Onkyo TX-SR606, advice needed with 5.0 setup

Hi, i'll be getting my 606 tomorrow, but i'll be going from my old 5.1 Z-5500 to a 5.0 setup with my remaining rear + center from my Z-5500 and my old loudspeakers for the front. As it's not possible to use the subwoofer from the Z-5500 i'll be left with a 5.0 setup... I had hoped I had enough power in my front loudspeakers, but what do you guys think?

I don't have the specs for my old loudspeakers, but it's a 3-way speaker system putting out about 90-100W @ 8 ohms.

I had purchased this receiver so I could hear TrueHD and DTS-HD, but without a subwoofer i'm kinda curious as to what i'll get...

 

I doubt you will notice much difference TBH, I would only upgrade to the new formats if you have decent speakers to take advantage of them. Although not the most powerful amp in the world, the 606 deserves better speakers than a PC setup Sounds like a wasted effort to me but good luck with it all the same.

 

You will not get anywhere near the same deep bass as you're used to, without the sub, and the z-5500 center is a bit of a bottleneck, since it is used almost at all times in a movie. I would recommend an upgrade whenever you can afford it, but in general, depending on your old speakers, you should get much better sound quality (especially for stereo).

I just got a 606 myself, and I really love it, but it does deserve a proper speaker package.

So in short, you'll miss a sub and a decent center. I think the 606 can route bass to the fronts in a 5.0 system (though I haven't tested this).

As a side note, I have a 500£ speaker package and a cheap sub, and it sounds amazing to me. But 500£ is a lot of money, I know. If you don't plan on upgrading your speakers soon, you should probably have gone for a 200£ amp and a 250£ speaker set or something like that.

 

So thanks for the replies - I guess I somewhere knew my old Z-5500 wouldn't work well with a "real" setup. I'll look for a good package. Are there some brands you can recommend with using with the 606?

 

You should check out the speaker forums, as this is an extremely common question

What is your budget?

 

My budget is about £540 or $1,039 - i've been quite dissapointed by the Z-5500. It works ok with movies, but comming from my old Onkyo M-508 with my two loudspeakers (the same I want to use with my 606) it just doesn't work very well with music.

I'm going for a 5.1 setup (I don't have room for 7.1).

One of my friends who is also looking to buy the 606 wants these pioneer speakers for his: http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/42/99/161/S-V52-W-II/index.html

It's something "like" this i'm looking for. I however notice that it's 130W @ 8 ohms and the 606 only can output 90-110W @ ohms?

 

You are putting way too much into the wattage. In reality, it doesn't say anything about real power or quality, as there are a million different ways to measure it. For example, I think the 606 only puts (realistically) out like 60 or 70 watts per channel without distortion, but this is still a decent amount (and not to be compared to the numbers other makers are boasting).

The wattage rating on the speaker is a guideline to how much they will take before you break them, and you should not compare the input limit to the maximum output on the receiver. So, the lesson of the day is: don't read the watt numbers (at least only on brands you can trust to give you the real deal). My Dali Concept 6 floor standing speakers have a maximum of about 100w, but they could still destroy my hearing.

 

Thanks for the advice! It must be the same for my old 90-100W loudspeakers from B&W. I've seen my fair share of cheap speakers boasting 200W+ output but being 1/4 of the weight etc.

 

AE Aego T's, SVS, Quad L-ite, Q-Acoustics all around that price. I doubt the new Arcam Muso's are that much cheaper in the states (you are in the US aren't you?). Basically buy the best speakers you can afford, speaker technology rarely changes but unfortunately amp technology does, so make your speakers the longer term purchase of the two.

 

No i'm in EU - i've never heard of any of those brands so i'll check them out individually and see what they range at here. They are prolly a little more expensive here though.