New Surround Sound Setup?

**LilSnoop40** · **12-27-07, 12:49 AM**

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hi, i just purchased this for my basement this xmas. i am trying to setup a surround for my movies and xbox 360 gaming. along with new Onkyo HT-SR800 i have a Pioneer PDP-5071HD Plasma and the Toshiba HD-A30 High-Definition DVD Player. i went out today an purchased me some Monster Cable XP brand from best buy. 16 gauge i believe, i was told 14 gauge wasn't all that important since those speaker for the surround sound won't have much bass coming through them. i am wondering if this speaker wire is ok to use for this system. i won't be running any piece's bigger then 30ft. the two rear will be 30ft while the fronts may be 15ft at the longest. i bought a some Monster Cable - Quick Lock Gold Flex Pin Connector (2-Pair Pack) to put on the speaker wire to plug into the speakers and i bought Monster Cable QL GMT-H QuickLock Gold Banana Connectors (2 Pair) to connect from the other end of the speaker wire to the Onkyo receiver.lastly i bought that Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote to run everything from my hd dvd player to my dtv to my xbox and what no. is this all ok and will it work together fine or is there somethings i could do with out? thanks for the help. i will greatly apprciate it.

Lastly is there any suggested height to mount the rear and front speakers, i was going to keep them all at 6ft?

thanks

**John Simpson** · **12-27-07, 01:30 AM**

Hi Lil, and welcome to the Shack.

Firstly, 16 gauge wire should be fine for the rears. Thin, but will do the job (and can be upgraded later). The fronts are usually best with 12awg or greater, but you won't notice anything unless you have good quality speakers.

The rear speakers are fine at 6ft off the ground, but the fronts (all three of them) should be level with your ears when you're sitting down.

Lastly, I think there might be something wrong with your shift key...

**LilSnoop40** · **12-27-07, 10:59 AM**

so if i go to home depot and get this here for my fronts this will be better Acoustic Research Pro II Speaker Wire 50 Ft. 12-guage then the 16 guage i have now. what is the recommended for the sub? thanks

**salvasol** · **12-27-07, 04:34 PM**

Welcome to the forum

I don't know how much you paid for the Monster Cable (I think is expensive, Right???) ... I used 14 gauge for all my speakers, I bought it at Lowes ...

The front speakers are better at ear level, but you can place them at 6ft (I did the same with my Infinity TSS750) but you need to point them at your listening position to get a better sound

**LilSnoop40** · **12-27-07, 04:37 PM**

i went to best buy and i returned my 16 gauge monster xp cable now i have ge brand 14 gauge. i will be installing everything tonight i will let you know how it turned out. thanks so the two rear speakers are ok at 6ft angled down and the three in the front must be at ear level or a tad higher for best sound

**salvasol** · **12-27-07, 04:50 PM**

You got it

Are you using one or two rows of seats??? ... according to your system you have a 7.1 set up; so all your surrounds (4) can be at 6 - 7ft and the front (3) at ear level

Place your surrounds on the side wall between rows is using more than one, and the back surrounds on the back wall ... after you place the speakers, run the auto calibration to properly set up the system ...
and then .... start enjoying your HT

**LilSnoop40** · **12-27-07, 05:08 PM**

thanks for the quick response. i don't know if right now i will be using all 7 speakers. due to the fact of the room i can only hang 6 of the 7 because on my right(right of the chairs) i have a pool table and there is no place to mount that one speaker. so i was told i will be able to use it in 5.1 and it will be perfect?

**dieselpower1966** · **12-27-07, 05:31 PM**

Li'l Snoop
there are rules for mounting surround speakers. maybe I missed it but were they bipole dipole or direct radiating speakers? also the 3 front should be at ear level meaning the tweeter, but that's not always possible with the center channel, are you putting in under a t.v. or above? the rule says that the tweeter height should not be greater than 24" in . meaning if your center is below your t.v., then the left and right front (tweeter) should not be more than 24" higher than the tweeter in the center channel, it does create a weird sound that is not seamless in a pan scene. You should also read up on how to calibrate your speakers with the built in pink noise generator so you can get them all within the same spl reading. you didn't mention if you have a subwoofer or not.
good luck
Dieselpower

**salvasol** · **12-27-07, 05:38 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

thanks for the quick response. i don't know if right now i will be using all 7 speakers. due to the fact of the room i can only hang 6 of the 7 because on my right(right of the chairs) i have a pool table and there is no place to mount that one speaker. so i was told i will be able to use it in 5.1 and it will be perfect?

Yes you can use it in a 5.1 set up .... What about posting a picture or sketch of your room??? ... That will help others to give you more opinions in your set up...

**LilSnoop40** · **12-28-07, 02:51 AM**

ok, after hours of setting up my room i have now completed it. nothing works like its supposed to. not sure what i am missing. something easy i think. this is how i have everything hooked up. please help

1. connect Xbox 360 hdmi to Onkyo HDMI input 2
2. connect DirectTV hdmi to Onkyo HDMI input 1
3. connect HD-A30 directly to your Pioneer TV HDMI 5 and use the optical audio cable to connect your HD-A30 to Onkyo's digital optical audio IN.

what am i doing wrong that nothing is showing up... please help
thanks

**dieselpower1966** · **12-28-07, 08:15 AM**

LilSnoop
I have the Onkyo674, in my setup menu for the Onkyo you have to tell the Onkyo the type of input that is going into it. example, dvd-you would assign it a digital input for the HDMI, same for the Xbox, (which by the way I want but cannot afford right now) bummer, etc. I have my direct t.v. hooked up directly to my 61"JVC because I don't care to watch t.v. in surround mode, just my dvd player for movies. Your HD-A30 sounds correct, I would check the Onkyo menu for the correct assignment of inputs.
good luck
Dieselpower

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 01:35 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

...I have now completed it. nothing works like its supposed to. not sure what i am missing. something easy i think. this is how i have everything hooked up. please help
1. connect Xbox 360 hdmi to Onkyo HDMI input 2
2. connect DirectTV hdmi to Onkyo HDMI input 1
3. connect HD-A30 directly to your Pioneer TV HDMI 5 and use the optical audio cable to connect your HD-A30 to Onkyo's digital optical audio IN.

what am i doing wrong that nothing is showing up... please help thanks

Do you mean nothing at all or just XBox and Direct TV???? ... Remember that there has to be a HDMI cable going from your receiver to your TV to see was goes thru the Onkyo ...

... I don't think there is a problem with the HDA30 because is connected directly to the TV (you just have to choose the source on the TV).

I always connect the video signal and audio directly to my TV (you can use HDMI) and the audio signal (Coax or Optical) directly to the receiver for two reasons:

1. There will be no conversion of the video (from DVD, SAT, etc to receiver and then from receiver to TV) ... the signal will go directly to TV.

2. If I want to watch something without using the receiver I CAN ... in your case if you connect something thru the receiver you have to turn it on to watch anything.

**LilSnoop40** · **12-28-07, 03:40 PM**

i have everything installed and up and running. i don't understand though when i have a movie in on my HD-30 whether its a hd movie or a regular movie its only showing up as pcm audio? what is wrong. i have a hdmi from my tv to my receiver hdmi out. i have a hdmi from my dvd player to the input 1 or 2 on the receiver. and a optical from my dvd player to the receiver. also i can NOT get any audio from my xbox 360 not sure what i need to do or what the best way to hook this up is. not sure if i need another wire or what. i have been reading many forums and no luck. i have a Pioneer PDP-5071HD Plasma and the Toshiba HD-A30 High-Definition DVD Player and the Directv H20 receiver. what's the best way to run this all to get the best sound.

thanks

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 04:43 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

... i don't understand though when i have a movie in on my HD-30 whether its a hd movie or a regular movie its only showing up as pcm audio? what is wrong.

You can check the receiver and DVD player ... maybe there is an option to set the audio to AUTO, or maybe the PCM is the correct option ...

Quote:

... i have a hdmi from my tv to my receiver hdmi out. i have a hdmi from my dvd player to the input 1 or 2 on the receiver. and a optical from my dvd player to the receiver...

You don't need the optical cable for the DVD ... HDMI carry the audio and video with the same cable

Quote:

...I can NOT get any audio from my xbox 360 not sure what i need to do or what the best way to hook this up is. not sure if i need another wire or what...

What cable did you use to connect the XBox??? ... remember that id you use HDMI you don't need any other ... are you changing the source on the receiver (DVD, Video 1, Video 2, TV., etc.) maybe you have to change something in the receiver set up ...

Quote:

.... what's the best way to run this all to get the best sound...

I'm not familiar with HD or Blue Ray (I have an upconverting DVD player ...

) ... but I can tell you that all video connections don't go thru the receiver ( I read that is possible to have problems with the conversion from DVD to receiver and receiver to TV) ...so I do it directly to TV and just connect the sound to the receiver using optical or coaxial cables.

Have you played with the receiver calibration??? ... you need to adjust the speaker levels, bass, treble, etc to get the sound you're looking for ...

Don't be affraid of playing with the control ... if you don't like something you can reset and start from scratch ...

**LilSnoop40** · **12-28-07, 04:44 PM**

ok, so now i have have changed a setting. i put the hdmi from my directv to my tv's input 5 and a Optical Digital Audio Cable to my Onkyo Receiver. now i have audio with a red symbol looking like "DD". and for my Toshiba HD-30 i did the same thing i ran a hdmi from my Toshiba HD-30 to my tv's input 6 and a Optical Digital Audio Cable to my Onkyo Receiver. everything is up and running now. not really sure if this was the best way to do this.. opinions please?

now the only thing left for me to hook up is my xbox 360. not really sure what the best way to do this is. all my hdmi spots are taking on my tv. so what are the suggestions please.

thanks

**LilSnoop40** · **12-28-07, 04:49 PM**

apparently there is something with this receiver that the hdmi cables only carry video over through this receiver. they don't do both audio and video like others. i have researched and found this. so what would you suggest now that i have post the above.

thanks

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 06:54 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

ok, so now i have have changed a setting. i put the hdmi from my directv to my tv's input 5 and a Optical Digital Audio Cable to my Onkyo Receiver. now i have audio with a red symbol looking like "DD". and for my Toshiba HD-30 i did the same thing i ran a hdmi from my Toshiba HD-30 to my tv's input 6 and a Optical Digital Audio Cable to my Onkyo Receiver. everything is up and running now. not really sure if this was the best way to do this.. opinions please?

now the only thing left for me to hook up is my xbox 360. not really sure what the best way to do this is. all my hdmi spots are taking on my tv. so what are the suggestions please.

thanks

According to your post you have 6 inputs, to have a better idea, Can you tell me how many HDMI, component, composite, S, etc. you have in your TV??? ... also, What are you using (DVD, HD DVD, SAT, VCR, etc..) and what type of connector options you have for every source (eg.: DVD - HDMI,Component, coax, etc - HD-30: HDMI, component, coax, etc) ...

Here is also this link that help you make the installation http://esupport.sony.com/perl/tutori....pl?tut_id=438 ... I don't know if Onkyo has one too.

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 07:01 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

apparently there is something with this receiver that the hdmi cables only carry video over through this receiver. they don't do both audio and video like others. i have researched and found this. so what would you suggest now that i have post the above.thanks

You'll be fine connecting the video and audio source directly to TV (DVD, SAT, etc.) and just the audio to the Onkyo

... It takes a couple of seconds more because you have to change the source on the TV and receiver to watch a movie (eg.: choose DVD input on TV and DVD input on receiver) but it works better because there is no signal conversion anywhere ... that's the way I have everything on my HT

**LilSnoop40** · **12-28-07, 07:45 PM**

ok, so here's what i did. i changed everything arround again. i ran my directv receiver via hdmi to the hdmi on the onkyo. then i ran my toshiba hd-30 via hdmi to the onkyo 2nd onkyo hdmi. then i ran a hdmi from the onkyo hdmi out to the pioneer Pioneer PDP-5071HD Plasma. so now i have one free hdmi for my xbox but i need to get a optical to coaxial converter for the audio. since both the hdmi's on the opticals are being used on the receiver i will need on more spot.

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 08:39 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

... so now i have one free hdmi for my xbox but i need to get a optical to coaxial converter for the audio. since both the hdmi's on the opticals are being used on the receiver i will need on more spot.

Where do you need the spot??? ... if you want, send me a PM (private message) with the model of each component you're trying to connect ... I'll be happy to draw a hook up diagram for you

**salvasol** · **12-28-07, 10:20 PM**

Quote:

LilSnoop40 wrote:

.... so now i have one free hdmi for my xbox but i need to get a optical to coaxial converter for the audio. since both the hdmi's on the opticals are being used on the receiver i will need on more spot.

This is what I found online about your Pioneer: 2 x HDMI input, 2 x S-Video input, 3 x Component video input , 1 x VGA input, 4 x Composite video/audio input, 1 x Composite video/audio output, Audio line-out, 1 x USB

and Onkyo Front, 1 x Composite video/audio input - Front, 2 x SPDIF input - Rear, 2 x SPDIF input ( TOS Link ) - Rear, 3 x Component video input - Rear, 1 x Component video output - Rear, 3 x S-Video input - Rear, 1 x S-Video output - Rear, 1 x Monitor output - Rear, 1 x Monitor output - Rear, 2 x Composite video/audio input - Rear, 1 x Composite video/audio output - Rear, 1 x Composite video input ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 2 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 2 x HDMI input ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A )

You have plenty to make the connections ... I think what happened is that you're using double connections for one source (HDMI and coax/opt for the Satellite and HD player) ... if you free one you will be okay ... my offer still standing if you want me to help you connect everything, just give me the list of what you want to connect ...

**LilSnoop40** · **12-29-07, 12:01 AM**

ok, here is what i need hooked up. all via hdmi's and digital outs.

1. PDP-5071HD Plasma
2. Directv H20 Receiver HD
3. Toshiba HD-30 High Def DVD Player
4. XBOX 360

the way below is how i had to do it based on the fact from reading the hdmi's through the onkyo receiver do not carry both the audio and video through. that's why i had to get the converter to be able to hook my xbox 360 up via coaxial. cause my only two opticals were being used for 1. Directv H20 Receiver HD and 2. Toshiba HD-30 High Def DVD Player. but unless i am missing something an i only need to use 1 optical cable for both those devices let me know.

i ran my directv receiver via hdmi to the hdmi on the onkyo. then i ran my toshiba hd-30 via hdmi to the onkyo 2nd hdmi. then i ran an hdmi from the onkyo hdmi out to the pioneer Pioneer PDP-5071HD Plasma. so now i have one free hdmi for my xbox to use on the Pioneer

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