The Solution, The Verdict
Hope this may help People...
After investigating settings in onkyo HTS 960 receiver the following seemed to bother me immensely.
1. Lack of crossover frequency setting. (This meant that i can never listen to music with good bass coz the receiver was having the default crossover setting of 80HZ(THX Spec) which i felt is not good enuf for music)
2. Lack of Specifying size of speakers (large, small, full range)[This very clearly indicated that "this is, will be and going to be Home theater in box" meaning no fidelity in adding good speakers to the amp]
3. Lack of Bass Modes (Well even if present it wouldnt do any good)
4. THX listening mode ( switch to this mode and whatever bass was firing frm speakers would also die)
5. Equalizer (There are only three equalizer modes 1. OFF
2. Manual (lots of numbers and hrtz to go thru for each speaker 3. Audyssey (I had tried audyssey two times and swore to never waste my 15 min time on it again)
After lots of research and reading found out that sadly HT 960 being a THX certified receiver has only limited settings to tweak bass. Also other owners are especially awed by their Subs performance. With my life online (in a literal sense) tried every 2 cents people offered as follows.
Break in: kept my Bass at 30% and ran Sub woofer test file (20 Hz - 200 Hz) for hours and hours to gather (I did notice that the sub was really powerful since at peak db in 20 HZ i felt my body vibrate)
Sub Placement: Tried all places and found that right in front of my seating at a distance of 4 ' was right
Audyssey: Had a link to audyssey guide which is big time help since audyssey setup is not a one time thing it needs to be redone with proper speaker levels, placements, sub volume etc.c.c.
After three tries of Audyssey with Sub volume @ 25 %(THX reference), @ 40% and then @ 55%. The final Try was worth every 70,000 bucks spent on the HTIB. Though there are many reviews of otherwise about the audissey, for a amateur like me, Audyssey took me for a spin and threw me far away.
With Audyssey "on" now the Music is Great, Moviz are glass shattering and games are just out of the world. The speakers have just transformed into some thing else, the vocals seem to float independently, Highs and mids tingles your head and you FEEL the bass.
VERDICT: Though the HTIB offers very little fidelity, but when setup right, it will keep surprising you. Now The THX listening modes makes sense, Even stereo music seems to be surround 7.1 mixed. All in All "GREAT"
Thanks to all who keep posting and replying and reading for the intangible support rendered in realizing the true potential of this HTiB
