Surround sound cables

lmm247

Prominent
Jan 8, 2018
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I just setup a Harma Kardon HKTS 16BQ speaker system with an Onkyo TX-SR373 receiver with an older TV, and the sound coming from the back (surround) speakers is extremely faint, can’t even tell they’re working. We tried watching Harry Potter playing on TV, which we assumed would have 5.1 sound. I can’t seem to find a way to adjust the levels on the speakers (the menu on the receiver is really difficult to use), but I’m wondering whether the problem is the cable we’re using to connect th TV to the receiver. We’re using the stereo audio cable (which I think is RCA) that has red and white plugs on both ends. Do we need to be using an optical digital cable instead? Or do we need to adjust the levels manually? The auto setup with the provided mic doesn’t fix this, which makes me wonder if the cable is the problem, since some folks mentioned analog vs digital sound, but I wonder whether the back speakers would be working at all if that were the problem, and they are, though faintly. Any help is appreciated!
 
Solution
You do need to set the levels on the Onkyo to balance the speakers. Very important. Sometimes the auto set up gets it wrong. If you can get the pink noise test signal moving from channel to channel you should hear the same volume at your listening position (except for the sub channel).
When you use a stereo hookup you need to set the receiver to a surround sound mode such as Dolby Prologic2 Cinema. These modes extract out of phase information to create a center and rear channel (it's actually a single channel playing through both rear speakers). Not as good as discrete digital surround sound.
Use the optical digital connection. Set the TV to output in Bitstream. Use the Dolby mode and the receiver will switch between Dolby Digital and...
You do need to set the levels on the Onkyo to balance the speakers. Very important. Sometimes the auto set up gets it wrong. If you can get the pink noise test signal moving from channel to channel you should hear the same volume at your listening position (except for the sub channel).
When you use a stereo hookup you need to set the receiver to a surround sound mode such as Dolby Prologic2 Cinema. These modes extract out of phase information to create a center and rear channel (it's actually a single channel playing through both rear speakers). Not as good as discrete digital surround sound.
Use the optical digital connection. Set the TV to output in Bitstream. Use the Dolby mode and the receiver will switch between Dolby Digital and Dolby Prologic2 based on the program.
The last thing is that the rear speakers will only work when the content says they should. Most movies don't use the rears constantly. Some only very rarely. Most TV programs have little or no rear sound. Commercials sometimes have a lot. Harry Potter or any comic book hero movie should have a lot of surround but not constant.
 
Solution