Red Hood

So my Onkyo HT-R290 receiver seems to be dying a slow death. It doesn't have sound anymore and from what I researched, it's a common issue with the Onkyo receivers from the last decade in which the HDMI chip on the board goes bad. I had the receiver for over 10 years and it worked great till this past week. My questions are:

1- Can I buy a new receiver and use the speakers from the Onkyo system?
2- Should I just buy a new home theater system?
3- Any recommendations of which receiver I should get?

Why So Blu?

I have this one in a 5.1.2 Atmos configuration. It rocks. All of my speakers are legacy JBL/Infinities, so no compatibility issues. All I had to do was buy the two height channel speakers to get Atmos.

parrotheads4

The “future” receivers are about to drop. If you can wait a bit you might want to. HDMI 2.1, 8k, are about to show up. CES21 starts tomorrow. I’m sure we will be hearing about the new receivers.

T-bone22

Never buy a home theater system or HTIB. The speakers always suck. Get a decent receiver and research a good set of speakers separately that are within your budget. Denon receivers are great and you can save a little with a factory refurbished at accessories4less.

Red Hood

Ended up buying the Yamaha TSR-700 that was on sale at Costco for $330. The reviews are good and so far it's working great.

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audi...700/index.html

Added a Klipsch R-12SW Subwoofer that is on sale at Amazon for $170. So far the Onkyo speakers are working fine, but I'm going to get some Dolby Atmos speakers later on too.

parrotheads4

Wow. You got a great deal.

Why So Blu?

Wow, I really like the build of it. It's one giant knob in the middle of the tank.

Toddarino

Since my subwoofer died I’ve been considering changing my setup. I’ve two MTX aal1540’s which I plan on keeping. I definitely need to upgrade my center and my rear surrounds. I’ve been considering getting an Atmos setup, but that’s a pretty big leap from what I have. There also doesn’t seem to be a lot of wireless options for the ceiling and surround speakers.
I also run my 5.1 setup off an optical cable direct from my tv to my receiver. Yes I know that’s fucked up.

Red Hood

The Yamaha receiver I got from Costco has worked great. Same with the Klipsch R-12SW Subwoofer, which is a monster of a subwoofer. I suggest you start with something similar and then keep adding to the set.

Toddarino

I picked up that sub from Costco, but the receiver was out of stock and now it’s no longer on sale. They had an Onkyo at my local store, but it didn’t seem to have as many features as the Yamaha.

fujishig

Are most receivers HDMI 2.1 pass through at least or is that still not standard?

E Unit

2021 models look to be the first year where they are standard. I’d verify either way before purchasing.

Red Hood

The Yamaha seems to be back in-stock online at Costco. I imagine they'll put it on sale again at some point.

Red Hood

Just a heads up, Costco will start selling on 3/10 the Klipsch R-12SW Reference Powered Subwoofer for $170. Great deal for a very good subwoofer.

T-bone22

For a cheap sub at that price it is just ok, but it is by no means a good subwoofer. If anyone is wanting a good home theater subwoofer, they should save up a bit more for a better sub that will play well at low frequencies.

Why So Blu?

I bought a pair of these to go up to 5.2.2 and they are badass. They also come with floor stands if you want to stand them up to free up floor space. That price is also killer.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33829

Sdallnct

Im a huge monoprice fan. I got into them when I was building a home theater on a budget. I bought wiring from them.

Then, I decided to go full surround in my bar as I had an old 5.1 channel receiver just sitting around. Being a bar, i didn’t want to spend a lot but wanted better than a Walmart speakers. I got the most inexpensive Monoprice 5.1 speaker set up. For the money, it works very well.

Those subs look interesting,,,,,

E Unit

Monoprice subs have gotten great reviews in the past. I’m happy with my 2 SVS’s, but if I ever get another one, I’ll probably try them out.

T-bone22

Love SVS subs

Toddarino

Well I’m still receiver stupid. After doing some research, I decided against going to 7.1. I’m just going to upgrade to Atmos I think.
From what I gather it’s really not worth only doing two overheads. So if I do four ceiling speakers that’s either 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 right? I doubt I have space for an additional two surrounds. My living room is a dumb shape.
So my question is I’m actually looking for a 9 or 11 channel receiver right? When I look at the back I get confused about how some say height and some say zone. I don’t think I’ve come across four height inputs.

E Unit

Yes, if you want to do 5.1.4, you will need a 9 channel receiver. If you want a 7.1.4, you will need an 11 channel receiver. First and last numbers are speakers and middle number is subs. First number is surround (5 channel or 7 channel surround), and last number is height speakers. With a good Atmos track, 4 ceiling speakers offer a fantastic punch. If you’re ceiling constrained, 2 heights are still very good. I encourage you to stay away from top-firing speakers - these are speakers that point toward the ceiling and bounce off it replicating a ceiling speaker. They are not really effective.

In regard to zones, I personally don’t think they’re that important, but some people like using it. Zones are basically different rooms you can use your receiver to simultaneously play music in. So your main zone would be for watching movies, and a second zone in another room can play music at the same time. These days with Bluetooth speakers, I don’t really use my receiver for anything more than watching movies and playing music in Atmos.

Toddarino

Ok thanks. I don’t have much use for the zones.
Now to find a receiver with four heights and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

T-bone22

I would rather have back speakers than 4 overheads (7.1.2) if forced to choose. 2 overheads are plenty to get the Atmos effect.