So disappointed with my new system, please help.

[deanchri]

[]Hi all,

Just finished a house renovation and managed to save a bit of money to build my first entry level home cinema system as follows:

LG 42LH500 TV, Sony bluray, 1010 i 5.1 speakers and Onkyo TX-SR308 reciever.

I now have it installed in my living room (quite big at 8mX 4.5 m) but I have to say I'm really dissapointed at the sound quality, particularly when playing sound through the speakers via the telly.

I was wanting the Sony STRDH800 but there were none in stock at Richer sounds and the assistant talked me into the Onkyo saying that "it's better for music but has same functionality as the Sony minus 7.1". Seeing as the speaker system is only 5.1 I took the plunge.

I've connected everything through the receiver via hdmi and then 1 hdmi from receiver to TV and I've set the speaker distances up to the most common seating point. I have the centre speaker and front sats pointing straight at ear level and the rears mounted on the wall pointing down towards me. Tried all of the different sound modes but I'm still not impressed. Am I missing something here or was I expecting too much? Will I get better sound via optical or have I got the wrong system for the room size? Any advice really appreciated. After 5 years of graft on the house I'm gutted that the system is so dissapointing!

Many Thanks in advance

 

[Frank Harvey]

I would say your first stop is the dealer that sold you the system. He should know it inside out and be able to tell you how to get the most from it - after all, what have you paid him for?!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

deanchri:

Hi all,

Just finished a house renovation and managed to save a bit of money to build my first entry level home cinema system as follows:

LG 42LH500 TV, Sony bluray, 1010 i 5.1 speakers and Onkyo TX-SR308 reciever.

I now have it installed in my living room (quite big at 8mX 4.5 m) but I have to say I'm really dissapointed at the sound quality, particularly when playing sound through the speakers via the telly.

I was wanting the Sony STRDH800 but there were none in stock at Richer sounds and the assistant talked me into the Onkyo saying that "it's better for music but has same functionality as the Sony minus 7.1". Seeing as the speaker system is only 5.1 I took the plunge.

I've connected everything through the receiver via hdmi and then 1 hdmi from receiver to TV and I've set the speaker distances up to the most common seating point. I have the centre speaker and front sats pointing straight at ear level and the rears mounted on the wall pointing down towards me. Tried all of the different sound modes but I'm still not impressed. Am I missing something here or was I expecting too much? Will I get better sound via optical or have I got the wrong system for the room size? Any advice really appreciated. After 5 years of graft on the house I'm gutted that the system is so dissapointing!

Many Thanks in advance

It sounds like it's not set up properly but what do you mean by "particularly when playing sound through the speakers via the telly"?

 

[strapped for cash]

Hi.

Worth checking a few settings. Is the Blu Ray player set to output bitstream? It's worth checking in the Blu Ray player menu to see what the audio output settings are. If you're bitstreaming audio then the Onkyo should display that it's decodong a Dolby TrueHD or DTS HDMA soundtrack when watching Blu Rays.

Also, did you try adjusting the crossover frequency to the sub? If your receiver ran an auto set-up then it's worth tinkering with this setting. The Q Acoustics are positioned between compact satellite speakers and full size standmounts, so you may be missing a little in the bass department if the crossover is set relatively low.

Finally, does the Onkyo have a EQ function? It might be worth turning this off or adjusting settings to get a sound you're happy with.

If at the end of all this you're still not happy then it might be worth speaking to the dealer about swapping your receiver for a better model. RS are usually good when it comes to exchanging, especially if you've just spent a fair whack on a complete system...

 

[Anonymous]

Quite small speakers for the room, but they should still sound nice.

I had to wait almost a month for my rsw12 subwoofer to start singing and dancing.

You need to give the speakers a nice work out, as far as tv sound, as other said are you using optical for the Dolby and just play around with settings, dont be affraid, it wont break.

I would wait a few weeks for break in of both the amp and speakers, but not sure how long you have had this stuff.

 

[aliEnRIK]

canada16:

Quite small speakers for the room, but they should still sound nice.

I had to wait almost a month for my rsw12 subwoofer to start singing and dancing.

You need to give the speakers a nice work out, as far as tv sound, as other said are you using optical for the Dolby and just play around with settings, dont be affraid, it wont break.

I would wait a few weeks for break in of both the amp and speakers, but not sure how long you have had this stuff.

I completely agree. Decent speakers need a good long 'run in' period

 

[John Duncan]

Agreed, but don't think is the nub. I'm no huge fan of onkyo (TOO SHOUTY) but I too would be curious to know what OP means by playing telly through speakers. Connected how?

 

[chudleighpaul]

I would take the speakers back to the dealer and exchange them for something better, I am no fan of Q Acoustics having heard them once, and I never want to hear them again Far too harsh

 

[John Duncan]

Disagree, but then I'd say the same about the onk. Think what he's trying to play through them could be key...

 

[deanchri]

Hi,

Thanks for feedback folks. I'd no idea that you needed to run in a speaker so I'll definately try that + the settings and report back. Had the system for around a month but not given them a real good workout yet. As for " sound through telly" I play sound from tv through the tv hdmi output to receiver. Never expected the sound from the tv to match bluray quality but just wondered if opitcal output would make a diffrence Vs hdmi? Forgive my ignorance here as you can seeI I'm only learning, but I did think that as HDMI was the latest in signal transferrance and that it would be the best. Am I right to asume this?

Also if push comes to a pull and I decide to upgrade should I go for bigger /better speakers or a better receiver first?

Thanks again

 

[WishTree]

Here are my 2 cents

- HDMI vs Optical not much difference on 5.1 atleast (I am sure some (very few) people might find difference but I would go with no difference)

- Please check if by any chance there is a Night Mode / Quite mode is activated as it makes a huge difference

- If all the stuff is brand new, then it is a bit of trouble. The speakers for sure need to be run in. Strangely, most people might disagree, I have come to a conclusion (after using 3 receivers in the past 1 year) that receivers needs to be run in too. The difference is noticeable all the times with all the Denon Receivers that I tried

- May be the speakers are small or the receiver is an entry level only etc dilemmas are the first symptoms of the notoriously popular upgraditus. I have deicded to give in atleast 2 months for any components in my home environment and also before I buy I audition a thoroughly run in speakers / AVR at the demo place. (And I really hope I stick to this new plan )

 

[audiowizard]

I would wait and give your speakers a good run in, I have a set of Q Acoustics 1010i, fed by a Sony STR-DG820, and the sound wasnt too good when i first got them. Now they sound absolutely amazing, I couldnt be happier with my setup.

 

[landzw]

Yep just from my hi fi days running in your speakers are very important , I can't remember how long it takes to run in your speakers but it wasn't over night, i would only assume it would take a little longer to run in AV speakers .

Another thing is after reading many forums with a auto setup for the surround sound to many people think thats it , when really you need to spend some time tweaking things ( after the speakers are run in )

 

[deanchri]

Thankyou very much guys.

Think I'll stick with what I've got for now and see how it goes. Missus is out tonight so I'm off to give my speakers a bit of a run in!

Thanks again.

 

[aliEnRIK]

deanchri:

Hi,

Thanks for feedback folks. I'd no idea that you needed to run in a speaker so I'll definately try that + the settings and report back. Had the system for around a month but not given them a real good workout yet. As for " sound through telly" I play sound from tv through the tv hdmi output to receiver. Never expected the sound from the tv to match bluray quality but just wondered if opitcal output would make a diffrence Vs hdmi? Forgive my ignorance here as you can seeI I'm only learning, but I did think that as HDMI was the latest in signal transferrance and that it would be the best. Am I right to asume this?

Also if push comes to a pull and I decide to upgrade should I go for bigger /better speakers or a better receiver first?

Thanks again

The tv has an HDMI 'out' socket? Ive never heard of that before

 

[Sorreltiger]

I've just looked up the TV in question and I believe it has an optical out. If you connect that to an input on your receiver, you'll get better quality (stereo) sound. There seems to be something called "Theater-Dimensional Virtual Surround", which you could try.

For movies, you should persist with a single HDMI from the blu-ray player to the receiver, using a different input. I'd carefully go through the set-up advice given previously. If the crossover is set too low and the speakers set to 'large', the sound will probably seem a bit feeble.

 

[d4v3pum4]

I think the OP needs to confirm how the TV's audio output is sent to the receiver. TV Return audio is only introduced with HDMI v1.4. A quick google of the TV revealed information dating back to 2009, so I very much doubt it has the latest incarnation of HDMI. If it has optical I would suggest trying that, a half decent optical cable only costs £5 (Fisual Pro) so it won't break the bank.

TV audio from the likes of Freeview is always going to be a bit hit and miss. The only decent TV audio is dolby digital 5.1 from certain sky channels, BBC HD etc. on my sky box. The 'normal' channels are just hum drum and nothing to write home about. Have you tried experimenting between say Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo 6? I use DTS Neo 6:music most of the time, at least that is what is displayed on my amp at the moment!

Have a look online for guides on how to set up your receiver but perhaps by posting your settings, crossovers etc. someone can maybe spot something that is amiss or a box that hasn't been ticked somewhere. I usually leave AV Receivers in auto mode.

Maybe the amp/speaker combo doesn't suit you. Did you demo? The room is quite large. Did you try a more powerful amp? I'm not a fan of the bottom of the range stuff, no matter how new it is. Ultimately with the lower priced stuff, compromises have to made and corners cut to hit the price point.

 

[deanchri]

Thanks for the continued feedback here guys.

Thought about comments from a couple of you and then realised my ignorance!

I missed out an important point, I have a sky hd box and obviously now I see that the hdmi output from this connects to receiver input and then 1 hdmi is out of receiver to TV. Comment about no hdmi output inTV is correct, so I guess the sound signal is coming direct from sky box to receiver/speakers and the sky signal from receiver out via hdmi to TV.

Still not sure that the hdmi from skybox to receiver is best method of sound signal?

Spent all last night trying different speaker settings and various receiver modes, pro logic 11 seems the best. It does seem better now but still a bit disappointed. I'll stick with it to see if everything settles and if not maybe I'll have to upgrade later.

THANKS AGAIN ALL!

 

[daveh75]

deanchri:Still not sure that the hdmi from skybox to receiver is best method of sound signal?Well for the SkyHD box it isn't! Sky+HD boxes can only output stereo over HDMI, if you want Dolby Digital 5.1 from it you'll also need to run an optical or coaxial digital cable from Sky box to receiver...

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Have you got the Sky HD box connected via an optical cable? The HDMI does not carry a 5.1 signal (set it to Dolby Digital in the audio options in the menus). You'll need to set the amp to take the audio from the optical over the HDMI on the Sky input.

 

[grdunn123]

deanchri:

Thanks for the continued feedback here guys.

Thought about comments from a couple of you and then realised my ignorance!

I missed out an important point, I have a sky hd box and obviously now I see that the hdmi output from this connects to receiver input and then 1 hdmi is out of receiver to TV. Comment about no hdmi output inTV is correct, so I guess the sound signal is coming direct from sky box to receiver/speakers and the sky signal from receiver out via hdmi to TV.

Still not sure that the hdmi from skybox to receiver is best method of sound signal?

Spent all last night trying different speaker settings and various receiver modes, pro logic 11 seems the best. It does seem better now but still a bit disappointed. I'll stick with it to see if everything settles and if not maybe I'll have to upgrade later.

THANKS AGAIN ALL!

Wow! thats a pretty big omission! How can you forget to mention a Sky+HD box???? HDMI from Sky box to Receiver, HDMI from reciever to TV. Check your audio settings on your receiver to configure sound from Sky box. That should sort most of your issues. Good run in with something like 'Batman Begins' at 0DB should get it singing!

 

[deanchri]

Wow! now I am confused. I've got it connected as you say via hdmi's but from what the other guys were just saying I won't get dolby 5.1 through hdmi, I can only get it via optical or coax?

 

[grdunn123]

You need an optical cable to get DD sound from Sky box.

 

[deanchri]

Cheers all. I feel pretty stupid now!

Bit late to couple up the optical lead but can't wait to try it tomoz!

 

[grdunn123]

It's not too late! go on give it a try!!