Just bought my first HT: the Onkyo 3105....need some help.

[zubinmaster]

Hi,

I'm kind of new in the audio appreciation club as I never bothered about the speakers and amps I was using. But I finally got a good HD LCD TV and a PS3 so I decided to go splurge on a good HT. My friend convinced me that Sony, Phillips, etc were all trash and I need to move up from that stuff.

So I got the Onkyo 3105 because it's relatively affordable (paid 21K in Mumbai from a showroom called Sumaria) and it's a step up from the regular commercial brands. Anyway, the system is all set up with digital audio cables and the works and it's amazing for my PS3 and anything that has 5 channel audio. But the second I start playing something that has only 2 channel audio, it doesn't sound all that great and I don't think I'm getting anything out of my surround speakers (just the Front L, R and Center). I'm guessing I haven't configured it properly to split the 2 channels into 5 channels (it is supposed to do that right?). I've tried playing around with the sound settings: I put it in surround mode and keep cycling through the modes but nothing seems to make it sound proper. I don't understand too much in hte setup so I've kinda left that alone. The installation guy from the showroom was dumb as hell and just knew what wires went where; he didn't know jack about the sound.

Can anyone give me some tips on what sound settings I should apply to get a full multichannel output. A lot of people seem to be aware of 3105 or 3100 (which are pretty similar I think) so hopefully someone will be able to help out.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Zubin.

 

[Krish82]

Hi,
Firstly Congrats on your puchase! Onkyo 3105 is a good budget HT solution.
When you say 2 channel (stereo) you will get output only from the front two speakers and the subwoofer(if it is set to ON).

If you want the sound to be enveloping for music, then you have to use the multichannel mode (All channel stereo) or any other mode like Neo 6 music, Prologic ii. But using this mode the bass responce will be little lower from the subwoofer, compared to stereo or multichannel.

I assume that your Receiver is a Onkyo HTR 340 and your speakers are sattelites. So if you want more bass from your subwoofer go to the subwoofer menu and change the
Crossover : 150 hz or more it goes upto 200 hz max.
Front: Small.
OREQ: ON (you will find it in the remote)

Normally these HTIB's will sound good for movies, but not as good for music, bcos the sattelites themseleves cannot produce the wide freq range.So you can upgrade your front speakers to get better output for music/movies at a later stage.


Krish

 

[psychotropic]

your receiver should have a Dolby pro-logic (or multi-channel stereo) mode which will take the stereo signal and play it over the 5.1 speakers, that should solve your problem.

 

[zubinmaster]

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm not sure of the model number of the reciever but it does have Dolby pro logic or Multi-channel stereo (so I've read).

The thing is I would like my 2 channel stereo sound to get routed to all five speakers. Most of these settings are greek to me so I'm learning along the way. So basically I would have to look for a setting called Multi channel stereo or All channel stereo.

I haven't really understood what the cross over frequency is but I will play around with the setting and see what effect it has on my music. If you're saying the bass response becomes lower in the multi-stereo mode, can I simply increase it in the settings? Or will that not work?

Front: Small.
OREQ: ON (you will find it in the remote)

As for those settings, I have absolutely no clue what they are but I will look them up. An upgrade is out of the question for a while now. I have to remain happy with my speakers/amp/tv/ps3/etc for many years to come.


Thanks a lot.

 

[Aryan]

Hi,

I'm kind of new in the audio appreciation club as I never bothered about the speakers and amps I was using. But I finally got a good HD LCD TV and a PS3 so I decided to go splurge on a good HT. My friend convinced me that Sony, Phillips, etc were all trash and I need to move up from that stuff.

So I got the Onkyo 3105 because it's relatively affordable (paid 21K in Mumbai from a showroom called Sumaria) and it's a step up from the regular commercial brands. Anyway, the system is all set up with digital audio cables and the works and it's amazing for my PS3 and anything that has 5 channel audio. But the second I start playing something that has only 2 channel audio, it doesn't sound all that great and I don't think I'm getting anything out of my surround speakers (just the Front L, R and Center). I'm guessing I haven't configured it properly to split the 2 channels into 5 channels (it is supposed to do that right?). I've tried playing around with the sound settings: I put it in surround mode and keep cycling through the modes but nothing seems to make it sound proper. I don't understand too much in hte setup so I've kinda left that alone. The installation guy from the showroom was dumb as hell and just knew what wires went where; he didn't know jack about the sound.

Can anyone give me some tips on what sound settings I should apply to get a full multichannel output. A lot of people seem to be aware of 3105 or 3100 (which are pretty similar I think) so hopefully someone will be able to help out.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Zubin.

Hi,

Congrats on the buy.
I have Onkyo myself and I was as novice as you are, when I bought the system. These systems do not do justice to music as they are not meant to handle stereo sound , they are meant for movies. So if you are more into music buy good stereo speakers later for right now be contented with this setup.

Then only way you will get sound from all the five speakers is when you setup your sound mode as "All Channel", its then that the sound get distributed to all the speakers but it is not great sound, SW will also sound less powerful in this setting as you allready have been told.

Don't expect the your HT to produce excellent music !

Thanks,
take care,
Aryan

 

[moserw]

DTS Neo:6 or Dolby Pro Logic II are the best settings for music, but like it has already been stated music will not sound very great on the Onkyo. Do read around since I think Reju got a couple of FS and that's upped the SQ for music on the Onkyo.

 

[marsilians]

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm not sure of the model number of the reciever but it does have Dolby pro logic or Multi-channel stereo (so I've read).

The thing is I would like my 2 channel stereo sound to get routed to all five speakers. Most of these settings are greek to me so I'm learning along the way. So basically I would have to look for a setting called Multi channel stereo or All channel stereo.

I haven't really understood what the cross over frequency is but I will play around with the setting and see what effect it has on my music. If you're saying the bass response becomes lower in the multi-stereo mode, can I simply increase it in the settings? Or will that not work?

Front: Small.
OREQ: ON (you will find it in the remote)

As for those settings, I have absolutely no clue what they are but I will look them up. An upgrade is out of the question for a while now. I have to remain happy with my speakers/amp/tv/ps3/etc for many years to come.


Thanks a lot.

Hi Zubin,

Not too worry too much we will get you to listen to music in all channels. I can see the reason for your frustration as the manual is pretty non existent and also the remote is not very intuitive.

Make sure to set your subwoofer cross over to something like 80 or 100 Hz before any tests and leave it at that permanently. one fo the values should make it sound better.


If you are using the RC-646S remote, here is some thing then read on.

First off OR-EQ is not to get multi channel sound. It simply increases the loudness without using the volume mode in case you want to watch some scenes louder than others. If there is noise around you suddenly then I guess you could use this mode.

You can experiment with clicking on the surround button (3rd row from bottom) and click the arrows back or forwards until one of the model gets the sound in all speakers. I suggest you try this with slightly higher volume and near one of the rear speakers to confirm.

DTS Neo and Dolby Pro Logic II dont push the same signal through all channels as you would like. They split the signal and create a virtual surround sound but you dont have to worry about this.

 

[spirovious]

Well, OR-Eq is optiresponse equiliser to boost very low(Bass) & higher freqs.

 

[SAMUEL]

Hey Zubin,
Congrats on your new purchase.
The 3105 is a very good entry level HTiB.The receiver can cope with much better speakers if you require one in future.
Coming to the point , Except "Direct" & "Stereo", all the other modes will send signals to other speakers.
So if you want multi channel audio select any one of the dsp modes except stereo & Direct.

Regarding the subwoofer settings I suggest you set the crossover to atleast 120hz and max if you want 150hz.The satellite speakers can barely reproduce 100hz . So if you set the crossover at 80hz there will be a hole in the frequency range.The trick is to merge the satellite & Subwoofer properly.
Try with these settings and also boost the subwoofer volume in the speaker level settings. The max volume is 12 so you can safely go till 10 max depending upon your bass requirements.I strictly wouldn't suggesting this setting for active subwoofer users .You can also boost the treble little bit because at 0db these satellites do sound very flat.

And oh yeah , don't forget to set the speaker distance level.It'll make a big difference.

So there you go zubin try these settings and tell us how it sounds .Enjoy & Happy listening

Cheers,
Samuel

 

[zubinmaster]

Fantastic.....that's a lotta info and I'm beginning to understand these settings a lot better. I just went out and bought some good speaker cable and it has made a huge difference in my sound (the Onkyo speaker cables that they supply are absolute shit and I would recommend any Onkyo users to go get some good quality cable with a higher ampere rating....cheap bastards). I have decided that music is heard best in a stereo mode because the second I switch it to surround, I start hearing a blurring (I guess it has something to do with the splitting of frequencies) and it just doesn't sound as crisp. In a stereo mode, it sounds a lot better but not as good as I thought it would be. I recently visited my friends place (who is a sound fanatic and has as 70K sound setup which he thinks he got really 'cheap') and the music sounds completely different out there (a LOT better).

But as an HT, this system is phenomenal. When I play Battlefield or Call of Duty 4 on PS3 with 5 channel surround, it literally sounds like I'm in a warzone with bullets and rockets flying all around me. The only problem is I can't play with too many people in the house because they think it's excessively loud. Anyway thanks for all the help. I'm learning to appreciate the importance of good sound.

 

[sarge]

this reply for all who already buy onkyo HTS -3105 , i recently go to onkyo showroom at kolkata but they give audition with 3105, but the showroom owner said its volume limited up to 70-75 you cant cross this volume , if u cross may be speaker is damage.they play a movie but i hear it in my side sounds are really good but i need some more volume.

who already buy 3105 pls tell are u satisfied with sounds volume.

 

[Eddy]

Fantastic.....that's a lotta info and I'm beginning to understand these settings a lot better. I just went out and bought some good speaker cable and it has made a huge difference in my sound (the Onkyo speaker cables that they supply are absolute shit and I would recommend any Onkyo users to go get some good quality cable with a higher ampere rating....cheap bastards). I have decided that music is heard best in a stereo mode because the second I switch it to surround, I start hearing a blurring (I guess it has something to do with the splitting of frequencies) and it just doesn't sound as crisp. In a stereo mode, it sounds a lot better but not as good as I thought it would be. I recently visited my friends place (who is a sound fanatic and has as 70K sound setup which he thinks he got really 'cheap') and the music sounds completely different out there (a LOT better).

But as an HT, this system is phenomenal. When I play Battlefield or Call of Duty 4 on PS3 with 5 channel surround, it literally sounds like I'm in a warzone with bullets and rockets flying all around me. The only problem is I can't play with too many people in the house because they think it's excessively loud. Anyway thanks for all the help. I'm learning to appreciate the importance of good sound.

I too have just bought the 3105 and am thinking of upgrading the cable.

Zubin: Which cable have you bought and at what prices ?

 

[venkatcr]

Fantastic.....that's a lotta info and I'm beginning to understand these settings a lot better.

But as an HT, this system is phenomenal. When I play Battlefield or Call of Duty 4 on PS3 with 5 channel surround, it literally sounds like I'm in a warzone with bullets and rockets flying all around me. The only problem is I can't play with too many people in the house because they think it's excessively loud. Anyway thanks for all the help. I'm learning to appreciate the importance of good sound.

I saw this thread quite late, but after reading this posting it I felt like immediately congratulating Krish82, Psychotropic, Aryan, Moser, Mars, Spiro and Samuel. You guys have singly and together managed to get some immediate rewards for Zubin, and enabled him to get some improvement in his systems performance. Great going guys !! May this tribe grow.

Zubin, I am glad you are enjoying your system, but I have one advise. In your eagerness, you might crank the volume way high. Please keep it at sane levels. Too much volume can destroy your ear.

Cheers

 

[Eddy]

I too have just bought the 3105 and am thinking of upgrading the cable.

Zubin: Which cable have you bought and at what prices ?

Bump: Zubin, where art thou ?

 

[sgs]

Bump: Zubin, where art thou ?

I just came across this site last week and have been devouring it. I am just amazed at the amount of information sharing going on this forum. A big Thank You to all contributors.

Just purchased a Onkyo 5100 yesterday at Reliance Digital, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. It is my first HT.

They had on offer a free Normus 750 Media Cube on purchase of HT & > 32 LCD. Got the 5100 for 43K and a Moser Baer 32 for my daughter's bedroom for 28K and the Normus valued at 19K came in free. Got the required HDMI, Optical and CoAx from Reliance itself.

I find a lot of recommendations towards AWG 16. from MX. An electronics shop in DLF Phase 4 will be able to 'import' AWG 16 from Mumbai @ Rs.65 a meter. That is grossly over the Rs.25-35 mentioned in this post.

Is the AWG 16 better than the cable supplied by Onlyo?
Have you managed to find AWG 16 / any other good speaker cables anywhere in Gurgaon / NCR?

 

[venkatcr]

I find a lot of recommendations towards AWG 16. from MX. An electronics shop in DLF Phase 4 will be able to 'import' AWG 16 from Mumbai @ Rs.65 a meter. That is grossly over the Rs.25-35 mentioned in this post.

Is the AWG 16 better than the cable supplied by Onlyo? Have you managed to find AWG 16 / any other good speaker cables anywhere in Gurgaon / NCR?

The cables provided by Onkyo is suspect and no one knows the specifications. It is always better to replace that with a good quality 16 or 14 gauge OFC cables.

MX cables should be available at less than 40 rupees a meter. If a dealer is asking for more, he is fleecing you. And, please don't fall for the 'imported' nonsense. It is not valid anymore. He must mention the company name and complete specification - gauge. DC Resistance, Eddy Current Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, and Characteristic Impedance.

You should be able to get a excellent speaker cable for about 70 Rupees a meter. Brands to look for are Mx, DAC, Bandridge, Beldenm etc.

Cheers

 

[spirovious]

The cables provided by Onkyo is suspect and no one knows the specifications. It is always better to replace that with a good quality 16 or 14 gauge OFC cables.

MX cables should be available at less than 40 rupees a meter. If a dealer is asking for more, he is fleecing you. And, please don't fall for the 'imported' nonsense. It is not valid anymore. He must mention the company name and complete specification - gauge. DC Resistance, Eddy Current Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance, and Characteristic Impedance.

You should be able to get a excellent speaker cable for about 70 Rupees a meter. Brands to look for are Mx, DAC, Bandridge, Beldenm etc.

Cheers

I have tried Rs70/mtr & 25/m cables.
70/m is 16awg OFC from Taiwan & 25/m is simple cable(looks silvery,not actual) 16awg.not OFC.

To my surprise ,cheap cable is sounding better than 70/m. treble which was sounding dull with OFC became sparkling,clear,likable with cheaper.
Metal instruments are clear now.:yahoo:

So need some R&D.

I even tried RCA to RCA with same cheap cable as coax & compared with profigold coax(RS.1000)

check my setup-
http://www.hifivision.com/my-audio-video-setup/1167-showcase-your-audio-video-setup-here-14.html

See DIY interconnect in Pic 3.
DIY sounded little brighter than profi.Bass became thinner,treble joyful,
Settled with profi + cheap spk cables.

So conclusion- If you got system which sounds dull at home,you can do research & improve.:clapping:

 

[sgs]

Venkatcr, Spirovious, Thank you for your respoonses.

I have already called the MX cables dealer at SP Road in Bangalore. He will charge Rs.45 per meter of AWG 16 cable from MX. He will not courier to Delhi.

Do you know where I can actually source the cables you speak about in Delhi, Gurgaon Noida? If not, do you know who I may call to courier cables to me at Gurgaon?