Congrats on the new Sub Jwill !!
That Onkyo HTIB AVR may be rated to 110W, but the HTIBS usually are not that great.
I don't know about the one you have, but it may be creating some of that distortion(at high levels) you are hearing as well.
My brother in Law got an Onkyo HTIB (he already had a Pioneer htib), and TBO neither of them have great amps, but I think the Pioneer sounds better.
BOTH sets have decent sized mains(5 or 6" drivers), and reasonable sized surrounds(for an htib).
The remote on the Onkyo rig blows, and it has limitations on what ya can do PER INPUT, which I didn't like.
It sounds OK, but I have a very modest/OLD yamaha HTR-5550 @ 75x5(which most enthusiasts would say is a bright piece of crap from what I read), and there is no comparison, his Onkyo HTIB is left way behind, even with my old Boston CR75 mains(which the 170's SMOKE btw).
Is that Onkyo AVR also available seperately? I'd like to see some feedback on that unit.
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Wasting $ on garbage is like challenging a dragon with a pocket knife....