indeed the fact I needed a powered sub-woofer, but luckily I knew this before hand!

Anyway time to start saving for a proper speaker package now.

richms

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#135337 3-Jun-2008 22:41

Those HT in a box systems will rely on equalization in the amp to counter the useless speakers, without that you will have a really bad freq response.

The only gear which lets you dsp out the usually very lumpy response of those tinny speakers will have 1 or 2 more zeros on the end of it then what you have bought.

On the bright side, your in for a whole new experiance when you finally get speakers ;)

Richard rich.ms

MackinNZ

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#135347 3-Jun-2008 23:32

Daddyj:
Thanks all for your help, very much appreciated. For the record I got the 605 and have it working with my old speakers (I had to buy additional speaker wire to connect them as my old system was wireless). The only potential gotcha was indeed the fact I needed a powered sub-woofer, but luckily I knew this before hand!

I also have an Onkyo TX-SR605 with 5.1 speakers. I have "bi-amped" the main speakers which makes a difference to the overall sound quality, although I have to admit that to my ears the difference is small.

The most important thing I found was getting the speaker balance right using the auto balance thingy. I've found it to be a good unit and it performs very well.