Serious problem with Onkyo HELP!! (1 Viewer)

[kurt_fire]

well guys, I emailed Onkyo about 1 week ago and received their email back today. It says to take it back to my Circuit City (where I bought it) and they'll ship it off to get fixed. To verify this, I called the Onkyo support phone number and talked to man who said they have built a chip which fixes the problem and to return it to CC and they would ship it off and fix it. It'll probably take around 2 weeks. I called my CC and the man said there would be no charge for this. So I guess I'll head down to CC today and drop it off. You guys think shipping it off could cause more harm than good?

One more quick question. Is it really worth all this trouble just to get mode 3 to work. mode 1 sounds great already. Does the LFE channel really sound a lot better??? Also, can would Xbox games sound better listening through the LFE channel???

thanks guys.

 

[Shahid]

Kurt this is good news, if Onkyo is now acknowledging the problem and providing a fix. I've ordered a set through an online store, and was thinking of cancelling (but the darn system sounds SOOOOOO good - especially given the cost). Now I'm glad I didn't cancel it.

 

[kurt_fire]

yes, they are definately acknowledging the problem. BUT does LFE sound much better than mode 1?? Is this worth all the hassle? Would Xbox games sound better with LFE?

 

[Benjamin^M]

I have been reading these posts with great interest, and I loved the sound of the HTS650 Onkyo at Circuit City. At $549 with the bug it seemed steep. I had been keeping an eye on the OnkyoUSA.com site, and by gosh it went on sale, refurb, for $319, free shipping. At that price I could care less if it has the bug when it gets here. That includes a 1 year Onkyo warranty, and my credit card matched the warranty for another year. I can't wait to put in Gladiator!

A couple of questions though, my Hitachi 32" t.v. has component and S video. Should I go for the component video or is S video that much different? I plan to upgrade the speaker wire right away, but what about using the included wire for the surrounds?

 

[kurt_fire]

so has anyone sent their's away to get fixed?

 

[GordoH]

I have had the HTS-500 for over a month now and I did have a problem with the original receiver. On the original receiver, under Subwoofer Mode 3, the bass sounded choppy, like the subwoofer was choking just to spit LFE out! I returned it to CC and they exchanged it (with another HTS-500) without issue. Now the receiver works (and sounds)better than I imagined. Under Subwoofer Mode 3 and running the THX test at the beginning of Star Wars Episode #2: AOTC, the bass was deeper, smoother and more powerful, even more so than in Subwoofer Mode 1!

I thought I'd share this to let everyone know that, even though you may be disappointed with the problem and it may be a pain to get it fixed (if that is your choice), you won't regret it and you will be amazed at, when the problem is corrected, how much you'll enjoy the HTS-500 more.

Good Luck to All!

 

[Alfie]

just curious im from the philippines.. tried my sub on mode 3.. it does work...although bass activity/sub is not as much as when it is on mode 1..does this mean mine is broken?? when you guys say mode 3 doesnt produce bass..sub doesnt work at all?? btw.. what sub mode do you put yours at? does mode 3 work better for movies? what about music? thanks

 

[GordoH]

Thought I'd share this with those of you who bought the HTS-650 from Circuit City...

"Editor's Note: Thank you for your review of one of our most popular home theater systems. The “LFE bug” you’re talking about has been identified and isolated to a relatively small lot of receivers. The defect appears when the receiver’s LFE (low frequency effects) feature is set to Mode 3. While in this mode, there is no signal to the subwoofer while listening to Dolby® Digital or DTS® soundtracks.

Fortunately, Onkyo has assured us that this issue has been resolved and all new systems will deliver true 5.1 surround in all modes.

Circuit City has recently been made aware of this issue through customer feedback and we have worked with Onkyo to come up with a solution to take care of those of you who purchased one of the few affected systems.

If you feel your receiver has this defect, please allow us to take care of the problem in one of the following ways:

1. If you purchased one of the affected Onkyo HTS650 home theater system in the last 30 days, we invite you bring the receiver to any local Circuit City store and we’ll gladly exchange your receiver for a new one.

2. If you purchased your affected system from us more than 30 days ago but it’s still covered under Onkyo’s 24-month parts and labor warranty or our City Advantage Protection Plan, please bring it by a Circuit City store and we’ll gladly send it to one of our Repair Centers to be fixed. Our technicians are aware of the issue and will work hard to make repairs as quickly as possible.

3. If you’re unsure if your system is affected by the LFE defect, please contact Onkyo by calling their toll-free Customer Service number, (800) 229-1687.

Again, we thank all of you who helped us learn of this issue, and are committed to helping you resolve this as quickly and as painlessly as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Circuit City Customer Support by calling (800) THE CITY.

--The Staff of circuitcity.com"

 

[Shahid]

Just an FYI. I purchased my set early this month and the receiver works fine in all modes. I've used both the infamous Attack of the Clones opening scene and a THX optimizer on the Moulin Rouge DVD and both seem to work fine in mode 3. BTW, I got scared when using AVIA because I couldn't get any sound from the sub in mode 3, but I gather now that this is because AVIA doesn't use a dedicated LFE channel to test sub output. Just be forewarned in case you're using AVIA - it's not the receiver, it's how AVIA tests bass.

 

[Shahid]

...and, oh yeah, absolutely outstanding sound. Great system for the money.

 

[Alfie]

anyone can answer my question?? im really happy with the way it sounds one mode 1... but what are the reasons for putting it on mode 2 or 3? thanks

 

[Shahid]

>>anyone can answer my question?? im really happy with the way it sounds one mode 1... but what are the reasons for putting it on mode 2 or 3? thanks

 

[Alfie]

thnks shahid....

 

[ScottCHI]

unlike the calibration tracks, AVIA's "low frequency sweep, LFE" track IS pure LFE, if you need a representative LFE track to help work this out.

 

[Chase]

Has anyone had or heard of this probelm on the TX-SR800 model? I am thinking of getting one.

 

[kurt_fire]

^^I've only heard of this problem on the R500