Onkyo TX NR =708 (1 Viewer)

[toothdoctor]

How many speakers can be hooked up to the Onkyo tx nr 708? I think I may have gotten some bad advice. I am a newby to all this stuff, and I just put in a home theater, with projector, screen, and am using the previously mentioned receiver. The person that was helping me get all the pieces together to set this HT up had me get a total of 11 speakers, and 2 subs. ON THE FRONT WALL AROUND THE SCREEN, I have left and right high, and left and right low, and a mid channel, plus 2 self powered subs. ON THE CEILING, I have left and right surround, and left and right rear surround. ON THE SIDE WALLS, I have left and right wide speakers. (total of 11 not including subs). Can I still run all 11 speakers? Do I need external amps hooked to "pre-outs" for the extra speakers? Or should I not bother with all that, and just unplug some of them, use just 7, and write off the cost of the extra speakers? Onkyo says that this reciever is made to handle only 7 speakers plus the sub. ( thus the 7.1... I am learning). SOOOOOOOOO....... What is my best course of action? HELP! Would have gotten a pro to help me set up, but there isn't anyone that does that sort of thing around here.

 

[Jason Charlton]

How large is your room? Unless it's cavernous, I don't see much reason to invest in all the "extra" matrix effects channels (front highs and wides).


By "matrix" effects, I mean the audio information for those extra channels is not discrete. There are no specifically encoded streams for those channels. Audio processing within the receiver extrapolates the audio information from the other discrete channels (the "5" of a 5.1 or the "7" of a 7.1 soundtrack). They are "simulated" for lack of a better word.


The results can be good, and can add some extra dimensionality to a system, but only if you're dealing with a large enough space that needs those extra channels and that extra localization of sound effects.


I wouldn't trust your "friend" on matters of Home Theater in the future. If he had reasons to talk you into all these extra speakers, he should have known enough to help you put things together.


For a basic 7.1 system, use this Dolby guide to give you general rules for speaker location. Note that in-ceiling speakers are not considered ideal for surround usage, however we understand that sometimes you have to make compromises.

 

[toothdoctor]

the room is 24' X 35'... it is a pretty big room.

 

[toothdoctor]

yeah, it's looking like I will just disconnect the extra speakers, and use a "7.2" set up. (2 subs). I will however leave the extra speakers in place (they are in wall speakers), just in case down the road a few years, I want to replace the reciever with one that can handle all of these speakers. ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR A RECIEVER THAT CAN HANDLE ALL ELEVEN SPEAKERS?

 

[conuronton]

That receiver will be fine for reciever purposes, but you will need additional power to run all speakers. If it's in the budget - you should connect your high and low front left and right, so the two left are front left channel and the two right are front right channel. I am assuming these are all the same speakers. The internal amp for your center channel should be sufficient but you might have to add a dedicated amp to center to keep up with your dual left and rights. It all depends on how it sounds! But you have the speakers in place - so you might as well rock them! you may want to disconnect one set of your Mids/Surround/Back Surround depending on where your couch sits. So pick the most sensible set of speakers for your Rear channel (positioned behind your farthest back seat) and pick a Mid set midway between your farthest back seat and the screen. You can use the internal amps of your Onkyo to power these channels as well. More power is always better though. The subs are easy, just use an RCA Y on your sub out of receiver to allow a sub cable to each sub. Good luck!

 

[conuronton]

forgot to say you will need an amp for your fronts!!! You also have to be careful to the ohm load - look for an amp that is 4ohm stereo stable for your fronts.