Onkyo HT-RC270 Official thread - Page 6

Thanks for your response. Taking your idea of putting together a set as opposed to buying a speaker package, I did some playing around on Polk's system builder page and one of the results was the following:
Fronts-2 Monitor 50's
Center-CS1
Surrounds-4 Monitor 30's
Sub-PSW110

Now from some reading I have been doing on here, it seems that many don't recommend their subs saying they are pretty weak. Most say if you go with a polk sub, don't go with anything less than the 505. Now on SD many reported the BIC F12 to be very good for the money. So I did some playing around on Newegg as they have some sales going on some of these speakers:

2 Monitor 50s=$191.96 ($92.99 ea with $5.98 shipping)
1 CS1=$72.98 ($69.99 with $2.99 shipping)
4 monitor 30's=$159.98 ($79.99 each after instant $50 off-would have to have a friend buy a set for me to get both instant discounts)
Subtotal $424.92

From some reading I guess newegg had the monitor 50's cheaper in December (around $80 each), but their prices still are pretty good right now. I would have do decide soon as some of those prices end on 1/17 which doesn't leave me much time to decide. What do you guys think of that for a 7 speaker system (of course would still need to get a sub)? Of course this route doesn't leave much cash leftover for the sub. To add the PSW505 I would be looking at spending over $600 which is a little more than I wanted to spend. I see many also recommend the the bic F12. Right now google shows the lowest price on it to be $134(from a wonder electronics-not sure how reputable that place is) would put me around $550 if I can get it for that price otherwise again I would be looking at over $600. Or I go with a cheaper sub or just wait until I can spend more on the sub. Would this setup with either a F2 or 505 sub be a better 7.1 setup than the energy or klipsch sets or would I just be spending more for the same result? Just spitballing here-let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Mav

Just got the ht-rc270 on a steal from amazon I love it. I'm all hooked up but I'm having a problem with my xbox360 that is hooked up via composite blu ray input. Sound comes through fine but the pictures shows up for 5 seconds then the tv shows a blue screen and says no signal. While messing with the video settings I figured out that if I select enter on any video setting on the receiver menu (which give you a preview of what that particular setting will look like) it shows the xbox image with a black bar across the bottom showing which video setting I've selected. As long as I don't save a particular video setting I can play the xbox with the black menu bar at the bottom. Any ideas how I can get the xbox to display properly?

If you're going for the small, unobtrusive, speaker look, with a hidden sub,
I would recommend going with a set. Small speakers always have weak areas.
A tightly matched set will attempt to balance out the weak spots, and create a
more even range. It is hard to achieve the same results with tiny separates.
You will get good sound from these sets, but they will be limited in power, and
"depth" for lack of a better term. They are great for apartments and dinner parties.
Not so good, for medium to high volume levels, and/or immersive sound (my opinion).

If you don't mind the extra size, and you enjoy really experiencing the music/movies,
I recommend going with the separates. They will give you much richer, balanced sound,
and will handle more power, than most people can tolerate.

I have not auditioned the new Monitor line, so I can't say for sure how your proposed
setup would sound. I can tell you, from past experience that Polk is rarely a bad choice.
They have produced products that are not the top of their price class, but rarely do
they offer a dud. Every once in a while they produce a model/series that is truly amazing for their price class. I personally would go with either the 505 SW or the BIC.
Subwoofers are about moving large amounts of air. The bigger the cones, the better
they will perform (in general). I have not heard the BIC, but I've read good things about
it. Since it is cheaper, that may be the best choice. Based on your price ceiling, I
would probably go with the Polk line + BIC, for $550. Yeah, the Monitor 50 and 60's
have come up for sale a few times, over the last few months on Newegg, and others,
usually in one color or the other. It is possible they will drop again, if you want to wait.
The current price is pretty good, if you don't.

Thanks for the additional feedback. I looked at the dimensions of that polk CS1 and with its height it would block the bottom of my plasma if I were to place it directly in front of the TV on the top of my entertainment center. I would have to put it below the TV on one of the shelves making it then be off center to either one side or the other. It also would take up some equipment real estate, so I would probably have to squeeze some components tighter together due to lack of extra shelf space. I also dug out my old KLH bookshelf pair of speakers and placed them out where one of the surrounds would go. After looking at all of this I am now wondering if maybe the smaller footprint would be a better way to go for my room. I again looked back at the energy set, The speakers size might work much better in the room and the center channel's dimensions would not obstruct the bottom of my plasma. I hear what you are saying about richer sound results will probably be better from the larger polk speakers, but again that comes with a price in regards to the size.

When it comes to the energys
Pros
-5 perfectly matched speakers and the size of the center channel is good
-comes with a a sub
-Price is right ($400)
Cons
-Would need to use my 2 KLH speakers to get to 7.1
-Smaller speakers might not sound as rich and immersive as the polks
-Sub not as powerful as others
-I would need to get speaker stands for the front speakers as I don't have room on my entertainment center to put them and I don't want to wall mount them.
-Only have a 1 year warranty

When it comes to the Polks
Pros
-Sound quality will be nice and rich
-would not need to use my old KLH speakers
-The monitor 50's would not require speaker stands
-Have a 5 year warranty
Cons
-Does not come with a sub so I would have to buy one separately
-Total cost of the speakers is more
-Center channel speaker too large to place directly in front of Plasma causing me to have to put it lower on one of the shelves.

I do also like the Klipsch speakers, but for the money I think the energy's are probably a better buy. Anyways, so now I think I have narrowed my decision down to either going with the energy set or going with the Polk's, but I am not sure about the center channel issue. I am going to look to see if maybe there is a smaller polk center channel that I could go with. I see what you are saying about the polks going on sale alot. A quick seach on SD showed the CS1 has been as low as $60 in the past, the monitor 50s as low as $70 and many sales on some of the others. I don't know if I want to wait to see if the others will go lower or not. On the other hand, I wonder if the energys will ever go on sale again. I will have to decide by tomorrow to either buy the polks(or at least some of them) or just wait as the monitor 30's go off sale after that. Anyways, if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks,
Mav

anyone own the t2: skynet blu ray? if you do. do you get 5.1 or 6.1 when using the rc270?
thanks. I heard that the newer models would play it as 6.1. I own the 605 and I only get 5.1

Jacob

Okay, doing more looking on Google I found a smaller Polk Center channel speaker-the RM8. I wonder if it would be a good match with the monitor 50s and 30's? I also saw that Newegg is selling the RM510 5.1 set for $299.99 after a $100 instant rebate. The reviews on newegg are pretty good for them, but I can't really find any other reviews elsewhere for them. The price is really good, but compared to the energy set, the sub amp is rated at only 100watts RMS and the energys sub is double (200watts). The price is very nice though. I am also hesitant on dropping $400 on the energys when they only have only a 1 year warranty and the fact that I know people get these last year for $150 in the past. Ugghh..not sure what to do...

Based on the reviews, you will probably be very happy with the Energy set.
The only thing that jumps out at me, regarding that set, is the lack of larger
drivers, for the front. Since you want 7.1, perhaps a good option might
be to buy the Energy set, and choose a reasonable pair of fronts, to complement
the set. The Energy fronts could be retasked as one of the surround pairs.
As I mentioned earlier, the RTi4's are an excellent buy, at $150. The current
generation Monitor line would also work well. There are also nicely priced options
from Klipsch, Boston, Sony, Kef, Energy, etc ...

On the separates side of things, there are several types of monitor shelves available,
that allow you to place the Center speaker on top of your TV. Another option is to
raise your TV, with a platform, and place the Center under it. There are some good,
inexpensive options, out there, if you're interested. Also, if you are remotely handy,
in the garage, it is fairly simple to make either type of shelf, and match it to your
entertainment center. The VESA mount holes, on the back of the TV, make a great
place to attach supports, for a monitor top shelf etc ...

How are you feeding the receiver output to the TV?
Are you converting Component to HDMI, or using the
Component output? I'm guessing HDMI, since you see the OSD?
Is there any chance you have an HDMI cable attached to the bluray input
as well?

Turmoil - can you explain further where you made this adjustment? I'm assuming on your PC?

I tried connecting my laptop to the 270 via the standard analog RGB input (ie PC) and I would get a flash of my laptop video on my projector and then nothing. The audio would work fine. I tried messing with a few settings on the laptop, but the laptop kept displaying that it didn't detect an external monitor connection.

Can anyone that owns this tell me if this receiver has an optical out? I can't seem to find the spec or via the picture (both optical/toslink connectors are marked "IN")

I have a set of Tritton AX720 (gaming headset) I drive with my current receiver via this method via it's optical input, so I can use multiple sources without having to change cables for the headset. But without an optical out I'm out of luck as the headset's amp only has one optical input.

My old SONY POS has this feature, so anything playing on the receiver is also output through the one optical out.

Thanks

Hello all. First post but I've been lurking for the last couple of months - so much to read!!! I ordered one of these this week and should show up in the next week or so. My first discrete receiver. It's all very exciting but oh so hard to actual choose something to buy. You could easily be stuck in forever going from forum to forum comparing everyone elses' opinion

Here's hoping all goes well.

No optical out.

Ah well... Looks like my only option wold be to send all audio to receiver via HDMI, then out to TV (Video +audio) and from there use the TV's optical output to pass to the headset's amp. What sucks is that my TV only passes 2 channels which defeats the purpose. Damn it.

I assume there's no outer way to output 5.1 from the receiver to an optical input.

Thanks...

I've never gone looking for such a beast, but it should be
possible to take the preamp outputs and convert them to
optical, if your headset does not support 5.1 analog input
(many do). You could also switch to another headset, that
supports 5.1 in, like the Turtlebeach Earforce (multiple speakers
per ear cup). Does you old Sony support 5.1 analog input?
If so, you may be able to use it as the "converter box".

Thanks for the comments. I am converting component to hdmi and only utilizing the blu ray component input. Any other suggestions?

It has been a while since I've setup a 708 which is similar to the 270. I have someone who wants the OSD and Volume to overlay over HDMI video that's playing and I can't for the life of me remember if these receivers do it. Would someone let me know? Thanks.

Yes they do. The only thing they don't do is overlay the setup menu.

Well I just pulled the trigger on the Energys-newegg is offering a $100 GC which I can put toward a future purchase of a TV for the basement. I will then use my existing 2 KLH speakers to complete the 7.1 setup. I was planning on buying this speaker wire and wanted to know if it would be good to use for the energys.

100ft-14gauge or can I just use the 16 gauge version of that? I also hear banana plugs are recommended.

I plan on placing the surrounds on end tables I have on both sides of the sofas, but I will also need to get some speaker stands for the front speakers. I see monoprice sells these stands. Anyone ever use them or have any others to recommend?

I also had a question on how the subs connects to the receiver. Looking at the online manual of the sub, it states to just use a single RCA cable and connect it from the reciver "subwoofer/pream out" to the "line in/sub in" on the rear of the subwoofer. Can I just use one end of a standard red/white RCA cable or should I buy a new single RCA cable like this one for a subwoofer hookup?

Lastly, Am I missing anything? Thanks everyone for your help.
Mav

Yeah, great deal, and perfect timing :-)

You should be okay with 16 gauge, since you are not
doing really long runs, or driving a ton of power. Personally,
I would go with 14 gauge, for future proofing, and you will
get better power delivery (which equates to better rendering
of finer details). The price difference is only a few dollars.

Yes, I would recommend banana plugs, or spades/pins, at least
on the receiver side. The back of the receiver gets pretty crowded,
with 8 speakers and sources attached. The problem gets much worse
if you have a tight A/V cabinet. Being able to quickly plug/unplug the
speaker cables is a big plus, when you're setting up or making changes.
I use a Lazy-Susan, in my cabinet, so I can easily get to the back of the
receiver.

For the subwoofer, go with a higher quality coax cable, to cut down on
interference pickup, and for abuse management. Like this one:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Anything else? Sounds like you've got it well covered. You might consider a
surge protecting power strip, and audit your source/output (HDMI) cables, to make
sure they are long enough to route to/from your receiver.

Good luck,

V=IR

Thanks. Yeah it was good timing-glad I waited a little longer. I will go ahead and pick up the 14 gauge wire since some of my runs for the rear surrounds may be around 25' and I will also pickup that coax cable you recommended. For the banana plugs or wire pins, does it matter what type I get? I have never used them before-do they just crimp onto a stripped end of speaker wire or do you need to buy a tool to put them on? Lastly, any suggestions for stands? Those ones I posted seem to have overall good reviews-some of them even stated they used them on the energy speakers. I looked a little on amazon, but I couldn't find anything less than $25 for a pair, so it seems like a good deal. Thanks again for your help.
Mav

It sounds like either your TV or the receiver thinks the Component
input is not being driven. Since you can see the Xbox, whenever the
setup menu is being displayed, I'm guessing the TV is giving up. I wonder
if the HDMI cable, between the TV and the receiver is picking up too
much interference, or too low quality? Do you have any "noisy" devices
near the Xbox component or receiver to TV cables? By noisy I mean a
wifi antenna, powerline network, high current amplifier etc ... Here are
things I would try, to see if you can determine where the problem lies:

1. Drop the Xbox and receiver output to 720P. If that works, bump the
receiver to 1080P, and see if it keeps working. if so, the problem is likely
in the Xbox component cable. If not, then the problem is likely on the
HDMI cable going to the TV.

2. Try the other component input set on the receiver

3. Try a higher quality Xbox component cable (some are pretty cheaply made).

4. Try HDMI out of your Xbox (if you have an HDMI version).

5. Try the component output of the receiver into the TV.

6. Try rerouting the Xbox and receiver to TV cables, to try to reduce
RF interference.

7. Confirm that the Component inputs are being wired correctly (it is easy
to get the plugs in the wrong jacks, especially in low light).

8. Move any "noisy" devices away from the receiver/Xbox/TV/cables.

9. Try a latest generation High speed with Ethernet HDMI cable between
the receiver and the TV (lasted generation cables are better shielded). See
my earlier posts, for an inexpensive example.

By the way, your original post mentioned you were using Composite. I assumed
you meant Component. Can you clarify which you are using?

If you've never used them before, I recommend you go with the banana plugs.
They're the most easy to use, and are not any more difficult to attach, than the
spades or pins. There are different brands/styles of banana plugs out there. Some
are a little better made, and thought-out, like the Monster Cable versions, but they
are also a lot more expensive. For your power levels, I would think pretty much any
version, you pick up, will do well. Try to stick to gold plated, if possible. Ebay, Amazon
etc ... have lots of options available. Most attach to a stripped wire end, using set
screws, or capture the splayed wire between two parts of the plug body. Better quality
versions will include paint/marking to identify which is the positive/negative terminals,
and will often have more spring contacts. Also useful is any sort of cable strain relief.
Some versions grab the insulation, others can be tie-wrapped to the plug body (dual
plug versions). I like to "tin" (solder) the stripped wires, if I am using the set screw
versions (more set screws the better), but that's not mandatory. Solder just keeps
the oxidation down a bit, and improves the connection between the wire body and
the plug. If you do not solder, you might consider reattaching you banana plugs
every few years (cut the speaker wire, strip and re-attach). Pay close attention
to the speaker wire markings. There is usually some way to identify one conductor
over the other. You want the positive and negative terminals, on the speakers, to
match up with their equivalents on the receiver. Also be careful to assure that there
are not any strands of wire protruding from the plugs. Shorting an amplifier output is
a bad thing.

I've never used that style of stand. It looks pretty well made, and appears
well suited for the Energy set. The triangular base may be a bit of a tipping
hazard, if you have the poles extended, and you are on carpet. It also depends
on how heavy are the speakers. You can always attach a stabilizing board to the
bottom of the stands, if necessary. Without seeing how they attach to the speaker,
I can't say if they will have a noticeable impact on the sound quality. Probably not,
as long as they are not allowed to vibrate. They look like a pretty good deal,
especially since you are on a tight budget. In the $30 range, I have found this
style Sanus stand works well. The spiked feet help isolate the stand from the carpet.
They are sturdy, hide the wires, and look pretty good. They come in different heights,
if 24" is not tall enough.

http://www.amazon.com/SANUS-SYSTEMS-...5387685&sr=8-3

It is possible that there is something wrong with your receiver. The problem
could also be the older firmware. Several people have reported improved network
behavior after updating. Before you send it back for exchange, I would try again to
get the firmware to update. It sounds like you followed the steps in the PDF,
trouble shooting case 4. I would follow those steps again, and exactly follow the
USB upgrade steps. In particular, follow the settings changes in "before your start".
I would also disconnect all other devices/network from the receiver (speakers and
TV should be okay). You might also check your power situation. It is possible that
you are getting short term brown-outs. Moving the unit temporarily to another
location, for the USB update, might help. Throw the remote in a drawer, during
the update, just in case it is acting up (or cover the IR sensor window, in case
some other IR source is causing problems). If you still can not get the firmware
to update, punt, and get a exchange, before you go beyond the return period.

First of all the radio would be a bad source for a sub. I would get the speakers and sub seperately. The sub forum has a lot of usful info.

Gefen makes such a converter:

Takes analog audio and converts it to digital via TOSLINK / SPDIF

The GefenTV Analog to Digital Audio Adapter converts analog Left/Right RCA-style audio connections to digital S/PDIF or TOSLINK outputs. The unit is compact, easy to install, and operates in a wide variety of operating conditions.

How It Works
Simply plug in your analog audio source into the RCA jacks, then connect your digital receiving device to your choice of either coaxial or optical digital output. Power-cycle all connected equipment, and you will be enjoying digitally converted audio from your analog source at the receiving device.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=5278

I've seen it sell for less.

I would take the audio from the VCR/DVR OUT as it provides a constant rather than variable level.

onecall.com has the HD1000 on sale all the time for around $525-$550. As far as the sub goes, I can't even turn mine half way up, without getting complaints. So needless to say, I am very happy with it.

I'm experiencing similar issues. Right now i'm running a 5.1 setup with Polk Monitor 70s as fronts, a CS2 center, and Monitor 40s as backs and a PSW505 for the subwoofer. I ran the RC270 with default settings for the first week I had it, but last night I finally had a chance to do the Audysessy MultiEQ setup. When I started the setup I had to dial the volume knob on my PSW505 so far down its only at about 15-20% of its volume to hit the 75dB desired level before continuing with the multi eq. After finishing the calibration i'm noticing a significant lack of bass as well as overwhelming volume from the surrounds, almost to the point i'm having trouble making out the dialog in TV shows etc.

Going into the speaker configuration it has set the x-over on my fronts and centers to 40hz and surrounds to 90hz. However bass still seems to be weak even in blurays/dvds with dedicated .1 LFE soundtracks. I'm going to try increasing the crossover today on the fronts/center, and maybe turning up the volume knob back to 50% again on my PSW505. I know this subwoofer can thump based on when I ran my old kenwood receiver and even on this onkyo when I used the defaults, but I'm thoroughly disappointed in the Audyssey MultiEQ, especially considering all the hype.

Anyone have any other suggestions on what I can try to get a better calibration? I had my room completely quiet (turned off HVAC, all other electronics, and even my fridge in the other room).

Thanks in advance, Dan

That does not sound like a typical MultEQ setup. One thought is the Mic could be defective.

Hey guys,

I was setting mine up last night, got everything hooked up as desired, then proceeded to update the firmware via the internet connection. Everything was going well, I saw the progress make it to 100% and then it went on to do some other things that I wasn't able to pay attention to. The on-screen instructions said to not do anything for 30 minutes or something like that.

Well, in an attempt to make good use of my time, I decided I would hook up a LAN line to my TV and as I pulled the line, I accidentally disconnected the power to the receiver! Well, I went back in to see if I could rerun the update to the firmware and the option was no longer available; it was no longer highlighted.

All that said, everything seems to be working right. Finds my network automatically and it's able to stream Pandora... Is there anything else I should be concerned about with regard to the firmware update?