i just got a really good deal on a Onkyo tx sr500 and am having problems hooking it up. it plays every dvd in pro logic, i can't get anything in DTS or dolby. i'm using a Monster Optical cable and i've tried 2 dvd players, a sanyo and sony. could it have something to do with way the video is hooked up to the receiver? i'm at a loss here
Make sure that you only have the optical and not the analog cables connected and see if you are still getting sound. If so then your dvd player could be defaulting to pro-logic on movies. go through the set-up on the dvd player and select Dolby digital as the default and just to be sure select DD manually in the audio selection menu of the movie. I am not familiar with this reciever specifically but some recievers don't indicate DD decoding clearly and it might actually be doing it while indicating Pro-Logic. To check this play the movie and disconnect your center channel. If the vocals totally drop out then it is processing correctly. If you are still hearing the vocals mixed into the left and right then your problem is elswhere. But make sure no analog cables are connected from the dvd first. The video connection will have nothing to do with this.
Budd
Posted on
Ok, i got it working, but i had to use a coaxial cable to get it to work, it wouldn't work with a optical cable. i'm starting to rethink this reciever. it sounds really really good, but it not working with the optical cable worries me. i was thinking about returning it and getting the tx sr501. it would cost me about $80 more to go with the 501. would it be worth it? keep in mind this reciever is for my bedroom so i don't need super loud music or tons tons of power, just good sound.
The room that it is in doesn't matter, the speakers you are pushing do. As long as the reciever powers the speakers to your satisfaction then you have enough power. The fact that you couldn't get your optical cable to work is troubling. If the input is bad and you add components then you could be up a creek later on. I am more familiar with Yamaha, Denon Sony, Kenwood recievers but Onkyo is supposed to be very good. what is the price of the SR500 and what do you like about it?
Budd
Posted on
i go the tx sr500 for $220, but i can get the tx sr501 for about $300. both are rated at 65w per channel, the 500 is 5.1 ch and the 501 is 6.1 ch. the 501 also has compenent inputs, and dd ex and dts es. who do you guys think?
Budd
Posted on
Bump
Steveo
Posted on
I just bought the SR501 for $299.00, and I was concerned about there only being 65 watts of power (although it's high current) ... I have some old Bose 501's for my front chanel... I have never heard them sound so good! I am new to surround sound, and I got some old boston accoustics on the back channel L & R, and some Radio Shack book shelf speakers for the F center, and B center... I will get better speakers off of EBAY for the centers, but I must regoup my cash before I can do that... 300 bucks is a lot for me to spend on sound equipment. I suppose that this Onkyo tx-sr501 will be my system for many years... Tonight is our first night with it!!!
Budd
Posted on
i went ahead and returned the 500 for the 501. i must say the 501 seems to be alot more powerfull than the 500. the sound also seems to be richer. i'm using the Onkyo HT500 speaker set. anyone know anything about these speakers?