cs2, m60s, atrium5, onkyo 608... tips?

Lietuvis91

greetings! I'm new, a very informative site you guys have here.

Yesterday I received the toys in my sig from new egg. I'm putting together a HT system mainly for movies and music. Last night I only had time to hook up the 60s and the cs2 and upon testing it I wasn't sure about this setup.

What I heard was clear crisp sound, but it wasn't like it was "filling" the room (which is what I kind of expected). It also seemed like the tweeters were the only parts of the speakers really producing any sound, everything sounded kind of high pitched and a bit distant, although clear.

Reverting back to my built in 46in sony lcd tv speakers seemed to "wake up" the full spectrum of sound and seemed like it "filled" the room better with the full range of frequencies that you would expect to hear. Although I did notice that speech was nowhere near as clear as when using the polks.

I will connect the atrium 5s for the rear tonight and see how this sounds, but I doubt they will make much difference.

Those who have something similar, what has been your experience?

Lietuvis91

thinking out loud now:

could it be the location of my speakers? The center is under the TV about 3 feet off the floor. The towers are about 5 feet from the tv, to the left and the right, in each corner of the room. It sounds like maybe the center is overpowering the towers, could this be? Maybe I need to hang the cs2 from the seiling above the tv and point it down slightly...?

Lietuvis91

I have to say this site is pretty amazing, during my search I found out that speakers need ~60 hours to "break in". Prior to break in the symptoms i am hearing are typical from what some say on this site. Wow... good stuff.

inazsully

Are you using a sub? If not make sure your 60's are set to large. For a sub I recommend the 505 for $249.

Lietuvis91

No, I am not. I haven't really figured out what I will do for the sub. The way i see it, I have 3 options.

1) buy the 505... which I do see many of the people here recommend. $250
2) buy m70s and put my m60 in the rear... I have noticed many say m70s don't need a sub and if newegg runs the $150 deal again then that would be $300.
3) Make my boxed 12inch car sub work... free

I like option 2 the best if I end up spending more money. I just don't know if my received can handle all that... lol!

Lietuvis91

inazsully wrote: »

If not make sure your 60's are set to large.

what does this mean "set to large" and how do I do this?

tommyboy

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

what does this mean "set to large" and how do I do this?

If set to small, the reciever will only send the frequency you set to the speaker, anything lower will be sent to the sub. "large" setting will send whatever frequency the source sends. So if your reciever is set at small, you will be missing that lower frequency.

Asking how to do this, I haven't touch an onkyo in four years so I can't remember. Just fool around with your reciever (or manual) and you're sure to find it.

Not sure if this is really your problem though. It could be your reciever, or the room isn't made for a system, etc

Lietuvis91

oh, i see...
well that at least points me in the right direction, I will have to review the manual when I get home and try to find that setting. Thanks!

polkfarmboy

Your system with that onkyo should sound amazing regardless of break in time

Make sure you use the right setting and do a mic calibration using audessy

Be sure to use the top set of the binding posts

Ron Temple

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Your system with that onkyo should sound amazing regardless of break in time

Make sure you use the right setting and do a mic calibration using audessy

Be sure to use the top set of the binding posts

Make sure the brass strap between the top and bottom posts are tightened down. If not you're going to lose either the tweeters or the midrange drivers. Which is what is sounds like happened. You can connect to either the top or bottom binding posts as long as the strap is tightened down.

inazsully

My 70's sounded OK with the receiver set to large for the fronts but the 70's don't do a great job for the really low stuff. When I set up my 505 a couple of days after I set up the 70's I could hear a real differences with Blu-Rays. I kept my 70's set to large even after the 505 joined the team. Go into the Onkyo menu and get to speaker setting then choose large. I tried the 70's with no center channel and they sounded OK but the CS2 made a huge difference. I would plan on a sub for sometime in the future. You'll appreciate it.

Lietuvis91

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Your system with that onkyo should sound amazing regardless of break in time

Make sure you use the right setting and do a mic calibration using audessy

Be sure to use the top set of the binding posts

yes, you are right, i need to go through all the settings and callibrations. Can't during the week as I get home late, but Saturday morning I'll get to it.

I'm also thinking about trying bi-amping, the receiver and m60s both support, so I'm thinking there's a reason that option is there...

Lietuvis91

Ron Temple wrote: »

Make sure the brass strap between the top and bottom posts are tightened down. If not you're going to lose either the tweeters or the midrange drivers. Which is what is sounds like happened. You can connect to either the top or bottom binding posts as long as the strap is tightened down.

I checked all the connections, hooked up to the top set, and got those nuts REAL tight, I hope I didn't OVER-tighten them, but I doubt that's the case, extreme overtightening would probably break them.

Lietuvis91

inazsully wrote: »

My 70's sounded OK with the receiver set to large for the fronts but the 70's don't do a great job for the really low stuff. When I set up my 505 a couple of days after I set up the 70's I could hear a real differences with Blu-Rays. I kept my 70's set to large even after the 505 joined the team. Go into the Onkyo menu and get to speaker setting then choose large. I tried the 70's with no center channel and they sounded OK but the CS2 made a huge difference. I would plan on a sub for sometime in the future. You'll appreciate it.

Yeah, I'm starting to see the 505 in my future, just not too soon, don't have any more money to play with for a little while.

Appreciate EVERYONE"S input! I'll update you guys as soon as I get to play with it all.

cnh

+1, auto-calibration is a must, you need to set your L/R speakers to FULL RANGE...There is a MENU on the Onkyo that allows you to do this...either read the manual or just CYCLE through the Menu options..YOU will see one for speaker settings....that's it!

Without a SUB...a real sub, you ARE not going to experience much in the way of ROOM filling sound.

Get the PSW505 that will IMMEDIATELY solve your problem! NO....you can't really run a HT system without a SUB...even the M70s won't handle the BOTTOM end...i.e. frequencies much below 45hz or so.

Good luck.

cnh

tommyboy

Lietuvis91 wrote: »

yes, you are right, i need to go through all the settings and callibrations. Can't during the week as I get home late, but Saturday morning I'll get to it.

I'm also thinking about trying bi-amping, the receiver and m60s both support, so I'm thinking there's a reason that option is there...

I agree with others about the sub, that should be your first item on the list since the m60s aren't really meant to play the low end.

I wouldn't go for bi-amping, I have never done it myself but I hear it sometimes makes no difference and it could harm your speakers if done incorrectly. A seperate amp would be the better option but from what I can remember, only the 700 onkyo and up have pre-outs.

Good luck