Onkyo TX-NR609, TX-NR509, TX-SR309 Thread - Page 113

Yes they are lossless audio. I'm gonna test some more I'll check out squeeze box too. Thank u for your comments.

Although the Squeezebox Touch is a great device in many ways, I don't think the internal dac is nearly as good as the one in the 609. However, if he feels the problem is due to jitter from the hdmi output of his laptop, at least he would be eliminating that by using the Squeezebox. As a possible alternative, he could use a Squeezebox and hook its digital output to the 609, thereby using its better dac, but eliminating any possible jitter from an hdmi output.(Correct me if I am wrong since I don't own a Squeezebox, but I believe it has a digital output?).

Even though it's HDMI, some laptops only output 2-channel PCM ... not 5.1 bitstream like you would expect.

Yes, coax and optical. I am no expert on DAC, but this thread might be of interest: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/dacs/squuezebox-touch-with-or-without-dac
Edited by Goes to 11 - 9/27/12 at 3:58pm

does anyone know if you can send video through the 609 unprocessed? I want to see if I can have a BD player handle everything. Thanks.

Yes, most (if not all) AVRs will allow this, on the Onkyo AVRs setting them to "Monitor Out - Resolution - Through."

Monitor was already set to out. Didn't find resolution but under hardware -> hdmi through - it was set to off i switched it to bd/dvd - everything was set to off except lip sync which was set to on.

We just updated the firmware on my brother's Onkyo-609 via USB.

 

Now, it sometimes says "Searching for HDMI" on the AVR's LED display.

 

We don't remember seeing that before. Is this something new they added? Is it normal?

Onkyos final response to the pink screen handshake issue with ROKU2

We apologize for the tardiness of our response reagrding this issue; but after extensive researching- we have discovered this is an issue with Roku and not soley our receivers. If you have any more questions or concerns, Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (800-229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT 24 hours a day). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

Thank You;

Forum Moderator

Now I'll bet Roku will come back and say it's Onkyo's fault!!

I would take that bet

I'm a beginner with receivers and have a beginner question. I just set everything up, so what does "last valid" mean when it comes to sound? My second question is how come I never see another type of sound when switching between channels, bd player, USB port, etc? How do I get the best quality sound and have it recognize the type of sound it should?

Select the 'Direct' audio option for all inputs...

Every time I turn the receiver on, it turns on in VCR /DVR mode. How do I get it to default to CBL / SAT mode? I have no input selected for VCR / DVR and have no need for it at this time.

Just fixed the issue. It was because I switched from another onkyo receiver and didn't switch the settings on my harmony one.

I just got a 509 (clearance sale) and while I'm setting it up I thought I'd ask: can you set different inputs to different "position" information? My TV is on a desk so when I watch movies, I sit on the couch against the wall, but when I'm playing computer games I'm sitting at the desk. On my previous receiver (an ancient JVC) it stored different speaker distances for each input. Does the 509 do the same? If so, does Audyssey do that or do I need to do it manually?

Sorry, but no. Only one Audyssey configuration can be used.

Thanks for responding. Is it possible to set up speaker distances manually for each input, or again is it a one-for-all deal?

Think of the Three Musketeers.

Stupid Musketeers... :P

Okay, another question from this newbie... what's the practical effect of setting speakers "small" or "large"? I ask because my mains are a pair of really old (1985 and 40 freaking pounds each) Acoustic Research AR-38Bx's. They've got an 8" woofer, 4" mid and .75" tweeter, and according to the info I managed to gather, their range is 52-32k. I also have a sub, center and surrounds of various makes and models.

On my last receiver I had to specify that the speakers were "small" or I ended up missing out on certain ranges of sound, and Audyssey set the speakers as "small" as well, even though the main cone is larger than the 6.5" diameter it specifies.

And one more question I'm adding, is there a way to have the receiver output sound when the TV is off? I have my computer connected to it but the receiver refuses to appear as a sound device unless the TV is on. Turn on the TV, whup, there's the receiver in playback devices, turn off the TV and it's gone.

*sigh* I'm really always asking for stuff to do what they were never designed to do...
Edited by Oneiros42 - 10/30/12 at 9:53pm

1. LARGE simply means the speaker gets the full range signal w/none of the signal passing to the sub, while SMALL/80Hz means the speaker gets the signal down to 80Hz and anything below that is passed on to the sub. Even if your FL/FR speakers had been set to LARGE, if you read through the Audyssey 101/FAQ Guide linked in my sig, you'll note the recommendation is to reset them to SMALL with 80Hz crossover as doing so will provide more headroom to the AVR and pass the lower frequency load off to the sub which has its own dedicated amp. Also, with higher level models that use other than Audyssey 2EQ (eg. 709), there are far more subwoofer filter control points than speaker control points so it also makes more sense to pass the lower frequencies to the sub for the better EQ processing; however, 2EQ in the 509 is not able to EQ the subwoofer so this benefit does not apply with the 509.

2. HTPC connections can be tricky with HDMI connections. You may need to add an HDMI switch, first connecting it between the 509 and TV to copy the TV's EDID info and then connecting it between the HTPC and the 509 so you can turn off the TV.

How (exactly) is the computer connected to Onkyo?

That's what he means ... no, you can't. Please read manual it's pretty good.

 

If I understand your problem correctly ... I think you can adjust the volume level between inputs so that might work.

Thanks for all the responses. I DID read the manual but they don't always tell you want you want to know. For the computer I'll be using an optical cable to connect to the receiver and use that for sound, that way it doesn't require the TV to be on. I guess games don't use the high-end sound technologies that HDMI provides so it's good enough, I was just hoping to not have to use an extra cable, the back of my desk looks like a jungle as it is.

I guess it would make sense if you knew of my setup, although it's a doozy and probably needs a diagram, but here goes: I have two screens, one 24" PC monitor and one 32" TV. The computer is connected to the monitor by a DVI connector (it doesn't have HDMI) and to the receiver by HDMI, which in turn is connected to the TV by HDMI as well. I use the monitor for everything but games since (despite its lower resolution) it's much sharper and easier to read text from. When I want to play games (like Borderlands 2) I switch monitors to the TV. So I still need to have sound when the TV is off and I'm just using the monitor. As I said, the receiver doesn't seem to accept that it's okay to play sound without the TV on when they're connected by HDMI, hence the bypass with the optical cable. I watch blu-rays with my PS3 which obviously has its own connection to the receiver, and since videogames don't use the high-end sound technologies that HDMI provides (as far as I know), SPDIF should be sufficient for video game surround sound.

Crap on a stick, I was wrong... it's been awhile since I had a functioning receiver that I forgot I had my computer connected to it via discrete analog connections, not the optical since computer games have to be programmed specifically with DD or DTS in order to get proper surround. Nuts, back to square one.

I just don't understand the logic in telling a receiver that it CAN'T broadcast sound unless the TV is on. It just seems like an unnecessary forced limitation.

What you are experiencing is the RIHD feature which when set to on will have the receiver turn on automatically when the TV is turned on and visa-versa with other RIHD compliant devices.
If you turn this feature off you can have sound on the receiver without the TV being on.
Also known as HDCMI-CEC and many other names depending on brand.

RIHD is off, I never turned it on.

If I remember correctly, it is on by default on the receiver, and if your TV is HDMI-CEC compliant than when you turn the TV off it will turn the receiver off and so on.

As far as your setup, it actually seems pretty convoluted in my opinion but I can understand why you have it setup that way. If you do indeed have RIHD off than what you are experiencing is actually normal according the HDMI standards.

It is not an issue with the receiver. HDMI is designed so that there always has to be a two way communication from one end to the other, video output to video input and then back for HDCP content protection data. If the HDCP data stream is interrupted the the output device will cease transmitting data. Because of this a monitor always has to be at the end of the chain and give the HDCP response for the communication to continue, otherwise the signal will be terminated. This is basically built in DRM so that you cannot record the source signal like you can with non DRM analog systems. When you turn the TV off, it is not possible for it to reply with the HDCP signal and so you won't get audio or video through HDMI.
I have read in other forums that there are certain Blu-ray players that are starting to split the audio and video from withing the player so that only Audio can play from video free sources. I do not know for sure, but I think this could only be possible with hardware designed to trick the HDCP signal into thinking that it has reached the end source and received a reply from the Display.

So yes, your only option if RIHD is not the issue is to have the display run while playing audio only or use an alternate audio medium such as SPDIF.

I will also note that many modern PC video games do have what would be considered as high fidelity audio that could benefit from the added bandwidth of the HDMI connection. I have a 5.1 system for my PC and have tired SPDIF vs the direct analog connections from my Audigy Sound Blaster card and there is a perceptible audio quality difference. The analog medium is superior. I do not, however, have an HDMI out on my computer so I cannot confirm if the the extra bandwidth is used with that medium when it comes to audio.

Hi Oneiros42, connect it to "TV/CD" port using analog RCA (L,R) cables or optical cable.

 

The "RFM" comment was about the speaker setup. If it's not in the manual (or really the AVRs Setup Menus ... just explore) ... you can't do it.

 

What you have here is most likely a computer problem. Welcome to the world of HTPCs.

 

My system doesn't work like that. You can turn off all displays attached to the Onkyo, and the audio keeps playing. Now, I do have a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus attached (for a different reason) but I don't remember having the problem you state without it either. If interested in the Gefen HDMI box, search my threads.

 

On my system, the HTPC only sees the Onkyo ... not the TV.

 

Here are some things I have discovered over the years:

 

- With HDMI off the PC ... Win-7 (and fairly current video drivers) is better. I like using ATI-AMD cards. I'm getting 7.1 Digital and 5.1 PCM over HDMI.

- When using HDMI Audio and Video, the sound card is not used... the video card does it all (at least that's the way it works on ATI-AMD).

 

- If using HDMI use it for Video AND Audio. If using SPDIF, marry it with DVI video instead (use a $3 (PC) DVI-to-HDMI (AMP) converter if needed).

 

- Only HDMI can handle multiple PCM tracks (like surround sound channels from games). Games send PCM (not digital bitstreams like DD5.1 or DTS ... like DVD or Movie File). If using SPDIF, you are only going to get PCM stereo in games. Now, the AMP can simulate a "surround effect" from that ... just like it can with any stereo source.

 

I don't use it, but I also suggest you turn off HDMI-Passthrough on your system. Audio from only the AMP's speakers. If AMP is off, Audio DOES NOT play from TV's speakers. If you ignore this advice (or need the feature) you might end up with some dependency on the TV ... Not sure on this, but just thinking.

 

HDMI can be tricky because all the HDMI devices in the chain can affect system. HOWEVER, once you see what you can do with it when it's working ... you will never go back to analog or SPDIF.

Edited by Tesla1856 - 10/31/12 at 5:04pm