ONKYO TX-NR905

My Onkyo receiver does the same. In direct or pure audio mode it is only two channel. To get the sub to work you have to choose either stereo or a surround sound setting. Try it and see if yours is the same. The other choice is to use the sub speaker level inputs then out of the sub to the front left and right speakers. This leaves out the others but you would have to choose a surround mode to route all low frequencies to the sub using the crossover setting on the receiver.

If if you listen to 2 channel music using pure audio or direct and there are no bass coming from the sub, than Onkyo did not do their research very well. Most people have bookshelf speakers rather than floor standing speakers.

I think it is within the setup that I miss. I know Onkyo engineers are not that stupid. How can they miss on people who uses small speakers with subs. It's not like it is new to the market.

The pure audio and the direct mode sounds quite good. My left and right speakers just disappear. The staging and the depth on SACD 2 channel music is simply amazing. My previous receiver was the Sunfire Ultimate Receiver II and I thought that was the best sounding receiver out there. I took a gamble with the 905 and boy what a delight. I just need to figure out how to get the sub to start working while using pure audio and direct mode.

I will contact Onkyo to see what they have to say. I would be a SHOCKER if they tell me that there are no sub sound if you are using pure audio and direct mode.

That sucks!!

Another question I have is when I am watching a DVD movie (TOY STORY 2 or Gladiator) with DTS-ES sound track, I don't see the DTS-ES showing on the display window of the receiver. It just shows DTS but not DTS-ES. Is it because I have a 5.1 speaker setup and not a 7.1 speaker setup? Is there a setting with the 905 so I can hear the DTS-ES sound track?