Noobie here that is seeking help?

[Car RamRod]

First off hello to everyone.

I am a confused 17 year old in need of help.

My setup:
Onkyo TX-SR505 Receiver
Polk Audio 5.1 setup

I have a few questions to ask first.
1. How do I determine how I am going to setup the decibel levels on my receiver.

2. I am not getting sound out of my back two speakers when I play xbox 360, why is this, come to think of it I never get audio out of my back two. I only get audio from the front two, the sub, and he center. How can I fix this?

3. I want to have my system setup the best way possible can anybody help? It sounds good now, but I know it can be better.

Hope you experts can help.
Thanks, Car RamRod

 

[nick1000000]

First off hello to everyone.

I am a confused 17 year old in need of help.

My setup:
Onkyo TX-SR505 Receiver
Polk Audio 5.1 setup

I have a few questions to ask first.
1. How do I determine how I am going to setup the decibel levels on my receiver.

2. I am not getting sound out of my back two speakers when I play xbox 360, why is this, come to think of it I never get audio out of my back two. I only get audio from the front two, the sub, and he center. How can I fix this?

3. I want to have my system setup the best way possible can anybody help? It sounds good now, but I know it can be better.

Hope you experts can help.
Thanks, Car RamRod

1. You should get a SPL meter. They are at Radio Shack and pretty cheap. Set the C weighted to slow, and 70db. Turn the receivers volume to the normal volume you listen to. Then adjust each speakers volume (there is an option for this on your receiver somewhere) so the SPL meter reads 75db.

2. First you should check your speakers connections. Make sure both wires are connected properly to the receiver and the speakers. If they are okay make sure you have 5.1 set on your receiver and not 3.1 (if you even have that option).

3. The SPL meter will help with this.

 

[Halon451]

Your rear speakers aren't always going to put out sound either, you should know. It depends on the input soundtrack. Even when they are active, they should only be putting out surround and ambient effects, as they are experience the lightest workload of any of your other speakers, relative.

Other things you can check is in your receivers speaker setup menu, make sure they are set to the correct size, and of course - the correct level, which is a big item. I'll assume for the sake of this discussion that they are indeed hooked up correctly and just leave it at that. Check your Onkyo's owner's manual for help in setting up your speaker preferences.