What now??

Rodeo0530

Well, I can't quite figure out what I should spend my hard earned money on next. I've been contemplating buying a nice sub....less the $500, or a new receiver because I have an Onkyo 506, which will move to the bedroom after buying a new receiver, or more speakers to round out the HT. I currently have 2 Monitor 60's up front with a CS2 powered by the Onkyo with my sub that I had from my Polk RM6000 series htib. I am in an apartment until July or August timeframe and then to a house with a decent sized room where the HT will be located. What are the recommendations for the next upgrade? I have my hooks into an Onkyo 806 for $525 right now, but I haven't made the purchase as of yet. I think this is a great price, but what do you professionals think? Any help is greatly appreciated!

danz1906

Go for the Onkyo 806,that seems like a good price.

renowilliams

+1 on what danz is saying....I just got another reciever and it can make you happy...lol




Tim

cnh

That's a tough call. But a good price on the Onkyo 806. The advantage of getting the receiver is HDMI 1.3 audio enabled, Dolby TruHD and DTS HD-Master Audio processing for blu-ray, upscaling, more power, and pre-outs for future upgrades in amplification. All of that and more...will give you a little future proofing.

However, a good sub can make a TREMENDOUS difference in HT too. So regardless of what you do...and I do favor going with the 806.

Be sure to Upgrade your SUB next. Save another 5 or 600 and get something from Velodyne or SVS in that range or a bit more--you won't regret it!

cnh

Hawkeye

I'd keep what you have and spend the cash on some room treatments. Four bass traps in the corners and two absorbers at the 1st reflection point will gain you more than a new AVR.

The traps and absorbers will work equally well in the apt and the new place.

Gordon

Rodeo0530

I don't know if the room treatments idea will fly with the other half. This will be the living room and I think I will get the eternal stink eye if I try to do that in the living room. I'm definitely going to get a good sub when I get one. I could get one now, but won't be able to enjoy it the apartment, so I'm really just waiting to find a really good deal. What do you guys think about buying M70's and using the 60's I have as surrounds for the time being? Would that be overkill? I like the way the towers look and so does the other half actually, but I don't wanna totally overdue it.

vijayl

+1 on 806

daboyz

Just send the cash to me and I'll put it to good use......:)

Rodeo0530

Well, I'll be picking the 806 up this Saturday...nice birthday present huh? I think that will do quite admirably with my setup of M70's,60's and CS2. $525 for the 806 seems just too good to pass up. Sub is next on my list, but I'll save up and buy something pretty nice so I won't get the sub-upgrade bug anytime soon. Exciting week for sure with my 70's arriving today and the 806 on Saturday. My little 506 does NOT like to run those 70's or even my 60's for long periods of time. It gets very hot!

cnh

Congrats,

But the 806 will also run hot....ALL Onkyos do even those with more than enough power for your speaker set. It's just a fact of life....don't know why Onkyo designs them this way!

cnh

Rodeo0530

I've been reading that they tend to run hot, so I guess I'm just going to have to do my best and provide ample room for it. The nice thing is that I have two take a 2 hour drive to Indy to get the receiver, but there is a very nice German beer garden very close by that I might just have to stop in to grab a bite to eat! Fried saurkraut and bratwurst balls....yum!

Rodeo0530

I picked up the 806 today and it's like the guy had never used it! He said it was used very infrequently because it was for a little used TV. It is in absolutely perfect condition. Very excited now. Definitely was worth the 2 hour drive and side trip to the German beer garden.

comfortablycurt

Very nice! Congrats man!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

Rodeo0530

xcapri79 wrote: »

Something to consider. The Onkyo 506 makes a nice computer amp. I run a 3.1 channel system with my little KEF HTS2001's, and Polk MicroPro1000 and it sounds pretty good.

That's something that I never even thought of. That's a great idea. I got the 506 for cheap so I wouldn't mind using it for my computer at all. The bad news about the 806 now...When I went to pick it up we were talking a bit about HT and the such so much that we got a little sidetracked and he forgot to put the power cable into the box with everything else:( I gave him a call, but I believe he's going to be in Chicago for about a week so I think I'm going to be sitting here looking at the 806 for a little while yet. Other bad thing is he said he used to live in Motreal and I can now vouch for the truth to that because his manual for the 806 is in French!! I took a couple years of French in high school, but that was a few years ago and I wasn't too great at it then even. I guess I'll be going online to read about the different details.

oifvet0608

You can download the manual from Onk's website in pdf format, you might be able to check out your local HT store...they might have a loose power cable laying around.

NewHTguy

Rodeo0530 wrote: »

I've been reading that they tend to run hot, so I guess I'm just going to have to do my best and provide ample room for it. The nice thing is that I have two take a 2 hour drive to Indy to get the receiver, but there is a very nice German beer garden very close by that I might just have to stop in to grab a bite to eat! Fried saurkraut and bratwurst balls....yum!

Go Bucks!

cnh

That Onkyo power cable is a standard 3 prong. And it wouldn't hurt to upgrade it by buying a better quality, higher gauge cable. Lots of people do and it will only help the unit. But if you can get the guy to mail you the cable or something else that's fine too!

cnh

Rodeo0530

OK...I'm still rather stupid to some of this stuff. Where would I get a new cable and how much better would it be? I'm sure the guy will send it to me because he was extremely nice and it was just a simple problem of forgetting to put it in the box because we are both pretty talkative people. I assume a new cable would provide cleaner power to the reciever?? Thanks for the suggestion cnh.

cnh

A cheap place to look on line is monoprice or bluejeans....you want to get a cord that's heavier 14 gauge or even lower 12 gauge if you can find it. There is some controversy, as usual...there is a thread concerning whether better power cables 'help'. I stand on the 'yes' side of that argument! You don't need to spend a fortune though.

What I'd recommend is get the Onkyo cable which is probably a standard 18 gauge? And get a better, lower gauge and compare them.

cnh