Hi Wayne,

I do not currently have a center channel connected - however, the Denon has provisions for a center channel since it is a 7.1 channel receiver.

At this time I do not plan to connect a center channel. I do not have an SACD player connected to the audio system. I do have a Blue Ray player in my AV system, but I don't plan to listen to music with the AV system.

But, who can say what might lie down the Daniels Audio Lane?

Best,

Art

Way to go, Art!

I'm with Wayne. I just love surround. Found a way to do it with 2 channel upmixed to include height center and surround channels, love Blu-ray concert surround. I just love feeling like I'm there at the concert hall. I guess you would know more about what that can sound like!

Keep at it. Don't lose your experimental spirit!

Rick

I decided that, if my primary interest is in listening to music, then I might enjoy using my Onkyo NR 3009 unit to drive the surround channels in my music setup. So, I reconfigured both my music and video sound systems. Now, my video surround system is driven by my Sony STR DE 897 7.1 Receiver, with the center channel sound being separately provided by my Sony STR DE 885 5.1 Receiver.

My Onkyo is now connected to my music system and provides surround signals to my GE Sevens and SuperSats, plus a pair of small KLH speakers placed in a Front High configuration.

Yesterday, when I completed this reconfiguration, all seemed well with my music system. However, when I turned my music system on this morning, my Onkyo has chosen to make a mess of the surround sound. Every listening mode is distorted, except for All-Channel-Stereo, which is what I am using as I listen and type this post.

I will go through a system reset with the Onkyo to see if that clears the problem.

Over the years since I purchased this Onkyo unit, I have had multiple failures. Onkyo replaced my original unit a coup[e of months after I purchased it. I performed extensive sound tests and found that many of the fields produced nothing but distorted sound when driven by analog audio inputs. I reported these results to Onkyo Engineers and provided them with extensive data. They acknowledged the validity of my tests, then essentially shrugged their shoulders and said that not all sound fields performed correctly with all inputs. I was really surprised at their response and apparent lack of concern that one of their flagship products simply did not work as advertised.

Recently, the thing failed again and I returned it to Onkyo yet again for repairs. They fixed the primary failure mode, but did nothing to address the poor sound-field performance issues.

If I cannot get any acceptable surround-sound processing after performing a reset on the Onkyo, I will probably just retire it and replace it with my 7.1 channel Denon Receiver. Having to retire a $1400.00 device will not sit well with me and, if that happens, I will write a very terse and pointed letter to Onkyo.

UPDATE: Good news for now... Resetting the Receiver apparently unscrambled whatever was causing the distorted surround sound. All surround sound modes now providing clean sound. Perhaps this easy fix will keep this beast alive for a while longer.

Meanwhile, my older Sony units continue to chug along and perform properly, despite having been repeatedly moved around, reconfigured, etc.

Needless to say, devices bearing the Onkyo brand will not cross my threshold in the future.

Regards to all,

Art

Well Bro Art,
I am so glad to hear you got good, clean, undistorted sound in your surrounds or ancillary speakers again.
I will be interested to know what configuration you finally settle on, or perhaps it will be different for different kinds of music.
But I think both you and I listen to quite a bit of orchestral, larger venue and more musicians type concerts. And big sound can be more faithfully reproduced in the home with a larger speaker array, one way or another.
Have fun experimenting and listening.
God bless,
Wayne

Hi Wayne,

This morning, surround sound is again clean from my Onkyo. So, I am hopeful that, if the sound becomes distorted again in the future, I will be able to restore clean sound by performing a software system reset on my Onkyo.

My configuration for music may now be set. My Cambridge 851A powers my Triton Ones as Fronts and my Paradigm DSP 3400 Sub, which sits on the side. The Cambridge has a preamp out which is a line-level output that varies with the Volume Control. My Paradigm is connected to this output.

My Triton Sevens are side surrounds and my SuperSat 3Cs are rear surrounds - both sets connected to my Onkyo.

My Triton One LFE inputs are connected to my Chase RLC-1 line-level controller, which is connected to Record Out line-level output on my Cambridge. This arrangement allows me to subtly augment the bass when listening at lower volume levels.

Unlike many of the audiophiles in our discussions, I never listen at high volume levels. Right now, I am listening at just over half volume from my Cambridge. I never listen at volume levels higher than about 2/3 full volume and frequently listen at even lower levels when other household activities dictate lower sound levels. Therefore, I enjoy having the ability to augment the bass when I choose to do so.

I am enjoying the surround-sound effect, especially with the ability to independently vary the surround sound level. I am experimenting with the various surround-sound modes available in the Onkyo.

Again, my movie/TV viewing sound system is totally separate and is a 7.1 system with a separate center-speaker amp.

Best,

Art

Well, the "Good News" I reported a couple of days ago about restoring my Onkyo to proper operation has proven to be premature. Last night, I noticed that the surround sound emanating from my Onkyo was, once again, distorted in all surround simulation modes. I performed yet another system reset, but this time, the distorted sound remained. All surround modes are distorted, but normal sound can be heard in the All Channel Stereo mode.

At the time this situation was noticed, I happened to be listening to a FLAC file which originated from a monaural LP recording. I switched to a FLAC file from a stereo recording and was surprised to hear normal undistorted sound from all surround-sound modes. So, I tried other FLAC files from other monaural sources, including a FLAC file from a CD which contained historic monaural files. In every case and regardless of the original sound source (CD or LP), if the original sound source was monaural, the surround sound modes were distorted.

I now believe that this situation has always been present and that I have just now discovered the real cause. Apparently, my $1400 Onkyo cannot process monaural sound sources into any of its surround-sound modes without introducing distortion. I plan to conduct a couple of additional experiments today, then report these results to Onkyo.

If any of you have an Onkyo Receiver, I would very much appreciate knowing if your receiver has the same problem handling monaural audio sound.

Thanks,

Art