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Onkyo reciever and speakers question

#1
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7/27/08 at 7:34am
  • Joined: July 2008
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Hi guys, another noob to home theater here. My first post and first thread, so I hope I'm in the right place.

I started out with a box system from LG. Not bad, but as I got into more, I decided to do a little investigating into home theater as a hobby without angering the wife with buying more stuff. So last fall I got a great deal on a Onkyo TX-SR304 reciever, and a Sony SA-W2500 sub. Now I'm ready to replace the rest of the speakers. I found a set of Onkyo speakers from a HT-S590 system and I was wondering if they would sound okay with my current reciever and sub?

I have a four month old daughter, so my budget right now is extremely tight, so I'm looking everywhere for bargains.

By the way, I'm running monster cable speaker wires to all of my speakers.

Thanks in advance for any advice/help. Great little forum you guys have here!

Michael
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#2
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7/27/08 at 12:51pm
  • Joined: August 2003
  • Location: SF Bay Area
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

The 304 (or one very simular) is probably the receiver that came with the ht-590 htib package so it should work fine, but you will soon find yourself wanting something better. But in the future, get your wires and cables from Monoprice.com. The quality is very good and the prices are very family friendly. Especially on cables. Be carefull, though. This hobby can be very addictive, and expensive. Whatever you have never seems to be good enough!
"Everyday room": Mitsubishi 52631 RPTV, H/K 520, H/K dvd-5, H/K 8380, H/K CDR 20, OPPO BDP-83 BluRay player, Dish-HD, Infinity Beta 20's-C250-OWS1's, Dayton HSU10.
"Movie/Music room": Toshiba 65HM167 RPTV, Pioneer Elite 59txi, Elite DV59avi, Elite CD-59, Pioneer PD-51FD BR, Dish-DVR, Swan Diva...
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#3
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7/27/08 at 1:44pm
  • Joined: February 2001
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

The HTS-590 comes with the HTR-340 receiver, more or less equivalent to your TX-SR-304, with the exception of the subwoofer output.
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#4
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7/27/08 at 2:54pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Thanks for the response guys! I should have the speakers delivered here before the end of the week. I'll let you know how it goes. Anything should be an improvement over the LG speakers I'm currently using.

Gene, I agree with you about wanting more! My wife would be the first to tell you that I'm never happy with anything I get and I'm always on the hunt for the next best thing! However, with becoming a father and my wife making noises about wanting a bigger house, I'm going to have to save money (but I'll still be sneaking in small pieces here and there!), but I intend to get a big enough house to satisfy her and build a monsterous man cave for me!
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#5
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8/1/08 at 7:42pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Speakers arrived yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to hook them up until this evening. Definitely a vast improvement in sound over the LG speakers! I can hear all of the dialog now from the center channel speaker without being blown away by the action sequences! It doesn't sound "tinny" any more.

I tested them with the lobby scene from "The Matrix", the chase scene from "Stealth", a couple of scenes from the Band of Brothers episode called "Day of Days" and lastly the chase scene from "Batman Begins"!

Methinks I didn't do too bad this time around.
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#6
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8/11/08 at 4:52am
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Sorry to drag this thread back out again guys, but I cannot find my manual for my receiver. I know it does decodes DTS, but can it decode True HD DTS or any of the new high definition sound? I hope so, as there is no way the finance committee (aka, the wife) will ever approve of me getting another receiver for at least five years!
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#7
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8/11/08 at 6:06am
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

look here

Quote:
I know it does decodes DTS, but can it decode True HD DTS or any of the new high definition sound? I hope so, as there is no way the finance committee (aka, the wife) will ever approve of me getting another receiver for at least five years!

It doesn't. Just Dolby Digital, and dts. The basics.
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#8
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8/11/08 at 5:06pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Sorry for the late response.

Well dang, that sux. Means I'll have to win the lottery before I get another reciever. Why o why can't I just pick a hobby that won't bankrupt me?
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#9
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8/12/08 at 6:58am
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thumper2672
I can hear all of the dialog now from the center channel speaker without being blown away by the action sequences!
It doesn't sound like you ever calibrated the levels on the receiver. That shouldn't happen, even with bad speakers.


They flutter behind you, your possible pasts.
Some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost.
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#10
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8/12/08 at 6:30pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

No I didn't. Not to sound too stupid but how do I calibrate them?
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#11
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8/12/08 at 6:33pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Nevermind, the search function is my friend.
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#12
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8/13/08 at 8:10am
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Yes it is. wouldn't it suck if you found the old speakers sounded better once they were calibrated? Probably won't happen.


They flutter behind you, your possible pasts.
Some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost.
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#13
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8/13/08 at 11:58am
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Good thing I kept them huh?
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#14
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8/14/08 at 4:30pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

If you have mutichannel imputs on the back of the reciever you can take advantage of the new formats (dolby truehd ,dts master, ETC). The first thing you will have to do is buy a blue-ray player with multichannel outputs (this excludes the PS3) and hook the other end into your receiver and thats it. There is two ways to get the new sound formats
1. let the receiver do the decoding
2. let the player to the decoding (then sends the PCM to the receiver)

Look in you manual to see. if you cant find it go to onkyo web site and there is a link to support and manuals. good luck with your new found love for never having money again. if you have any other questions PM me.
later jayson
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#15
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8/15/08 at 6:53pm
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Re: Onkyo reciever and speakers question

Thanks Jayson! It may be a while before I can get a Blu Ray player, but once I do, if I get stuck, I'll take you up on your offer!
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