Onkyo HTS-3400 review please

Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier
samy said:
Guys.. Today I took a demo of Onkyo 3400....I must say its an amazing wow experience for me!!!!! The audio quality really sounds to me a Rs. 50,000 device.
This machine is really a wowww experience for me...I have heard Onkyo 3300 but this one is much much better IMO...The movies they are playing was even better than the most sophisticated Multiplex theatres...Punches are awesome, effects are awesome...vocal tones was overwhelming and it really exceeded all of my expectations which I had previously with Onkyo 3300.

Many people have complaint that music is not good on Onkyo..I dont know on what basis they says so..I found even music is awesome. It sounds crisp and quality is really really good. I do not find MUSIC is a TURN OFF at all..Its actually a treat to hear even ordinary MP3 files. Everything which has been thrown on it exceeded all my expectations.

Guys those who are trying to buy Onkyo 3300 from Reliance digital or eZone do not go for it.. They only sells outdated Onkyo models..Buy Onkyo 3400 instead...I am sure you wont feel regreted...I have already booked mine and will soon get the delivery...

So go and take a demo of it...Rest is your choice....
Click to expand...

Good to hear about this review on Onkyo HTS 3400. Sadly i own HTS 3300 :mad: I wish i could find similar review on HTS 3300.
Samy, can you give little more detials regarding +ves and -ves of HTS 3300 compared to HTS 3400? Though i can't do anything now with my HTS,
But as far as i know 3400 has extra HDMI and frankly speaking i don't know more ::) ( about new codecs..)

Initially for 1 yr, i could not see the power of my HTS, but once i have my laptop HDMI o/p to Onkyo and with proper settings with VLC (got from this forum), and played DTS demo dvd, it was excellent.

Anyways, who ever wants to buy Onkyo in that range(25K) i would recommend them to buy latest HTS 3400, unless there is huge difference in cost (atleast 5k).
 
@Samy. Totally agree with you in regards to Movies on 3400. The effect is fantastic for the price range.

Though I was disappointing initially, after a few days of tweaking the settings and speaker placements it became crisp and balanced. Even the picture quality of the normal DVDs upscaled to 1080 is a huge enhancement.

Stereo music is still muddy in my setup, and have had to settle for headphone output.

Overall, its an excellent buy at this price, specially for movies.
 
dips0502 said:
Strange.......... Wat speakers were they using for the demo ?
Click to expand...

On a serious note, they were playing sound through bundled Onkyo 3400 speakers only not with any other brands...did you mean to say Onkyo cant produce superior quality music by their hardwares? I totally disagree..the music reproduction was excellent for me..It was rock solid.. I dont know what you people expect to work a Rs 25000 (this is the price I booked mine) device like a million dollar machine? The MP3 music was a big satisfaction for me..I had no complaint on that and I do trust my ears and not others who says something else....Thanks....
 
Cherian said:
@Samy. Totally agree with you in regards to Movies on 3400. The effect is fantastic for the price range.

Though I was disappointing initially, after a few days of tweaking the settings and speaker placements it became crisp and balanced. Even the picture quality of the normal DVDs upscaled to 1080 is a huge enhancement.

Stereo music is still muddy in my setup, and have had to settle for headphone output.

Overall, its an excellent buy at this price, specially for movies.
Click to expand...

I would suggest for music playback do not use the Auxiliary input in the front connecting iPOd/Mobile/MP3 player as a source..The music will definitely sound muddy through it...Please play your MP3s through your DVD/BluRay players only..the sound would be much desired and satisfactory..

Try this and let me know...
 
Cherian said:
@Samy. Totally agree with you in regards to Movies on 3400. The effect is fantastic for the price range.

Though I was disappointing initially, after a few days of tweaking the settings and speaker placements it became crisp and balanced. Even the picture quality of the normal DVDs upscaled to 1080 is a huge enhancement.

Stereo music is still muddy in my setup, and have had to settle for headphone output.

Overall, its an excellent buy at this price, specially for movies.
Click to expand...

+1 to that...loving my Onkyo 3400..got jst 2 days back....can u jst tell us what were the tweaks u did to get the good output....:)
 
Congratulations deepraj!

Here are some of the 3400 setting adjustments that I found in the manual thet worked out well for me:

Setup> Source setup> Reference level: Made a big difference (0 for movies, 5-10db for jazz, 15db for rock)

Speaker level cal adjustments : the system sends out a continuous low freq tone through each speaker individually, to help your ears balance all the 6 channels perfectly from your listening position. Switch off fans/ac to hear it clearly.

Overall bass/treble tone settings from the remote, depending on the music/movie played.

Changed crossover setting for sub from default 120 to 100 for some DVDs

Moving the surround speakers from behind me to either side.

Moving the sub to a different placement.

Trying out different combos of Dimension, Center Width/Image with Panorama for stereo
 
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I have bought 3400 about a few months back but never got a chance to post the review comments, not that I am a big audiophile :)

I have the following equipments added (all using composite cables)

  • WD Live Plus - connected via BD/DVD port
  • STB - Connected via Cab/Sat port
  • Wii - Connected via Game port
  • HDMI - to TV for set up (I havent been able to figure out ARC yet :( )
  • Four output - Sony Bravia (as in my signature)

  1. The setup was real quick (except ARC, phew), anyone with a penchant for gadgets, its a cakewalk
  2. I have still not mounted the real surround speakers so I am using only 3.1 set up as of now and hence "Theatre Dimensional" mode while watching movies, even with this limited set up, the movie sound is amazing
  3. The demo guy came and set up something (which I presume his preference of listening) so I changed the set up again. Initially, I didnt like music at all, it was very boomy, so I reduce Sub Woofer setting to 0 or -2 and reduce bass while listening to music.
  4. I also found the presets for Movie and Music very handy, I always use Orchestra / Unplugged or Studio-Mix settings for Music and then reduce Sub Woofer and Bass by a notch to get the desired effect.
  5. What I want to achieve is, to customize each preset for a desired level of bass and subwoofer, if any one has any tips, please let me know.
  6. While playing Wii, I use the settings under "Game" options, and they are good too.
  7. I am still in the exploration mode and havent found sufficient time to tweak further, but I am surely enjoying the experience.

Hope this helps.

Also, if other experts have found any other tricks and have tips to share, it will help significantly.

Next, I am looking forward to is a decent universal remote, since juggling 3 remotes is definitely a full time job.

Cheers
 
cmarella said:
samy said:
Guys.. Today I took a demo of Onkyo 3400....I must say its an amazing wow experience for me!!!!! The audio quality really sounds to me a Rs. 50,000 device.
This machine is really a wowww experience for me...I have heard Onkyo 3300 but this one is much much better IMO...The movies they are playing was even better than the most sophisticated Multiplex theatres...Punches are awesome, effects are awesome...vocal tones was overwhelming and it really exceeded all of my expectations which I had previously with Onkyo 3300.

Many people have complaint that music is not good on Onkyo..I dont know on what basis they says so..I found even music is awesome. It sounds crisp and quality is really really good. I do not find MUSIC is a TURN OFF at all..Its actually a treat to hear even ordinary MP3 files. Everything which has been thrown on it exceeded all my expectations.

Guys those who are trying to buy Onkyo 3300 from Reliance digital or eZone do not go for it.. They only sells outdated Onkyo models..Buy Onkyo 3400 instead...I am sure you wont feel regreted...I have already booked mine and will soon get the delivery...

So go and take a demo of it...Rest is your choice....
Click to expand...

Good to hear about this review on Onkyo HTS 3400. Sadly i own HTS 3300 :mad: I wish i could find similar review on HTS 3300.
Samy, can you give little more detials regarding +ves and -ves of HTS 3300 compared to HTS 3400? Though i can't do anything now with my HTS,
But as far as i know 3400 has extra HDMI and frankly speaking i don't know more ::) ( about new codecs..)

Initially for 1 yr, i could not see the power of my HTS, but once i have my laptop HDMI o/p to Onkyo and with proper settings with VLC (got from this forum), and played DTS demo dvd, it was excellent.

Anyways, who ever wants to buy Onkyo in that range(25K) i would recommend them to buy latest HTS 3400, unless there is huge difference in cost (atleast 5k).
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad about owning HT-S3300. HT-S3400 is identical to HT-S3400 except for the extra inputs. He must have heard HT-S3300 at some other place or with different settings or with different speakers.
 
Hi All,

I just bought Onkyo HTS 3400 with Philips BDP 3200 + 2 set of speaker stands (as i am not interested to nail on the wall of our new apartment :-) ) for Rs. 31K in Bangalore @ Moden World. I am very much eager to get it installed and enjoy the surround system for BD / DVD movies. I am planing to play Avatar BD first to get the real feel of the system...

I will keep you guys updates after the installation of few days to test the system..

could you guys tell me the calibration for this system ... esp for Apartment style.. :-( as this may disturb other flat owners for keeping much sound on this..

Any suggestion pls.. for calibration...
 
Last edited:
You need to spend some real good time with your new system before you can get a good output. Believe me, the first time you listen to your system which is not tuned, you will be very much dissatisfied. Turn all speaker level to zero in calibration. Start listening to a static sound and adjust each speaker until you are sure that the sound level you are hearing from all of them are of same volume. Adjust the subwoofer as well, to ensure that you have enough bass. The tip is to try to keep the level to zero as far as possible. Then start watching different movies and adjust slowly, until you are satisfied with the sound level in the room. This is a time consuming process and will only evolve slowly. Good luck.
 
I am also planning to By 3400, but I still need advice- should I go for it OR should look for any other model..Plz advice me within similar budget..Is there any new model by Onkyo in pipeline soon ?
 
umapati said:
I am also planning to By 3400, but I still need advice- should I go for it OR should look for any other model..Plz advice me within similar budget..Is there any new model by Onkyo in pipeline soon ?
Click to expand...

Within 25K limit, there is no HTIB that can beat Onkyo 3400 both feature wise and SQ wise. If you can stretch your budget then go for separate AVR and speaker system. But this approach is very expensive. A good entry level AVR alone would cost 25K.
 
baijuxavior said:
Within 25K limit, there is no HTIB that can beat Onkyo 3400 both feature wise and SQ wise. If you can stretch your budget then go for separate AVR and speaker system. But this approach is very expensive. A good entry level AVR alone would cost 25K.
Click to expand...

Thanx a lot baijuxavior,,But I can stretch my budget up to 40K-if any other better model available..I will go for separate setup later on when i will shift to our new house..But thats too far..
 
I am interested to buy HTS-3400 from Gurgaon. Is there anybody interested to buy, may be we can try to negotiate for better pricing from dealer :D

I plan to buy around diwali. It is quoted at Rs. 25K in MGF plaza, gurgaon and probably same price in CR park, delhi.

What is price range i can expect if i negotiate - i know people have bought it for Rs. 22.5K in mumbai. Vijay Sales, delhi doesn't stock it. I have limited choices.

Or, I will buy online from ebay :) ...can also avail some offer -like 500GB HDD free :P
 
Hello Guys,

have been using Onkyo 3400 for a month now...and I am very happy with the overall performance....

wud like some advice over one problem I am facing..

currently my setup is

BD player Panasonic BDT110--> HDMI --> Onkyo--> HDMI--> LCD
Kaiboer H1055--> HDMI --> Onkyo--> HDMI--> LCD

when I use my BD player I experience audio loss in the start of the movie (example : will happen for about 8-9 times in first 30 minutes) :indifferent14:after that there is no audio loss at all for the whole movie..sometime very rarely i have encountered video loss for a second as well that too at the start..

while when I play movies from Kaiboer HD player..there are no problems whatsoever....

also one more thing... I am using 1000 w step down transformer for My onkyo and BD player both connected to one power strip...

so does that mean..bd player is having any issues..or do I have missed any setting...

require guidance on that....
 
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