Remote necessary?

[pinkpaul]

Hi, I just got a bargain Onkyo TX-SR501 receiver for 66$, it doesnt come with a remote though so I was wondering If I NEEDED the remote to use it, or is it just a convenience thing, cause I was planning on getting a universal one anyways. Oh and I know this is the receiver forum but if anyone can answer this it would be great: Just bought a Hsu STF-1 + Ventri sound system, will this be good enough for a 10 x 8 room with 8' ceilings? And does it matter what bass transmitter I get, cause I'm thinking of the cheapo 8$ walmart ones. Thanks!

p.s. Any tips on good universals?

 

[Bryce_H]

It depends - some receivers have functions that can be only accessed from the remote (although it is rare). Usually you can access most functions through front panel buttons.

I'm partial to Harmony remontes.

I bought a demo Denon 3805 w/o a remote and a Harmony 676. Downloaded all the codes and all set.

 

[MDS]

You can do everything you need to do from the front panel on the Onkyo 501. The remote duplicates all of the front panel functionality except for digital input assignment which can only be done from the front panel.

Still, a universal remote is always nicer than getting up to press buttons on the receiver.

 

[pinkpaul]

Damn you guys are quick and knowledgeable, well that saved me 20 bucks!

 

[Davemcc]

The Ventriloquist system will be more than enough for a 10 x 8 room with the STF-1. It should be fine right out of the box for movies, but may need some fiddling for stereo music. You can read the thread I posted of my amateur attempts to fine tune the system for stereo in my 10 x 11 bedroom, with some very positive results. Note I have since put the STF-3 with the Ventriloquist to replace the Sony sub I originally used. I'd be interested in your thoughts when you're done.

Try to get a decent shielded sub cable. Nothing crazy, but decent. I had a hum in my sub that went away when I changed sub cables.