Sony HT-DDWG800 Home Theatre Sys REVIEW

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which speaker did you blow and at what level did you have for it to go? Or was it just faulty? :)

It's just faulty, I guess.
When something exciting happens in a movie (violins etc) or when a high piano key is played, it sounds like a window trembling because of too much bass.
Something like that, it sounded all distorted.
I never had it past 50.
 
It's just faulty, I guess.
When something exciting happens in a movie (violins etc) or when a high piano key is played, it sounds like a window trembling because of too much bass.
Something like that, it sounded all distorted.
I never had it past 50.

50!!!!!! :rotfl:

To give you an indication, I listen to SD/TV and play games at a max of 15/16

Blueray's with the PCM soundtracks are a little quieter so I will sometimes up to 30 but 50.............. Jeezus H Christ, I bet your neighbors love you :)
 
ah, as said earlier, around 30-35 has been my total max for DVD's which i find is a little quieter... the likes of hellboy 2 and Hulk ('08) are crazy loud on blu ray though and i have at around 18 or so...:D
 
Must admit i'm with the previous two posters... never gone above 30. Did notice incredible hulk was very loud and thoroughly enjoyed it at 18 volume. 50, well if i was in a detached house then maybe :D
 
i keep promising myself Dark Knight at 30-35 at some point but havent done it yet.... esp as i live in an apartment block...:devil:

Am sure we had the convo a few pages back..:confused:
 
Just ordered this beast. This turned out to be the best option for a students budget. :rotfl:

Sooooo, i got Sony MHC-RG 330 Mini-hifi system, with two speakers. Can i use them with the amp? They have rated impedance of 6 ohms. If they fit, I can test them a little.
 
Probably not worth the effort. The supplied speakers sound very good. Connecting up your existing speakers will (I imagine) sound pretty crap.
 
Just ordered this beast. This turned out to be the best option for a students budget. :rotfl:

Sooooo, i got Sony MHC-RG 330 Mini-hifi system, with two speakers. Can i use them with the amp? They have rated impedance of 6 ohms. If they fit, I can test them a little.

compared to the speakers/sub that come with the 800, i also agree that they will sound useless compared to them.
also, if they work, chances are that the will sound significantly different to the rest of the speakers.
 
How cheap can you get the HT-DDWG800 now and where?
 
50!!!!!! :rotfl:

To give you an indication, I listen to SD/TV and play games at a max of 15/16

Blueray's with the PCM soundtracks are a little quieter so I will sometimes up to 30 but 50.............. Jeezus H Christ, I bet your neighbors love you :)

Really?!
I usually have it around 25-30 to be able to hear voices (please note that due to years of playing music, I'm part deaf) . If I watch a movie on my WD-HDTV it needs to be well over 30. (usually around 33 or 34).
The 50 was just for testing. :p.
 
Really?!
I usually have it around 25-30 to be able to hear voices (please note that due to years of playing music, I'm part deaf) . If I watch a movie on my WD-HDTV it needs to be well over 30. (usually around 33 or 34).
The 50 was just for testing. :p.

This could be related to your front soundstage. You could maybe make a few adjustments in order to get better quality sound.

Are your center speaker set at ear level? In some instances it may be impossible to set your center speaker this high, you could also consider slightly tilting your center speaker so it projects sound in the right direction. I am in the midst of a living room 'move around' right now so I have done just this. I have placed my center on a book slightly tilted, makes a massive difference.

I find the auto-cal on the 800 to work very well but it never quiet get's the center perfect for my liking, if you have not already, it might be worth upping the center speaker a notch or 2.

Finally, after extensive testing, I find the best results with the 800 front speakers is to place them at least 6ft apart, these speakers HAVE to be at ear level, any lower and you are missing a massive range of sounds.

Once you them all placed at the correct height, it's simply a matter of playing through some decent PCM and then making small adjustments to the facing direction until you get the best sound.

You will probably find by adjusting just the center and getting the right output level will make a massive difference.
 
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I have recently purchased the Sony HT-DDWG800.

I have connected one Sony Blu ray disc player via HDMI, and a SAT receiver also via HDMI, both to the HT corresponding inputs, and finally the TV (a Sony Bravia LCD full HD TV) to the HT monitor HDMI OUT. I have control for hdmi activated in all devices, except the SAT receiver.

It works until I see a Blu ray disc in 1080p. When I want to see again the SAT receiver (which is 1080i), after switching off the blu ray disc player and selecting the SAT device on the HT, the TV shows that the image is 1080i but there is nothing on the screen and nothing on audio.

I have changed the connections. I have connected the SAT receiver directly to a HDMI input in the TV, and via coax. cable to the HT. I have assigned the coax. input to the SAT option in the HT. Then I can see the SAT image on the TV, but when I change the source to SAT on the HT, then the input on the TV changes to the HT. Then, if I change again the input on the TV, then the HT changes to TV input.

This issue I think is related to the "control for hdmi" feature. Thank you so much for your help.
 
scart to component wont work, and component - component is far better quality than scart.
so component from dvd player, to component in, on tv.
optical lead from dvd player, to optical audio in, on 800.
analogue phono(red/white) audio leads,from dvd player, to analogue audio in(component audio it might be labelled as, but its more than likely going to be smack bang right next to the component in's on the tv), on the tv.

ah sound, i've just thought tho, the Sony DVD player has HDMI port, so after all that i could just connect with a HDMI lead to the TV:oops: sorry!

thanks for all the help, i've now got it set up and love it! (although i bet the neighbours dont!)
 
wondering if i can pick some peoples brains if that ok

got it all installed now (wont say set up becuase thats my problem)

got a few 'issues with it

1. on my Virgin TV, the sound does not quite match up with the peoples mouths, seems to be a bit out of sync

2. i have watched 2 films so far (Dark Knight & 30 Days of Night) for some reason it seems that when people talk its really quiet but all the sound effects are extremely loud so im constantly adjusting the volume through the film.

i have tried going into 'amp menu' and adjusting the centre speaker level, (i have put that on +10) but doesn't seem to effect it. any ideas?

also is there anything i need to do with all my other equipment? ie my Xbox, V+ box, Tosh EP-30 HD DVD player and SD sony DVD player? ie adjust what sound they output? how do i know im getting the best sound quality from each of the devices?

and lastly whats all that PCM 48 & PCM 96 about which it displays on the LCD


sorry about all the questions, may be simple and commensense to some people but im new to all this surround sound stuff and still getting to grips with it all


thanks a lot:clap::thumbsup:
 
How cheap can you get the HT-DDWG800 now and where?

pretty much only place is pixmania

its £280, plus £16 for P&P and takes about 3/4 working days to be delivered

:D
 
2. i have watched 2 films so far (Dark Knight & 30 Days of Night) for some reason it seems that when people talk its really quiet but all the sound effects are extremely loud so im constantly adjusting the volume through the film.

i have tried going into 'amp menu' and adjusting the centre speaker level, (i have put that on +10) but doesn't seem to effect it. any ideas?

My centre speaker did this the other day and went really muffled / quiet resulting in quiet speech but usual volume for effects on the front and surround speakers. My solution was to simply check the speaker wire connection for the centre and it appears that it had lost the connection slightly?! Think the Mrs had been dusting and had moved the unit thus pulling out one of the centre speaker wires slightly :lesson:!

Might be worth giving it a try?! I just unplugged then re-plugged the centre speaker wire in at both the amp and the speaker and seems to have sorted it!

Ali
 
Ok I have a question. I just finished setting up my DDWG800 and did a test run with The Matrix on blu-ray on my ps3, it was a pleasent experience and a good upgrade from my previous home theatre surround system. However there is this one thing that is confusing me.

According to the manual the amp/reciever supports up to 96khz audio from the digital ports. However I seem to only be able to make it play 48khz.

I have set it up with an hdmi from my ps3 to the amp/reciever and a hdmi from the amp/reciever to my tv. I have checked my ps3 audio setup, but it wont let me uncheck lpcm 5.1 48khz so I can't force it to send the signal in 96.

I am assuming this has to do with the ps3 settings. Any Ideas?
 
It's actually a little misleading, it can decode upto 96K PCM but if your amp was decoding at 48k, that simply means that the disk's track is coded at this rate.

You were getting the best quality sound at PCM 48. :)

Push Triangle on your controller, the info bar will confirm which rate the disk is coded at.
 
well the disc in question used TrueHD and would therefore be decoded by the ps3. I believe what your saying is that because the disc's audio track isn't 96 then it wont be played off as 96. Well that is fine.

I am wondering though how is this with games and general ps3 usage outside of watching BD/DVDs ? All in all though I am not very disapointed with 48khz as I can't find any problem with it as it is. But I just hate the feeling that the experience isn't living up to the potential.
 
I went through the same when I purchased my system. I have found that the majority of PS3 sound is processed at 48khz

I am yet to find a Blueray that is encoded above 48khz. The good thing about this is maybe the system is future proof in that respect. When the studios release even bigger content disks, the system should still be able to decode.

I have the system connected to my HTPC where I am able to force 96k through the system but it's pretty pointless and there is no sound improvement as like I said, content is encoded at 48k max anyway.

Rest at ease knowing that you are getting the best out of your system :)
 
I went through the same when I purchased my system. I have found that the majority of PS3 sound is processed at 48khz

I am yet to find a Blueray that is encoded above 48khz. The good thing about this is maybe the system is future proof in that respect. When the studios release even bigger content disks, the system should still be able to decode.

I have the system connected to my HTPC where I am able to force 96k through the system but it's pretty pointless and there is no sound improvement as like I said, content is encoded at 48k max anyway.

Rest at ease knowing that you are getting the best out of your system :)

I think this is a good reply and has put my mind at rest also. I had noticed all content blu-ray and ps3 games was at 48khz on the receiver, but if this is the way its meant to be for now i'm pleased :D.
 
Has anybody connected an iPod dock to theres yet.... i really fancy the Onkyo one...:confused:
 
Has anybody connected an iPod dock to theres yet.... i really fancy the Onkyo one...:confused:

A dock is on my to do list. I have an Ipod Touch 2g so I am a little wary as to what dock will work. Apple in their wisdom changed the charging method recently (removed a pin or something) which means that 90% of available docks will play the tunes but will not charge the device.

I noticed Richer Sounds sell a £9.99 Cambridge Audio dock (with a remote at the same price) I might pick one up to see if it will perform all tasks.
 
A dock is on my to do list. I have an Ipod Touch 2g so I am a little wary as to what dock will work. Apple in their wisdom changed the charging method recently (removed a pin or something) which means that 90% of available docks will play the tunes but will not charge the device.

I noticed Richer Sounds sell a £9.99 Cambridge Audio dock (with a remote at the same price) I might pick one up to see if it will perform all tasks.

exactly my issue (i have a touch as well).... apparantly the onkyo DSA2X will play music and charge but not play video (which im not to fussed about anyways)....

im looking to buy at the end of the month so lemme know how you get on if you get it before then or if i beat you to it i'll return the favour.. :smashin:
 
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