Features, build

Onkyo Support

This was my third Onkyo, but I returned it during my 30 trial period. The reason is simple, Onkyo's total lack of support. I sent them two emails and left messages three times on their voice - no reply. If this was a sign of things to come I returned the receiver and have just ordered a Denon. This was third and last Onkyo.

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Third Onkyo

Sound quality, Great sound, All the funtions that a reciever of ths kind should have at a very good price

Size, No digital out

My unit has no center channel hiss so far and unit is a month old. I used Monster optical,S-video,video, and 12gauge. No hum or hiss to report. I was a little concerned about this unit after reading all the horror stories about hiss/hum. I tried to clarify from Onkyo. My email & calls were returned within 24 hrs. I was surprised since many never got response for days. The Onkyo rep. suggested that grounding could be done at any Onkyo service center if needed. At present I do not see any problem and satisfied with the purchase. I replaced my HK65 because of an additional optical port for DSS. And it has four digital inputs and a lot of inputs and outputs. I bought an openbox unit and paid $530. This is an awesome receiver and I would highly recommend.

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Technics, Sony, HK, Pioneer, JVC

sound sound sound

size

I stumbled on to a $469.00 factory remanufactured unit from soundcity.com they paid for shipping and there was no tax for PA. They also offered to pay the return shipping if the unit was deffictive. This is a no brainer!
The setup took a little longer than I expected and I was fooled and frustrated for about 20min by the crossover from the sub to the speakers when large is selected for the center and surround speakers(sounded muffled and flat)but when this was resolved the system came alive. I use the diskwasher audio/video disc and a variety of dts and action movies for setup (Eagles, super speedway, Blade,etc.) For the money this is hands down the best deal on the market even at some of the higher prices. Smooth sound with deep rich effects and complete control for setup in a variety of enviroments. this unit is hiss free and for my ears that is hard to do!
For the bad reviews I would say they are either
1)defective unit (poor ground in amp).
OR
2)improper setup (poor ground in brain) the manual is a little on the thin side for a unit as complex as this.

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hkavr500,kenwood,panasonic(techn)

Great sound, excellent configurability, super remote

confusing interface, OSD only on s-video or composite, crowded front panel

I bought my 676(A) from BestPriceAudioVideo.com who gave me a great price $449 new, but delayed my order for about 3 weeks from when they said they had it in stock. When it arrived, it was in mint condition, and it sounds like a charm. none of the buzz reported by others. It's video switching is good, but it will not convert s-video to composite, or visa versa. The system also does not convert digital audio to analog audio, i.e. if you're playing digital audio on your DVD player, you cannot record it on your tape deck. But the picture and sound quality is outstanding, and I have no complaints. As a bonus, the remote has completely replaced my SEVEN other remotes. I love this product, and it delivers on its best features.

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Marantz, HK

May not be the best, but for the price and features it is pretty damn good. Can be intimidating to setup, but once you look at it, its not so hard and becomes fairly easy to do. Programming the remote is tedious, but gotta like learning remotes. Sound quality is excellent. Havent had the infamous hiss yet. Good working units, looks nice, functions easily enough, and sounds good, which is the bottom line here right?

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adcom preamps, HK, sony,

Versatility (audio/video inputs), remote, design, OSD

No automatic switching b/t S-video and composite on-screen displays

This receiver has been nothing but pure joy since the moment I bought it. Like many other people, I also bought this unit factory refurbished at a discounted price. As far as I can tell when they refurbished it, they must have fixed any problems that have been causing the infamous center channel hiss. The unit has produced nothing but squeeky clean sound. The only negative I have encountered is that sometimes the sound coming from the center channel seems damp, but I think that might have to do more with the soundtrack than the receiver.

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Onkyo TXDS555, and TXDS575

No so far.

Like this product very much and can easily recommend it. Performance/Price value is superb. If you want to spent more money for brand names not to the receiver, look for others.

You name it.

R1 support does not work with every Onkyo product.

Best receiver I have ever owned. Incredible sound in all six speakers. It quickly changes between Dolby Digital and DTS on DVDs. Best remote I have ever owned. I highly recommend this fantastic receiver.

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Sony 300ES

Lots of clean power, learning remote, automatic mode switching

no source naming

Got this unit as a warranty replacement on a Kenwood VR-990D: as a side note, don't go to Circuit City! I bought my old Kenwood there and got the ESP plan, which says they'll replace my unit with a new or comparable one if it's a lemon. It was, and I had to argue with them for 2 hours to get them to honor the replacement policy.

Here's what I like about this receiver:

Comes with a backlit IR learning remote which is preprogrammed for other Onkyo components, anything else needs to be programmed manually.

Switches automatically between sound modes; if you're listening to a CD and then put a DVD on, it will automatically change from Stereo mode to Dolby Digital or DTS mode.

Provides lots of power: I thought my Mirage OM-10s sounded great before, but with 4 drivers in each speaker, I think my old receiver wasn't providing them with enough juice. Not now!

You can pick which digital audio input goes to which source. It has 4 digital inputs on the back (2 coax, 2 optical), and you can link any of those to any of the input sources (DVD, VIDEO1, etc) via the setup screen.

Things I don't like:

The On Screen Display can only be used in S-Video mode or regular mode, not both. Also, the switch for this is on the back of the unit. Bad. If all your components are not S-Video (mine aren't), you'll have to switch to the other mode to use the OSD. Not that big a deal really, since I only really use the OSD to set up the speakers.

Doesn't have source naming (for example, I have a home built MP3 player hooked up to the VIDEO 3 input, but I can't make it say MP3 PLAYER). Not a big deal, but would be nice on a unit of this price. It has a dot-matrix LED screen too, so I really don't see why they didn't include this.

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Kenwood 990D, some Sony POS

This is a great reciever at its price. You can read all the reviews and they are all telling the truth by their experiences. Some own another product and they post negative comments just to promote their own.
But anyway, I'm selling my 676 'cause I just bought some
high end separates. I only have the onkyo for like 4 months. If anybody interested email me at "mel43099@aol.com
Thr price is $550.