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Lightning Vs Onkyo - need some advice and opinions

Fletch

Fletch

Well-Known Member
We had a storm last night and we had a lightning strike nearby. TO make a long story short, my Onkyo Tx-DS484 now has VERY subpar sound. When I say this I mean that the sound is distorted. I have to turn the vloume about a third of the way farther up to produce the same amount of volume as before. i guess the best way to describe it is that it is distorted and sounds very hallow. At this point I am thinking of just repacing it. The closest repair place for Onkyo, according to their website, is in New York. That's not an option.

Anyway, any opinions either way? What other receivers are comparable? All I need and want is 5.1 w/Dolby & DTS support. Everything else is negotiable. Any Harmon Kardon units to recommend ot Onkyo. I'd like to stick with those brands. Sony is not an option, just don't care for their units.

Well, thanks ahead of time.
 
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Sorry to hear about that. I lost a Zenith Space Command console TV a couple of years ago to a surge.:no:

Have you looked into the Yamaha HTR-series? I have experience with some of them, and from what I've seen/heard, they're pretty nice for the price.:thmbsp:
 
Best bet is to get a good surge supressor or basic line conditioner and add an isolation transformer between it and your power strip. The transformer secondary will smooth out small spiking and the supressor will protect the transformer from most circuit cookin' jolts.

Here's one from MCM I'm thinking of jumping on myself . . http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp...ucts&category_name=3830532&product_id=72-6670

Catalog price is $39.95 until May 25th so you should call in your order to get the discount.



Also great for safety at the workbench if you tinker.:thmbsp:
 
Best lightning protection is to unplug from power source!!
Sorry to here about your onkyo sometimes this is covered in homeowners insurance policies.
 
I lost a 3 year old SONY Kirrara Basso 53" RPTV and a brand new Yamaha DVD player due to lightning, I am quite paranoid bout it.
 
Yamaha1 said:
I lost a 3 year old SONY Kirrara Basso 53" RPTV and a brand new Yamaha DVD player due to lightning, I am quite paranoid bout it.
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Did you check the fuse in the Yamaha player? I get in tons of DVD players that have no more wrong than a blown power fuse.:yes:
 
Yamaha Freak,

The local Yamaha service center returned the unit to me telling me its no longer servicable.
 
"What is your budget?"

I know a lot of you guys drop some serious money on the sound systems. I on the other hand like the $20 price tag on my H/K 330c and $50 Insignias. So to make a long story short, my budget is about as small as you can go. So anything over $200 is out of the picture. I'd like to spend more but.......

Here's the deal. I have about a 12'X12' room. Very small. The Onkyo I had was 5X50w I believe and that was more than enough.

"Have you looked into the Yamaha HTR-series?"

What models should I look into?

Thanks Raphael. I'll take a look at those as I think they wired this place with bubblegum wrappers and duct tape. I have an old APC Back-UPS Pro 280 that apparently has surge suppression. This UPS feels like a tank, they are built quite well.

"Sorry to here about your onkyo sometimes this is covered in homeowners insurance policies."

Yea, that's the first place I looked but my deductible is $500. The unit was not worth that new. I would have unplugged them but the storm came in the middle of the night. Oh well.......
 
Fletch said:
"What is your budget?"

I know a lot of you guys drop some serious money on the sound systems. I on the other hand like the $20 price tag on my H/K 330c and $50 Insignias. So to make a long story short, my budget is about as small as you can go. So anything over $200 is out of the picture. I'd like to spend more but.......

Here's the deal. I have about a 12'X12' room. Very small. The Onkyo I had was 5X50w I believe and that was more than enough.

"Have you looked into the Yamaha HTR-series?"

What models should I look into?

Thanks Raphael. I'll take a look at those as I think they wired this place with bubblegum wrappers and duct tape. I have an old APC Back-UPS Pro 280 that apparently has surge suppression. This UPS feels like a tank, they are built quite well.

"Sorry to here about your onkyo sometimes this is covered in homeowners insurance policies."

Yea, that's the first place I looked but my deductible is $500. The unit was not worth that new. I would have unplugged them but the storm came in the middle of the night. Oh well.......
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Actually, quite a few of us get our gear for cheap. (Including me:D) As for which HTR, I tend to like the HTR-5950. It's decent on features, but isn't a bore to use. Also, have you considered eBay, Goodwill or garage sales/flea markets? A ton of good stuff pops up there, you just have to look. I saw a whole Sony HT setup at a garage sale yesterday. (5.1 receiver, CD changer, and 5 speakers w/ sub) All working, for $70. I know it's Sony, but that's just an example.:thmbsp:
 
I have a Sony Pro-Logic receiver I picked up for 20 bucks a few months back at a yard sale. I may use that for the time being but it does not have 5.1 surround. I'm currently looking at several receivers on Ebay but I do not know what the true gems are. I found my Onkyo many years back and have been content ever since so I do not know what to look for. So I am definately looking for a used unit, unless I can find a refurb cheap. I may take a look at the pawn shops but I have not had good luck with their lack of quality control. Garage sales are a crap shoot sometimes, especially the newer units. The Sony unit I picked up was the most current thing I have seen at garage sales. Most of what I find is very old units.
 
Fletch said:
I have a Sony Pro-Logic receiver I picked up for 20 bucks a few months back at a yard sale. I may use that for the time being but it does not have 5.1 surround. I'm currently looking at several receivers on Ebay but I do not know what the true gems are. I found my Onkyo many years back and have been content ever since so I do not know what to look for. So I am definately looking for a used unit, unless I can find a refurb cheap. I may take a look at the pawn shops but I have not had good luck with their lack of quality control. Garage sales are a crap shoot sometimes, especially the newer units. The Sony unit I picked up was the most current thing I have seen at garage sales. Most of what I find is very old units.
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Old can be good, but usually isn't when talking about HT receivers. If you want, give me a list of what you see on ePay and I'll see what sounds best IMO.:yes:
 
Wish you were nearby in rural northwest WI.

Fletch said:
We had a storm last night and we had a lightning strike nearby. TO make a long story short, my Onkyo Tx-DS484 now has VERY subpar sound. When I say this I mean that the sound is distorted. I have to turn the vloume about a third of the way farther up to produce the same amount of volume as before. i guess the best way to describe it is that it is distorted and sounds very hallow. At this point I am thinking of just repacing it. The closest repair place for Onkyo, according to their website, is in New York. That's not an option.

Anyway, any opinions either way? What other receivers are comparable? All I need and want is 5.1 w/Dolby & DTS support. Everything else is negotiable. Any Harmon Kardon units to recommend ot Onkyo. I'd like to stick with those brands. Sony is not an option, just don't care for their units.

Well, thanks ahead of time.
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Sorry to hear about your bad luck.I have an Onkyo Tx-DS555 I've been trying to get rid of.If only you were nearby.I'm new here-hope I didn't just cross the guidelines
 
jivinivan said:
Sorry to hear about your bad luck.I have an Onkyo Tx-DS555 I've been trying to get rid of.If only you were nearby.I'm new here-hope I didn't just cross the guidelines
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I don't think you did.:scratch2:
 
Jivinivan: I sent you an email but I don't know if it went thru.

Opinionators: I'm looking at the Onkyo TX-DS line and also the HTR line although I am not familiar AT ALL with that line. Anyone have any of the HTR units?

Other than that I am also looking at the Harman/Kardon AVR series. I believe the H/K AVR-130 and above would be more than enough wattage. Keep in mind this is a very small room.

I just need 5.1 Dolby and DTS decoder. Video switching would be nice but not neccessary.
 
If it was me I'd ditch the 5.1 and do a decent 2 channel system. My original 2 channel system cost $135 and consisted of a SX-950 and Large Advent speakers. It sounded better for movies then most HT systems.
 
ExJxC: Of course that would require me to upgrade to a pair of speakers that would sound good in stereo mode. Plus I am too attached to bullets flying behind my back, etc when watching movies.
 
This happened to me on a Yamaha once. Don't remember the model but it was htr. After I unplugged it and let it sit for a day or so it was back to it's old self.
I'm not saying this is a cure for your unit but the newer stuff has lots of microprocessors which some times will reset themselves when powered down for a while. I don't understand why but it does work at times.
Definitely the easiest solution if it works.
I live in Fla. so I know about lightning and it's effects.
Another thought-are the speakers ok?
 
Yes, definitely check your speakers. Sometimes, DC current can get through to the speakers during a surge. DC current destroys speakers at high voltages.:no:
 
Fletch said:
ExJxC: Of course that would require me to upgrade to a pair of speakers that would sound good in stereo mode. Plus I am too attached to bullets flying behind my back, etc when watching movies.
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Do you happen to be located near DC?
 
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