Zen Peckinpah

Hey, I just got an Onkyo 605 from their website the other day and was wondering where I should place it. I'm aware of the heat output, so I'd like to put it in an area that won't be completely enclosed. On my entertainment center, I have my flat-screen on the stand, then below it my A3, a JVC VCR (which I'll likely get rid of), and below that nothing. The shelf the VCR is on is removable, but the sides of the shelves have no ventilation. I do have a lot of room for the top's vents, so my question is, would this be the best place to put it?

Also, is the Onkyo iPod dock worth it? Haven't bought my new iPod yet, and I know any dock is probably compatible, but I thought I'd ask if it's any good.

Drexl

Well, the manual says 8 inches around the top and sides, with 4 inches in the back. The shelf or whatever it's on should be 4 inches from the back wall to let warm air escape. Maybe some others will chime in and let you know if they've had less ventilation with no problems.

I don't have an iPod, but from what I read, the Onkyo dock is proprietary since it connects to the R1 remote connector. This thing allows you to control the iPod using the receiver's remote.

Sdallnct

Well, I hate to say it, but that is a cool feature. Wife and I both have iPods and both our kids have iPods. Guess when I look to upgrade my receiver, will look for that feature. Maybe.

Bill Geiger

I hope you used their 10% off coupon as well as the free points you get for signing up. Adds up to a very nice savings!

Zen Peckinpah

Indeed I did!

chino77

where do you get the 10% off coupon?

GogoTheMimic

ShopOnkyo has them periodically.

dleedlee

Do Onkyos generate more heat than other receivers?

gimmepilotwings

I would say so. The 805 generates some heat. I have a $4 fan that I bought from WalMart to displace some of it.

The_Cube

I hear the new Onkyo 606 is coming out at the end of this month. Hopefully the new model won't have the heat problem. I might have to flip a coin to decide between getting the Yamaha 663 or the Onkyo 606. I have no clue which one will be better.

dleedlee

Thanks. After I posted, I saw quite a few mentions via Google of heat issues with Onkyos.

If I was in the market, the 606 would be quite tempting, though.

Sdallnct

I wouldn't say Onkyo's have heat "issues". Many a decent receiver/amp generate heat. H/K which is well know for excellent sound quality, can get warm to hot. I still have a hybrid 2 channel amp, that will get pretty warm (cat use to like to sleep on it).

Decent and high end units have huge power supplies. Yea, they add heat dissipation elements, but they can still get warm.

I wouldn't call this an "issue" nor turn away. In fact it might be a sign that it is a good unit. You never hear of POS Sony receivers getting hot....LOL

gimmepilotwings

Very true. Again, by plugging in a $4 fan into the back of the 805, any extra heat that may be generated, is getting displaced. I have about 5 inches of clearance above the 805. Every AVR that I have owned got relatively hot. I have also owned an Onkyo 504, a Panasonic SA-XR50, and a POS Aiwa.

Zen Peckinpah

Okay, so my order with Onkyo fell through and ordered a silver 605 this morning from Amazon for $350ish. Should have it tomorrow with Prime!

One more question before I set it up: I've already set up the speaker wiring, so that's good to go, but what's the common recommended order I should set everything up in?

EDIT: I'll be hooking an A3 and PS3 up to the player.

Zen Peckinpah

bump

So I've had the 605 for about a week now and it's great. However, there are a few questions I wasn't clear on with the manual:

1. How do I know if I am indeed getting the TrueHD/PCM/DTS-HD MA track playing through? I've done some A-B tests that have NO difference between lossy and lossless. The receiver displays 48 Hz PCM, but still I can't tell a difference.

2. Is there an automatic way to have the receiver determine a 5.1, 2.0, or 7.1 track? Initially I noticed I was getting sound from 7 channels on 5.1 tracks.

Zen Peckinpah

bump

Any help?

Drexl

1. The PS3 will display what it is playing when you press "display" (or select on the controller). Note that on some discs, including most with PCM, you'll have to select the desired audio track in the menu or with the audio button. DD is usually the default, unless it's tied to the TrueHD track as it is on some Sony discs. The lights for the advanced codecs will not come on because each player will convert to PCM first, though you probably already know that. Make sure the PS3 is set for "Linear PCM" output over HDMI.

2. I'm not sure what you mean by this question, but the PS3 should handle everything if set to PCM. You probably have PLIIx turned on, with the PS3 sending a DD signal, because the 605 won't apply PLIIx to lossless tracks. If you're referring to flags like for Dolby EX on DVDs, those will only be recognized when the (lossy) signal is passed as a bitstream since the PS3 ignores EX/ES flags when decoding to PCM. If you want, you can change the output to Bitstream for those titles, but be sure to change it back to PCM for lossless tracks.

BTW, what kind of speakers do you have? If it's something like a $400 HTIB you might not even notice the difference between lossless and lossy.

Zen Peckinpah

Using my old Panasonic 5.1 speakers + 2 KLH speakers for the rear surround.

Bill Geiger

Why did your order through Onkyo fall through?

Zen Peckinpah

It was EXTREMELY weird. They claimed there was a "mismatch" with my CVV and credit card, and I also found their customer service to be unsatisfactory, as they could not fix the situation (and processed the order again, exceeding my line of credit). I promptly canceled it and got it on Amazon.