If you don't have a great sound system, is lossless audio a mostly worthless Blu-ray

[MisterXDTV]

I think the thread title is too "extreme" but with a 5.1 setup, I think any difference between DTS at full 1.5 mb/s and Lossless is in most cases nearly impossible to hear.

DTS at that bit-rate is basically transparent to the source..

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Go 7.1 if you can swing the space. Listening to the native 7.1 mixes is pure bliss.

When there is native 7.1. Mostly discs are 5.1.

I've still got a 5.0 system. I keep thinking about a subwoofer, but something else to spend the $800 on always gets in the way.

I know I could get a cheaper subwoofer, but I want something that plays music and doesn't just shake things with a single-note boom. My mains also each have two eight-inch woofers (that's a total of four), so it's not as if I am missing anything but the very bottom. I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices (SVS and PSA). I just need to pull the trigger.

But, almost back on topic, I think I'd go for a 3.0 system with two good-sized real speaker mains, not little satellites, and a center channel, rather than a sound bar. The center speaker does a lot for making dialog clear and properly positioned.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Blades1370

Are you having any issues with your HDMI output on your 709? On my 608 it burned out within a few weeks, after I realized I had been hooking my system up incorrectly. I had the Optical going directly into the receiver from the television, and my cable box and Blu-Ray player wired directly via HDMI to my TV.

I had to go back to the latter set up when my HDMI output burned out, and sadly it happened a few months after the warranty expired. For the first nearly 2 years I had my setup incorrect, and never realized it.

This will be one of my planned purchases next year, but for now despite not getting the full effect out of my system it still sounds better then TV speakers.

No problems here. My old one was the 606, which had a faulty HDMI board that Onkyo purchased cheaply from some Korean wholesale company. I did get 4 years out of it though before it went bad.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by CraigThom

When there is native 7.1. Mostly discs are 5.1.

I've still got a 5.0 system. I keep thinking about a subwoofer, but something else to spend the $800 on always gets in the way.

I know I could get a cheaper subwoofer, but I want something that plays music and doesn't just shake things with a single-note boom. My mains also each have two eight-inch woofers (that's a total of four), so it's not as if I am missing anything but the very bottom. I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices (SVS and PSA). I just need to pull the trigger.

But, almost back on topic, I think I'd go for a 3.0 system with two good-sized real speaker mains, not little satellites, and a center channel, rather than a sound bar. The center speaker does a lot for making dialog clear and properly positioned.

The bolded titles within the list in my signature are native 7.1 mixes. There's not a lot of them per say, but there's enough to keep you busy for sure.

$800? You can get a really good sub for much less than that. You just have to look a little bit. The sub in my Onkyo HT-540 set is large, but it really does have excellent range.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by gulizioquel

I assembled mine maybe 10 years ago and I don't have any plans to ever upgrade any of it

So you're running analog then? Which BD player are you using?

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

$800? You can get a really good sub for much less than that. You just have to look a little bit. The sub in my Onkyo HT-540 set is large, but it really does have excellent range.

That's just not what I'm looking for, but it's good that you've got a system you are happy with. That's all any of us really need.

Here's one of the subwoofers on my short list. (The specs are RMS for power and +/-3 dB for frequency response, which are conspicuously absent from the Onkyo specs, in case you want to compare. Generally when the RMS is left off the power then they are listing peak, and who knows what the real frequency response is if they aren't giving a tolerance.)

But this one would be overkill with the little Onkyo main speakers, and you'd probably have a hole in the mid-bass.

[Jimmy Bro]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Wireless. I can't stand wireless audio. There's always interference or static of some kind it seems.

Not usually noticeable for me unless the volume is high and the scene is silent.

[Blu-21]

I have the most basic of home theater systems - a Pioneer HTP-522 with mini speakers but even I can tell the difference between lossy and lossless. I was flipping between the 2 on Starship Troopers recently and the difference is obvious. The PCM lossless track sounded much fuller and more aggressive. I guess I wouldn't be able to tell as much a difference with smaller scale films due to the limitations of my set up, but with action films especially lossless is the way to go.

Its not always so big going from DTS (DVD) to DTS-HD (BD), but from Dolby Digital (DVD)to DTS-HD (BD) it can be night and day.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Bro

Not usually noticeable for me unless the volume is high and the scene is silent.

Yep, same here. That's why I dislike them.