Surround sound with Onkyo 605

[JJ650]

I have been trying to get a better surround seperation using this receiver and a HD-A20.

I am using a 1.3a HDMI cable as the interconnect. The output is set to Auto on the dvd player.
When a HD movie is just sitting in the tray and not playing the receiver detects the Dolby Digital. When the movie starts playing it drops the Dolby and switches to PCM.
I may be just getting mixed up on what is supposed to be going on. I try the various surround settings on the receiver but none of the surround settings seem real clear or separated. I have checked the wiring and made sure the speakers are connected to the proper binding posts.
I have let the receiver do the audyssey setup and I have tried my own.

Is anyone else using this combination and having better luck? I have been a little let down so far.

 

[FP]

If you are looking for TrueHD output you will need to set it in the audio setup of the HD disc. Once the movie has started go into the Audio setup and select TrueHD. Since the A20 decodes the TrueHD for you you will see PCM on the receiver.

The audio quality should be amazing. I am not sure what you mean by surround separation but all of your speakers should be playing in a 5.1 setup.

Do things just sound soft? Is sound coming out of all speakers? I would recommend resetting the Audyssey settings and just playing around with things in their default state.

I have the 705 and you can hit the display button on the remote a few times and it will tell you the signal the receiver is getting and the signal it is outputting.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

The A20 sends its audio via PCM over HDMI. Your receiver should display - PCM MULTI CH HDMI. If you want the DD symbol to show up you can connect a TOS cable between your A20 and receiver, set SPDIF on the A20 to Bitstream, switch the input for your DVD using the 605's OSD to OPT1 or OPT2, whatever the case may be.

imo you'll get as good or better sound over HDMI though.

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: JJ650
I have been trying to get a better surround seperation using this receiver and a HD-A20.

I am using a 1.3a HDMI cable as the interconnect. The output is set to Auto on the dvd player.
When a HD movie is just sitting in the tray and not playing the receiver detects the Dolby Digital. When the movie starts playing it drops the Dolby and switches to PCM.
I may be just getting mixed up on what is supposed to be going on. I try the various surround settings on the receiver but none of the surround settings seem real clear or separated. I have checked the wiring and made sure the speakers are connected to the proper binding posts.
I have let the receiver do the audyssey setup and I have tried my own.

Is anyone else using this combination and having better luck? I have been a little let down so far.

Define "better surround seperation".

 

[JJ650]

Not much sound coming thru the surround left and right. On scenes where I KNOW there should be something, there's not much to it. I have upped the left and right surround to +8.


I need to try a couple of different movies. Any movie recommendations for a really good aural test???

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Video games are actually a great way to test if all your speakers are functioning properly. Hook up a console or PC to your receiver and put on a game that you know supports 5.1 or higher. Since you can control the action, you can do something you know will make noise (throw a bomb or pass by a car or whatever), and move the camera/character so that the sound will eminate from your left/right/rear. If you can verify that all your speakers are actually functioning, that's a good start.

Many movies don't have that much action in the rear channels, despite being labeled 5.1. I've noticed several films where you would expect ample use of the surrounds and it just seems lacking. Movies with a lot of background noise can be a great test, as these sounds are often relegated to the rear speakers. Apocalypto was good for this as it had a lot of rain and jungle noises (birds and animal sounds) coming through the rears. Ratatouille also has great sound, again with rain effects coming through the rears. I haven't honestly watched a huge number of movies since getting my speakers fully installed, and most of them have been underwhelming from a surround sound perspective.