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Onkyo SBT-A500

38K views 173 replies 41 participants last post by  DaveFi 
#1 · (Edited)
Onkyo SBT-A500 has arrived. Below I have posted pics of the unboxing. I will be making comparisons to the Yamaha Ysp-2700 even though the Yamaha is 7.1 and the Onkyo is 3.1.2.
 

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#2 ·
Hi Luis! Really excited about your new system! I'm looking at one of these for my living room as well. If you could tell me quick, what is the length of the cable that connects the main box to the speakers? I would really appreciate it.


Can't wait to hear more about your setup and review of the system too!
 
#3 · (Edited)
I want to say the proprietary cable from sound bar to receiver is about 8-9 feet long.

I'm not quite ready for a review just yet. So far I've used Dolby Atmos 4k blu-rays and standard blu-rays with DTS-HD Master. Want to do some gaming with a PS4 pro and xbox one S and some Apple airplay for music. Will use netflix and youtube on the Lg oled to make sure the Hdmi (arc) is working correctly.
 
#4 ·
Can I ask where you bought it? I am looking to get one of these myself. I see it up for pre-order on B&H and Amazon.

Thanks!
 
#7 ·
For a 3.1.2 system, it is a very impressive sound bar. The quality is top notch. Once you get it calibrated, this system produces very good surround sound. For those wondering about the sub, it is very capable of producing very good LFE. Much more deeper than the Yamaha (Ysp-2700) I too was wondering if I could get good surround with a 3.1.2 system and it proved very satisfying. The key is good calibration. It took me 3 tries to get it right. Its important that you set the mic at ear level and seating distance. Finally decided to use a tripod and that worked to perfection. MAD MAX ATMOS was excellent. TRANSFORMERS AGE OF EXTINCTION ATMOS was a great test because of all the effects and rumblings in the movie. Again, this unit handled it with no problems. My last test was SUICIDE SQUAD and again, great audio. This system can get really loud. Calibration is key for this system. Will see how this system fairs with gaming. Below is a picture to give an idea of the size of the unit. Tv is an lg Oled 65"
 

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#10 ·
Hi Luis I also eagerly await your full review, this seems to be a great year to pick up a sound bar. I didnt even hear about this one I was waiting on a review of the Sony HT-ST 5000 but this unit looks very nice and checks all the boxes.

Edit
What entertainment center is that? I really like it!

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#17 · (Edited)
I know the Oled I have supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10. The 4k player is connected directly to receiver sound bar and then HDMI to the TV (remember, connecting directly to receiver allows for the Atmos, Dts X and other formats to play. Hdmi over arc only support dolby and dts in its standard format. Don't know if this will change in the future with firmware) Anyways, the HDR signal is passed and shows notification.
 
#18 ·
For those who are just buying this system, it come with a feature called Dolby Surround enhancer which creates virtual rear speakers. Also, it features the DTS neural X which creates a 3d sound field. Once these are activated, they create an awesome surround effect. Great for your movies. I love it for gaming (Especially Tomb Raider on PS4 Pro. The caves, tombs, etc come alive)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Just ordered this last night, along with 2 definitive tech W7s. Gonna give the DTS Play-Fi a try, as you should be able to create a surround system with wireless rears, if all goes well :). I'll post on this once I have it set up.
Hate to burst your bubble but that is not a feature (as of yet). I think it will be part of a future firmware update. It's not an option on the receiver. If you go on their website, features and play fi, it's states *future firmware* I think when this firmware arrives, Onkyo might have its own set of rear add ons. Fingers crossed 🤞
 
#29 ·
Okay this is my first post, but I am very very interested in possibly purchasing this system in a couple of weeks or so. Originally I was looking at purchasing the Onkyo tx-nr656 and was going to pair them with the polk tl1600, but space became a factor and is not a viable option.

So now after much research I am eyeing this system, but I do have a question I would like to ask. Currently I watch alot of movies on Vudu, and most movies are encoded in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. I was really wondering does this soundbar do a decent job of still creating the surround effect when playing a 5.1 soundtrack despite the lack of rear speakers? Any input on this is highly appreciated.
 
#39 ·
Okay this is my second post, but I am very very interested in possibly purchasing this system in a couple of weeks or so. Originally I was looking at purchasing the Onkyo tx-nr656 and was going to pair them with the polk tl1600, but space became a factor and is not a viable option.

So now after much research I am eyeing this system, but I do have a question I would like to ask. Currently I watch alot of movies on Vudu, and most movies are encoded in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. I was really wondering does this soundbar do a decent job of still creating the surround effect when playing a 5.1 soundtrack despite the lack of rear speakers? Any input on this is highly appreciated.

I know this is like Deja-vu lol but I am dying to get some input on how this thing does with 5.1 audio, and the surround effect this unit provides when playing 5.1. Anyone? Input is highly appreciated. :) I'm going crazy trying to figure this out lol. Right now it is what most of my Vudu movies are encoded in, really hoping it does decent, until I get more atmos encoded movies in the future.
 
#42 ·
I'm am still waiting for my unit to arrive and I'll gladly report here my thoughts on that. For what it's worth the OP Luis stated earlier that he was impressed with the 3D sound field this thing creates, not sure if you saw that. He said it made tomb raider come alive. So it sounds like it does a pretty solid job with virtual surround.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
#40 · (Edited)
I am also looking at this system or the identical Pioneer Elite FS-EB70. This is one of the few systems that has a subwoofer out port. I already have a very nice HSU subwoofer that I use for music and it has two line level inputs.

Can the wireless sub that comes with it and a wired sub both work at the same time or is it one or the other? I might just use the HSU, my guess it is the better of the two subs.

Word has it that the Pioneer product will start shipping the first week of February.

Can the volume on the subwoofer out port be adjusted?
 
#43 ·
Oh very interesting I have a very nice Rythmik sub I didn't realize this had a subwoofer out that's awesome. I ordered mine last Wednesday but some confusion on Onkyo's end it still hasn't shipped so I'm crossing my fingers it'll ship Monday and arrive later this week.

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#48 ·
I thought that the Onkyo product and the Pioneer product were identical except for badging. Did not realize the Onkyo unit did not have sub line out where the Pioneer does
 
#49 ·
To owners of this soundbar unit. Where did you end up setting the sub level? I ran the auto calibration with the included mic on a tripod as I normally do with any of my audio setups. The software set my sub level to -2db. I normally manually turn the sub level up from what the calibration software does as it is usually too low. I am currently at +3db but it still sounds a bit boomy depending on the source/content I am watching. My room is fairly small at 15' x 12' with hard floors.

Thanks

Randy
 
#60 ·
I've had the Onkyo for exactly a week and have run the auto calibration a dozen different times as well as experimented with virtually all the settings. I might be wrong, but I believe the -2db sub level is the default. Others should chime-in if otherwise.

If I'm watching a movie on HBO or other surround content, the subwoofer is disappointing. It's often very harsh, "tubby" and way too localized. I've repositioned the subwoofer to all locations in my living room but I'm always annoyingly aware of it's position. The room is 14 x 14 x 9 and sound absorption is good.

Dpollack has mentioned the tunneling effect wiping out dialog. I've also had this experience. It occurs infrequently but it's very disarming and seemingly impossible to remove in all surround modes.

For the time being, I'm using the unit exclusively for 7.1 soundtracks on UHD Blu-ray where it does a very convincing job. Otherwise, my Sony 940c seems better for everyday viewing.

Jim
 
#50 ·
I just got mine in and I'm setting it up, I don't have a tripod so I can't do it that way. How much does calibration for a system like this help? Also with no tripod the consensus seems to be to set the microphone on the back of the couch does that seem okay?

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#52 ·
Never mind I see the Dolby surround enhancer option. But when I'm gaming on Xbox you can't have them both enabled I don't think? I have my Xbox audio set to bitstream out but then I have to select bitstream format Dolby Digital or DTS digital surround and depending which one I choose I can get the option of DTS neural X or with Dolby I get the surround enhancer option. How do you have yours set?

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#53 ·
Sorry for multiple post's so on my Xbox I changed it to 5.1 uncompressed instead of bitstream out and then I get both options, but I don't think they work in tandem as far as I can tell it's one or the other. On the onkyo remote if it hit the movie/TV option it gives me the Dolby options and if I hit the game button on the onkyo remote I get the DTS options, of the 2 I think the Dolby surround enhancer sounds better then the DTS neural X. But you don't use your Xbox one S for playing Blu rays do you Luis?

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#57 ·
Sound is off

I have had my A500 for a little over a week. I have played with every setting possible, including the Onkyo Controller App for my phone. While watching TV series and several movies, some scenes are causing an echo/ tunneling effect on dialogue. I think it may be due to the style of the room. The room has a sloped ceiling that is open on the second floor with a railed walkway that runs the length of the room overlooking the 1st floor where the unit is. Kind of disappointed with the sound from this soundbar. I have played with ceiling height, all settings, turned up the center channel to improve dialogue. Still on many programs, the sound has that tunnel effect with dialogue. Any suggestions for settings that may improve this. I have programed using a tripod twice, and I am going to try again a 3rd time. Unit may be going back. Any input would be appreciated.
 
#58 ·
I have had my A500 for a little over a week. I have played with every setting possible, including the Onkyo Controller App for my phone. While watching TV series and several movies, some scenes are causing an echo/ tunneling effect on dialogue. I think it may be due to the style of the room. The room has a sloped ceiling that is open on the second floor with a railed walkway that runs the length of the room overlooking the 1st floor where the unit is. Kind of disappointed with the sound from this soundbar. I have played with ceiling height, all settings, turned up the center channel to improve dialogue. Still on many programs, the sound has that tunnel effect with dialogue. Any suggestions for settings that may improve this. I have programed using a tripod twice, and I am going to try again a 3rd time. Unit may be going back. Any input would be appreciated.
Even with dialogue enhancement on your having a hard time hearing it?

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