Learning Remote - especially macro capability! Clean looks.
Solidly built. Pretty good deal - especially now that price
is coming down. 5 channel sterio is wonderful.

Initially thought underpowered. Paid to trade up to 575x
from initially purchasing a 575 (open box) that crapped out
after 3 months. Higher Onkyo models have preamp outputs for
each discreet (all 5) channel. S-video is a wimpy feature
because its all or nothing.

*** STOP ***
READ THIS REVIEW.
GET THE WORD OUT!!!
O.K. Many reviewers have chucked this receiver in favor
of another when it most likely would have done them fine.
I'm an engineer and quite stubborn so I tend to tinker
with things quite awhile before I give up on them...
I was quite happy with a medium end system from cambridge
soundworks and this receiver. I got a package deal with
the predecessor TX-DS575, and open box (boo) for 400.00.
Luckily, when it crapped out, I was able to get ahold of
some really good managers at CSW who gave me full credit
for the (kept shutting itself off) 575. So I paid 105.00
and went home with a spanking new 575X and a smile (I
did not relish the idea of 6 weeks with no system while
the 575 was "fixed"). My dissapointment started when I
bought some Klipsch RF-3s to relpace the toy fronts from
CSW, I couldn't bear, as a music lover, to have my primary
system be so focused on Surround Sound with audio interests
a distant second. There were 2 problems almost right away:
The sound wasn't there. It seemed to be missing some bass,
the midrange richness I got from the speakers when I
auditioned also seemed to be conspicuously missing. Lastly,
THE RECEIVER SEEMED WAY UNDERPOWERED. I was getting up to
80% to 90% of max and I like it a BIT loud but I'm not an
ear bleeder by any measure. I was very surprised because
I thought Onkyo had very good power (real, dynamic, current
capability) compared to especially Sony at this price range.
The Klipsches are efficient to 98 DB/w/m so THAT was not the
problem! So I set about to tinkering and guess what?
I FOUND THE MISSING WATTAGE!!! Turns out when I set up
the Kipsches as front right and left channels, I had to set
them quite low, as they were much more efficient than the
CSW Center and surrounds. I set them to 0 db and the other
speakers to +8 to +12 (max). OK - I was tinkering this eve
and I noticed that when I clicked over to pure sterio mode
and pressed the ch sel button on the remote, the left and
right (as expected) were initially set to 0 db. Just for the
hell of it I cranked the level + button for the left and
right fronts up to 12, and VOILA! Not only did the volume
change drastically, but the sound was richer and there was
more bass without touching the adjustment. I'm guessing that
Onkyo is attenuating the preamplifier signal and the sound
characteristics change when this is done. So before I was
at 60 (absolute)for a loudish listening level, now at
50 I can hardly stand to be in the room! I havn't played
with the distance parameters at all yet, so I'll post
another review if theres any significant difference there.
Also, I'm not sure if shutting off the Sub in setup routes
more bass to the mains (I already have them set to large).
I'll repost if there's anything there also... TO SUMMARIZE:
RE-RUN YOUR SPEAKER LEVEL SETUP AND GET THE VOLUME(S)AS
HIGH AS YOU CAN WHILE STILL KEEPING THEM BALANCED.
By the way - If you have a gizmo/multiremote challenged
spouse or significant other, use the macros to set up the
different modes: I have the remote set up so all you have
to do is turn on the desired device (TV, DVD, etc) then
press (for instance) dvd/mode, and it turns the receiver
on and sets up the inputs, TV inputs, etc. If you spend
a little time it's amazing what the macros can do! My
11 year old daughter can operate this sophistocated home
theatre system like it's nothing at all. I have my TV spkrs
shut off with everything going through the Onkyo - if you
do too, heres another tip: borrow another 575 or 575X
remote and you can program the volume up down buttons and
mute for ALL of your devices to control the Onkyo Volume.
I'm giving 4 stars for value only beacause I paid retail
plus tax. Having found the missing sound quality and
wattage I'm a 5 star happy guy. SPREAD THE WORD. PEOPLE
ARE DUMPING THESE UNITS JUST BECAUSE OF A SETTING!!!
:)
Happy listening, -J

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Yamaha, Proton, Luxman.

Great Sound, Bass and just about everything else a very "sound" reciever

None

As you see above I had the Hk Avr 100 I had to power 2 Polk Rt1000's The Polk CS400, Polk Fx300, a Polk Sub. (I forgot he model #) It did not have enough power.So I swiched to the Onkyo. When I did the sound improved greatly 100 times. The Bass was deeper the highs were cleaner and the mids were just right. One thing I notice on Recevers the DSP modes usually sound bad or too mechicanical. The onkyo on the other hand W/it's five channel stereo and the other DSP Modes are perfect. When you are watching a live show an use a dsp mode it sounds the closest to you being right there.I highly recomend this reciever even if was at a price tag of $1000 it is just that good.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon Avr 100 (this is no similar I had it before the Onkyo) The avr is junk at 50 watts

Powerful reciever, i think its totally under rated at 70 watts per channel,Nice with DVD's in DD and DTS both sound excellent just wish i had a subwoofer so i can hear what difference it makes. Plus the reciever looks good. Had it almost 6 months now and hasnt failed me yet.

None what so ever. Just need to set the speakers at the right setting and you have one of the best damn products ever.

This is my first HT reciever sine the a Sony i bought in 1994.i went to PC and Sons and started to look around the place for a replacement for the Sony. At first i was thinking about buying another Sony. But knowing sonys mass production line of things i decided to go for something better. I looked at the Onkyo's and asked the sale guys if they were good cause i never bought one before.So he showed me in the HT room they had and was amazed by the quality it prsented. Top Gun never sounded that good before. Next thing you know i have it in my house. Hooking them up to my speakers was a breeze.AT first i didnt have dvd so i really didnt know what i was missing. Music sounded wonderful in 5CH mode and blew me away. I started listening to my VHS tapes IN 5CH mode and it made a difference from the old sony especially with the Pink Floyd Pulse tour tape.it blew me away.So in march i decided to buy a dvd player.I bought the digital cable i needed and hooked up to the Onkyo. AT first it didnt really sound that good especially in DD mode. so i went to the manual and read about the speaker settings. To my surprise these setting made worlds of difference in the overall sound image and convinced me more why this recievers was more of a bargain than expected. I love this reciever and its worth ever penny.

Similar Products Used:

NONE

simple operation, clarity, remote, power..

this is a follow-up to my earlier post (before i had rec'd this receiver tx-ds595 2001 model)

we hooked this baby up and first thing, utilize all the optical/digital ins & outs and definitely use monster cables for everything!!!

it's clean clear sounding and so awesome for dvd's and music.....the remote is quite easy to operate as well as offering the learning capability for all of your other remotes. this is a very very good receiver if you want to start out on a nice home theater set-up that will take you into the next 5+ years. make sure to purchase the tx-ds595 new for 2001 which replaced the tx-ds575. onkyo added an addt'l 5 watts x 5 or 75 watts per channel to the new model + prologic II.

Sounds great, clean sound, pleasent to look at

Hello!

A recomendable receiver to buy.

It´s got a clean sound.

I looks nice and a like it!

Buy it!

Bye!! c ya

THERE IS NO WAY TO USE THIS RECEIVER WITH AN EQUALIZER
(Unless you only have 1 input, ha ha).

John again. I'm posting with average numbers so as not
to skew the ratings. Wanted to pass this info along
that Onkyo sent me about this model and equalizers.

Heres the e-mail I sent to Onkyo-usa customer support:

Subject: TS-DS575x Question

Is it possible to hook up an equalizer to the 575x?
I tried last night and could find no way to do so.
Using the tape monitor does not appear to route
the signal through tape in/out with the ability to
select different inputs. There is no external loop
between preamp/amp on the back of the unit.
Am I correct that there is NO way to add an
equalizer and use the receiver input selectors?
(the Bose 901 speakers I have use an active equalizer
and the speakers do not sound right without it).
I expected to (at least) be able to get the front left
and right channels equalized (I realize it would be very
difficult to provide equalizer connections for all 5 channels).

I would very much appreciate a prompt response.

Regards,
(name withheld)

=====================================================
And here is the response I received 20 days later...
=====================================================
Re: TX-DS575X Question

Thank You for contacting
Onkyo USA Product Support

Apologize for the late response.
Correct, you could only EQ a Source directly,
not all components hooked to 575X.
EQ to Tape In/Out, Tape Deck to EQ

The TX-DS575X has no Main Amp In or Tape
Monitor to hookup an EQ.

Again, thank you for contacting Onkyo USA
Product Support,
if you need further Assistance feel free
to call us at 800-229-1687.
=============================================
In addition to being cryptic, the response confirmed
what I had feared. I had considered buying a second
575x to run an old (but great) set of Bose 901s
(25 years old and still rock the house) but ended up
buying an older model on Ebay, one which allows you to
select TAPE1 in monitor mode, and then select any other input(which then acts as an input to TAPE 1) you want.
Hey Onkyo: ITS CALLED A TAPE MONITOR! All your older
receivers seem to have this feature, what gives?????

Similar Products Used:

Sony Yamaha Denon

I just wanted to update my last review. I bought an Onkyo dvd changer (dvc 601 I think) to replace my dreamcast for music, and the sound is phenomenal. The sound definately opened up, and no longer sounds muffled. Just wanted to let you know.

AT THIS PRICE, NONE.

I'm a long time home theatre enthusiast and a big fan of separate components. At first I was reluctant to purchase this receiver for fear of not having enough power to drive my NHT SUPERTWO, SUPERCENTER AND SUPERONES but I am currently living in a smaller apartment and did not want to invest much in really good individual components. Let me start by saying this receiver is in the wrong price range it should cost more and the power rating is modest. After calibrating my system to 75db at reference level I fired up some reference dvds and got blown away. I like to listen to my music and movies loud and the ONKYO never failed me. It didn't distort at all. If you have a dvd or cd player with poor sound quality it will definitley sound bad but with my TECHNICS DVDA10 everything sounds sweet as pie. Definitley a great buy for the price and maybe even 1 or 2 hundred more. I got a great deal at J&R MUSIC WORLD on this piece and the rest of my home theatre if you call ask for TODD 800 221 8180 he's very knowledgeable and always gives me a great deal. A word of advice to the rest of the reviewers out there, if you invest some time and read the manual carfully you can really tweak your system to a new level of sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

FOSGATE 3A, TECHNICS SCH A500, TECHNICS

Power, sound quality, remote

loudness?

Let me start by saying that this is a good receiver. The sound quality is great, even though I have been using my dreamcast as a cd player until I get a dvd player. I have noticed, like some others, that the volume has to be around halfway to begin to get to where I listen to music (fairly loud). I found that you can tweek each speaker individually, which significantly increases the volume. Does anyone know anything else about this function? I have them set at zero because I don't want to risk messing up my new speakers (polk RT 25i), but if anyone has any insight into this I'd appreciate it. Anyway, I have found the sound to be great for movies in dolby digital (digital cable box). Music tends to sound a bit muffled, but as I said, I am almost positive that this is the fault of the cd player I am using and not the receiver, so I won't take anything away from the Onkyo. Oh yeah, the remote is awesome. It can control everything I have. Now I'm excited to get my Onkyo s535 dvd player so I can see what this receiver can do.

Similar Products Used:

none

Just wanted to pass on to everybody that is thinking of getting this receiver to hold off & get the new Onkyo that is replacing it because they have added Dolby Pro-logic II on the new ones & they are going to sell for the same price
as the 575X. Circuit City already has them in their computers & should be getting them in shortly!