[nitz1234]

I just purchased an Onkyo TX-NR414 5.1-Channel and discovered there is no way to connect my Bose 901 speakers to it. Is there an inexpensive receiver that I can hook up the 901's to (and the dang equalizer that is the root of the problem) and connect that receiver to the NR414? My old receiver has no way to be connected to the new receiver from what I can tell. It is an old Onkyo TX-108. Would a new TX-8255 work, and if so, what would the specific hookup be? I am a novice obviously.


Thanks for any help.

 

[jdsmoothie]

Reviewing the 901 manual, it would seem the TX-8255 has the necessary Tape In/Out jacks (connecting to the "Tape 2" in/out jacks as noted in the manual) needed by the equalizer and therefore better suited for your needs.

Although you would be much better suited selling the 901 setup and using the proceeds to buy a traditional 5.1 setup if TVs/movies will make up the majority of your listening.

 

[nitz1234]

Is there a market for 25 year old components? What would be a good $200 - 300 speaker to replace the 901s?

 

[jdsmoothie]

You're really better served asking in the Speakers forum ---> http://www.avsforum.com/f/89/speakers

 

[nitz1234]

I knew the TX-8255 would run the 901's. My primary question was, is there a way to connect the TX-8255 to the TX-NR414? I know the TX-NR414 can run 5.1 plus an additional zone, which would be the receiver with the 901's connected. If it is possible to do this, what connections do I make between the two receivers?

 

[jdsmoothie]

Yes, simply connect a set of RCA red/white cables from the Zone 2 pre-outs on the 414 to one of the set of red/white analog inputs on the TX-8255 (eg. CD, DVD).

 

[nitz1234]

Feel kind of silly asking this, but hey, it's fairly anonymous. Although I originally stated I didn't think there was a way to hook up my ancient Onkyo TX-108 (manual attached) to the TX-NR414 in a similar manner as described with the TX-8255 - is it in fact possible to avoid having to buy another receiver and simply connect the TX-108 to the TX-NR414? And if so, which inputs on the TX-108 do I use and will the TX-NR414 then be able to control the 5.1 surround speakers and the Bose 901's?


Thanks!

Onkyo TX108 user manual.pdf 1242k .pdf file

 

[jdsmoothie]

That's a very poor quality .pdf; however, it appears to have the same Tape 1 In/Out and Tape 2 In/Out jacks as does the 8255 so yes, you can connect it to the 414 in the same configuration I previously suggested for the 8255.

 

[nitz1234]

I attempted to connect the TX-108 via the CD jacks to the 414 Zone 2 jacks per your instructions with no success. You mention Tape 1 In/Out and Tape 2 In/Out jacks in your most recent post. Should I be trying one pair of those jacks instead? I am an amateur, so I need explicit guidance. There is only one pair of Zone 2 jacks on the 414, so that is easy. But the TX-108 has many paired jacks. Which two exactly should I use? Mindful that the equalizer for the 901's must occupy a set of 4 Tape In/Out jacks. Sorry for the poor quality PDF, it took me a long time to find that online and that is all there was available.

 

[jdsmoothie]



• Step 1 - Review the 901 Owner's manual and connect the 901 Equalizer to the Tape "2" In/Out jacks on the 108 as shown in the diagram in your 901 Owner's manual.
• Step 2 - Make sure the 108 is connected properly by passing a source to the 901 speakers (eg. Tuner).
• Step 3 - Connect the RCA red/white cable from either the CD input or one of the "Line In" inputs on the 108 to the Zone 2 pre-out jacks on the 414.
• Step 4 - With the CD or Line In source selected (whichever you end up using) on the 108, raise the volume of the 108 to at least 50%
• Step 5 - Select the Tuner on the 414 and raise the volume until you hear it from the 901 speakers.

Note: Zone 2 will only pass analog connected sources, so any HDMI sources you have connected to the 414 will also require connecting an analog red/white cable to pass that source's audio to the Bose 901s.

 

[nitz1234]

Cool, I got the tuner to feed through the 414. Thanks! Now, I have a Cable box/DVR that is connected via HDMI to the 414 which then goes out to the TV. From where to where do I need to connect the analog cable in order to get TV programming through Zone 2 as well?


Thanks again.

 

[jdsmoothie]

You're done with any connections to the 108. The analog cable connection would be from the cable box/DVR to the analog inputs on the 414 with the same source name used for the HDMI input (eg. if the HDMI cable is plugged in to the CBL/SAT HDMI 2, then also plug the analog cable from the cable box/DVR into the analog audio jacks labeled CBL/SAT as well).

 

[nitz1234]

Thanks. Got it all to work. Unfortunately I have the same problem I had when using the TV speaker with the TX-108/901's - very noticeable audio lag. The analog signal comes through a split second before the digital, and of course adjusting lip synch goes the wrong way and can only make it worse. Looks like I will have to abandon this setup after all, unless you or anyone else knows of an inexpensive solution. Seems like any audio delay hardware is fairly expensive and just not worth it. Don't know why, but when I enable the TV speaker and mute it, the 901's and 2 new bookshelf speakers are in perfect synch, but I lose the center speaker. When I turn the TV speaker mode off, I get the center speaker but also get the audio delay. Seems like there should be a way to get the center speaker functioning when the TV speaker mode is on. Any ideas?