Some home theater questions.

[Sam334]

So I'm thinking of getting an Onkyo HTiB (this will be my first surround sound setup). Is it possible to get the 5.1 set and later add 2 more speakers to make it 7.1 or will the receivers not be compatible? What type of decoding do I want? The 7.1s don't do Pro Logic, but the do Pro Logic II. Good, bad, ugly?

7.1s - $399

5.1s - $259

 

[Captante]

I don't know about the Onkyo receiver your considering, but my HK AVR 230 has settings & speaker connections for 5:1 & 7:1 setups.

 

[jcovercash]

I just bought the 7.1 setup, the 780. I absoutly love it! I say go the the 7.1 The receiver with the 5.1 setup is 5.1 only, you can only use 5 with it....

THe 780 is great for movies/games. My 360 sounds great on it, and DVDS are crisp and clear!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Too bad, that 780 was $380 this morning from CC. They sure like to change their prices.

The hot deal for the refurb 780 with free DVD player for $350 might still be active, I haven't checked on it for a while.

The ability to add speakers later is going to be dependent on the receiver in the set.

I think the 580 set uses a receiver that's basically the Onkyo303 which is a 5.1 unit.
The 780 receiver is basically the 503 which is a 7.1 receiver.

For decoding, in movies you're looking for DD/DDEX, DTS/DTS:ES
For surround features, PrologicII, PrologicIIx are what you're looking for vs the older Pro Logic. There's also the DTS:Neo6 modes.

 

[Sam334]

I have a small living room, so I'm worried the 7.1 would be overkill.

thanks for the help so far 🙂

 

[jcovercash]

Originally posted by: Sam334
I have a small living room, so I'm worried the 7.1 would be overkill.

thanks for the help so far 🙂

I put my 780 setup in a 10x13 room, and it is far from overpowering. I was afraid of this but if you take the time to setup the speakers correctly, and have proper distances it will sound great.

 

[Sam334]

Originally posted by: jcovercash

Originally posted by: Sam334
I have a small living room, so I'm worried the 7.1 would be overkill.

thanks for the help so far 🙂

I put my 780 setup in a 10x13 room, and it is far from overpowering. I was afraid of this but if you take the time to setup the speakers correctly, and have proper distances it will sound great.

Good point, but my couch in the living room is flush against the back wall; I wouldn't have any room behind me to put the 2 speakers. :-/

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html check DDEX for speaker placement suggestions.

The surround and rear speakers really don't do much for 95% of DVD watching. They do some background noise and ambiance along with the occational pan from back to front, but 5.1 vs 7.1 wont really overwhelm a room. More than size it's about if you can get placement to work alright.

You wouldn't want them shooting right at the back of your head or anything.

There's nothing wrong with getting the 780 set and only running it in 5.1 mode though. The receiver is really the strong point in these Onkyo sets. The 503 receiver is a pretty nice one in the 780 set vs the 303 in the 580 set. If you eventually upgrade your speakers, the receiver in the 780 set would serve you better.

If you have the budget for it, better yet you could even go straight for better speakers right away. As with everything, if you spend more you'll have more and better options.

EDIT: (I'm back up to 1000 pms, so I answered in here, time to clean some out again)

 

[jcovercash]

Originally posted by: Sam334

Originally posted by: jcovercash

Originally posted by: Sam334
I have a small living room, so I'm worried the 7.1 would be overkill.

thanks for the help so far 🙂

I put my 780 setup in a 10x13 room, and it is far from overpowering. I was afraid of this but if you take the time to setup the speakers correctly, and have proper distances it will sound great.

Good point, but my couch in the living room is flush against the back wall; I wouldn't have any room behind me to put the 2 speakers. :-/

GET THE 780 If you are leaning towards it, it leaves good upgrade options for the future if you want better speakers. Althoughy the rears/sides are good... Sub is pretty decent too imo.

My couch is less than 1 foot off the wall and the rears/sides sound just right imo. Took a little tweaking in the receiver but I got it setup right, nothing to major. Ill try to take pics of my HT setup to show you speaker/seating arangment.