Onkyo TX-NR609, TX-NR509, TX-SR309 Thread - Page 9

RW: CAn you please clarify? YOu are saying that the ATV2 would be far better than the AT1 on the NR609? Why is that? I didnt think there was much of a difference between the two models...
Thanks.

Hi guys!

I'm pretty new to Onkyo's and AVR's, and I do hope you won't mind me asking these noob questions.

First of all, I currently have an Onkyo 509, with Polk RTi A3's as fronts, RTi A6 as center and OWM3's as Surrounds and a PSW110 as a sub.
I've been having trouble getting the Audyssey 2EQ to work out. The result of my A2EQ calibration is good for music, background movie sounds and games, however, I feel like my center speaker isn't being driven properly because when I turn up it's volume via Level Cal, the sound quality is very sharp and tiring to listen to in the mid area, but my bass and highs are really good.
My Speaker Cal based on Audyssey 2EQ are as follows:
Front: -12
Surround: -12
Center: -11
Sub: -9
Speaker Distance Measurements are pretty accurate.
All Speakers are set to Small and my Crossover is set at 100Hz.

I did calibration by putting the mic on a tripod on the couch for center (Position 1), then I moved to the right by 1meter (Position 2), with the tripod on the floor, but maintaining height of Pos 1. Then I moved the tripod to the left of Pos 1 by 1 meter as well.
My room dimensions are about 12 ft x 8ft with a low ceiling of 7ft.

Looking forward to your advise.

- JC

No, I do not know enough about the ATV to make judgements on that model. I do know the ATV2 is an excellent AirPlay device, and far more competent at it than what Denon came out with, and if Onkyo decides to implement it, what they could come up with as well.

Onkyo did have hints of AirPlay capability built into their free app. It was there in just before the 2011s were released and it is in their latest build (see attachment). There's a mystery net service on the 3009 and 5009 AVRs and Integra 70.3/80.3 network protocol sheet called "Namihei" which does not mean particularly anything. However, it is missing from the Onkyo iOS app, and in it's place is "AirPlay".

rworne and LAR196,

The biggest difference between ATV1 and ATV2, is the way the content is stored, or not really stored at all in the case of ATV2. The old ATV1 required that you sync the device with your computer; the content (music, photos, movies, etc.) was then stored to the hard drive of the ATV1. The new ATV2 wirelessly streams all content from your desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad, etc. The feature is really pretty slick. It even works between multiple accounts with Home Sharing. If you own an iPad or iPhone, the ATV2 really is a must at only $99. With the free "remote app" from Apple, your iPhone or iPad become a truly seamless remote interface wirelessly "Airplaying" all of your content. If you have people over to your home, and they also have the remote app, they can request songs from your iTunes library (if you allow access). You can then choose to play the song or put it in the cue; incredibly neat feature if you have people over often. You can also choose which photo albums to stream to the ATV2. While music is playing, all of your photos are cascading down your TV display. Too many other features to list...Netflix, Airplay Pandora, Rent TV shows, etc.

I can't say enough about this product. If anyone is debating getting one of these, do it. Money well spent at only $99. Have your own poor man's Home Theater PC.

rworne,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Denon Airplay feature being less than thrilling; I figured it wouldn't be all that special. I am currently debating between Onkyo/Denon. From what I have seen so far, the Onkyo just has more features. I currently own an ATV2 which makes the Airplay feature even less useful to me; it seems like the only feature the Denon has that the Onkyo doesn't have, is this Airplay. When comparing the Onkyo NR709 to the Denon 2312CI, I can't really find an argument for picking the Denon. I'm new to AV receivers and I gather both Onkyo and Denon make a solid product, but I feel like the Onkyo has a leg up in the features category. Not to mention, I'm really leaning toward the HT-RC370 which looks like it can be had for $699 ($100 less than the Denon 2312CI)

Hey john_nemesh... Great review (post #39, should have quoted)! I echo your sentiments about sound enhancement across the board. I upgraded from an old Onkyo 501 and was similarly blown away.

I am having trouble getting my android app to work. I am sure the ip address and port number are correct. Did you have any trouble getting your phone to sync with the 609? I am still using the free version of OnkyTune because I haven't been able to get it to work yet and don't want to pay for anything until I am sure it works. Any suggestions you could provide would be helpful (to both me and the developer).

do you mean Onkytroller? thats the only android app that I could find. Its working for me - although it can be stubborn. Assuming you are using onkytroller - Does your "NET" stuff work on the onkyo - if so then you should try to enter the ip address of the onkyo into a web browser from your network - it should take you to a web set up menu. If that works, then you know your onkyo is good to go on the network. Next go into the setup menu on the onkyo itself and make sure network control is enabled and your port is listed as the same you have onkytroller set to. Mine is the default - 60128. You can also try to telnet in from a windows command prompt - "telnet 192.168.0.9 60128" in my case. After I do that I get a response like this - "iscp> @!1NSLCP" - then a whole bunch of stuff if I send it a command.

This is all basic stuff that you have probably already tried.

My problem with onkytroller is the connection is hit or miss.. I think I have found that I must turn on wifi on the phone first, then start onkytroller - if I start onkytroller first before wifi then I must force close it and start over once the wifi is connected.

good luck!

Nevermind... I figured out the problem.

mine came in yesterday...from Vanns....what a beast! I upgraded from an older Onkyo that was a beast, but this is a real beast.

Hookup and setup was fairly simple but took me a while as I cleaned up a bunch of wiring. The menu and 'new' features still have be a bit overwhelmed but I'll knock em out in a few days.

I have to say, I dont like the upconverting. Out of the box it looks like arse, the conversion crushes my black levels and makes it look like my tv has cataracts. Adjustments didnt do much either. It looks better without any conversion.

OSD menu is very nice.

I'll get to check out the other stuff today and report back on the audio powers....

I also received 609 yesterday, connected to my speaker set which was from Onkyo's HTS5400. (7.1). I find that unless I increase volume to level 50 it is not audible clearly. Is it normal (for TV as well for few DVD/blue ray I found this).

I upgraded firmware right away. First time hung at ARM writing 13%, powered off and tried again and worked second time flawlessly. Did through USB upgrade process. Overall I think it is nice, still wary of HDMI reliability after reading all posts. But happy so far except volume levels.

I'm running into two problems:

1 - I'm unable to update the firmware because of an Error '13 (no internet connection detected). I know the Cat5 is live but I'm not getting connected to the internet. The Ethernet cable is running from a cable modem to a router and to the 609. I havent changed any setting but confirmed that the HDMI Control (RIHD), whatever that is, is set to OFF out of the box.

2 - On some basic channels of my cable box, I'm getting a bright green vertical line off to the side. And oddly, the unit chooses PLIIx Movie for basic channels (loud) and switches to Dolby B when I change to a hi-def channel (quiet).

How much work should it take to get the ethernet running out of the box? Worry about long struggle....

Thanks!

Is your router handing out and IP via DHCP? That would be the first place I would look. My unit was up and running within seconds of putting it on the network.

As far as the green line - sounds almost like a defect. Make sure you have through set for hdmi via the 609 menu and see what happens. The 609 chooses PL IIx because it was the last thing it used for a non dolby digital 5.1 source. You should be able to change surround / listening mode and it will remember the last setting.

Can someone please tell me if 609 has a wireless connection to network or you have to hard wire it?

Thanks, Jim. I had hoped not to have to investigate what my router was doing :-) My Belkin router does seem to have the following settings in place though: Connection Type = Dynamic, DHCP = Enabled. Does that lead you to believe that the router is not the issue. I'll poke around more but suspect a call to Onkyo's helpdesk is coming my way; I hope they have such a thing!

Per an earlier post on the previous page, the wireless adaptor is to be released by Onkyo in early May.

Can anyone tell how the onkyo 609 compares to the denon 2311.. I mean sound quality...and how would it pair with the def tech speakers

My speaker distance measurements didnt come out very accurate, so I adjusted them manually. Maybe I'll try it again and move the mic exactly 3 feet for positions 2 & 3.

The connection type set to dynamic could be how the router connects to the cable modem. What happens when you introduce a new device to your network wirelessly? You need to look for DHCP settings for the local network in the belkin setup and make sure its on. You could also hook the onkyo directly to the cable modem to see if that does it - if it does, then you know its the belkin. It sounds like the belkin is not handing out ip addresses though and thats your issue.

Hi guys,

Looking to upgrade from a 602 to the 609. Can anyone tell me if the receiver has to be powered on to pass audio to the tv speakers?

For example, my wife doesn't like to mess with the receiver or the speakers, the TV speaker is fine for her.

So can I set it up like this:
Cable box (8300HD) HDMI to 609 ->HDMI to TV (LG 55LE8500). Can I get sound out of the TV speakers with the receiver off?

Thanks.

Thats like asking how a chevy sounds compared to a ford. Its a tough question that boils down to personal preference.

I have to raise the volume level to about 50 hear audible in my room on my tx 609 (not big, apt living room). Is it common? If I pump upto 60-70 it is good for normal viewing. please comment. have onkyo speakers.

I bought this adapter: NETGEAR WNCE2001 Universal WiFi Internet Adapter. It works great. You can also put a switch on it and use it for your TV, Blu-Ray or whatever.

I also considered this one: TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA. It is a little cheaper. The NETGEAR got slightly better reviews so I went with that one.

BTW I am using Nero MediaHome as my DLNA server and it works great. It came free with my LG TV.

Ok did some more playing....features are nice, but damn the controls on the remote are not intuitive. I had to read the manual.

Volume has to be cranked up to be audible as compared to my older receiver where 20 was decent. I guess its all releative...these start in the 40's. I did read in the manual it can be adjused.

Did any of you who ordered from vann's get a rather generic invoice in the box?

It is supposed to - there is a menu option under hardware for HDMI thru - the video works fine with the unit off, however I do not hear any sound. I thought I read somewhere that the latest firmware broke it and they had to do something to fix it - let me see if I can find it.

yep

Just got mine yesterday from Vann's. It's definitely a neat little unit. Looks pretty good and sounds great. I've been playing around a little with the music surround modes and there's a lot of interesting options. I'm not sure why THX mode is so much quieter than the other modes. It's a tall unit but not very deep.

I did the firmware download last night with no problems. I still notice bugs with trying to change settings while in Net mode. I've played around a bit with Pandora, which is pretty basic as someone else stated. Mediafly is cool as you can listen to the latest podcasts as a stream. I'll probably upgrade my Sirius to use the online streaming.

A couple issues: I have a Panasonic Plasma and I can't leave the display up all the time. I don't know if there is a screen saver or moving info option.
Also wondering if I can listen to one source while watching a different source.

Anyway it has a really nice, big manual that I need to investigate more.

This confirms my observation too, thanks!

I verified it - go to hardware - hdmi - set hdmi through to the input you want. Make sure you leave Audio TV Out to OFF. Exit all the way out and then Turn off the onkyo and it will pass the input you selected through with sound while the 609 is off. If you set Audio TV Out to On then it will disable the amp speakers when the amp is on.

Thanks for the input I think I'm going to stick with the denon..I love the way it sounds with def tech speakers.

Ps.. I don't drive amercian made cars so I wouldn't know what either sounds like ..lol

This is a good suggestion. Unless there is a special connector on the back of the 609, using the USB will cause the loss of using the USB port for other things, mainly iPod and other USB playback sources. If the Ethernet port cannot be used for a wired connection, it can be used with this wireless adaptor and free up the USB port.