New toy (1 Viewer)

[Legion]

Hi all.
Well, I have just received my brand new Onkyo HT-S7805 5.1.2
It looks beautiful.
It is not fully set up yet as we have bits we need to sort out first.
But I have done a test to make sure all speakers work and dvd player, games console and tv all work ok.
Most of this came up trumps.
However, the speaker wire that came with system for the surround sound speakers is too short for where we are going to put them. On the speaker cable itself it states 24awg. Anyone have any suggestions about what I should buy?
My second issue is once all was setup I found out I needed a Optical cable as my TV doesn't support ARC. Not too much of a problem as I have seen these online.
But I can not get the TV sound to play through the system? What am I doing wrong?!
Remember, before you all crack up laughing, I am very new to all this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers all.

 

[JohnRice]

You won't be able to get the TV audio through the receiver until you connect the optical cable from the TV to an input on the receiver, then configure its input in the inputs menu. My impression from your post is that you haven't actually gotten the optical cable yet.

As far as the speaker wire, I'd just get some of THIS. I suspect the receiver and speakers can't receive a larger wire than that. It's much larger than the 24 ga you got with the receiver. In fact, just throw that stuff out and use this instead on all the speakers.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Scott:

Congrats on the new system!

You are going to LOVE it! Half the fun is setting everything up. So, embrace that challenge and take the time to play with all the features.

The other half--of course--is using the gear and listening to some mind-blowing music and movies.

My son has had an Onkyo 5400 HTIB for quite a few years now. I've repeatedly posted on the forum about how great it sounds! Those units are really a great value. In fact, he just moved out of his apartment and is in the process of re-setting it all up in his new house. I think I'll be helping him out this weekend. And...he just bought that very 100 foot spool of speaker wire that John linked-to above.

Remember, before you all crack up laughing, I am very new to all this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hell, we were ALL new to the HT hobby at one point. We won't be doing any laughing at you...only WITH you. But keep us informed how things go and, please, ask ANY questions you might have.

 

[Legion]

Guys, thank you both very much.
John, you are correct, haven't got the optical cable just yet. But that's a purchase to be made along with your suggestion of the speaker wire cable.

I have added this forum to my home screen and will be popping back (more often than not) for advice and updates etc.

I'll keep you guys posted on how things go.

Good luck with your sons move!

Thank you again.

Very happy!

 

[Mike Frezon]

One of the really fun things is to fire up a favorite film (most would say your favorite loud action film with great sound effects and music) and crank 'er up and enjoy the new gear! And then you can start sampling some of the classic scenes from favorite films you have at your disposal.

One of my personal favorites is the film Master & Commander. The opening sequence especially with the creaking ship sounds, the ocean noises, etc. will fill your room. It's not a classic loud action film...but there's plenty of those to choose from.

 

[Legion]

One of the really fun things is to fire up a favorite film (most would say your favorite loud action film with great sound effects and music) and crank 'er up and enjoy the new gear! And then you can start sampling some of the classic scenes from favorite films you have at your disposal.

One of my personal favorites is the film Master & Commander. The opening sequence especially with the creaking ship sounds, the ocean noises, etc. will fill your room. It's not a classic loud action film...but there's plenty of those to choose from.

We watched a tiny but of YouTube, just a Basshunter track. It was awesome. And that is without any proper set up.
But I have now purchased the extra speaker wire and a optical cable, so when they arrive I will be giving this a proper go and I will let you guys know how we're getting on.

I am like a kid in a candy shop

 

[Sam Posten]

Welcome!

 

[Mike Frezon]

I am like a kid in a candy shop

You're in for a whole bunch of fun!

 

[JohnRice]

One of my personal favorites is the film Master & Commander. The opening sequence especially with the creaking ship sounds, the ocean noises, etc. will fill your room. It's not a classic loud action film...but there's plenty of those to choose from.

That opening sequence is awesome. Really one of the most effective uses of surround sound I know of.

One thing that I enjoy is watching a TV show like it's a movie theater.

 

[David Willow]

Master and Commander is the only movie I ever purchased twice (DVD and then BluRay). That opening scene is still one of the best I have ever heard.

I'll throw out my usual "surround speakers location is often different than people think" advice and my usual link

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/speaker-setup/index.html

In case you are not aware - Surrounds should be on the side walls.

Enjoy the new toy.

 

[Legion]

Hi guys,
Just to give you an update on the home theater system.
Haven't actually set it up yet... the reason is the delay in receiving an optical cable and then having to buy another speaker wire (forgot about the Atmos wire. Rookie mistake)
Now, everything has arrived, and fingers crossed, will be setting up tomorrow afternoon
One question, if anyone knows the answer, all my speaker Inputs are marked colour for positive and black for negative. Each speaker has a different colour to help wiring up.
However, I am now replacing two speaker wires to the surround sound speakers.
I purchased the extra length speaker wire from Amazon, but it is not clearly marked a positive / negative side.
One side is plain, the other has a black line through it.
Or is it a case of as long as positive to positive you'll be fine!?
Many thanks in advance.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

As long as you make sure you connect positive to positive and negative to negative everything will be fine. That black line is your guide to assist in connecting properly.

 

[Legion]

As long as you make sure you connect positive to positive and negative to negative everything will be fine. That black line is your guide to assist in connecting properly.

Cheers

 

[Legion]

WOHOOO!!!

Guys, I thought I'd update you all and just say a big thank you for your help (I will be asking again in a sec)

Well, we are set up and have given the new toy a good run. We watched Avengers, then Civil War. Extremely brilliant.

There are so many settings that I have to get my head around. For a start, getting the regular TV to work through the unit.

But honestly it's amazing. I don't know how I've been watching movies without it!

I don't know if anyone has had the same issue/struggle. But pre-home theater we used a Google Chrome cast to watch net fix etc.
Now the unit comes with google cast built in, and from my intensive reading of the destructions it seems that it's only audio that can be casted, not the system with stand alone cast I am used too.
Does anyone know how to connect the cast to the A/V unit properly. I have read bits online and they are stating certain ways but they are unofficial.
Would I have to connect it all back to the TV and change the settings?
I am at a lose.

Once again, thanks for all your support.

 

[TonyD]

Hi all.
Well, I have just received my brand new Onkyo HT-S7805 5.1.2
It looks beautiful.
It is not fully set up yet as we have bits we need to sort out first.
But I have done a test to make sure all speakers work and dvd player, games console and tv all work ok.
Most of this came up trumps.
However, the speaker wire that came with system for the surround sound speakers is too short for where we are going to put them. On the speaker cable itself it states 24awg. Anyone have any suggestions about what I should buy?
My second issue is once all was setup I found out I needed a Optical cable as my TV doesn't support ARC. Not too much of a problem as I have seen these online.
But I can not get the TV sound to play through the system? What am I doing wrong?!
Remember, before you all crack up laughing, I am very new to all this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers all.

24 gauge. jeez why even put that in there.

 

[TonyD]

Master and Commander is the only movie I ever purchased twice (DVD and then BluRay). That opening scene is still one of the best I have ever heard.

I'll throw out my usual "surround speakers location is often different than people think" advice and my usual link

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/speaker-setup/index.html

In case you are not aware - Surrounds should be on the side walls.

Enjoy the new toy.

Eh. not always.

 

[JohnRice]

Legion, I'm not clear on what you're asking about Chrome Cast. You have a device you've been using for it? You seem to be saying the Onkyo has that built in, but I'm not aware of any receiver that streams video sources. Only audio ones. If the device is hdmi, you should be able to plug it into one of the receiver's hdmi inputs, then pass the video on to the TV.

 

[Legion]

Legion, I'm not clear on what you're asking about Chrome Cast. You have a device you've been using for it? You seem to be saying the Onkyo has that built in.

Sorry John. What I was trying to ask was, I already have a Google Chromecast. The gizmo that you plug in to your TV's HDMI and plug socket. Then you can cast to your TV YouTube, Netflix etc.
My receiver states that it has (following a firmware update) a Google cast ability. Buy from further reading it seems is only ability is to cast audio from smartphones for example.
I was wondering if it was just a case of plugging in my old Google Chromecast gizmo into the spare HDMI in my receiver like you would a Bluray player, games console etc and just treat it the same.
Or if there was a different way?
I hope that clears up my question.....lol

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah, you should just plug the Chrome Cast into an hdmi input on the receiver. The fact it's a "stick" doesn't make it any different from any other streaming device like an AppleTV.

 

[Legion]

Yeah, you should just plug the Chrome Cast into an hdmi input on the receiver. The fact it's a "stick" doesn't make it any different from any other streaming device like an AppleTV.

Thank you very much, John