Ok i'm about to take the plunge, i think i've narrowed it down to these 2 for my surround sound. Any better ideas? I've got about 2k to spend for sound and TV. I'm thinking a Panasonic G20.
Onkyo 608 and Kef 2005.3
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I have just got the 608 and have an old set of the Kef eggs and the result is outstanding, if that is any help
MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
armourtillo:Ok i'm about to take the plunge, i think i've narrowed it down to these 2 for my surround sound. Any better ideas? I've got about 2k to spend for sound and TV. I'm thinking a Panasonic G20.
Hi armourtillo
You could also consider Yamaha's RX-V1065 (particularly as these are now generally available around £450). I have sold many KEF KHT speakers with Yamaha AV amps over the years so from experience I know this combination 'tonally' works well. Besides which KEF's UniQ technology and Yamaha's Cinema DSP also compliment each other well.
Btw, for plasma's the new Panasonic's are excellent.
Thanks
Rick @ Musicraft
Hi armourtillo
You could also consider Yamaha's RX-V1065 (particularly as these are now generally available around £450). I have sold many KEF KHT speakers with Yamaha AV amps over the years so from experience I know this combination 'tonally' works well. Besides which KEF's UniQ technology and Yamaha's Cinema DSP also compliment each other well.
Btw, for plasma's the new Panasonic's are excellent.
Thanks
Rick @ Musicraft
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
As much as I prefer Yamaha AV amplifiers/receivers to other manufacturers, the best I have ever heard the 2005 package sound was on the end of an Onkyo 606. This was in direct comparison to the equivalent Yamaha at the time, on which they sounded nowhere near as clear as the Onkyo. So the 608 would be a strong recommendation from me.
I use tannoy arena lite on a 606 which works very well, very clear and atmospheric. I dont know if they make some more modern arenas to go with the newer onkyo, but if they do it might be worth checking out.
thanks for all your help guys. You have pretty much reassured me on my original decision. The 1065 is an option as well but given what you guys have said i think the Onkyo is the way forward.
Sorry for my late reply to you as well, i dont really use forums and just figured no one was interested. your help is much appreciated.
Now what TV. was thinking Panny G20 but also like the look for the LED's. i'll talk about that in the TV forums though i guess.
Sorry for my late reply to you as well, i dont really use forums and just figured no one was interested. your help is much appreciated.
Now what TV. was thinking Panny G20 but also like the look for the LED's. i'll talk about that in the TV forums though i guess.
Ok everything arrived yesterday, richer sounds missed out 2 HDMI cables from my order which is fine as they are kindly couriering them to me this morning, together with a Sub cable as i didn't realize i needed one (newb)
The sky HD box doesn't arrive until Sunday so............bit frustrated with everything sat there but not being able to use any of it properly. The G20 looks great though, although the pictures seems to looks a bit too real if that makes any sense, real in a distracting way. Maybe i dont have it setup right yet.
The sky HD box doesn't arrive until Sunday so............bit frustrated with everything sat there but not being able to use any of it properly. The G20 looks great though, although the pictures seems to looks a bit too real if that makes any sense, real in a distracting way. Maybe i dont have it setup right yet.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
Ok got it all working although i couldnt get the Onkyo audyssey to work for some reason, it works fine then stops when it gets to the left surround speaker and comes up with an error message.
So i did the setup manually and WOW. I swear to god Iron Man flew round my lounge last night. The G20 is looking bloody amazing and i haven't even got a blue ray player yet. My eyes have been opened. I started hurling DVD's on the floor just to hear what some of my favorite movies sounded like. The jungle noises in Avatar singing around my ears were a highlight.
My only slight complaint would be that the centre doesnt sound as crisp as i would like and i cant figure out why? Ideas anyone?
So i did the setup manually and WOW. I swear to god Iron Man flew round my lounge last night. The G20 is looking bloody amazing and i haven't even got a blue ray player yet. My eyes have been opened. I started hurling DVD's on the floor just to hear what some of my favorite movies sounded like. The jungle noises in Avatar singing around my ears were a highlight.
My only slight complaint would be that the centre doesnt sound as crisp as i would like and i cant figure out why? Ideas anyone?
It could be the DVD or you may have to tinker with the front speaker levels try turning the centre speaker level high, but be sure to keep all front 3 speakers on equal settings, if that makes sense.
I think the 806 has a "Pure Audio" function. While most contend this function is for playback of music, I always found it gave excellent results with surround as well, particularly in terms of clarity, on my older model Onkyo.
Might be worth trying and see what you think...
Might be worth trying and see what you think...
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
make sure they're crossed over at around 100Hz (anywhere between 90 and 140Hz) - set them too low and you might give them a little too much work to do....it'll also help the centre speaker concentrate on what it's supposed to be doing.
Thanks for all the great advice guys. So make sure the cross over is 100Hz plus and that all three front speakers are on the same level. I thought the centre would be on a higher setting than the fronts?
As for pure audio i dont know if i have that setting on the 608, will have a look though and see how it sounds. I seriously cant wait to see what blue ray will look and sound like as normal DVD blew me away.
As for pure audio i dont know if i have that setting on the 608, will have a look though and see how it sounds. I seriously cant wait to see what blue ray will look and sound like as normal DVD blew me away.
The spirit voice of Onkyo's PR person came to me in visitation, saying 'The Pure Audio button is on the front panel under the power button'...
Hi there.i also took the plunge and bought the Onkyo 608 a month back.After running Audyssey,the bass was too heavy and like you say the centre wasnt crisp enough.I let the kids play games through the machine for some three weeks and run Audyssey again.Wow! The sound stage has opened up like a book with a stunningly crisp and searing top end.Even the bass is now better behaved.My advice? Run the machine for a while and then run audyssey again.It does make a difference.
System:B&W MT30 and PS3
System:B&W MT30 and PS3
Actually i couldnt get the Audyssey to run at all. it kept missing the left surround speaker, ignoring it completely. Might give it another go, now i'm more familiar with the whole thing as i'm curious as to how it would set itself up. pretty happy with it now i've had a play with some settings. Those MT30's must sound pretty nice. I'm very impressed with the Kef's now though i must say, and much more solid thank i thought they would be, they look a bit toy like in photos.
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