Onkyo TX-NR609, TX-NR509, TX-SR309 Thread - Page 105

I upgraded my front L and R speakers after i bought a 609. What I did was buy a Onkyo M-282 amp and use that for the two front speakers. You can get them 2 amazon for under two hundred bucks now and its a pretty cheap way to add 200w of power @ 8 Ohms.

^^
How did you manage that, considering the 609 doesn't have any main zone pre-outs?

I live in an apartment currently, and for my uses, I love my 509. I've got it hooked up to a simple 5.0 system right now, just trying to find the right sub that isn't going to vibrate the place, but will give me those deep sounds.

On the other end of things, I have a close family friend who just bought the 609, and he loves it too. He's got a 5.1, thinking about either a 7.1 or adding two patio speakers to outside for the 2nd zone.

I swear this worked for me before a couple weeks ago. I recall that in the AiOS, I switched the Audio settings for HDMI from RAW to LPCM and LPCM-Multi Channel to try and prevent the subwoofer from popping when I pause/un-pause 5.1 channel content. I went straight back to RAW when I realized 2 channel sourced content had no subwoofer.

Source: 2 channel .flac music files (well, ANY 2 channel source; audio or video)
Player: Pivos AiOS media extender
Receiver: TX-NR509
Listening Mode: Direct
Speaker config: Mains = small, Subwoofer = yes

When I begin playback on a 2 channel source, I get L+R, no subwoofer. This is different than a couple weeks ago when any 2 channel source would kick out sound through the mains AND subwoofer.

I hope someone can help me get the lows back...

The bolded part above is the reason you are not getting 2.1. If you are listening to a Stereo source it will only be 2 channel which mean no center, no subwoofer, just left and right channel. You are using direct mode so the receiver is ignoring all crossover setting you had set and only putting the audio out exactly as it is coming in. e.g. 2 channel, left and right only.
You will have to use the Stereo setting or one of the Music listening modes to be able to have the sub be used with a stereo source.

Looking for some advice. I have a 509 and I'm looking to expand from 5.1 to 7.1 using the surround back connections (pre-out). Looking for a recommendation on power amp. Don't want to spend a lot of money. Thanks.

Awesome. Thanks so much for seeing what I had done wrong.

Use the zone2 preouts hooked to the M-282 to power the front L and R speakers.

^^

Sure ... but then that limits you to analog only sources connected to the 609 as well as No Audyssey on those speakers, but as long as it works for you, that's what counts.

 

Well, whatever you get you can keep it turned down. Audyssey calibration sets it pretty low anyway.

 

Not sure what your other speakers are, but even a little 100-200w , $100-200 Polk (or other descent consumer maker) will make a big difference. Also, off-loads some bass from your mains ... letting them do their part better.

His regret was that he didnt have enough power for his speakers with a 609 and neither do I. That's the solution and it works short of throwing away the 609 and spending a grand + on a better high end unit. I agree its not the end all of the problem, but for the price point its a good start.

^^
Sure if you're only interested in STEREO audio, but that's not a viable solution with a 5.1 or 7.1 setup which is what most folks want as well as using Audyssey.

Hi,

Regarding the 509: I was wondering if anyone could tell me how this receiver would handle surround bitstreams (both the new HD, and standard types) if there were only two speakers present (stereo 2.0). Does if effectively downmix ALL channels (including the LFE channel) to the front speakers?

I have an older Pioneer unit which excludes the LFE channel when used this way, and a Sony unit which includes it. Curious as to how the Onkyo works...

Also, does the USB connection support NTFS?
Edited by Oubadah - 6/8/12 at 7:23am

So sorry to disapoint next time some one asks what they can do for more amps I will tell them to throw their 609 away and get a Denon and a link to another thread. BTW I didnt see what your solution was to up his amps on the 609 besides say mine wasn't "Viable" or good for "Audyssey". I'm all ears, lets have it

^^
No disappointment at all ... simply that your solution is a very unique one and although works for you, would not for most other owners.

Also note that my response has nothing to do with recommending a Denon AVR.

1. Yes. Most (if not all) modern AVRs will down convert multi channel 5.1 audio to stereo to include the LFE channel when there is no sub.

2. No, only FAT16 or FAT32.

Thanks. If I have one drive with multiple FAT32 partitions (to keep them under the 32gb-or-whatever limit), will the unit see them all as multiple drives, or can it only see one partition per one drive.

And are any of the internet radio services free?
Edited by Oubadah - 6/8/12 at 8:01am

I don't know what the receiver would do in this case, a best it's likely to only see one partition, but the 32GB limit is an artificial one imposed by modern versions of Windows. Third party utilities and other operating systems (even Windows 98) can format FAT32 partitions up to 2TB in size. Once formated Windows has no problem reading and writing from FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB.

You're right. Now I remember going through all this before, thanks for reminding me.

I'm interested in putting a FLAC library on an external drive to play via the receiver. Can anyone comment on it's FLAC playback? Any issues encountered? Will the unit's USB port provide enough power to start USB powered 2.5" drives, or should I stick to externally powered drives?

EDIT: Oh, looking at a pic of the rear of the unit I see a label stating that the 5V USB port is 1A, so it should have no problem with 2.5" drives (typically around 500ma).
Edited by Oubadah - 6/8/12 at 8:21am

I can't comment on all aspects of your question, but I stream my music collection which is almost exclusively in flac format from a NAS to the 509 and it sounds and works very well. I have a collection of 96/24 flac (HDTracks files on the NAS which the 50 9 also plays quite well. Further I have some 96/24 WAV files which also play quite well on the 509, so I think you are safe in assuming you won't have a problem with that format. As for the hard drive being connected to the usb port, I think that may depend on the power requirements of the drive versus the output of the port on the 509. I have some experience with another AVR using a connected hdd and some of them worked just fine and some refused to work without a separate powered usb hub(this is a work-around if you already have the drive and find that the 509's hub doesn't provide sufficient power). So if you are looking to buy a new drive, it may be difficult to know in advance if it will work or not using the 509's usb port directly.

Can't confirm on the Onkyo (ie. no mention in the Owner's manual), but this is the case for Denon AVRs.

Although it's likely possible, the Owner's manual recommends using an AC adapter.

For the life of me I can't get Dolby TrueHD working from my PS3 slim to my TX-NR609.

I have it setup to bitstream, whenever I select TrueHD only and the two PCM that it requires on the PS3 is goes to PCM, when I select all of the Dolby Options is plays DD instead of TrueHD. Auto also falls back to DD.

DTS-HD seems to work fine.

The movies I've tried were all Warner Brothers movies, because everything else seems to be DTS-HD.

Tried Twister, The Dark Knight, and The Perfect Storm.

I also tried PCM to the Onkyo and it shows PCM but the PS3 shows it's sending DD, not TrueHD.

Anybody?

A couple of things here may be your issue. First off, when sing the PS3, always use PCM otherwise you are not getting the HD sound. Make sure the AVR's settings for the input is set to Direct and not Dolby Digital or some other setting such as Stereo . This can be found under the setup menus, not sure which one off hand right now.

Doesn't sound like you actually have the DD TrueHD track selected on the BD. Confirm it is selected as it's not always the default sound track.

Huh? He's got a "slim" model which can bitstream the HD audio tracks.

Oh, oops. I forget most people aren't using the old FAT PS3 like me.

Thanks JD that was it. I tried in Twister but didn't see the HD track, so I never looked on Dark Knight, but when I did it was there and worked perfectly when selected.

I'm sure the Twister one is there too I just have to find it.

^^
Sure ... I guess I actually can be helpful to you Onkyo boys from time to time.

Figured I'd ask here too. Any thought on if bi-amping some B&W 685's with the TX-NR609?