By the way, this is how boring my life is right now....I am actually all giddy thinking about all of this
With the right connections, absolutly. If you PC already has a digital audio out you will just need to buy the right cable. If it doesnt you can either buy this For only $0.55 each when QTY 50+ purchased - RCA Audio Splitter Adapter (3.5mm Male to 2 RCA Female) (Stereo) | RCA Adapters Along with a normal set of RCA cables, or if you want digital sound this Now Available! Callisto Home Theatre adapter | Sondigo | set your audio free. Along with this cable to hook it up For only $1.89 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Toslink to Mini M/M OD:5.0mm, Molded Type - 6ft | Toslink to Mini Plug Good deal, I would go with the Onkyo 606 and then grab a box set of speakers and sub. All kinds of price ranges out there on Amazon and to be honest I'm not all that familiar with them. Good thing about doing it that way is that all your cables for connecting your speakers should come with the box. You will still need the stuff for connecting your PC though, and probably at least one HDMI cable. The only real input you need to look for on the back of your TV are a digital audio out which you will use to sent your TV audio to your receiver and then the speakers. The audio from your DVD player will go straight from the player to your receiver and will never even make it to your TV, dito for cable or sat if you have it. You will need cable for that as well. I would figure somewhere around $50 to $75 worth of cable but it will depend on how much stuff you are hooking up.
Actually, mine is an 605 (Still dont know what the difference is)..and I might be mistaken. As I said before, you can buy an Ipod-docking station, and I figured it was USB.... Time for some reasearch... I would just pull it out of the Ent Cent...but that would be a chore as my girls are watching Disney with surround EDIT: Heres the spec page on it http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR606&class=Receiver&p=f Heres the connectivity specs: Audio I/O 7 / 2 Balanced Audio Output - Balanced Audio Input - Phono Input - Digital Audio IN (OPT/COAX) 2 / 2 Digital Audio OUT (OPT/COAX) - Composite I/O 5 / 1 S-Video I/O 4 / 1 Front-Panel A/V L / R / V Front-Panel Optical - Component Video / Bandwidth 2 / 1 / 50MHz HDMI I/O 4 / 1 HDMI Version V1.3a Repeater HDMI Bandwidth 1080p HDMI Deep Color Capable (36bit) Component Video Upconversion - Analog to HDMI Upconversion 480i to 480p Processing (DCDi Edge) 1080i Upscaling 1080p Upscaling - Multi-Channel Input 7.1 Surround Pre-Outs SUB Speaker A/+B - Powered Zone2 Zone 2 Line Out Zone 2 Video Out - Zone 3 Line Out - iPod Ready (DS-A2x, DS-A2, DS-A1) Built-in HD Radio Tuner - XM Radio Ready - SIRIUS Radio Ready Which shows it is iPod ready...not sure how to decipher that though
I have the 605 as well and I'm pretty sure there is no USB. I know you can hook up an I pod but I dont remember how.
Same with me. I have my 606, 7 speaker set, rocking sub and my 42" sammy. When I throw in a blu-ray in the ps3, or play a game on it or my 360 it rocks. I have my Onkyo 805 HD-DVD player as well and my dvr. The 606 handles EVERYTHING. To top it off, I have my Harmony One remote. I love that remote.
I have the 606, there is no USB. My tv has one though. Another great thing about the 606 (maybe the 605 too), is that it comes with the Audessey calibration tool. This thing adjusts the speaker settings internally after you use the included mic at 3 test points, in order to maximize your sound around the room. No two rooms are acoustically the same, nor are speaker locations the same, and this adjusts everything for you to be perfect.
Yup, 605 has that too, great, great tool. Thing that bugs me a little is that I bought my 605 about 3 months before the 606 came out. If I had been willing to wait just a little longer I could have gotten the new model which has more HDMI inputs and I think better video upconversion. Oh well, I would have went crazy if I had tried to wait anyway.
Yeah, the 605 has that also. Didnt work very well for me, but my house is Harmonically challenged.. Sorry about the USB, not sure what type of jack it actually is that the iPod plugs into???
Ok, there is a speaker out there by the name of klipsch, great speakers but not cheap. However they also own a company called Athena that is their budget brand, still good speakers but cheaper. You could grab 2 sets of these bookshelf speakers for fronts and rears And this Center from E bay. Even with speaker cable and the Onkyo 606 you would end up under 750.... But that still doesn't get you a sub. Damita, I thought I had it. Onkyo 606 is $372 Center is $100 Shipped Bookshelves 155 I think shipping is free but not positive Brings us to $627 figure $70 just to be safe for speaker wire and cables and we are at an even $700. That would leave you $50 to put towards a sub but you are going to have to spend at least a $100 on it. I found this [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YST-SW216BL-Advanced-Front-Firing-Subwoofer/dp/B000FJ89UO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1224174309&sr=1-8"]sub on amazon[/ame] for $89 shipped, not the worlds greatest but it would be close to budget. Your options are probably either to do something like this or go the box speaker/sub route. The upside of building it like this is that the Athena's would be a better quality speaker then most of the box stuff.
117, that all sounds GREAT ! I will bookmark all of the links and then hope for some price reductions closer to Christmas and then swoop in on the bargain. This has been better than expected. You guys really know this stuff, and hopefully some other guys read this thread and got some ideas too. Thanks for helping me out gentlemen !
Not a problem, and there should indeed be some price drops/deals if you are willing to give it a little time. I would check slickdeals.net every day, good chance someone will post a deal on the Onkyo 606 sometime between now and christmas that is cheaper then the one amazon has at the moment. Might find some speaker deals as well. Edit- We will have to locate another center channel though since the one I linked is on E-bay and will be gone by then.
Really enjoyed reading this thread. Excellent advice given, I too own the 606, feeding Cerwin Vega, E 710 Towers with Cerwin Vega, 8" powered sub ( i like tight bass). It is well worth the sacrifice. As everyone said, get the quality receiver and build from there. That advice is reverse of what audiophiles recommend. They say your speakers should represent 70% of the cost of your audio system. Remember, at the beginning of the year, everything broadcast on tv is going digital.
Under/about $700, here ya go: Refurb Onkyo 606 (direct from manufacturer) for $349.00 Shop Onkyo And then for speakers you have 2 options: New 7.1 set for $399.99 (might be cheaper somewhere else): Shop Onkyo or Onkyo TH-SR800 refurb for $349.00 Shop Onkyo You could then sell the Reciever from the SR800 for a little extra cash on craigslist(what I did). Either way, it gives you seven speakers plus an independently powered sub. (eventually you may want to look into upgrading to a thicker gauge of speaker wire, but for what you want right now, you should be fine with stock).
PMZQ, If what you've looked into is still a little to steep, you might consider the Onyko 506. You will only be loosing 25 watts per channel from the 606. Depending on the size of your room the 75 watts provided by the 506 might be just fine. From your initial post you said you haven't been listening to any "quality" stereo for many years, so your ears will only notice the vast improvement from what you've been hearing. It appears the 506 offers most of the sound fields that you will need for DVD movie processing and everything you will need for cable broadcast. Crutchfield has it listed under 299.00. here's the details: Details: * 75 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.08% THD * Dolby® Digital EX, DTS-ES®, Pro Logic® IIx, and DTS Neo:6 decoding * iPod® integration (requires optional Onkyo DS-A2x iPod dock) * Audyssey 2EQ auto speaker setup (microphone included) * Audyssey Dynamic EQ for better surround sound at lower volumes * Music Optimizer for improved sound quality with compressed music files * dual-room/dual-source audio (powered and line-level stereo audio output for 2nd room; using powered 2nd-room output allows 5.1 home theater in main room) * high-current amplifier design * 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters for all channels * 40 AM/FM presets * multibrand remote * sleep timer * 17-1/8"W x 5-7/8"H x 15-1/4"D * warranty: 2 years
It is a little cheaper for the 506, but the 606 is more future proof IMO, and therefore worth the price. But again, that is just my opinion.
I know Stitches, but Keven said he wasn't into it that much. Just wanted decent sound. I would hate to see him back away and loose out due to what he may believe to be to much money. His original budget was $500.00. I remember the first time my ears were exposed quality stereo equipment. I told my friend he had a nice sounding record player. After knocking back a couple of bottles of Blue Nun accompanied with another unmentionable, the music just kept getting better and better. The next weekend I purchased a pair of Altec Lansing Santana speakers, Sony 100watt integrated amp and Gerrard Turntable. That cost me around $1300.00 in the early seventies, not to mention the cost of those expensive albums @ $7.00 a clip. I've been enjoying good sounds ever since, but some people just can't justify the cost of good equipment.
Without reading all the recommendations so far, I'd go with an Onkyo. It's the most bang for your buck, IMO. I have the 7 speaker system in my bedroom and its the bomb.
I always have trouble staying underbudget. If he got the 606 refurb, and the HT-SR800, and sold that receiver (essentially it is the 505 receiver in there) it'd be only like 10% over $500. Hell, I don't know the differences offhand between the 505 and the 506, but if he doesn't care about them, the HT-SR800 will give him like everything for under $400.
You and me both! I just don't want to scare him away from such a worthwhile indulgence. He has been given some very good advice, if he doesn't mind going the extra expense, he should by all means bite the bullet, make the wife mad and fill that room with some hi notes and tight bass.
When I was setting up my system I think I put the cap at 7 or 8 hundred. Ended up with 12 or so in it.
I was debating recomending this too but it has no Dolby True HD or DTS MA processing, which if he plans to keep the system for a number of years would be a real shame as blue ray will be the standard for the next number of years. I really think its worth it to spend the extra 150 or so now and not have to touch it for years and still be able to use the latest audio codecs.
