[vcuares]

I am close to buying an Onkyo 894, I, however, haven't auditioned one. I'm mainly relying on what people say about the brand.


I happened to audition on what seems to be a KEF 3005/Denon Combo in CC and all I can say is that am very very impressed. My newb ears is saying, "wow, now this in my opinion, is how a crisp and refined system sounds like" . Price is definitely way out of my range.


Again relying on brand and what I read from the kind people in here, I'm rethinking onto something like:


1) Onkyo 504 - refurb

2) KEF KHT1005 or 2) Velodyne CHT Front Row plus $100+ Sub


This new setup is somewhere in the price range of a refurb 894. I do lose on some things.

1) HDMI - I can live with this I only have one, my Plasma - I'll buy a switcher when the need arises.


2) upconverting DVD player via HDMI - seems not an issue. I only have an old XBOX for DVD playback though. Will rely on my Samsung Plasma TV for upconversion. Maybe the Onkyo is not any better in upconversion.


3) AUDYSSEY 2EQ - This feature seems important especially my living room has a high 40 degree angle vaulted ceiling and and has alot corners too.


Wiring in my condo is setup for 5.1. I'm not going 7.1 until after 2yrs where hopefully we do get a house. What setup should i go for?

 

[maestro_bungle]

From what I hear, that Onkyo 503/504 is a damn nice receiver for the price.


I've never heard of KEF, but I only know stuff via word of mouth anyways. The Velodynes are a hot deal. You can also get Polk r15/r150s and a CSi25 center for about the same price, which is what I heard recommended before the Velo deal came along.


$100 sub? Where? I'm looking at that BIC H-100, and trying to score one for under $220. If you can find one, Athena AS-P4000s are supposed to be under $150.



The consensus with AV stuff is the same with computers - you get a better deal mix and matching than you can buying something in a box.

 

[G-star]

HTIB speakers are full of design compromises so that the entire package can meet a certain pricepoint. this is a no brainer...go for the separates.

 

[jmps]

I recently bought the 894. The reciever is essentially the 604 without a few features that didn't matter to me. It is very nice. The sound is very good. I had not considered a HTIB except for this unit. I see the HDMI as a convience and a level of future proofing against digital rights managment. You still have to run some analog video to your monitor for onscreen messaging or for any other analog source (component upscale only) unlike on the 674. I didn't see this as a big deal since the cost savings is HUGE.


The speakers are actually amazing to me for a HTIB. The 3in bass/mid does have a fairly high 65Hz low end. This forces a 100Hz compromize setting for the sub. This is mainly a size issue and I didn't want to move to a larger sat system. Other than that they sound very good for a ported design. My take is that someday I may replace the fronts but this is unlikely and until then this is a really nice system. One real advantage is since all the sats are the same there is no issue with mutlichannel audio.


I did not have a progressive scan DVD so that was a plus for me. The DVD gives very good results.


The speaker wire that comes with the unit needs replacment with at least 16ga. The FM antenna is a monopole. I replaced with a dipole for much better reception. Get a SPL meter it will REALLY help any system you buy. The difference before level adjust and after is striking.


It took a week to find where to place the sub but that is not particular to this sub. Although the 100Hz crossover didn't help.


I highly recommend the system.

 

[vcuares]



Quote:
Originally Posted by maestro_bungle /forum/post/0


$100 sub? Where? I'm looking at that BIC H-100, and trying to score one for under $220. If you can find one, Athena AS-P4000s are supposed to be under $150.

I meant that is the approximate amount I'm going for.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmps /forum/post/0


Get a SPL meter it will REALLY help any system you buy. The difference before level adjust and after is striking.

The 894 has AudysseyEQ, which according to my research does the "EQing" aside from the distance and SPL readings done by the Onkyo mic. Does this mean it isn't doing a better job than the Radio Shack SPL readings? I'm foreseeing issues in tuning for my 20' vaulted ceiling room. This might be a deal breaker on the 894 if Audyssey doesn't make that much difference.


Oh by the way, I also checked my XBOX and it is not progressive scan either.

 

[Jakeman02]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vcuares /forum/post/0


I meant that is the approximate amount I'm going for.




The 894 has AudysseyEQ, which according to my research does the "EQing" aside from the distance and SPL readings done by the Onkyo mic. Does this mean it isn't doing a better job than the Radio Shack SPL readings? I'm foreseeing issues in tuning for my 20' vaulted ceiling room. This might be a deal breaker on the 894 if Audyssey doesn't make that much difference.


Oh by the way, I also checked my XBOX and it is not progressive scan either.

For a quality sub, that's currently out anyway you'll probably spend $200 which is where the bic h-100 is and it's a great deal for the price. Their are a few dicontinued modles out that are great choices also if you can find them, like the Athena AS-P4000 or AS-P400 as mentioned above, should be able to pick one up for around $150.


Audyssey as well as Auto Setup on most any receivers don't set things up to optimal settings, they do a decent job with room leveling eq but other than that you usually have to go in and tweak the settings anyway. Auto Setup would not be a priority on my list for a receiver, you'll get better results by doing it yourself and an SPL meter will help greatly with that an a absolute necessaty with the subwoofer.