Went with the 805..

cantzme78

After a solid week and 1/2 I have gone with the Onkyo 805 to run my set-up. Just couldn't pass up on the deal, tons of next gen sound for a great price. I am now running the following:

Onkyo 805
RTi8's
FXi A4's
CSi A6
DSW Pro 500

Setting it up tomorrow!!!!

Refefer

Review and pics when it's all set up!

kuntasensei

Make sure you pick up a tripod on the cheap to run the Audyssey setup correctly. I'm running a 705 with my RTi70, CSi40, RTi28, SVS 20-39CS+ setup, and Audyssey did WONDERS with the sound of my theater.

Xharlix

I have the 805 with RTi8s. Give it plenty of shelf space above it. The receiver runs hot most of the time.

Rike255

^Same setup as me. And yes the manual recommends 8 inches of overhead space. I tried a whole bunch of heights and decided 6 is just as good.

BIZILL

i've been too lazy to set up my 90mm computer fan to cool my 805. but i need to get on it. open shelf and on top. but still runs very hot.

reberly

I went with the SPL meter w/ my 805 setup and I did much better than the audiossey setup. Have fun w/ the 805, lots of people in this forum have it too to answer questions.

BIZILL

audyssey tweaked my settings in a way that i couldn't seem to. it did a great job for me. i was about to burn it down beforehand.

billbillw

reberly wrote: »

I went with the SPL meter w/ my 805 setup and I did much better than the audiossey setup. Have fun w/ the 805, lots of people in this forum have it too to answer questions.

Did you do at least 6 sampling positions when you did your Audyssey setup? That is crucial. If you only do the min, then it doesn't do a very good job. Also, Audyssey doesn't do a very good job with Subwoofer levels, and the owner's manual even says to manually adjust the sub after you do the Audyssey setup, along with bass management settings.

I just find it hard to believe that you could adjust all the EQ levels better with a sound meter than Audyssey.

reberly

You know I never did the 6 positions. That would be fun to try one day and see what I come up with. Altough I am happy now so I may live blissfully the way it is. LOL

billbillw

reberly wrote: »

You know I never did the 6 positions. That would be fun to try one day and see what I come up with. Altough I am happy now so I may live blissfully the way it is. LOL

I think its worth the 30 minutes it takes to do it. The eq settings bring everything into focus and make the sound image tighter.

reberly

the pink noise makes me mental. After 30 minutes I would be nuts. I'll get some ear plugs and do the test. LOL

billbillw

reberly wrote: »

the pink noise makes me mental. After 30 minutes I would be nuts. I'll get some ear plugs and do the test. LOL

They audyssey setup is not pink noise, its a frequency sweep. It is still quite un-nerving after awhile. It makes my cat totally freak out!

BIZILL

it's some funky sci-fi type of noise. like some sort of ray gun...it makes ME totally freak out!

Rike255

6 positions? But I only listen from 2 places. Should I do that too? If so then where would I put the mic for the other 4 places? Just random parts of the room?

BIZILL

most recommend just using the same two places. just keep alternating. or so i've read.

edit: this may be misinformation on my part. **** happens.

Rike255

Oh ok thanks I'll try that. How does doing it 6 times help more if you're just putting it in the same places over and over though?

BIZILL

Rike255 wrote: »

Oh ok thanks I'll try that. How does doing it 6 times help more if you're just putting it in the same places over and over though?

i assume by just having more input to analyze, however minute the information may be. personally, i only did it for three positions. i'm trying to get off my duff and re-run audyssey to see if i can detect a difference. i've been too lazy lately.

reberly

That's what I didn't understand about listening positions and moving it to 5 other spots in my room. I thought that if I only did one spot it would dial it into where my butt was sitting and if I did 6 spots it would do a setting that would accomodate all listening positions.

billbillw

reberly wrote: »

That's what I didn't understand about listening positions and moving it to 5 other spots in my room. I thought that if I only did one spot it would dial it into where my butt was sitting and if I did 6 spots it would do a setting that would accomodate all listening positions.

I would pick 6 positions that are close to your main viewing/listening position. Just make sure they are near ear height.

I don't agree with BIZill about doing the same two positions over and over. I think each position needs to be unique, but it doesn't have to be all over the place. Just move it a couple feet.

When I did mine last, I did a total of 8 positions. 3 spots on the sofa at ear level, 3 spots approx 2 feet in front of the sofa,, and 2 spots to the right and left of the sofa. Basically in and around the sofa.

BIZILL

yeah, well... yeah.

reberly

Ok I went through the Audyssey setup with 5 listening positions just to see what would change compared to my SPL settings. I ignored its subwoofer recommendations. Distances from listening position are FL=10'10", FR=10'8", C=10'6", sub=12'10"



Before w/ SPL After w/ Audyssey
FL 60hz and 0 DB Full Band and -1.5DB
FR 60hz and 0 DB Full Band and 0 DB
C 100hz and -1.5DB Full Band and -1.5DB

One difference was the FL going from 0DB to -1.5DB. It also changed the crossovers to Full Band which i wouldn't think is what I want to leave in there, would I?

Also messing around a bit I couldn't believe the change of sound when changing the distance for the FR from 10.5 or 11.0. I did it while listening to a radio DJ speaking and you could almost see the DJ taking 3 steps to the other side of the room with that little 6inch difference.

kuntasensei

You absolutely should NOT do the positions in the same two places repeatedly.

I could sit here and type out long answers, but it's faster for me to just link you to my part of the 705 FAQ here. The same info on Audyssey applies to the 805, so this should help get you the best results.

billbillw

reberly wrote: »

Ok I went through the Audyssey setup with 5 listening positions just to see what would change compared to my SPL settings. I ignored its subwoofer recommendations. Distances from listening position are FL=10'10", FR=10'8", C=10'6", sub=12'10"



Before w/ SPL After w/ Audyssey
FL 60hz and 0 DB Full Band and -1.5DB
FR 60hz and 0 DB Full Band and 0 DB
C 100hz and -1.5DB Full Band and -1.5DB

One difference was the FL going from 0DB to -1.5DB. It also changed the crossovers to Full Band which i wouldn't think is what I want to leave in there, would I?

Also messing around a bit I couldn't believe the change of sound when changing the distance for the FR from 10.5 or 11.0. I did it while listening to a radio DJ speaking and you could almost see the DJ taking 3 steps to the other side of the room with that little 6inch difference.

Reberly,
Don't worry about what bass management settings Audyssey selects. From what I've read, it is not actually Audyssey that chooses them, its Onkyo's software. Audyssey doesn't do Bass Management, they only do room equalization. You should go back and change them all to 80hz to match the sub, and leave everything else as Audyssey set them (except bass level, do that with a sound meter or your ear)

What you can't see is the EQUALIZER settings that Audyssey selects. That is the magic of Audyssey. It levels out the response for all the speakers through the whole sound band. It helps get rid of the imperfections in your speaker response and room interaction.

anhtuanseattle

cantzme78 wrote: »

After a solid week and 1/2 I have gone with the Onkyo 805 to run my set-up. Just couldn't pass up on the deal, tons of next gen sound for a great price. I am now running the following:

Onkyo 805
RTi8's
FXi A4's
CSi A6
DSW Pro 500

Setting it up tomorrow!!!!

I've seen two many REFURB Onkyo 05 series (2008 model)
on ebay and Amazon lately . I don't know why Onkyo has so many of them which now flooding the market ...

kuntasensei

billbillw wrote: »

Reberly,
Don't worry about what bass management settings Audyssey selects. From what I've read, it is not actually Audyssey that chooses them, its Onkyo's software. Audyssey doesn't do Bass Management, they only do room equalization. You should go back and change them all to 80hz to match the sub, and leave everything else as Audyssey set them (except bass level, do that with a sound meter or your ear)

What you can't see is the EQUALIZER settings that Audyssey selects. That is the magic of Audyssey. It levels out the response for all the speakers through the whole sound band. It helps get rid of the imperfections in your speaker response and room interaction.

FYI: Audyssey and Onkyo's software don't adjust the LPF of LFE setting, which defaults to the THX conceit of 80Hz, meaning you're throwing out any content from 80-120Hz in the LFE channel. While there's little placed above 80Hz in the LFE channel as a general rule, the perceived tone of any sound is affected by its harmonics, and there IS some of that content in LFE tracks. The argument against setting this above 80Hz is that you'd be pushing it into a more easily localizable frequency range... but because the majority of content in the LFE channel is below 80Hz, this isn't true in practice.

I strongly recommend setting the LPF of LFE on the 705/805 to 120Hz, ensuring that the full bandwidth of the LFE channel is reproduced in your system. NOTE: This is a filter on the LFE channel only - not a filter on overall subwoofer output, so setting this above the crossovers for the other speakers will not cause any gaps in frequency response with redirected bass. The only time you should actually use the THX 80Hz LPF on the LFE channel is if your subwoofer follows THX specs and is not designed for content above 80Hz.

As far as setting crossovers - the Onkyos detect any speaker that goes below 80Hz as "full range" (which includes almost every Polk speaker), which they certainly aren't. After running Audyssey, look up the -3dB point of each speaker to find the point where it begins to roll off. Then add about 10-20Hz to that number and use that as your crossover point for that speaker on the receiver. This gives you a smooth transition from speaker to subwoofer without causing any noticeable gap in frequency response. If you set the crossover too close to the speaker's -3dB point, the natural rolloff of the speaker exacerbates the effect of the crossover's slope, giving you a sloppy transition with noticeable gaps in the frequency range.

For instance, I'm running a 705 with RTi70 mains, CSi40 center, and RTi28 surrounds. My RTi70s have a -3dB point of 40Hz, so I'm running them at 60Hz. My CSi40's is 50Hz, so I run it at 70. My RTi28s hit -3dB at 59Hz, so I run them at 80.

mantis

I set up Audyssey with Crestron. You should only mic the positions that you actually sit in. Random places will only hurt your final outcome. If only 2 places are used for listening, then 2 should be the only places you mic. there is no benefit from adding in anything else.

Audyssey was designed by some the greatest sound guys in the bussiness. I believe they know exactly what they are doing.

Also always use the exact mic that came with your receiver. Its calibrated to the software. I'm not sure how Onkyo does it but with Crestron, you have to update the software with a mic replacement. All mic's come with there own spec's and you have to run the mic's software on your laptop then run the Audyssey Software. With Crestron, we do the same thing, we only mic the seats that get used. It works perfectly every time.

Good luck with your new receiver.

Dan

bopicasso

So kuntasensi,

Im running a 805, rti8s and a csi3. The lower -3db on the rti8s are 40hz and on the csi3 its 65hz. So I should set the fronts to 60hz and center to 80hz? And the LPF of LFE to 120hz? I originally had them all set to 80hz. Also when I run Audyssey it sets my sub to -15db. I end up setting this to -3.5db, my fronts to -1.5 and my center to -1db.
I like to listen to movies at -10db and it be loud! The settings audyssey sets it to is not loud at all... Unless you turn it up to 0db.

kuntasensei

mantis wrote: »

I set up Audyssey with Crestron. You should only mic the positions that you actually sit in. Random places will only hurt your final outcome. If only 2 places are used for listening, then 2 should be the only places you mic. there is no benefit from adding in anything else.

Audyssey was designed by some the greatest sound guys in the bussiness. I believe they know exactly what they are doing.

Also always use the exact mic that came with your receiver. Its calibrated to the software. I'm not sure how Onkyo does it but with Crestron, you have to update the software with a mic replacement. All mic's come with there own spec's and you have to run the mic's software on your laptop then run the Audyssey Software. With Crestron, we do the same thing, we only mic the seats that get used. It works perfectly every time.

Good luck with your new receiver.

Dan

You're right - they do know what they're doing... which is why they recommend doing ALL EIGHT positions, not just the two seats. Go to AVS and hit the Audyssey thread HERE. All posts from user name "audyssey" are from Audyssey's Professor Chris Kyriakakis. He recommends mic'ing the full number of positions that your AVR/pre-pro allows to give MultEQ XT as much data about your room acoustics as possible. Or even if you just hit the FAQ at the Audyssey site HERE, you can see that you should do more than just the seats.

If you're only mic'ing 2 positions, you're not using the full potential of the room correction, as you're only using data from two very specific points. Audyssey MultEQ XT is designed to take the room's overall effect on the sound into account, giving you a larger "sweet spot". For instance, if you only had two seats with the center channel aimed between them, a good way of mic'ing all 8 positions would be:

6-4-5 - a foot or so in front of seats
-7-8- - front edge of seats, tripod on floor but against seating
3X1X2 - X=seats, mic position at head level, or raised to avoid headrests

No offense intended, Dan... but you're doing it wrong.

kuntasensei

bopicasso wrote: »

So kuntasensi,

Im running a 805, rti8s and a csi3. The lower -3db on the rti8s are 40hz and on the csi3 its 65hz. So I should set the fronts to 60hz and center to 80hz? And the LPF of LFE to 120hz? I originally had them all set to 80hz. Also when I run Audyssey it sets my sub to -15db. I end up setting this to -3.5db, my fronts to -1.5 and my center to -1db.
I like to listen to movies at -10db and it be loud! The settings audyssey sets it to is not loud at all... Unless you turn it up to 0db.

You got it. 60Hz should be good for the RTi8s and give you a good blend. You MIGHT play with 50Hz and see if you like it. In-room response is usually a bit lower than anechoic specs, and the crossover slopes are fairly steep so you may only need 1/3 octave to get a good in-room transition. 60Hz is a safe bet though, and 80Hz is perfect for your CSi3. If it originally detected as full range, Audyssey does filters for the entire range of the speaker's response... then if you change the crossover to something lower, these filters are still good since Audyssey will have phase aligned between the subwoofer and other channels (whether by distance/delay settings or the equalization in the time domain over the crossover range).

LPF of LFE should always be set to 120Hz (though the default is 80Hz THX) so the full bandwidth of the LFE channel is passed to the subwoofer. The only exception for this is with subwoofers designed for THX spec.

If Audyssey is setting the subwoofer trim to -15dB, it's likely because the gain knob on your sub itself is set too high. Try backing it down to about 1/3 of its range and re-running Audyssey. The closer you can get Audyssey to detect level toward 0, the better (and the less problems you'll have with any auto-on circuitry in the subwoofer detecting when it's supposed to).

Another caveat: If you're using a rear-ported or downward-firing sub, pull it AT LEAST 3-5" from the wall, even with corner placement. Placing your subwoofer too close to the wall can cause serious issues with response, especially in rare cases where you have drywall that tries to act like a passive woofer (especially true in the case of rear-ported subs placed too closely to walls). Proper subwoofer setup BEFORE Audyssey will give it a better initial reading and a far better post-equalization result. It might also alleviate any uncorrectable peaks that may be causing your subwoofer trim to be turned so low.

Caveat #2: Most people aren't used to the flat in-room response that Audyssey provides, especially with bass. Because we're so accustomed to hearing room-induced peaks with our subwoofers, a newly EQ'd flat response can initially sound "lacking" in bass, whereas it is actually more accurate since it is reducing room peaks that throw off response. I recommend that you give yourself a few days of critical listening before changing subwoofer level to taste. Listen especially with music that has a wide range of bass guitar notes, paying attention to the level of each note. With flat response, the notes should sound far more consistent in level, and you should hear more detail. If, after critical listening, you still think it's lacking in bass, bump it up! It's your system, and while you may be straying from reference level matching by boosting the sub, a lot of people prefer the added bass for lower listening levels. That's why you'll see advocates of a house curve (i.e. a gradually rising curve as frequency gets lower) in the subwoofer EQ'ing groups. If, however, you're pleased with bass response in movies and just want a little more oomph with music, use the BASS tone control on your receiver. This will raise bass centered around 50Hz in the mains without affecting bass from the other channels or proper LFE level.

xandra

They audyssey setup is not pink noise, its a frequency sweep. It is still quite un-nerving after awhile. It makes my cat totally freak out!

You're lucky - it made my dog pee on the floor