Onkyo TX-SR606: Cabling my Sub & Speakers?

[medallo]

I have a Panasonic SA-HT930 Home Theater system which works great. I just moved my LCD TV over the fireplace, which I really wanted. What I did not want was to see cables from my XBOX, two different satellites boxes, and Home Theater to my TV directly because that meant many cables being sent through the back of the wall. So, someone suggested a receiver. One output cable (in this case HDMI) from the receiver to the TV. Great idea, just one cable fabtastic. Did a bit of research (not much really) and the Onkyo TX-SR606 was the one I chose.

Here is my dilema:
- The audio output from my home theater (is a werid looking cable) and goes directly into the subwoofer. All other 5 speakers should be connected to the subwoofer in order to get great sound from it.

- My AV Receiver does not have this type of audio input nor could I connect in any way shape or form the subwoofer to the receiver directly.

- If I link the speakers (without the subwoofer) into the AV Receiver (which I can) then I won't be able to use my home theater audio portion (only video).

Since I bumped into this issue, I've looked at other AV receivers from other brands and none have this type of audio input.

Do I look for another set of 5.1 or 7.1 set of speakers that I could connect directly into the AV Receiver? Is there some magical way of linking my home theater system subwoofer into the AV Receiver (a cable that I may not be aware of, anyone else bump into a similar issue)?

Not sure what to do all suggestions appreciated.

Medallo

[JesseJ]

Can you take a picture of the cable in question?

[eljay]

The owner's manual for the Panasonic SA-HT930 shows a proprietary connector running from the back of the main unit to the subwoofer, and speaker wires running from the sub out to the mains, center and surrounds.

The mains are 6 ohms and the center and surrounds are 4 ohms each. The owner's manual for the Onkyo TX-SR606 shows:

Speaker Impedance
North American: 6Ω-16Ω

I take from this that you could safely hook up your mains, but not your center or surrounds. I would use the mains as surrounds, and buy new mains, a new center channel speaker and - since the proprietary connector essentially makes it incompatible with the Onkyo receiver - a new subwoofer.

[Dizzle]

the 606 is a great receiver, so really, i'd just look at getting new speakers to get the most out of the system.

i guess that's a problem upgrading from a HTIB to a top notch receiver, in that the HTIB might be pretty specific on its use/functionality, and not 100% compatible with the receiver.

i'm sure you could get a decent 5.1 speaker set for cheap though. check craigslist, see if there are any in your area.

[Dizzle]

just re-read your original post... and i'm a little confused.

- The audio output from my home theater (is a werid looking cable) and goes directly into the subwoofer. All other 5 speakers should be connected to the subwoofer in order to get great sound from it.

- My AV Receiver the Onkyo, or the current Panasonic one? does not have this type of audio input do you mean output nor could I connect in any way shape or form the subwoofer to the receiver directly.

- If I link the speakers (without the subwoofer) into the AV Receiver (which I can)the Onkyo? then I won't be able to use my home theater audio portion (only video).not sure what you mean by the home theatre audio portion?

if you can hook up your current speakers, with the speaker wire, to the Onkyo receiver, maybe you'll just have to buy a new sub.

or do you mean that because the HTIB is your DVD player, that you can't get audio from the DVD player to the receiver, because it connects to the sub?

[eljay]

The Panasonic's proprietary connector - which the Onkyo does not have as an input - appears to pass all audio to the subwoofer, which acts as the amplifier for itself and the other speakers that are connected to it using speaker wire.

The mains should be re-usable (I would consider re-using them as surrounds) with the Onkyo because they are 6 ohms. The center and surrounds are probably best not re-used because they are 4 ohms.

The subwoofer has only the proprietary input (no LFE or line-level inputs) so it cannot be re-used with they Onkyo.