Need Advice/Suggestions for My 7.1 Setup

[triadpc]

Hi,

I have been dabbling into home audio/video for a few years now and recently upgraded to a 7.1 setup.

I have an Onkyo TX-SR674S receiver, Proficient Audio in-wall speakers and Subwoofer, a Panasonic 50" plasma TH-50PZ85U, and an old Toshiba HD-DVD player HD-A2 (no bashing yet, please).

I am considering purchasing my 1st blu-ray player (Panasonic DMP-BD50), because I want the newer HD audio formats.

Now, here is my dilemma...my receiver (which is new to me, but probably old in today's standards) has only HDMI 1.1 (2 in and 1 out) and the Panasonic blu-ray player has version 1.3 (as well as my Panasonic plasma TV).

I have read the sticky about "HOW TO GET: Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD & Dts-HD MASTER Audio", but I'm not quite sure I understand it completely.

From what I read, the weak link in my setup is going to be my Onkyo receiver (since it only supports HDMI v.1.1), so I will need to get a blu-ray player that performs the audio decoding and sends the audio signal to my receiver.

I do not want to go out and purchase a new receiver, so with my current setup, am I limited to only receiving "Linear PCM" to all my speakers?

If so, how should I connect everything? I'm assuming that I need to run HDMI from the back of the blu-ray player to my receiver, then out of my receiver with HDMI to my TV.

I also have a DirecTV H20 receiver, which I need to be able to connect back to the receiver as well. These are the only 2 HD sources that I will have in my setup, since I'll be retiring the old Toshiba HD-A2 to another room in the house.

In the past, I have always ran seprate audio and video cables for every device that I have connected to my receiver (probably due more to ignorance more than anything else), but I always felt that the receiver did a better job with processing the audio (and I didn't like the idea of having audio/video running over the same cable). So, I would always run a separate video cable from each device (DVD player, HD satellite box, etc.) straight to the TV and a separate audio cable (usually digital coaxial or toslink fibre optic) from each device back to the receiver.

Now, I realize that I need to run HDMI or analog 5.1/7.1 cables from the blu-ray player to the receiver in order to get the new HD audio signals.

I also have a Harmony 890Pro remote, which complicates things even more (with the HDMI switching).

Right now, I have the separate audio/video connections and use the 'All Channels' option on my receiver to play the audio through my 7.1 setup. I know that this is not the optimal setup (since each channel is not dedicated to each speaker), so I'm looking for advice in getting the best bang out of my current setup by changing the way that I have everything connected.


Thanks to all who respond.


Shannon

[musicman1999]

Well really the Onkyo is not your weak point, your speakers are. If you are using the LCR model across the front they have poor frequency response, and are 4ohm 86db speakers, not meant to be driven by a mass market receiver most of which are designed to drive 8ohm 90+db speakers. What that all means is that your speakers need far more power to drive than most. I would bet that you have noticed that your receiver runs hot and you need to turn it up high to get good volumn levels. I would either add a honkin big power amp to your receiver to drive your speakers and give that Onkyo a rest or better still replace the speakers because you won't get all that the new formats have to give.

bill

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by triadpc

I have read the sticky about "HOW TO GET: Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD & Dts-HD MASTER Audio"

in your situation, all you need is a player with internal decoding ability (which the BD50 does, or even a PS3? ). This will be decoded inside the player and sent as a PCM signal to your receiver. HDMI v1.1 is all you need using this route.

I use to have an Onkyo 604 and absolutely loved it, hope you enjoy the 674.

(the 604 was only 5.1 PCM capable not sure what the 674 is? should say in the user manual)


but as musicman stated, you might want to look into new speakers as the ohm rating of the 674 is between 6 ohm and 8 ohm. (I believe, but you should look in the manual)

4ohm can stress out the receiver over time when used at high volumes.

[mdabb]

Originally Posted by musicman1999

Well really the Onkyo is not your weak point, your speakers are. If you are using the LCR model across the front they have poor frequency response, and are 4ohm 86db speakers, not meant to be driven by a mass market receiver most of which are designed to drive 8ohm 90+db speakers. What that all means is that your speakers need far more power to drive than most. I would bet that you have noticed that your receiver runs hot and you need to turn it up high to get good volumn levels. I would either add a honkin big power amp to your receiver to drive your speakers and give that Onkyo a rest or better still replace the speakers because you won't get all that the new formats have to give.

bill

It's strange that you say this. I recently went from 8 ohm speakers to 4 ohm speakers and they are powered by an Onkyo TX-SR875. I was expecting the heat output to sky rocket. Actually the opposite happened. The 875 has never ran cooler. Night and day in fact. As for the need to turn the volume up louder that as well hasn't changed much.

The receiver was changed to the 4 ohm setting so maybe it's a mystery?

I still plan on basically having two separate systems when it comes down to it. One for Home Theater and one for two channel. Just not sure of the best way to go about it.


To the OP have you noticed your receiver running extremely hot?

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by mdabb

The receiver was changed to the 4 ohm setting so maybe it's a mystery?

your receiver was designed for 4 ohm speakers...the OP's is not.

Pushing 4 ohm speakers through a 6 - 8ohm amp is not good for business.

Pushing 4 ohm speakers through a 4 ohm amp is ok.

[mdabb]

Wasn't aware his receiver wasn't capable of being set to 4 ohms so yeah something will have to change.


Still in my case from all the rumors about when setting the amp to 4 ohms makes it run hotter it is nice to find out that wasn't the case at all for me.

[triadpc]

Originally Posted by mdabb

It's strange that you say this. I recently went from 8 ohm speakers to 4 ohm speakers and they are powered by an Onkyo TX-SR875. I was expecting the heat output to sky rocket. Actually the opposite happened. The 875 has never ran cooler. Night and day in fact. As for the need to turn the volume up louder that as well hasn't changed much.

The receiver was changed to the 4 ohm setting so maybe it's a mystery?

I still plan on basically having two separate systems when it comes down to it. One for Home Theater and one for two channel. Just not sure of the best way to go about it.


To the OP have you noticed your receiver running extremely hot?

Hi, thanks to all who have responded up to this point. My receiver does run hot, not to mention the issues that I have running the zone2 audio to my outside deck speakers (Proficient Audio AW525 - 8ohm speakers rated at 150watt/each). I can only get the zone2 speaker volume up to around 55-60, then the receiver cuts off. One of the main reasons I purchased this receiver was that it would power 2 zones, without the need for an additional amp, but maybe I need one afterall.

I probably provided too much information in my original post, but the main task that I need help/guidance with is the setup needed to get full 7.1 HD sound from my current setup (after I add the Panasonic DMP-BD50).

Like I mentioned before, I have never ran both video and audio over the same cables before, so I must be defeating the entire purpose of the HDMI switching on my receiver, not to mention less cables I have to run.

I really can't replace my in-wall speakers at this point, as they were installed by a audio/video sub-contractor that my builder used when I built my house in December. I had read online that the Proficient Audio line of speakers were OK (even had 10 year warranty), and I assumed that when paired when this Onkyo receiver, I would have a descent setup. The center channel is a Yamaha NSC225 and the sub is a Sony 150watt subwoofer. I wasn't aware that I need to match/pair the speakers based on the ohms, I was basically going by the speaker watt rating and what the receiver could push to them. I misplaced my manuals for these speakers, so I have to take the cover off of one to get the model #. I actually thought that my speakers were being underpowered. My setup sounds OK (after running the Odessey calibration tool), but I want to take advantage of the new HD audio formats.

Sorry to be so long winded, but please advise an obvious newbie on what I should do to get the best audio out of my current setup, along with preparing for the new HD audio formats.

If using the HDMI switching on my receiver and upgrading to the Panny blu-ray players makes the most sense, then I'll be glad to go this route.


Many thanks!

Shannon

[triadpc]

I checked the Proficient Audio web site and the 6 in-wall speakers that I have are either the W665 or W670 models. Both models are 8ohm speakers, with the difference being the W665 are rated at 75w and the W670 are rated at 100w.

So, now I guess my other question is if my current setup is compatible or not?

1) In-wall speakers (2 front, 2 rear, 2 rear surround)

Proficient Audio - 8ohm, 75-100w

2) Center channel speaker

Yamaha NSC225 - 6ohm, 120w

3) Subwoofer

Sony SA-WM500 - 6ohm, 150w

4) Outdoor speakers

Proficient Audio AW525 - 8ohm, 125w

5) Receiver

Onkyo TX-SR674 - 6 ohm, 95w/channel; 8ohm, 115w/channel