Remote and Looks

Cinema Eq's aren't that great. Music Reproduction is muted and tinny.

If you want a receiver whose sole use is for dvd movies than this is a decent receiver, but if you are using this for both music and movies look elsewhere. As stated above, the music reproduction is terrible. The Onkyo menus are poorly laid out, which made setup a bit tedious. For this receiver you are buying the name and power, not most bells and whistles for the money, and definitely not quality for the money. I'd go with the HK AVR110 (better options, better clarity, mp3 decoding, and approximately the same power).

I have:
Harman Kardon AVR 110
Onkyo DVD601
Wharfedale Valdus 400
Polk 400i Center
Polk RT55 Rears
Monster Cable Coax, Optic, and 12 gauge speaker wire with bannana plugs

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon, Denon, Yamaha

Clean sound, intuitive operation

headphones jack seems a bit flimsy, no digital out, no front panel inputs

I got this receiver as a replacement for my HK AVR-110 because the HK was defective and on back order for so long that I decided to just get something else. The Onkyo was a great choice.

As far as power goes, this has plenty. One of my complaints about the HK was power. The HK was rated at 40 continuous watts which was plenty for everyday use, but if you really wanted loud music in a big room, you would have to pump the volume up all the way. This wasn't that big of a deal since the HK was so clean, but it could have used maybe 10 extra watts. The Onkyo takes care of this problem. While there is a slightly audible hiss at full volume (there was none with the HK), it doesn't really matter because you will never need to turn this receiver up to full volume.

The sound is also impressive. Everything comes across very clear and smooth. It does lack some of the bass extension that the HK has, but I you can tweek the settings so it sounds virtually the same.

This receiver is also very well laid out. The buttoms seem solid and the set-up operation is quite intuitive, as long as your comfortable with AV gear. I especially like the fact that the source selection area has a button for each source. This isn't really a big deal, but I thought it a pain to have to toggle through all the options to get the right source on the HK.

The Onky doesn't have that many bells and whistle extra features, but what it does have, it does right. The 5 channel stereo deserves special notice because it just sounds awesome. It really makes all 5 speakers come alive and really envelopes you in the sound. It does lack a 3 channel stereo that the HK had, but that's not a big deal. If you watch a lot of TV or VCR movies through the receiver, this might be a bigger deal, but there's always Pro Logic, and that does a decent job.

Also deserving of special note is the remote on this thing. The HK remote sucked, but this one is great. First of all, it's learning and universal, so you can program all your remotes into this one. Plus, the keypad layout is very well done. It doesn't come with any pre-programmed codes, but those usually don't work to well anyway. Besides, I think it took me all of 15 min to program in all the necessary functions from my other remotes.

My only problems with this receiver are quite small. First, there's no front av inputs. I decided this wasn't a big deal since I don't have anything that I normally input for a short amount of time, but if you do, it might be a consideration. There's also no digital outs, which again, is not a big deal unless you need one to copy info to an MD player or something. Other than that, this receiver is very solid.

Overall, this is a great receiver. I wouldn't pay more than $400 for it, but for that price range, it's great. You really can't beat HK or Onkyo in this price range, so either one is a safe bet.

And for those curious, here's my system:

Receiver: Onkyo 575x
DVD: Sony DVD-360
VCR: JVC
CD: Harmon Kardon FL-8550
Front Speakers: Paradigm Mini-monitors
Center: Paradigm CC-170
Rears: Paradigm Atoms
Sub: RBH (10" active with 180 watt amp)

Similar Products Used:

Harmond Kardon AVR-110, JVC 8000-VBK

ONKYO!! clean warm beautiful powerful full bandwith sound all 5 channels, A/V Switching, Remote

none

Wow, High current power really makes a difference! I tested some sonys and they we're rated at a much higher wattage ie, 500 watts, and this baby puts them to shame in every category. For the money you can't beat it. It does'nt have 50 soundfields that all sound crappy like sony, but it has 6 very useful and distinct fields. This unit is the heaviest thing i've ever felt for a 350 watt A/V receiver, HMMM! Consumer reports did a test on this particular model and rated it at almost 500 watts, ONKYO is very modest with their rating. Most companies are just the oppositte, HMMM! the sound is sweet. I'm pushing 2 front speakers (JBL 500 6 ohm speakers} Acoustic research co25h center channel, and Bic Adatto sorounds and I could blow myself out of my chair with no subwoofer! The remote is sweet back lit and programable to run even you're garage door opener if you wanted to. Two optical outs and 2 coax plus all the analogs this unit has class not fancy looking like HK but stealth loking to really kick it.

Similar Products Used:

Technics

Just about everything really, great sound, easy to use

Having to reset my left right and center levels every time I turn it off (if anybody would know how to fix this please let me know, thanks)

So far I love this recevier, compared with everything else in my price range it blows them away. Kenwood and harman won't hold a candle in the wind to this. My only real complaint is that if you are running large speakers (I mean huge) it may need to be turned up very high to produce sound. I am running all klipchs speakers two cf-4s in the front and it requires me to turn it way up to get the desired amount of sound, but hey it makes sound and does it well so who cares I guess. Anyway, bottom line is if you don't have $5k for a preamp and amp then you will not be disappointed by this receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon (a Joke), kenwood, nakamichi, sony

sound quality, features, bang-for-buck

none observed, especially at this price

After the conflicting reviews I'd read, I was concerned that I wouldn't have enough power for the NHT speakers I was buying. No problem!!! Be happy!!!

Sounds great, looks great, everything works perfectly, and what's there is really useful as far as I'm concerned. Go Onkyo! Go NHT!

I used respond.com to get the best possible price from an authorized dealer.

Similar Products Used:

replaced ancient sherwood 1205 2 ch

I've just got to make a statement here because there's one thing about these reviews that just hacks me off to no end...

I'm not trying to be a goober ken, but if you had it for less than a month why didn't you just take (or send) it back to where you got it from and exchange it for another? Almost all retailers (and etailers) have a 30 day return policy.

Sometimes (no matter what the brand) you get a bad unit, it's just part of life. Quit whining about a factory defect and just exchange the d@mn3d thing! On the off chance the place you bought it from doesn't have that policy, then I guess this should be a lesson to you that you should only buy your equipment from REPUTABLE resellers with reasonable exchange policies.

Brand name

Hum/white noise, long repair time (distributors guarantee repair)

Just bought the 575x couple of weeks ago and discovered background humming from the speakers from all sources (DVD, TV, VCR in both analog and digital). Distributor is now fixing it, apparently there shouldn't be any problems with this model, still they don't seem to get it fixed. I'm pretty disappointed as I thought that Onkyo was high quality hi-fi and mostly some Sony AV receivers e.g. 840 model had these problems.

Lots, once I worked out a couple of setup problems.

My system includes a Marantz CD-63SE and Boston Acoustics T930 3-way floorstanding speakers. I'm primarily a music listener, but planning to upgrade to DVD soon.

My first impression of the 575x when i got it home was not good. It seemed really light on the bass. Even my old 25-watt Denon seemed punchier. Two suggestions for those who have had similar problems:

1. Use the digital inputs. Onkyo recommends the coaxial input for the least processing of the signal. I switched from the analog inputs I was using, and it really tightened up the whole sound. Hard to describe, but it tamed the highs and mids and made the bass punchier. (And I just used the Monster Cable analog cable I already had. I'm considering buying a "real" coaxial cable, but am not certain it's worth it. Any opinions?)

2. Speaker placement. My place is small, and I had the speakers placed badly. Because my old amp had a "loudness" knob and a really bassy sound, I had gotten really lazy about speaker placement. When I got the speakers placed for proper stereo image, it really focused the bass further. (I realize bass is supposed to be non-directional, don't ask me why this made a difference...)

Now that I've made these fixes, the overall sound is really nice. Female vocals are particularly gorgeous with my setup -- there seems to be a lot more headroom for highs than I had before. As for power and volume, I have no idea what the few negative reviewers are talking about. They must not have their systems connected right. I could deafen myself and my neighbors if I really wanted to.

Finally, the ergonomics of this setup are so nice. Like others, I retired four remotes when I got the Onkyo and don't miss them a bit.

I'm sure there a killer $1000 Denon out there that's got my name on it, but it'll have to wait until the future.

Similar Products Used:

none (upgrading from Denon DRA-25 stereo receiver)

many

not expensive enough

I find absolutely no problems with this receiver. It is perfect for its intended audience. Personally, I have high quality "inefficient" NHT speakers in an average sized space, and the combination produces outstanding music and HT sound. There is more than enough volume, even for my hearing-lost ears.

I read all the positive and negative reviews/comments here and everywhere about this model and its competition before buying the 575x and couldn't be more pleased. Your mileage will vary. Not only is the quality and performance great for this sub-$400 price point, but the user-oriented features -- again relative to its competition -- such as remote control, more than enough video switching, and speaker connections were really what sold me.

Don't shy away from trying it out.

Crystal clear sound quality with all types of music + an incredible Doblby Digital & DTS experience

None, as far as I experienced

For the last 3 years I was very satisfied with my previous AVReciever the Onkyo TX-SV444, but I missed the presence of a Dolby Digital & DTS decoder.

Two weeks ago I went off to purchase a new one, which had these features. At first I was looking for the TX-DS575X, because I had heard that it was really good. The salesman at the HiFi shop told me that Onkyo had just brought out a new model, the TX-DS494 which had very good specifications like Dolby Prologic II, Dolby Digital and DTS.

He also showed me a related press release which said that they did not know how Onkyo did it, but again they succeeded to put the newest technology into an inexpensive AVReciever.

I decided to buy the TX-DS494, even though it had less power output than the TX-DS575X. It had newer technology and was cheaper than the 575X.

When I got home, I connected my new AVReciever and turned on one of my favorite CD's. I was directly disappointed about the sound, it wasn't clear at all. I tried everything with bass/tremble settings and speaker settings, but it still sounded like my speakers kept in half of the clearity of the sound.

I knew this had to do with my new reviever, because my old one always sounded perfectly clear with these speakers.

So a week later I went back with the TX-DS494, payed a little bit extra and went off with the TX-DS575X. What a difference!

I've listened to this baby for three days now and I'm thrilled! The sound quality with CD's is perfect which is very important to me, because I listen to CD's and other audio 90 percent of the time. I also like the green lighted remote control with learning and macro functions.

The Dolby Digital and DTS make your movies sound incredibly realistic, like in the cinema.

Conclusion: DO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER. This a perfect all way product which is worth every cent of its price!!!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-SV444 & Onkyo TX-DS494