Onkyo 5009 too Bright with Klipsch ! HELP ! - Page 3  

Hello,
While there are certainly going to be aspects of the Posts that not everyone will agree with, I would hope that all agree that the 5009 has more than enough power to drive Klipschs. Even a really cheap 25 Pound AVR can drive most any Klispch 5 Channel Speaker System to Reference Levels due to their efficiency owing greatly to being Horn Loaded. By that same token, many do find Klipschs to be somewhat bright regardless of Amplification.

It is interesting that it appears the same Speakers did not seem to be bright when using a TX-SR875. I agree with the Posters who have postulated that perhaps it is the Audyssey XT32's far greater Filtering that might be causing this perception. It might be worthwhile to turn off Audyssey just to see if that is the case. This can easily done just by engaging Dolby Volume as whenever it is engaged, all Audyssey Processing is turned off. Also, I believe that Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ are turned to on by default and might be worth turning off prior to disengaging XT32.

Regardless of the reasons why, I do hope the OP can again be pleased with the sound of his HT. The 5009 has plenty of power. Heck, even the TX-NR609 output around 90 Watts into 5/7 Channels when Bench Tested and does not have near the Amplifier Stage of the 5009.
Cheers,
AD

If you just want to buy amps then fine but I don't believe you will notice one bit of difference. Your receiver has way more than enough power for your speakers. Any replacement amp if properly designed should not impart any radical or even noticable sound quality change as it's purpose is to amplify the existing signal, not change it. I added an Emotiva XPA-3 to my Pioneer Elite receiver and noticed no tonal quality changes at all.

It sure sounds to me that you need to spend some time utilizing the setup systems you have in place in your receiver. There are so many adjustments that can be done in it. Spend some serious time reading the thread in the amplifier section here about your receiver and the thread on the Audyssey sound setup. Yes they are long threads but lots of useful info.

Receivers now-adays require lots of knowledge and time to set up correctly. Sure you can just plug stuff in and it will work but to get the most out of it, you will have to work at it.
Hope this helps.
Pete

Get an Emotiva or Marantz amp and let us know how much better your system sounds.

Hello,
I really do not think that many here would ascribe descriptors like warmer being ascribed when using a different Solid State Power Amplifier. That being said, Emotiva's use far more Gain than most other Power Amplifiers so they would certainly give you the impression that your HT sounds much better when played at the same Volume Level as the AVR or another amp as in Test after Test where participants equate a louder Source as sounding better. However, it is much like the days before Digital Volume when most AVR and Integrated Amplifiers would place most of their power between 9 and 12 o'clock. That is when there is more Gain than Amplifiers with similar Power Supplies, the Amplifier with more Gain will run out of power at higher Volume Levels compared to an Amplifier with less Gain. And with more Gain there can also be issues with the Noise Floor.
AD

The 5009 has a stellar amp section for an AVR. The Klipsh RF series are incredible, don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you different. Your problem is EQ, you need to run and rerun audyssey using a tripod and at least 8 well thought out seating positions. The first three seating positions need to be primary, secondary 1 and secondary 2. The remaining 5 or more seating positions need to be around the seating area, about 3 feet apart, not to close to the mains or the back wall and inside the width of the mains. Rinse and repeat until the sound is stunningly impeccable as it should be WITH NO EXTERNAL AMPS, and Onkyo 5009 and KLIPSCH RF's!!! You have great equipment.

After you run aydyssey, you have to leave EQ alone. Once it sounds good with audyssey your done. Watch the new Underworld Awakening or another top notch sound track and hear it shine.

If the soundstage is too bright..
The low frequencies are not properly balanced and/or calibrated..
Turn OFF all the postprocessing modes except the basic Audyssey Room EQ also I would suggest that you try various positions for your subwoofer..

Just my $0.02..

So change the settings. What were the original settings? Current? A to B comparison here...or just go throw more money at it with a nice big amp!

If as you stated money is really no problem just hire a professional and be done you have a great receiver and great speakers. It has to be the room or some settings(I would go more with settings)which both should be fixable.

Call me stupid but your not using the mic that came with the 875 with the 5009.

Uh Oh, you've done it now.......You better duck

The RF-7's are FULL Range speakers. They have two 10" woofers and they would go lower than many subs!! Audyssey did detect your speakers as full range. 40Hz is the lowest crossover that most AVR's allow and hence they were set to 40Hz. The RC-64 is also a monstrous speaker.

Audyssey works well if you use all the positions. I first did just 2 and it sucked. Then I did all 6 on my Denon 3310 and it was better. I use Audyssey only for HT.

Did you try A-B with pure direct mode. Any processing/room correction/EQ will add coloration to the sound and this is the main reason I am suggesting A-B using pure direct mode. You cant expect the 2 AVR's to have identical implementation of Audyssey or any other DSP. I would not even expect them to have identical D/A conversion. So the fewer the processing, the better the A-B comparison.

BTW, As I already mentioned, adding an Emotiva or other amp is not going to change anything except that you can play the speakers louder. Amps are all neutral, unless it is an amp from Walmart :-) If you just want to kill your curiosity, you can buy the Emotiva amp. In all probability you are going to return the Emotiva amp. If you buy an amp, make sure you set the volume so that you get the same SPL reading with and without the amp. Otherwise you will get the impression that the amp sounds brighter because most likely it will play louder than the 5009 amp at the same volume.

Many people assume that an amp sounds different compared to the AVR for the main reason that the amp will play louder at the same volume level, unless the amp in the AVR is more powerful (which is highly unlikely)

Another thing you might try is to make sure all of your sources that are hooked together (tv, AVR, Sub, blu-ray etc), are all run off the same fuse. You could temporarily put them all on the same power strip for a control test.

Re-run Audyssey, be very methodical (3ft minimum distance between points etc, per my first post) and symmetrical with your measurement positions, use a tripod, AC off, leave the room during squawking.

Always, the first thing you should do after Audyssey runs is over ride Audyssey crossover settings and raise(only raise) the crossover to around 60hz - 80hz for the center/fronts and 80hz for all surrounds. Lower the lfe (lowering lfe is ok) to 80hz. If it's still tinny run it again, then over ride the crossover again. And again...until you like the sound.

Audyssey doesn't set crossover settings, it just reports it to the receiver and the manufacturer( Onkyo) decides what to do with the info and then sets the crossover. Audyssey generally suggests 80hz for the crossover, but depending on what you like you can change it to what you want.

Could it be that your 875 had some setting coloring the sound? Then you get the correct sound on the new receiver and don't like it since it isn't colored in the way you like.

Or it could be there is something wrong with your 5009, is there any way you can listen to a different 5009?

We raised the point about the mic several posts back but it seems to have been missed...
Also Audyssey had a bad run of mics awhile back as well..
If the mic is defective, the results of Audyssey will be corrupted..

Just my $0.02..

Hey folks are just trying to help

From the very start you've seemed very brash so good luck with your system. People have done nothing but try to help you good luck with trying to help him I'm out of here.

Nice attitude.

Good luck.

Best of luck...

Well it is your cocky attitude. You have the money to spend but I dont think you know what you are doing and you also don't seem to try what others are suggesting. Anyone who is trying to help anymore would only be making a fool of himself or herself. I am out too.

BTW, you might want to add some punctuation to your text and also check the grammar so to that you can convey your message more effectively.

If your using the same spots to measure each time, you will get the same basic results.

The 5009 is a little to complicated for some people.

Whether you want to deal with it or not, your problems are a classic case of user error. Don't blame a tool you refuse to learn enough about to use properly.

Always interesting to see someone start a thread requesting help then reject all help. Good luck - you'll be needing it.

Cool it guys...