Believe it or not, I bought the Onkyo656 not because it was my first choice, but because of limited availablity of quality products here in Korea. But still, I am quite content with my purchase to say the least. The sound quality is both crisp and rich. The aesthetics of the quality built cabinet (mine is gold colored, although I see most with the black finish) is pleasing in both form and functionality. And I have yet to hear that fan that has annoyed so many. Although this unit does have its fair share of features, I find that most (like the reverb effects and 3-D Bass Boost) to be useless. But then again, I would say that about all receivers. The best features for me are the numerous inputs and outputs including a 6 channel input and 6 channel pre-out. While already Dolby Digital capable, having this capability enables hooking up a 6 channel DTS DVD directly to the receiver (also the DVD audio when it comes out). On the down side, the unit doesn't include a selectable crossover freq for pre-out to the sub-woofer, as this feature would have been extremely useful to me. The remote, as so many others have pointed out, is garbage. It also does not switch composite video to S-video. I don't know if other high-end receivers do this, but it would have been a nice feature as the connection to the TV could be s-video at all times. Still, for a decent sound at a decent price, I would recommend the 656 highly.

I walked into Tops and noticed a Pioneer Receiver VSX508 on sale for $299.99 (a shlef model). I bought it because it was time to change my old Fisher. I took this receiver home and hooked it up and boy was I impressed it sounded great. Then boom the left channel stopped working. I took it back to TOPS and exchanged it for the better model Pioneer VSX 608. When I got home with this system disappointment set in big time. Nomber 1 there was no power being pushed through my Acoustic Research 308HO Speakers. It had less Prologic sound Modes and I could not use any high gauge speaker wire with the system. I took a trip baack to TOPS and looked at some other receivers. I was first drawn in by the ONKYO 555. The sound power clean clear and strong. Then I was drawn to a DENON AVR 1900 DAMN did it sound good with its 6 speaker stereo mode. I ended up returning the Pioneer for an ONKYO TX-DS656 (I really wanted the 747 wasn't available at the time). This time when I got the receiver home it stayed. I have been extremely satisfied. I have since purchased a (Along with the AR11 Front Speakers, AR4C Center, Yamaha YST-SW160, and AR Edge Sequel for Surround Sound. IT ROCKS. Oh and the fan sound thing, the only way to tell the fan is on is by putting my hand behind the system and feeling the air blow.

This certainly is one good sounding receiver. It gives you more than enough power for music or theater, and not only does it have power, it produces clean, crisp sound even at high volumes. The dolby digital sounds great, as is expected, and the prologic is ok too. The only problem I have with this receiver and other Onkyo receivers is that they tend to lack bass. This is easily remedied with a subwoofer though.For the money, the tx-ds656 is one of the best receivers you can get. I still like the warmer sound you get from a Harman Kardon, but a comparable HK will run you about four-hundred dollars more.
I give the receiver 4.5 stars, which I'll round up to five stars.

Very good.

I've had this receiver for quite a while now and I am very happy with it. The value rating I gave it is a little low because I actually bought this right after it came out (so it was considerably more expensive then now). However, I feel it was worth every penny. The performance is great, though I've been in apartment, so I haven't really pushed it too much.

The unit performs great and was easy to set up. I like the front panel interface, but the remote isn't the greatest, and my universal remotes won't quite perform all functions; you will probably have to make do or buy a learning remote for good system integration.

Another complaint I've seen here is fan noise. Like I said earlier, I haven't really pushed it, but I did hear the fan on some louder passages right after I bought it. However, it turns out the antenna wire was sticking through the fan grating. I moved the wire and haven't heard a thing since.

Finally, for what it's worth, I recommended this receiver to my dad and we've both been enjoying them for a year now.

Onkyo TXDS656 - power p/ch, build quality, vidio inputs, ease of operation and sound separation at low listening levels

S-video vs composite switching, remote control and Fan noise (sic)

OK, how can I review after only three days. 1)- Onkyo products are known for their build quality and expensive sound; the TXDS656 is no different. 2)- I've been listening to good quality sound reproduction since the early sixies, and without designing a room from the ground up - I've found the widest difference in so-called mid-fi products is 'stereo seperation' and sound staging. If you are looking for an AV receiver to play music from CD's to FM radio AND do a suberb job on movies, look no further. But alast, as of this writing Onkyo informs me that the TXDS656 has been discontinued. It's a shame 'cause playing BLADE in true Dolby Digital IS an experience. Check out the stores for closeouts, if you can find one maybe you'll luck out like I did and get it for below $400.00.

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closest is my Onkyo AVS810PRO Dolby Pro Logic - no contest in DD and stereo seperation

Superb sound on music and movies

Volume control is overly sensitive in lower ranges

I've had this receiver about a year and am very satisfied with the sound and build quality. I have not experienced any fan noise but the motorized volume control is a little sensitive when adjusting by remote control.I noticed Onkyo has now gone to electronic volume control on the latest model receivers as well as adding dts . Other than this one
complaint I am very satisfied with my purchase and would recommend this receiver.

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Kenwood 1080vr

It's got a great sound for all my CD's and DVD's! Great Features and plenty of Audio/Video inputs and outputs for all my equipment.

The Dreaded fan noise on anything that has a lot of treble on a louder volume, and no DTS.

I bought this reciever 6 months ago even before I had a DVD player. I wanted a reciever I could grow into and this one fit the bill nicely! It was easy to set up and I no time I was enjoying all my CD's with sounds I had never heard with such clarity on my old reciever. Four months ago when I bought my DVD player I knew I had made a great purchase. The Dolby Digital from this reciever is just stellar. I would recommend this reciever to anyone who can still find it out there

Sound quality, power, multi-source capabilities.

remote stinks, no OSD on S-Video out put

This is a great reciever, with more than ample power, and great sound. I have been using it for just over a year now, for both music and movies, and have no complaints at all.

????? if i had to say any it would be DD 3 digital inputs feature laden

sound Q...compressed.alot especially at higher volumes fan noise..cheap build...subject to power problems..fussy pre outs are very poor...especially sub.and its x/over point...not 80 htz..like normal

I am totally disgusted with the internal x/over.it added very audible midrange grain..the treble is inaccurate in the frequency range(just a tiny bit).the bass is very sloppy.it cuts bass as you turn it up..especially when the dial is 11 o"clock.it allready is compressing the music and i hate the brightness that gets inherited in the music as you keep turning up the vol. dial. i bought marantz monos ma700 to try to counter this problem to no avail with cheap speakers you probably would not hear a difference.but my speakers have sang alot better before.if there is 127 volts as i have in my new house it totally killed the soundstage and stereo imaging.the stereo shop discontiued onkyo due to there problems with power. i am discontiuing it also.stepping up to proceed sick of junk.my 636 was alot better sounding.i could turn the volume alot louder without harshness and total compression it was alot smoother also when i upgraded to the 656..i liked the dd..but as soon as i heard 2 channel i wanted my old 636 back. but could not get it back. products used...... Klipsch ksp 400 rotel 951 cd panasonic a310 dvd audio control rialto eq..(which i bought to try to tame harshness) 2 marantz monos ma700 paradigm x 30 sub control mit T4 speaker cables ultralink interconects and tributaries

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onkyo txd636...older luxman...proceed avp.hpa.amps