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Onkyo HT-S7700 (1 Viewer)

DaveFelix

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Hi Everyone,


I just purchased this set (Onkyo HT-S7700) a few weeks ago and I do enjoy it. I'm sure a lot of people will say its a HTIB and I shouldn't have bought it, but I am happy with it. The receiver is good for what I use it for (not an audio specialist) However, I also have Polk M20 front speakers that I wanted to use to make it 7.1. My question is, am I better off selling the M20 speakers and just use the 5.1.2?


Another question - I plan on getting other speakers in a few years when I get bored of the ones it came with. How do I know what kind of speakers I can buy with the receiver? Does it matter? I hear a lot of people say you can buy whichever you'd like but I wanted to be sure.


Thanks

Dave
 

Salacious Ackbar

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Since the Onkyo speakers are Atmos enabled front speakers, I would just stick with those if you like the 5.1.2. If you prefer the 7.1 configuration, keep the Polk's. HT is all about what you like, so go with that.


Yes, you can use pretty much any speaker you want with that receiver in the future.
 

DaveFelix

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Salacious Ackbar said:
Since the Onkyo speakers are Atmos enabled front speakers, I would just stick with those if you like the 5.1.2. If you prefer the 7.1 configuration, keep the Polk's. HT is all about what you like, so go with that.


Yes, you can use pretty much any speaker you want with that receiver in the future.

thanks for the feedback, but what is HT? Home Theater?
 

Al.Anderson

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The Polks will have a better sound, which in my opinion outweighs the Atmos. The problem for me would be that if you add the Polk R/L you should have a Polk center. Of course, you implied that you didn't care so much about sound quality, so maybe the effects are more to your liking.


Also, your system is not what we call a HTIB. It's a "pre-packed system"; that is, it has a standard receiver and decent speakers sold as a unit. For a HTIB, look up anything by, say, Samsung (there are others).


Forgot to mention that you can use any speakers with the Onkyo that are 6-8 ohm; preferably 8 if you like to crank it up. But not lower than 6 ohm.
 

DaveFelix

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Salacious Ackbar said:

thanks!

Al.Anderson said:
The Polks will have a better sound, which in my opinion outweighs the Atmos. The problem for me would be that if you add the Polk R/L you should have a Polk center. Of course, you implied that you didn't care so much about sound quality, so maybe the effects are more to your liking.


Also, you system is not what we call a HTIB. It's a "pre-packed system"; that is, it has a standard receiver and decent speakers sold as a unit. For a HTIB, look up anything by, say, Samsung (their are others).


Forgot to mention that you can use any speakers with the Onkyo that are 6-8 ohm; preferably 8 if you like to crank it up. But not lower than 6 ohm.

I do care about quality but I'm only going to be watching a few movies here and there and playing Xbox. I just didnt want to spend over 1000 for my first system. Also, the room Im using it in is fairly small, maybe 12X13 or so. The good thing is I can try the Atmos for a month and then give the 7.1 a chance too. Would you recommend this system? I mean I shouldnt really be asking, as long as I enjoy it, then thats what counts. Plus I didnt pay too much for it. The receiver has its own calibration system so if anything I can raise the center channel by a little if the L and R channels overpower the center.


Thanks

David
 

Salacious Ackbar

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DaveFelix said:
thanks!



I do care about quality but I'm only going to be watching a few movies here and there and playing Xbox. I just didnt want to spend over 1000 for my first system. Also, the room Im using it in is fairly small, maybe 12X13 or so. The good thing is I can try the Atmos for a month and then give the 7.1 a chance too. Would you recommend this system? I mean I shouldnt really be asking, as long as I enjoy it, then thats what counts. Plus I didnt pay too much for it. The receiver has its own calibration system so if anything I can raise the center channel by a little if the L and R channels overpower the center.


Thanks

David

The reason you want the front LCR speakers to be identical or at least have the same woofers and tweeters is so you have seamlessly panning. The front channels are the most important in any sound system and having them all be essentially the same speaker just makes it sound better. It's not a matter of one being louder or quieter than the other, it's a matter of them having a similar sound quality.
 

Al.Anderson

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Would you recommend this system?

You didn't say what you paid for it, but the Onkyo systems are usually a good deal. More to your point, it's a good receiver and has decent entry-level speakers. Speakers are the "weak" link (but not bad), and you already mentioned you'll be looking to upgrade those as you get bored. Plus you have the Polks waiting in the wings. So yeah, it's a great system to start with.
 

DaveFelix

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Salacious Ackbar said:
The reason you want the front LCR speakers to be identical or at least have the same woofers and tweeters is so you have seamlessly panning. The front channels are the most important in any sound system and having them all be essentially the same speaker just makes it sound better. It's not a matter of one being louder or quieter than the other, it's a matter of them having a similar sound quality.

I see what you mean now. Im going to just use the Onkyo speakers for a week or so and then switch back to the Polks to see if I can determine the difference. Have you heard anything on Fluance?


http://www.amazon.com/Fluance-AVHTB-including-Three-way-Floorstanding/dp/B00064JWSG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1448027185&sr=1-1&keywords=fluance


Al.Anderson said:
You didn't say what you paid for it, but the Onkyo systems are usually a good deal. More to your point, it's a good receiver and has decent entry-level speakers. Speakers are the "weak" link (but not bad), and you already mentioned you'll be looking to upgrade those as you get bored. Plus you have the Polks waiting in the wings. So yeah, it's a great system to start with.

I paid 799 for the Onkyo set and then 100 for the LR Polks. Look at the above link I posted, that seems like a good deal, but then I would have no use for the Onkyo speakers and I would be giving up Atmos. I personally dont even know if Atmos is all that great. I work in entertainment and we have a room that is setup for Atmos, I believe its 7.2.4. I mean, I could always keep both sets of speakers.
 

Salacious Ackbar

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If you're just going to replace the speakers, then I would simply return the entire system and get a receiver, the fluance 5 speaker set (or a set similar to what I've posted below), and a quality subwoofer (The Onkyo is not great). Honestly, I don't think $799 is a great deal for that system. The receiver is probably worth around $300 I believe and those speakers are certainly not worth $500. The Fluance 5 speaker set is certainly better than the Onkyo set of speakers, but even those are kind of weak. Frequency response for the center only goes down to 120hz, so it can't reproduce full range for dialogue and and certainly not for effects. And a center is the heart of any surround sound system. I'm a big fan of BIC and think they're just about the best bang for your buck. You could get the following 5.1 system for less than $700.


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-Venturi-DV64-Speaker/dp/B00011KLOI/


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-DV-62CLRS-Channel-Speaker/dp/B00009WBYL/


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-DV62si-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B00006JPDI


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/


Add in a receiver for less than $300 and you've got a nice full bodied 5.1 system for under a grand.


Personally, I will take quality speakers over Atmos with inferior speakers. I think Atmos is kind of gimmicky anyway. I feel plenty of "height" with my current set up. In fact, I came down from 7.2 to 5.2 and added larger surrounds and find it to be a great improvement, despite the lack of rear surrounds.
 

DaveFelix

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schan1269 said:
Fluance is a Canadian bargain brand.

figured its a bargain brand. From the reviews, I'm not entirely sure how good it is.

Salacious Ackbar said:
If you're just going to replace the speakers, then I would simply return the entire system and get a receiver, the fluance 5 speaker set (or a set similar to what I've posted below), and a quality subwoofer (The Onkyo is not great). Honestly, I don't think $799 is a great deal for that system. The receiver is probably worth around $300 I believe and those speakers are certainly not worth $500. The Fluance 5 speaker set is certainly better than the Onkyo set of speakers, but even those are kind of weak. Frequency response for the center only goes down to 120hz, so it can't reproduce full range for dialogue and and certainly not for effects. And a center is the heart of any surround sound system. I'm a big fan of BIC and think they're just about the best bang for your buck. You could get the following 5.1 system for less than $700.


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-Venturi-DV64-Speaker/dp/B00011KLOI/


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-DV-62CLRS-Channel-Speaker/dp/B00009WBYL/


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-DV62si-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B00006JPDI


http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-F12-475-Watt-Subwoofer/dp/B0015A8Y5M/


Add in a receiver for less than $300 and you've got a nice full bodied 5.1 system for under a grand.


Personally, I will take quality speakers over Atmos with inferior speakers. I think Atmos is kind of gimmicky anyway. I feel plenty of "height" with my current set up. In fact, I came down from 7.2 to 5.2 and added larger surrounds and find it to be a great improvement, despite the lack of rear surrounds.

Because of the deal I got when I purchased the surround sound, I might just keep everything. I can later sell the speakers to someone if anything and get new ones. Theres just so many brands! haha
 

DaveFelix

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Couldnt I just use the front speakers that came with my kit for the surrounds if I really wanted to? lol
 

Salacious Ackbar

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DaveFelix said:
figured its a bargain brand. From the reviews, I'm not entirely sure how good it is.



Because of the deal I got when I purchased the surround sound, I might just keep everything. I can later sell the speakers to someone if anything and get new ones. Theres just so many brands! haha

What I'm saying is that you didn't really get a "deal" on the Onkyo set. For what you received, you overpaid and you won't be able to recoup much from those speakers. If you had bought it for $500-$600, it's a decent bargain, but at $800, it's not a great deal.

But hey, it's your money. :)
 

Salacious Ackbar

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DaveFelix said:
Couldnt I just use the front speakers that came with my kit for the surrounds if I really wanted to? lol

Technically yes. But again, the Polk's will probably overpower the weak Onkyo center and you won't get anything coming close to a seamless sound field in the fronts.
 

ArmSC

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I'm not sure the Polks will overpower the Onkyo center. The center has a sensitivity of 86dB and the M20's are 89dB. The auto correct should easily adjust the levels of each to match up and if they don't just go in and manually give the center a bump.


I think the bigger issue is the seamless front soundstage. For that reason I would either get a Polk center or just stick with the set as is. Do you really have room for a 7.1? BTW yes you can use the fronts from the kits as surrounds with no issues.
 

Salacious Ackbar

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ArmSC said:
I'm not sure the Polks will overpower the Onkyo center. The center has a sensitivity of 86dB and the M20's are 89dB. The auto correct should easily adjust the levels of each to match up and if they don't just go in and manually give the center a bump.

I can only imagine that the Onkyo center would sound tiny compared to the Polk's. I'm sure it could auto correct to a certain degree, but it's certainly not an ideal set up.

I think the bigger issue is the seamless front soundstage. For that reason I would either get a Polk center or just stick with the set as is. Do you really have room for a 7.1? BTW yes you can use the fronts from the kits as surrounds with no issues.

I agree!
 

DaveFelix

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Well I meant a good deal on the financing lol and I agree with ArmSC, I dont think the Polks overpower the center. Again, Im not an audio guy, but I've tested both setups and they really sound the same. I used Fast 6 as a test disc and watched the same scene over and over with the same volume. I could not find a major difference. I think what I should do is just return the Polks so I can have a balanced system. Then in a few years or so, get a new 5.1 or 7.1 speaker set. I can always use the onkyo speaker set somewhere else later on.. like in the garage.
 

DaveFelix

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Another question since you guys are on this morning, when you manually set them up, you can set them to +db. A friend told me I shouldnt need to set the speakers to any positive db. I just wanted to know why.
 

Salacious Ackbar

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DaveFelix said:
Another question since you guys are on this morning, when you manually set them up, you can set them to +db. A friend told me I shouldnt need to set the speakers to any positive db. I just wanted to know why.

Just run the automatic setup with the microphone. You shouldn't need to bother with much else.
 

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