Onkyo HT-S9100THX HTIB - Page 2

since info on the 960 AVR seems to be somewhat limited, can someone who owns the beast say anything about its rear-panel connectivity? Have all the right inputs/outputs?

My 9100 was delivered yesterday and I got it all hooked up and it sounds amazing but I have a question, I keep reading that it comes with a down firing sub but mine came with a front firing. So did I somehow receive the wrong sub or did i get the right one? The picture on the box shows a front firing as well as all the pictures I've seen and saw before i bought it show front firing, but for instance on onkyo's website when you click on features it says 12" down firing. So if i got the right one then I'm wondering why they are saying it comes with a down firing when really it doesn't?

Im thinking of buying this HTIB, but the reviews on the Web is very scarce.

1) Is it worth the extra money from say the 6100 or 7100?
2) Also what stands are you guys using for the rear speakers? Do the wall mounts from monoprice work? Or are the rear speakers too heavy?

Thanks

I got the HT-S9100THX today, and I love the sound!

The sub is a front-firing sub

price that you guy's /gals got for the system i know it's new but looking to buy just checking so far 1k seems to be the best anyone? i have a sharp lc52se94u. this will be my first htib

I'm going to buy HDMIs this week, and will try it out then.
But, with optic cabel, the sound is great. And it will be more great with HDMI

How safe do you think it would be to just mount the rear speakers straight to the wall? (i.e. using a couple nails, and having the speaker just "sit" on them"

Thanks

"speakers on wall" ..... I would get 4 of the soft rubber or felt "bumpers" for each speaker, sold in Lowes or Home Depot for mirrors and picture frames. They would prevent the speaker from rattleing against the wall while in use.

FYI, this set is on sale at Newegg right now for $899 ($100 off) with free 3-day shipping.

Two questions: I think i'm going to take advantage of neweggs additional $100 discount over amazon. However, I want to make sure to do this right when I order.


Specifically, I need to mount my side speakers on stands due to the way my room is setup (I have wall mount for rear and the centers are going to be on my TV stand) which stands should I get? Amazon has onkyo specific stands for 50% off msrp but there are much cheaper stands, and i also am not sure if they will even fit.

Secondly, 14 gauge wire and banana plugs are recommended when getting this due to it coming with 18 gauge and the plugs for a quality installation.. what kind of banana plugs and does the wire really matter (brand of 14 gauge) i'm not audiophile, but if i'm going to be spending $1,000 to set up a proper system I want to do it right and i'll spend an extra $20 on a better quality wire if it will make the difference.

@ ThinkRevolutionx the banana plugs will make installation at the receiver end much easier but they are actually another connection point at which signal can dissipate or diminish.

The wire that comes with the system is too thin a gauge to run any distance. I would plan on 14 gauge. While personally I run 12, 14 is fine. I'm also a nut, just ask the wife. Does 12 gauge make a huge difference, no. Does it make a difference, yes.

Happy listening.

Have you considered the Denon DHT-789BA?

It is same price as the Onkyo set up... and the receivers look pretty identical... both do the HD codecs...

But the difference is... you are getting Boston Acoustic speakers... and everyone knows they are a huge upgrade to the Onkyo "throw in" speakers....

Just to make sure...so for banana plugs, you would only need 7 for this HTIB?

Are there any benefits other than making the installation cleaner?

banana's are "one per wire" at the connector, this means one each for + and - connection. Banana plugs are "usually" sold by the pair.
So for 5 speaker connections (using bananas at each end) you need 10 pairs.

In several installations, I have found banana plugs useful at the receiver end of the speaker cables becaused of the cramped and closely spaced connections on the back of the receiver. At each speaker, just used bare copper wires, twisted and inserted in the connectors. Banana's don't add much value at the speaker end of the cable.

thanks for the info

" I have to say that HD sound is firstmost a much clear and precise delivery of sound throughout the movies, not loud! but clear at any volume level."

I dont have this HTIB yet, but can you elaborate more on this? ... Clear but not loud at any volume level...does that make sense?

Thanks

So I just bought this system and hooked it up today. My speakers have a low hum in them at all volumes. I tried playing with all the speaker cables to fix this. In fact I hooked this thing up 4 separate times trying to fix this problem. I have no cluse what else to do.

Has any one else had this problem? anyone out there have any ideas?

Please help out this "hum" is givng me a splitting headache!

Hey do you have a cable box hooked up to the receiver with composite cable or any other device for that matter? What you may need is a ground loop terminator they sell them at radioshack or any other place that sells components. Composite audio connections can cause that hum to happen when connected to something that is not grounded.

I pre-ordered here in Canada. Im hopeful to have this HTIB sometime this upcoming week.

I have been doing some research on this particular unit. But as several others have posted, there are no professional reviews.

Can someone that owns this unit give a good review?

Is it worth the 300 dollar difference over the 6100?

I would appreciate any advice. I know you can buy separates but this route seems much easier.

Thanks in advance!

1.The Onkyo reciever is a bit more powerful and carries a THX certification.

2. All five BA speakers have single 3" drivers. The fronts and center in the Onkyo setup have dual 5" drivers, and all 4 rears have single 5" drivers.

3. The Onkyo is a 7.1 set up. The Denon and BA is a 5.1.

4. The Onkyo speakers have wood cabinets.

5. The Onkyo has a 12" 290w sub. The BA is a 100w 8" sub.

The Onkyo is by far a better system for the $$$



I would suggest going to a store and looking/listening to both.

What stores might have these in stock?

I have had mine for a few days now and will mention some things i've noticed. I got it from ugotadeal.com delivered for $918.95.

1. The speaker wire that comes with it is awful and MUST be replaced. It is not 18ga. it's 22awg. I ordered a 250ft. roll of 12ga. off ebay for only $50 delivered.

2. Every speaker has a wall mount jack on the back and i feel any of them could easily be mounted to the wall if you wanted. I personally have the Sanus stands on the way off ebay.

3. Definately get the banana plugs for the back of the reciever. I don't think it's necessary for on the speakers as well. I ordered 7 pairs of the nonhole ones from monoprice.com. I also got the hdmi cables there for unbelievable cheap. I am very happy with them becuase the stuff looks as good as Monster.

4. I went with this system over the 6100 because of the THX modes on the receiver, the larger 12" sub, and better speaker cabinets. I'm pretty sure that's the only differeces. Oh yeah, no pair of free stands like the 6100.

5. For the first few days i kind of just slapped it togeather because i was waiting for my parts to come in off ebay and monoprice. Once i got my stuff in i finally ran the Audyssey EQ and damn did i notice a difference. Although, it could have also been the upgraded wiring. I was shocked at what a difference it makes becuase i have older Onkyo gear that doesn't have this feature. Once it's setup the Audyssey light on the front panel stays lit all the time so you know it's working.

6. Another thing i noticed when i originally set it up is there is no option to make speakers large of small. I think if you tried to use this receiver with other speakers like cubes for example you might be screwed unless the Audyssey takes care of that.

7. The sub is very loud and and you can here it pounding in the other room. Although, i would say that it works much better with movies and low frequency effects than music.

8. The included sub cable is also very chinsey and is on my list of things to do but i don't think it's all that urgent.

9. One thing i have never seen before is when you change the the channel on the cable box the display will show norm dial -4 or norm dial +3 for about half a second. I think it may only do this when in certain sound modes like THX? I'm not sure what this is but i think its normalizing the dialoug or center channel? Can someone find out about this?

10. I almost always keep it in one of the THX surround modes because it's supposed to be better hence the reason i bought this one over the 6100. Although, i don't think i notice any difference between Dolby Digital PL2X and THX I/S Cinema. I mention this mode becuase almost everything out of the cable box seems to be Dolby Digital 5.1.

11. I have not needed to adjust the lyp sync setting at all because everything seems to be right on.

12. I love the fact that they stil kept it easy to quickly adjust the center or sub level up or down a little bit due to different programing levels. Although, you cant do the fronts, sides, or rears quickly or as easily like you could with my previous Onkyo receiver.

13. The on screen menu is new for me and awesome!!!

14. I think that sums it up...Any questions????????????????????

Thanks for your review acellualr.

So there is an On Screen Display? If I have HDMI out to my display it'd show up on there? I've only had Onkyo HTiBs with HDMI Switching, no full connection yet so I think this will be a great upgrade.

I'm going to pick up the 9100THX when I get back to the US in December. Hopefully Onkyo will have some refurbs ready, but I've seen some sub-900 prices and that is a very good deal. Now I have to decide if I want to spend lots on a 1080p projector or just a 720p.

I would also like to thank you for your responses.

In Houston, we only have Circuit City and Frys and they only have the 6100 and 7100 in stock.

From what I see the speakers are a little more intrusive but 200-250 more is a small price to pay for something I will keep for 5-7 years.

I personally do not upgrade speakers often. The ex wife took my last system, I think this system will pair up nice with my 60 in 1080p Sony with PS3.

When I return from Brazil in two weeks, I think I will pull the trigger.

I have owned both 720p tv's and 1080p tv's. I bought this system because i just moved out of my father's house and i too had to make this decision. It was between a 50" 720p for $999 and a 50" 1080p for $1399 from frye's. I went with the 720p because i don't feel the advantages of 1080p are worth paying that much more. I do have a ps3 and the bluray's look great on both. You can hardly tell the difference. I don't think 1080p is an absolute necesitty until cable broadcasts in 1080p. Than it is a no brainer. So until than i'm holding on to my $400 plus tax that i can just apply to a newer better 1080p for probably $899 in 4-5 years.

I really wanted to go with the Bose AM-16 and Onkyo 706 receiver instead. I strongly believe that is a much better system but i don't think it's worth double the price. If you have money i'd definately go this way over the HTIB. I bought this one becuase i have always loved Onkyo and figured i'd never settle for anything but their best. I actually wish they offered higher pricepoints with better stuff becuase i wouldn' mind spending more!

All in all, i would rate this system 5 stars perfect!!!

This HTIB arrived today and I must say the box is HUGE.

I just started to un-box everything, read the manual etc, but have a question:

When you are inserting the bare wire into the binding posts of the speaker, how tight should it be? I’m worried that if I tighten the post too much, strands of the wire will come off.

Thanks

Further to my above post...which is better:
1) Bare wire wrapped around the metal post ...OR
2) Bare wire inserted through the hole in the post ....

Thanks

"JDub_41"
electrically it makes absolutely no difference....it is easier and cleaner to strip the wire end just long enough to fully fit in the hole and be compressed on both sides of the hole without projecting out any further than necessary.

Stick the wire through the hole and tighten down the nut. Make sure the outer jacket is back out of the way. If you are going to do it this way you must cut off all the ends and restrip them. Otherwise, the wire will break where the soldered and unsoldered parts meet.