NEW Release! Onkyo HT-S5300...Any Good? - Page 10

Sensitivity rating for your center speaker is 86db while the rating for your surrounds are 81db. Totally makes sense that you'd have to adjust the channel levels higher for the surrounds.

Output Sound Pressure Level -
Front 85 dB/W/m
Center 86 dB/W/m
Surround 81 dB/W/m
Surround Back 81 dB/W/m

Ok! That does make sense. Thanks for the info. Now I know its not because I was doing anything wrong.

So I did some troubleshooting to decifer what was causing the white bands flashing across the screen and white snow while using my PS3 through the Onkyo. Here's what I found:

1. It only appears to happen when the PS3 is set to output 1080p video
2. It does NOT happen when the PS3 is connected directly to my TV (Samsung LCD)
3. It does continue to happen even when another HDMI cable is used (different lengths but both from Monoprice... anyone ever had problems with their cables before? They've worked fine for me for years as far as I can tell but both of these are new)

So because of this and the loud, continuous clicking noise whenever the iPod/iPhone dock is used, this unit will be going back to Amazon. I very well may stick with Onkyo though (assuming a replacement unit fixes these two issues) because it is such a good bang for the buck and movies/gaming does sound great even if music does leave something to be desired. I'm also looking at the Denon AVR1910 which looks great and perhaps the Klipsch HDT1000 if I decide I want to drop the extra $$ on a system... please let me know your opinion if you have any knowledge about them. Thanks!

It might be gone now... the search term was "onkyo 9555" but it doesnt look like that is working anymore.

I got in on that deal May 17th. You did have to use bing.com and search for onkyo 9555 and then home theater systems after that. It was through J&R Music/computer world "jr.com" but they sold out. I found out about it through slickdeals. I was surprised I got in on this because the deal started as early as 5/15 but it was like only a couple people jumped on it. It was priced $499 then 25% cash back ($124.75) So it was net 374.25 and then only 2.95 for shipping. AND... I have confirmed shipping and it will be at my house tomorrow. I will let you know my thoughts on the sound when I get it hooked up. My buddy has the ht-s5100 (its like from a couple years ago) and he thinks its awesome. I cant imagine this version not being at least as good...

so you're a selective reader too? chase your tail some more.


are u using a PS3?

No PS3


However, I've corrected the issue by turning OFF Audyssey & Dynamic EQ. With both features turned ON the bass and surrounds drown out the dialogue.

In my opinion turning on Audyssey & Dynamic EQ destroyed the speaker calibrations I've made using my sound meter. Even though Audyssey & Dynamic EQ didn't seem to effect my meter while playing the test tones. I can hear a huge rise in volume from the surrounds while watching cable or a bluray when Audyssey & Dynamic EQ are turned ON. Also the bass becomes very distorted and sounds unnatural.

I don't know if anyone will agree with me but turning OFF Audyssey & Dynamic EQ sounds better to my ears.

i actually agree with you wholeheartedly. turning any of the audyssey things on often causes phasing.

for those who don't know, phasing is just what jmoakk described; lower frequencies drowning out similar and polar frequencies before they can even get to your ear. in the case of the 5300 it often drowns out the frequencies in the 1k-2k which are frequencies that allow articulation of syllables. "ss st puh kuh"

it's bad enough the receiver has a deficiency in the 800-1k as it is. and it's why all music lacks energy and sounds terrible.

only reason i asked if you had a PS3 is cuz of the Dynamic Range setting they have, but that's neither here nor there.

Several days ago I posted about audio drop outs on a some of my Bluray music videos. They had worked fine through my 605. I called Onkyo support. What a waste of time. He had no interest in hearing that the same BD player and the same disc played great through a 605. He wanted to tell me what I had probably done wrong. Dirty disc, bad HDMI cable, bad Panny, wrong mode, etc. Then told me to try optical. Why I asked. Because HDMI blah blah blah he said. I told him the disc had not been removed from the player between receiver change outs, the cable was the same one. When I told him I knew I was not the only one who had experienced this because I saw several problem posts on the forums and he interrupted before I could complete my sentence. Forums, he guffawed. Those are ********. Just a bunch of people giving their opinion he said. I've seen more problems solved and received better info myself on forums than I've gotten from Onkyo customer service tonight. Thank you for your time I said.

Well, I fixed the problem. Got an RMA from Amazon for a defective unit and set up for a refund. Amazon CSR emailed the prepaid UPS label while we were on the phone. I will continue to do business with Amazon.

Put my 605 back in the loop and I'm sitting here listening to Kansas - Know Place Like Home with nary a drop out. Yep, fixed it

i had some doubts after reading this particular forum while waiting for my HT-S5300 to arrive from electronicsforless.ca. I'm happy to report that after I got it all hooked up and tweaked that I am enjoying DVD's, Blu-rays, games and music with no issues what-so-ever. Movies sound thunderous and dialog sounds crisp, games have a new dimension of awesome as well. Playing BC2 made me smile from ear to ear, especially since I knew when i was being snuck up on and from what direction. I upgraded the speaker wire to 16g and i'm awaiting a banana plug order from monoprice.com. I experience no clicking sound when my iphone is seated in its cradle.
I have been experimenting with the various sound modes while watching movies and I keep coming back to setting my ps3 to lpcm and using the 'direct' setting on the receiver, everything sounds crisp and accurate. Overall I'm completely satisfied with this system, its more than enough for my needs and I think it sounds great. The speakers look and feel like quality products as well. I should mention that I'm no audiophile and can't quite afford to be. But I do know when something sounds good.

Okay, I got my system yesterday and hooked it up today. I think its great! I used the speaker wire it came with and did not read the manual yet. I just hooked it up to verify it works and planned to upgrade the wire later. Now, I decided to keep my old technics sb-a55 speakers as my front speakers and I used the onkyo fronts as my "highs". Even without tweaking any settings I am able to hear instruments in my favorite songs that I hadnt heard before. This system puts out plenty of sound. The sub is very large and I actually had to turn its independent volume knob down to prevent it from overhelming the other speakers. I havent tested any movies yet, but I can tell already I am going to be happy. Seriously, for $377 including shipping this was a no brainer. I bought it mostly for the receiver and sub. It was nice that the other speakers it came with upgraded my surrounds, but these two items are worth more than I paid even without considering the other speakers.

now Im having problems too. while watching my Fios DVR (silver motorola model) it will cut out periodically and usually come back, but sometimes just the sound comes back and not the picture, other times the picture but not the sound, sometimes neither. then it will usually blank out again and bring both back.. no clue what the hell is wrong. anyone found a solution to this?

I have to say I have mixed feelings about the S5300. At times it sounds great, at other times it sounds like like I'm playing a sound file that's been overly compressed. I'm not sure why that is. At times I can't hear people speaking over the bass coming out of the center/front speakers (not the sub-woofer). It's like there's certain frequencies that those speakers can't output. Prior to using the S5300, I was using my TV's speakers which shouldn't be better than the ones that came with the S5300. I'm still waiting on delivery of 16-AWG speaker wiring so I'm using the wires that came in the box. I'm hoping the new wires help with this issue.

I've also noticed something strange about the on screen overlays (menu, volume, etc) when using HDMI. The on screen overlays won't display if the input video signal is 480i. The menu overlays work with 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p, but not 480i. The video is output correctly so it's passing the video through fine, it's just the overlays that don't work. The manual makes no mention of overlays not being supported with 480i video, then again the manual is horribly written so I can't trust that it's correct. I worked around this with my TiVo by setting it to convert all 480i signals to 480p.

One of the annoying things about using the receiver isn't technically the receiver's fault, but a side effect of using it. My TV (Sony Bravia) allows tweaking the video settings on a per input basis. This allowed me to have different settings for my PS3, TiVo, etc. Now that they are all going into the same input on the TV I can't do that which means I have to tweak the settings manually. I have to remember to put the TV in game mode when using the PS3.

I bought 14 pairs of banana plugs a while back from monoprice during their last sale, but then read somewhere here that the speakers themselves all have spring clips and not binding posts. Is this true, do I have 7 pairs too many banana plugs?

Yes this true, all speakers has Push-Type speaker terminals.

well guess I have some monoprice banana plugs for sale if anyone is interested...

Keep them, someday you may get the urgent need to upgrade the speakers .

based on my experience and the complete lack of onkyo to respond to my emails and my repeated phone calls i have decided to send my second non working unit back for good. instead have decided to go the separates route and just get a receiver and a set of fronts/center, i will never by another onkyo product, they have lost a customer for life.

It's really disappointing to see all these complaints. I'm thinking about exchanging mine because of receiver not liking 1080p signals (Although mine has been accepting them fine for awhile now, but who knows how long that will last), and I've had a few instances where the sound drops out for a second or two. With the three previous receivers I have owned, I have never once had sound randomly dropout before.

For me, the sound quality is fine. I would be impressed with this system if I wasn't encountering these other glitches.

word up.
i'd be satisfied with this HTiB if it cost me $350 though.

Ok, so the S5300 arrived today at the local store (by pre-order) and I already installed it in my room, not complete though, I will finish tomorrow.

However, already installed:
5.1 speakers, will see if can install the other 2 for 7.1
PS3 with HDMI

With the little test time, since I had to go to work, the system is working fine with the 60GB PS3 in 1080p, menu and the Avatar movie.

The settings from the PS3 is in bitstream for Blu-Ray, so the receiver decode the audio, no drop out, no black screen.

Tomorrow I will do a more complete test, also with the Tvix 6500A in HDMI, Wii and other stuff to see how it works.

PRESS RELEASE BY ONKYO TODAY 5/25/2010 MODS MIGHT WANNA MAKE THIS A STICKY

http://www.us.onkyo.com/press_releases.cfm?id=185


im calling tomorrow to report this exact problem along with the sound cutting out and video cutting out. as i type this i have a black screen and f@$ked up sound (switched channels) and im just trying to watch TV!

correction: it just flashed 480X720 and now i have a blue screen with no sound or picture... ONKYO really messed up with this one..

that's a error code? damn... I plan to buy a PC fan bigger than 120mm to put it on the top of the receiver, blowing up.

i think it was telling me 720x480 resolution. which makes no sense since it should be 1080i/p

Update 1:

Ok, I connected the Wii via component and RCA audio to the receiver. Played Super Mario Galaxy 2 for a while, no problems so far, the sound it's good too. Easy configuration.

Also, I tested the 60GB PS3 again with Avatar for more time, with HDMI, also testing different audio tracks, no problems so far, no black screen, 1080p. When changing the tracks, the receiver detects the correct audio format, this is done using bitstream.

All these tests took me some hours, the receiver is working fine for now. No hard reset needed.

However, it gets hot after while, but this is normal (as stated in the manual and the top sticker in the receiver). I will buy 2 PC fans to put them on top, one blowing down, the other blowing up.

I will try later some PS3 games, but these shouldn't have any problems, since most games only runs at 720p, taking less bandwidth.

That doesn't mention if it affects "Direct" mode or not. I don't use "Multichannel" mode. Also how is one supposed to really tell if the surround speakers are reversing? Most of the time the surround speakers are outputting nearly the same thing.

I seem to have the opposite issues with this than others. For me it works fine, I haven't seen any video problems. The only issue I have is sound quality is poor at times.

for me, i noticed it when the sound cut out, and then a car that was passing on the left of the screen came from my right side and gunshots fired off screen right came from the left.

just to update anyone who is interested i sent my second 5300 back and im glad to see it go. before it went i hooked up my new denon 2310 to the speakers and it worked perfectly out of the box 1080p signal and all. imagine that i product that works

cool!
i wish i could afford a denon. i'd return this thing in a heartbeat.
it started dropping out on me now.
does some weird flickery thing, and then eventually drops the video and audio for a second and comes back.
I'd normally say "it could be worse", but this thing wasn't free.