onkyo opinions

[DukeRoyal]

I just bought the 705---still in box until Friday. Does it have any issues with Scientific Atlanta hiDef cable box HDMI audio?

[Kayne314]

I have the 705 myself, and have noticed no delay at all on any of my equipment. Onkyo makes terrific equipment IMHO.

[hharrizons]

The 605 is The most popular receiver from Onkyo.
I personally don't have it, but I know it is definitely a great choice for price/performance ratio.

On the other hand,
I happened to be so lucky when i got my tx-sr805 and tx-8222, I paid TOTAL $529 at shoponkyo dot com.

I then sold my tx-8222 for $80.
So, I got my 805 for $450 approx.

Anyhooo.
If you get the 605, you'd be really happy.
Onkyo makes great receivers.

I like Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer Elite (I used to like Sony ES - not anymore).


H

[Blu-Light]

I had the 805 and got a great deal on it for like 649.00 from CC when they goofed their pricing on it. Had it until just after Christmas when I took it back and put my JVC back in it's place. The JVC does not do the new audio formats but I could not justify the added cost at this time for what we perceived as only a somewhat minor increase in audio fidelity. I bought another PS3 instead for the theater. Some time this year I may revisit the audio section of the theater but it's got to put out at least 130 watts per and have HDMI switching (I really liked that on the onkyo too. )

[richard lichtenfelt]

Onkyo is made by Toshiba. Just mention this as a little known interesting fact.
I've read that only the 905 is made in Japan and all the others are made in The Phillipines or Guam.
An audio engineer wrote a review of the 805 stating that it has flat sound at lower volume settings.
I've also read some reviews where people claimed that they were experiencing a loud popping noise coming from their speakers.
One other complaint that seems to be fairly frequent w/ the Onkyo brand is that the video output is darker than the source.
Has anyone here noticed any of these problems?
It should be noted that these are things I've read when researching audio receivers and I have no first hand experience with Onkyo.

[Nooff]

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

Onkyo is made by Toshiba. Just mention this as a little known interesting fact.
I've read that only the 905 is made in Japan and all the others are made in The Phillipines or Guam.
An audio engineer wrote a review of the 805 stating that it has flat sound at lower volume settings.
I've also read some reviews where people claimed that they were experiencing a loud popping noise coming from their speakers.
One other complaint that seems to be fairly frequent w/ the Onkyo brand is that the video output is darker than the source.
Has anyone here noticed any of these problems?
It should be noted that these are things I've read when researching audio receivers and I have no first hand experience with Onkyo.

The popping noise is something Onkyo should be able to fix with a firmware update. When set to PCM (PS3) the popping noise isn't nearly as bad as when it's set to Bitstream. Haven't had any problems with video output being darker at all, it's all fine. As for the sound being flat, I guess they had a bad unit because my 805 is still kicking the shit out of my setup everytime I turn it on, no matter the volume

[Kayne314]

There is a very quiet "click" as the Onkyo 705 switches internal decoding. There is no "popping sound" from the speakers at all. The "click" is not very loud, and is muffled nicely by the home theater case it and all my other electronics reside in.

Even at low volumes, the 705 remains bright and clear sounding.

The HDMI pass-through for video does not affect the brightness or darkness of the video at all. My Plasma passed it's calibration tests both before and after installation of the 705 with NO tweaking. Also, the up-conversion to 720p of analog video remains clean and stable without affecting brightness.

It is manufactured in Malaysia. It does not mention Philippines or Guam. Though I don't know anything about that part of the world.

[lildon24]

605 got the cheapest price

705 got THX

805 is a updated version of 705 with extra watts

905 and above is too damn expensive with better video upconverter

[jon s]

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

Onkyo is made by Toshiba. Just mention this as a little known interesting fact.
I've read that only the 905 is made in Japan and all the others are made in The Phillipines or Guam.
An audio engineer wrote a review of the 805 stating that it has flat sound at lower volume settings.
I've also read some reviews where people claimed that they were experiencing a loud popping noise coming from their speakers.
One other complaint that seems to be fairly frequent w/ the Onkyo brand is that the video output is darker than the source.
Has anyone here noticed any of these problems?
It should be noted that these are things I've read when researching audio receivers and I have no first hand experience with Onkyo.

AFAIK, Onkyo is NOT made Toshiba...

The popping sound seems to be an issue with the PS3 only, all the other devices i have do not exhibit this issue other than my PS3.

The Onkyo 905 had a black level issue with firmware earlier than 1.05.

[Neo65]

The only flaw I saw in the 605 is that the HD component outputs from older STBs that don't have hdmi is upscaled only to 720p on hdmi output instead of 1920x1080. I don't know if higher models will convert 1080i component to 1920x1080p hdmi.

Other than that, I am very satisfied with the 605. However, it is a bargain basement AVR in terms of value shopping, so a 805 might be the right unit to get for people with discerning tastes.

[Meerkat]

I have the 705 and couldn't be happier!

Bought it at Amazon for $609 about 1 1/2 months ago!

Popping or clicking are no issues, can't hardly here a click during audio location.

I'd rate it at 9/10.

[MCAtechj3]

Anyone by chance know if the Onkyo TX-SR804 (yes, 804) model will decode DTS-MA?
Is the Playstation3 capable of DTS-MA if you set the HDMI audio output to bitstream?
Are the Monster Cable HDMI 1000HD (HDMI cables) version 1.3? Which blu ray movies offer such sonic perfection as DTS-MA?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond to any/all questions~ J3
Newbies (like myself) prolly come along all the time wanting to know the answers to some of these questions.

[TruBlu2]

Does the 605, 705 and the 805 have a TRUE HDMI 1.3a Catagory 2 Pass-Thru??

[TruBlu2]

Originally Posted by MCAtechj3

Anyone by chance know if the Onkyo TX-SR804 (yes, 804) model will decode DTS-MA?
Is the Playstation3 capable of DTS-MA if you set the HDMI audio output to bitstream?
Are the Monster Cable HDMI 1000HD (HDMI cables) version 1.3? Which blu ray movies offer such sonic perfection as DTS-MA?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond to any/all questions~ J3
Newbies (like myself) prolly come along all the time wanting to know the answers to some of these questions.

Go to Monoprice.com for your cable needs. Forget about Monster (to pricy).

[MCAtechj3]

I agree; usually costs an arm and two legs for Monster. Fortunately I already have the 1000HD cables since I got them both at a wicked price. Just wondered if they could be considered 1.3? They're supposed to be future proof so I'm presuming if there's anything past 1.3 (or even if there isn't yet), it's AT LEAST 1.3 capable. Thanks~

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by sega_smasher

lol. funny. but seriously, the onkyo brand in itself is AWESOME! easy setup and great power. as for the 605 its great and all but i recommend the 705 if you want better sound. its THX certified...nuff said. oh and beginning with the 605, u can upconvert to 720p. of course you need hdmi =) hope i helped

TX-SR705 sure is expensive.