onkyo tx-sr605 vs 705

[ak808]

I was all ready to buy a 605 but after reading a bit more the 705 also looks nice. I'm just wondering if the extra 200 or so is worth it for the 705. Is thx really worth it or is it just a label/brand name thing thats why it's way more expensive? For those of you that got the 705 instead of the 605 why did you do it and vice versa. Thanks.

[Getus]

i bought the 705 mostly for the extra music power. and i find it more dynamic is sound, when i compared the 705 and 605.

the thx is mostly a brand, you can only benifit from it if your room is big enough and if you have thx certified speakers. only then wil you be able to hear clearly what the thx does. (or so i'am told)

705 olso have 3 hdmi inputs and the 605 has 2.

in short, the 705 packs more punch then the 605. The tip i can give you is:

Go listen to both of them on the same speakers and turn the volume op, had a level where it is loud but stil pleasing to the ear. and then listen to wich model you find better in sound dynamics.

[crazy25000]

After comparing them for a few weeks, I went with the SR605. It should get here today and my speakers next week.

Im using it for games and blu-ray. Also, if you compare the features, I dont think its worth extra $200.

[ak808]

Yeah I would like to hear them both before purchasing however, I'm in hawaii and we are limited to just one circuit city. They unfortunately do not have one on display.

[ak808]

I guess what I'm really asking is that will either one be better in sound quality as my current reciever? I am currently using the the onkyo ht-sr800 and to me that sounds great.

[Alan Gordon]

The 705 applies 7.1 to 5.1 PCM soundtracks. The 605 does not!

~Alan

[Trean]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

The 705 applies 7.1 to 5.1 PCM soundtracks. The 605 does not!

~Alan

What does that mean!?

[SNAP]

In short......if you have 7 speakerS connected to it the 705 will allow the sound to come out of all 7 speakers + the subwoofer.......I have the 705 & I really like it.

Originally Posted by Trean

What does that mean!?

[MacDaddyOJack]

I was originally looking at the 605 but after much deliberation and comparison, I went with the 805. I have tower speakers up front and sizeable satellites all around (all polk) so they can handle the power upgrade. The sound is incredible. I dont know if the 605 or 705 have the customizable equilizer or not, but the 805 does and that was very important to me. The 605 is a pretty bare-bones reciever, the most basic one you can get for the new audio codecs. I personally wouldnt do any less than 100 Watts-per-channel with my speakers. It may be different for you though, it all depends on your volume preference and the size of your speakers.

[hc666]

Originally Posted by Trean

What does that mean!?

It means it will fake the 7.1 on 5.1 movies.

[gearyt]

I got tired of my 605 being on back order
soooo. I got the 705
GREAT Decision.... No heat problems as reported w/ 605
super sound
I am now shopping for a 905 for my main room

[Trean]

Originally Posted by hc666

It means it will fake the 7.1 on 5.1 movies.

Okay this is one of those things where you read the explanation and then you go back and are like wtf-mate I should have deciphered that. I don't know maybe it was in the way I read it; it sounded much more complex in my head!

[ak808]

thanks for the help guys. I went ahead and bought a 705 from amazon. Price was 650 I believe. I just can't wait any longer for a better price (since I'm an impatiant buyer), just can't wait for it to get here. Only thing is now I konw I'll want to upgrade my speakers now

[adrianf74]

Originally Posted by gearyt

I got tired of my 605 being on back order
soooo. I got the 705
GREAT Decision.... No heat problems as reported w/ 605
super sound
I am now shopping for a 905 for my main room

I dunno... got the 605 for $420 from Circuit City back in December with their sale and 10% off instore pickup deal.

Don't have any major heat issues which I keep hearing about.

[toocheezy]

Originally Posted by ak808

Yeah I would like to hear them both before purchasing however, I'm in hawaii and we are limited to just one circuit city. They unfortunately do not have one on display.

Are you on Oahu?? The one CC and BB in Hawaii is a really big problem but you can go there and asked them to set up the Onkyo. I am still deciding which one I am going to get. But if I do decide to 605 then I will buy it from amazon.

[rb cline]

Hay Guys,

After much contemplation I went with the 705 from Crutchfield even tho they were not the low cost provider. In general I am satisified with the system and think it was the way to go for me.

Now for some observations:

1. The manual stinks. 4 hours into the set-up I was ready to send it all back. After a nights sleep and a gradual absorbsion of the santex and organization of the manual it started to come together. I,m still amazed that Onkyo would
put out such a poor document with such a great product.

2. The remote control is a lot better than other posts had led me to believe, even tho it has no codes for my Westy monitor.

3.The amount of dolby available on DirecTV is very low even on the high HD premium channels. They even strip out the dolby on network broadcasts that are advertised as available in 5.1 on screen. Bummer indeed! Shame on you DTV.

WELL ITS A FEW DAYS LATER ANDI HAVE LEARNED THAT DTV HAS A LOT MORE 5.1 THAN I THOUGHT. IT TURNS OUT THAT THEY INDICATE 5.1 IN MORE THAN ONE WAY , SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL FOR HD PROGRAMING AND THEY USE MORE THAN 1 NOTATION IN MORE THAN 1 PLACE. MY BAD, SORRY DTV BUT YOU COULD DO A BETTER JOB ON YOUR MANUAL.


4.The sound coming out of my BluRay is outstanding. Some of the BR movies offer a choice of different surr sound modes. Must confess that I can't tell much difference between them , which makes me think my 12 year old 5.1 speakers are ready for an upgrade or maybe my 69 yr old ears aren't up to the job.

5.The hook up was simple and straight foward. All my stuff has HDMI out and the 705 routes it all to the the Westy on one HDMI input so it was a snap and the cable tangle factor is under control. One tip. Do put banana plugs on the speaker wires connecting into the 705. You will be glad you did as you may have to switch around the surr back L&R with the surr L&R to get the Auto Cal to work. Yes, the hook up chart supplied has an error that I had to call Tech Supt to find out about.

6.The Auto Cal feature for the speakers is nothing short of wonderfull.


Thats it guys. I think you can't go too far wrong with the 705. I may post other observations later as I'm still learning about this very cutting edge unit.
At least it's cutting edge for me.

[WHITETRASH]

I was stuck between the two myself. I got the 605 in december from amazon.co for $384.99--no taxes, no shipping. I could not pass it up. I have not been disappointed.

[CharlestonLion]

I am also in search of a new receiver. I have heard primarily good things about the 605 considering it only costs ~$400. We are in the process of adding a new TV room that will be ~12' x 14'. I have a 5.1 speaker set up with the front, center, and rear speakers being decent sized Polk bookshelf style. I have 16 gauge speaker wire.

What do you all think. I am on somewhat of a budget. I will definitely be running my PS3 through with an HDMI cable. We also plan on getting digital cable, but I am not sure what the normal cable is to hook a box up. Another HDMI? If that is the case, then the two HDMI inputs are going to be used up. What else can be hooked up with an HDMI? Is there a good reason to upgrade to the 705 to have the extra HDMI input?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!