Onkyo 608???

[K-daugh]

Running moniter 60's front. monitor thirties rear. cs1 center speaker and a mirage subwoofer.I was wondering if this receiver is right for my setup was planning on bi amping the fronts because the 608 is a seven channel receiver. Its a sixteen by eighteen foot room with eight foot ceiliings and sound board under the sheetrock .....Any input will help cant decide on a receiver.Needs to be in the five six hundred range.

[comfortablycurt]

It'll be able to drive them just fine.

Don't waste your time with "bi-amping" them though.

Bi-amping with an AVR has basically no advantages, and it's not even truly bi-amping. "Bi-wiring" would be a more proper term. The power for every channel in an AVR comes from one common power block...this is an important thing to remember.

The Onkyo 608's maximum rated power is 100wpc with 2 channels driven. This ISN'T an all channels driven rating. The amps max output is 100 watts x 2 channels, regardless of how many outputs a pair of speakers is hooked up to. Hooking the Monitor 60's up to a second pair of speaker outputs is not going to double the amount of power that they're receiving, or for that matter even increase it at all.

As I said, a more proper term would be bi-wiring. There is some debate as to whether or not bi-wiring has any improvements, but in my experience it isn't even worth the cost of extra speaker wire. Many people agree with me on that topic too...waste of time. If you've got the extra wire laying around, go ahead and try it...but I wouldn't expect any kind of real improvements.

I've got an Onkyo 606, which is essentially the same as the 608. I used to have a full RTi setup running off of it, and it sounded great. The Monitor series speakers are 8ohms nominal, and pretty efficient...so they'll be easy to drive. The 608 will do a fine job, however, it won't drive the speakers to their full potential(hardly any AVR's will really drive a speaker to it's full potential though).

One thing to keep in mind, is that the 608 doesn't have preamp outputs, so it's not possible to connect an external amp to it. If you ever plan on expanding/upgrading your system, you might consider moving up to an AVR with preouts.

If you're system is primarily for HT usage though, external amplification is going to have limited benefits, when compared to music. So, it may not be a necessity to you.

[cnh]

+1, on Curt's comments above. But I must add that with the Onkyo TX-SR608, Onkyo is back in the game....the unit is loaded...the ONLY thing it does not have is pre-outs...if they'd just put those IN they'd be unbeatable (feature-wise) in that price range!

cnh

[K-daugh]

thanks for the input guys and yes i will be mainly using it for home theatre and tv watching with a small amount of music listening is there any other avrs that compare and if i decided to cough a little more money up what would any of you guys suggest like from the 500 to 800 range . And yes i would like to try to run a decent amount of power to my speakers if possible .Used gear could be an option too. Thanks guys

[wutadumsn23]

I am with Curt and cnh on this one, Onkyo needs to put those pre outs on these new models they have out and they would be unbeatable, but that would probably drive up the price on them and I think the main reason they are leaving them out is to keep them more affordable. Also if you wanted to stay with Onkyo and step up to say a TX-SR707 you would have everything you could ever want from an AVR (including pre-outs) and Vann's.com has them on sale for $624.88 w/ free ground shipping. Not sure if it is new in box or refurb, but you could always call and ask. If it is new, it is a steal!!

-Jeff

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/cart

[ibewbrother]

i tried bi-wiring my 60s on my 807 and when I changed over to my first 5150 I couldn't tell any difference in sound quality..

Power....on the other hand.....

[xcapri79]

With a pair of Monitor 60's, I doubt you will hear a difference. Bi-amping can make a difference with hard to drive speakers and can prevent the receiver from going into overload.

If that is the case, then the better answer is to get an external amp if the receiver has pre-outs, or a new receiver with pre-outs if the existing receiver doesn't have them. Bi-amping is an interim measure.

[tonyb38a]

Hello. New to the group but may add some insight.
I run a Onkyo 608 that I recently upgraded form a Onkyo 701 (loved it but no HDMI). I run a pr of RTI 10's, RTI 6's, Rti'4's, CSI5 Center, and Klispch? Sub. I have Bi-wired my Polks on my 2CH and HT set up and feel like I get a little cleaner sound. Might just be my ears but I continue to do it. I would at least try it to see if it makes a difference for you.
I have had great luck with Onkyo in the past.
Good luck.
T

[cnh]

Hello. New to the group but may add some insight.
I run a Onkyo 608 that I recently upgraded form a Onkyo 701 (loved it but no HDMI). I run a pr of RTI 10's, RTI 6's, Rti'4's, CSI5 Center, and Klispch? Sub. I have Bi-wired my Polks on my 2CH and HT set up and feel like I get a little cleaner sound. Might just be my ears but I continue to do it. I would at least try it to see if it makes a difference for you.
I have had great luck with Onkyo in the past.
Good luck.
T

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!

Nice system...!

cnh

[over50]

I agree. I have the 606, the only feature i wish it had is pre outs. Otherwise, the 606 does the job. I`m fairly new to CP, this forum is a wealth of information.Thank`s to all the CP for taking time to educate .

[mudwrx]

I have an Onkyo TX-SR608 and so far am very pleased with it. I have it connected to TSi400 fronts, CS20 center, PSW505 sub and FXiA4 surrounds.

I got 14AWG wires and connected them using banana plugs.

I have a very large room and so far I am finding if I turn the volume up above 75 (goes to 100 I think) it gets scary loud. The Onkyo is having no trouble driving these and the setup was relatively simple. Plus the 6 hdmi in and one hdmi out is pretty neat and simple. I have my FIOS box and PS3 going in hdmi, the Wii goes in via component and it all goes out hdmi to my Samsung 55" LCD. The receiver does some upconversion if needed, basically everything is looking and sounding awesome.

I used the included mic to calibrate the Onkyo and it did a good job but I ended up tweaking it to my preference afterwards.

I also thought about bi-wiring but after some research (lots on this forum and elsewhere) I decided against it. Since I'm not a mad audiophile I probably would not appreciate any difference it would make. Maybe at some point I'll try it since I do have some extra cable but as of now I am more than happy with the overall performance.

[tonyb38a]

Thanks on both accounts. I've been picking up the Polks as I find them cheap. Bought a pair when Circuit city went under, pair when tweeter went under, and the RTI10"s from ONECALL for about 250 each. Hope to learn alot and add a little in the future.
T

[over50]

I have the 606 and everything works fine. I agree that it would be nice to have pre outs. I will replace when it stops working. I`m saving the money and buying a new led hdtv .

[dvran]

I like my 607 too, very good receiver for the buck. It's not worth spending a lot of cash on an AVR when they change so much every 2-3 years.

[TORI3]

I have a 607 that runs a pair of RTi8s and CSi3, and there seems to be enough power to deliver great sound. With this being said, I'm sure your 608 will be fine with your monitors.

When I first purchased the 607 I was debating on whether or not I should "bi-amp" my fronts. After reading all of the threads on the Polk forum I decided not to...until last night when I had some extra time (and wire) on my hands. Maybe I'm just hearing things, but my Rti8s definitely seem to be reproducing tighter lows and mids after rerunning Audyssey with the bi-amp connection.

I'm not an audiophile by any means, and I love the debate on whether bi-wiring or bi-amping really makes a difference, but at the end of the day there's nothing wrong with at least trying a new connection to see whether it makes a difference.

Finally, pre-outs would be nice...even on the 607.

[Lietuvis91]

I'm beginning to wonder if bi-amping "works" when it isn't suppose to simply because you have more wire feeding the speaker, and therefore, more of the power actually makes it to that speaker. I mean, everyone makes such a big deal out of wires, and somehow I bet, most of the people who posted in this thread probably use the lower grade wires (monopirce, audioquest, etc.)

so isn't it possible that, there isn't any more power being sent by the receiver BUT, more power actually makes it to the speaker, instead of being lost in transmission, because of the additional wire? Which then makes the speaker sound "better" or "louder"?

just a though...

[TORI3]

Lietuvis91, I like the way you think.

I know people with perhaps more technical know-how would disagree with our logic, but it would make sense that more current would be reaching the speaker instead of being "lost in transmission." From my small understanding, the purpose of bi-amping is to separate the high and low currents from the receiver into the speaker, which would create a clearer sound. Plus, if the receiver is capable of dedicating (or substituting) the surrounds outlets to bi-amping, Onkyo must have a rime and reason behind incorporating bi-amping in the first place...otherwise why would they include it on the receiver?

If it's there, there's gotta be a reason why it's there. Or, maybe I'm just thinking too simply.

Food for thought.

[Lietuvis91]

thanks bud!

I definitely am not any kind of an expert, so please do not take what I said without criticism, because I definitely was just thinking out loud.

Maybe some of our resident experts will chime in if this makes any sense...

[Gulfstrings]

Haven't read the entire thread but because of your bi-amping interest thought I'd share a recent experience.

I have the Onkyo 707. When first installed I "bi-amped" my A7 fronts per instructions in the Onkyo manual. Easy enough, just removed the speakers' jumpers and connected the upper posts to the unused outs from the Onkyo and the main outs to the lower posts.

The 707 has the Pure Audio feature. From day one I played all my music with the Pure Audio feature selected as it sounded much better - and with significantly more volume - than the "stereo" setting, as example.

Last week when installing the new power amp behind the 707, I resintalled the from speakers' jumpers to prepare for single cables from the new amp.

But before I disconnected the 707, I compared the "single-amped" sound between the Pure Audio and the stereo settings. Without the bi-amping, the Pure Audio setting's output was not nearly as good as when the speakers were bi-amped! Not even close! Mush less ooomph!

No disrespect to other opinions shared, but my observation - on my system - was that the Onkyo 707 bi-ampamped (per Onkyo's manual) in to my A7s made a significant difference when the Onkyo was played using the Pure Audio feature.

Congrats on your new gear and fwiw, I've been very pleased with the 707. Most of all, it provided me the opportunity to add a power amp when I was ready and that's the best thing that's happened to my setup, so far ...

Dave

[tonyb]

Hello. New to the group but may add some insight.
I run a Onkyo 608 that I recently upgraded form a Onkyo 701 (loved it but no HDMI). I run a pr of RTI 10's, RTI 6's, Rti'4's, CSI5 Center, and Klispch? Sub. I have Bi-wired my Polks on my 2CH and HT set up and feel like I get a little cleaner sound. Might just be my ears but I continue to do it. I would at least try it to see if it makes a difference for you.
I have had great luck with Onkyo in the past.
Good luck.
T

Hey man....you trying to steal my screen name ?:):p

Welcome anyway.