New Sony 7.2 channel receiver setup. What am I doing wrong?

[emd023]

I just purchased a new Sony 7.2 channel receiver for 200 bucks for my parents. I am replacing their 10 year old Yamaha 5.1 channel receiver. I am new to this so I am just going to provide you guys with as much information as I can. The channels for my new speaker are 2 front, 2 surround, 1 center, 1 sub, and 2 "surround back/bi-amp/front high/front b." My parents have 7 yamaha speakers which I am reusing. I have 2 speakers hooked into the "front" channels which are located right next to the TV. Three more speakers hooked to "surround" and "center" are on top of the TV cabinet (i know the surround should be somewhere behind us but I will fix that later). The last 2 speakers are outside on the porch which my parents had previously spliced together with the front or back speaker wires (i forget which ones). I currently have them hooked up to the "surround back/bi-amp/front high/front b" channels. Which channels would be the best for these two outdoor speakers that will only be used to listen to music outside?

Is it even possible to achieve proper surround sound on a 7.2 receiver even though only 5 speakers are actually in the living room and 2 outside?

While watching TV i notice that the sound changes quite a bit depending on what TV program is playing. It seems that some programs/commercials will play through all the speakers and some will not. Is there a setting that will force the receiver to play through all speakers even if the program/commercial does not support 7.2?

Hope you guys can help me out.

Thanks!

 

[dudio]

The outside speakers should be "Front B" which will give them just regular left/right stereo.
To get sound out of all speakers for the tv all the time, you can use DSP effects but I personally think that is not a wise choice since it is rather goofy. Stick with proper Dolby surround and the rears will do what they're supposed to do, when they should. Also note that the TV speaker setup is no longer 7.2 because you are using the 2 speakers outside as their own identity.
List the model of the receiver, and I can give you a better clue on options and setup.

 

[boju]

Think emd023 meant two front speakers which are positioned both sides of the Tv. It does read like hes using TV for speakers but reading it twice think hes got separate speakers.

What model 7.2 Sony is it? So i can have a closer look.

Looks like you've got it setup right, can it do zones as in for different rooms? If it can will have it written near the terminals.

Tv programs that aren't encoded in surround most receivers can have it's own logic modes like Prologic/Neo cinema etc to simulate surround. It's not perfect but its near enough.

 

[boju]

If the AVR doesn't have separate terminals for zoning, using the back speakers outside will work. Just when watching a 7.1 movie will be missing sounds. I've watched plenty of 7.1 bluray movies and the surround backs are used a lot for a whole range of effects.

 

[emd023]

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay. The model is the STR-DH750.

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-1015w-7-2-ch-4k-ultra-hd-and-3d-pass-through-a-v-home-theater-receiver-black/4419006.p?id=1219098157631

And yes I have the two "fron A" speakers on either side of the TV. I am not using the speakers that are built into the TV.

So basically what I want to get out of this reciever is 5.2 sound with 2 more speakers hooked up for outside use only.

 

[boju]

Not sure you can get 5.2, don't think any movies are made that way. What you may need to do is configure the movie player end to another format for AVR to recognize as 5.1 source and not losseless audio reading as 7.1. Doldby digital 5.1 or something similar on the DVD/Bluray player, or simply just get DVD of the movie and not Bluray as DVDs are usually only 5.1.

 

[boju]

In movie audio setup can have these options there also sometimes.

 

[emd023]

Not sure you can get 5.2, don't think any movies are made that way. What you may need to do is configure the movie player end to another format for AVR to recognize as 5.1 source and not losseless audio reading as 7.1. Doldby digital 5.1 or something similar on the DVD/Bluray player, or simply just get DVD of the movie and not Bluray as DVDs are usually only 5.1.

My parents only watch DirecTV. They do not use DVD players or anything else. So I am just trying to get the best sound from a DirecTV reveiver.

 

[boju]

Have look at the audio settings in DirectTV, if you can force it to 5.1. Also look at the menu settings of the receiver on TV for more options in audio setup, maybe you can create and save profile to a function button, say program 1 for 5.2 and another for 7.2.

 

[boju]

The Avr is going to play whatever it's given, just going to have to muck around with the settings from the source (DirectTV) or the AVR. Or if DirectTV has optical out, can use this for audio instead since you wont be getting true 7.1 data going through this cable, only HDMI has the bandwidth.

Use the decode function on your AVR to have it feed directly from the source instead of it emulating surround.