7.1 Pre outs, Surround EX, THX Certs, Comp. Video Switching, Zone 2

A little harsh for Music

After looking at all the othe recievers that are out there at this price point, the decision is easy, the Onkyo takes it. There is no reciever under $1000 with Component Video Switching, Surround EX 6.1 or the other Lucas technology that this piece has. It simply has the power, the goodies and price to make it a top notch piece. The only 2 pieces that compare are the SR8000 from Marantz and the Denon 3801. The SR8000 has no powered Zone 2 ( need a seperate amp), it does not have component video switching and it has no 6.1/7.1 options. The Denon has the 6.1, but it is not 100 watts RMS at all channels driven as stated in many reviews. I also liked the placement of the 6.1/7.1 speakers in the rear better. It was these pieces that made the Onkyo a stellar choice.

I sell all of the brands listed above and after using them in store and being able to hook them up and take a listen, the Onkyo piece was a clear winner for home theater, and it rocks in stereo. However, I must give the edge to the SR8000 when it comes to good ol' fashion music. The 8000 just has better power and is a fuller,richer sound. However, I plan on doing a Marantz amp for the front 2 channels anyways, so the Onkyo made sense to get now because of all the goodies. It is great piece and I can not say enough about it.

The Controller has been well rated as well. It is the same one that comes with the Integra's and the 989. How can you beat that? It is really easy to program and is an excellent piece. I must say, I love this piece.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR 7000, Onkyo 575x, SR8000

Onkyo quality build; high-quality components; absolutely silent cooling fan; fantastic sound, both musically and theater; ease of setup and use; expedient answers to questions by Onkyo tech. support.

None that I'm aware of.

I've now had the 787 for three months, and have it in use regularly for both music and theater. The sound quality of the unit is extremely good on the ears, especially in theater use; it is also very well-adept at music playback.

Unlike a few of the reviewers, I have had no reason to be concerned about heat buildup; there simply is none. Yes, the unit gets mildly warm, but heat to some degree will be given off by any energy(power)-producing machine. And this machine packs a lot of power (I've read it's way under-rated by Onkyo). I.e., some heat is normal and expected.

I, like several others, am a little surprised this receiver hasn't received a better average rating (4.38 at this time). For a receiver at this price, it definitely deserves 5-star ratings (in may opinion). However, part of the reason for the closer to 4-star rating could be due to the fact that a 4-star is considered an excellent rating to some.

Concerning two 1-star reviews, each of which was duplicated by the reviewer (Peter North and Dave), this obviously had a worse negative impact on the ratings average than is fair. Peter, you probably got a lemon; it happens. Raise some fuss with Onkyo and maybe they'll give you a replacement unit; who knows. Dave, the probable reason you're having such a difficult time finding an available 787 is its popularity; this has got to be one of the best deals to come around in a while.

Lastly, on the question as to whether the 787 has a discrete back channel: Yes, it has 6 discrete full-bandwidth, 100w channels; the back channel is described as matrixed. But isn't that how THX EX works?

Last word on the 787: OUTSTANDING!

Similar Products Used:

Older (10 years) Pioneer Dolby Surround receiver, which also had fantastic quality and sound.

Remote, unit size (fits in my cabinet well). Also, treble mode was clean.

Power, response, lacking clean crisp bass.

Previous stereo receiver was a Kenwood KR-9400 receiver with 120 watts per channel, built sometime in the early 70's (I believe). The Onkyo 787 could not drive my Klipsch Heresy speakers properly. Was surprised at the difference in sound quality (response, etc)while in stereo mode as compared to my old, worn-out Kenwood. The bass sounded "muffled" in a side-by-side comparison. So disappointed that I have no intention of sampling the surround modes--hope to unload it.

Similar Products Used:

Previous receiver was a 30-year-old Kenwood Stereo Receiver

Excellent Sound, Loaded with useful features, quality decoding, etc

Little to none

This is a follow up to my previous review. This receiver is still amazing. It is still a quality performer pumping out clear clean quality sound. It just continues to amaze me all the time. See the review below for more in-depth coverage.

I'd also like to respond to some recent comments on the Onkyo. Both John and Chris below have a similar problem. If you are used to listening to lower quality gear, especially for an extended period of time in Chris's, anything different may not sound as good to you....my suggestion is to try it for more than a month or a few days and let the detail envelop you. If you don't eventually love the receiver, it's your ears and not the product.

Build Quality, Speaker Connections, Feature-Rich

Mediocre Musically

Researched forever and narrowed down (like so many others..) to Denon’s AVR--3801 and Onkyo’s TX-DS787. An interesting thread posting on http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum14/HTML/029142.html questioned the power rating of the Denon when powering 5 and 7 channels, while praising the Onkyo tilted my decision towards the latter.

I have purchased the unit along with a set of Klipsch Reference (see system description below) from Mike at www.acousicsounddesign.com. (Great pricing and excellent service) hookup was easy, the manual straightforward and the remote actually very nice. HT performance is very good. I also loved the feature that allows the user to insert a name to preset radio stations. However, music sounded way too bright for my taste (yes, I know the Klipsch are bright…). It also happens to have a slight cosmetic blemish on its display. I thought of exchanging for the same unit, but Mike suggested that I try the Denon AVR-3801. I jumped at the proposal. BTW, Acoustic Sound Design stood behind the merchandise and never flinched through the process. They arranged for UPS pickup (at their expense) and followed through. These guys make buying through the net a pleasure.

The Denon sounds much richer. The remote is not as nice. However, it is pre-programmed, so I was able to just enter a code for my TV and DVD and Presto! – It is done. The Onkyo has only a learning function. The Denon comes slightly short by not enabling simultaneous, powered hookup of rear surround and zone 2 speakers. You must choose. HT performance is about equal, with a slight edge to the Denon, again.

Overall, you cannot go wrong with either receiver at this price range ($750-1000). It was written countless times before – you really should audition the combination of receiver and speakers of your choice to make a final decision (don’t worry about interconnect cables, speaker wires and digital sources, use a CD or DVD player hooked digitally to test the receiver’s DAC)

My system:

Receiver: Denon AVR-3801
DVD: Toshiba SD-1600
CD: Denon DCM-370
Fronts: Klipsch RF-3
Center: Klipsch RC-3
Surrounds: Klipsch RS-3
Sub: Klipsch KSW-12
Cables: AR’s

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-3801

Discrete Output, remote, speaker binding posts, quality

some faint 'humming' from speakers after 2 hours use (probably my fault - earth/ground loop somewhere), overtly 'bright' sound.

This is my first venture into the home theatre from the world of HiFi. Like most other people here, I used a combination of AudioReview.Com and listening tests to select what I wanted, and, in the end it was a combination of price/performance that swayed me toward the Onkyo.

I have been buying Onkyo gear for years and have been satisfied in every choice I have made. They really do make quality gear, just pick-up any of their amplifiers/AV receivers.

In terms of sound quality, I find the Onkyo has made my Vifa fronts a little 'bright', even though they run silk tweeters. This is one heck of a powerful unit, but starts to run out of puff with CD's after 0db (60/100). DVD's are a different story, this one had an audience of 30 people astounded and 'gobsmacked' after watching the Matrix at 0db setting, so powerful were the punches in the Karate scenes....exciting!

So, the lond and the short of it is that:
HT: Killer amp, a real winner
HiFi: hmmm, not bad but I find it weaker than previous
discrete amps I have owned of less wattage.

Basically, if you wanted to listen to just CD's you never would have bought this unit. It does what it's designed for -- a bloody good job at HT!

Setup:

Onkyo TSDX787 AV Receiver
Vifa SAX-110 (Danish) fronts
Vifa centre channel (own design)
Vifa SAX-90 (Danish) rear
Isobarik 200w active Subwoofer (cracks drywall/plaster no probs)
Onkyo CD.
DVD on loan (sob).

Go ahead, buy it but only after a thorough audition...

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo (amps), Sony

Great power, user friendly, nice remote, and great $$$ value.

Speaker wire terminals are tough to use with big hands.

The most noticable point immediatly is the smooth and clean sound. I run an entire Klipsch speaker system that tends to be a little on the bright side and this unit really makes the speakers sound mellow and realistic. The next point is the super on screen displays for setup. You can fine tune every aspect of the receiver and let it do the rest. It easily identifies the DVD source material for THX, Dolby Digital, DTS, and Es/EX extensions for both. I am currently running 7 speakers and sub with the two rear speakers (8 ohm) of the single channel rear onboard amp without any problems at all. I am looking for a two channel external amp to give true 7.1 surround, but really don't think I will notice a difference. The only wish I have is that the internal amp could be configured to power the surrounds of a 7.1 system, and a high end 2 channel amp could then be used to power the front 2 channels. (The Yamaha Receiver can do this, but the Onkyo beats it in every other area).

My current Config:

Onkyo TX-DS787 Receiver
Pioneer Elite DV-05 DVD
Sony S-VHS VCR
iScan DVDO V2 Line Doubler
RCA Direct TV
Mitsubishi 46" Rear Projection TV
Klipsch KG-4 main speakers
Klipsch SS-1 surrounds
Kilpsch SC-1 center channel
Klipsch KSB-1.1 rears
Klipsch SW-12 subwoofer
Barco Graphics 800s CRT Front projection system
Draper M2500 84" x 49" 16:9 HDTV Screen
Audioquest wire and cables.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer Elite

6 channel internal amplification

Depends on your needs

Whats up Jim, its a small world.
Speaking from a design and function standpoint also, the onkyo, like the other models I listed are all quality built. The HK being the most intuitive of the bunch with its front rotary dial panel controls. Most of the units listed have on screen menuing so I don't consider displays a big deal.

More on the Onkyo......The onkyo provides sufficient power to drive my 6ohm speakers and sounds pleasant in surround and 2 channel function. I found that if you were willing to shop on-line all the above listed models were in the same pricing ballpark. Onkyo also seems to have good customer relations and will communicate with you via e-mail in a timely manner. Since this is the year 2001, I am skeptical of a company that is not willing to communicate with customers on the net or provided links to the company's tech support....HELLO MARANTZ AND DENON!!!!
I SPENT MY MONEY ELSEWHERE!!

I am not really concerned with statements from people thinking they are audiophiles in these reviews. Listen to the systems yourself. Sound quality is mostly opinion and different system configurations effect sound.

Now to what Jim was getting at, yes the Onkyo 787 and Dennon 3801 are probably the first of their type to offer 6 and 7 channel amplification. So I would say, even though the Onkyo is a quality receiver along with the Denon, sure some of the components in the design and manufacturing were downgraded. Will it matter to you, peerhaps, perhaps not.

My suggestion, If you are buying on-line and want 6 or 7 channel amplification, your best bet is the Onkyo 787 or Denon 3801, respectively. I have a friend that has the Denon and it's a quality unit.

Negative against Onkyo:
Compared to the HK the onkyo as well as other receivers have face plates that are not intuitive. Well, for what its worth I have almost 20 years of ergonomic design experience and am considered an expert. For pure face appeal the Elite wins hands down. I would also choose the Elite for sound quality in this price range but I wanted 6th channel amplification w/o spending extra money on a pre-amp.

Again, with reference to what jim said the Onkyo 787 does not do discrete 6.1 and will not handle an EQ (no tape mon input)as the Pioneer Elites are equiped to. I don't care about this but you may, so I mentioned it. If you truly want a receiver that is EQ ready for 2 channel stereo output the Onkyo 787 isn't for you. I have to laugh at some reveiwers that seem to think that they should dictate how you, an individual, should listen to music. I call it SNOBBERY!!! All these reviews are subjective.

Similar Products Used:

HK-510, Ymaha V1000, Pioneer Elite 35TX, ..........

Clear and Crisp Sound. No Noise From Rear Speakers like THX777 has. Very Nice Remote. Very Powerful.

DSP Channels are useless

I had Onkyo777 for almost year. I liked it but it gave me hiss from rear channel and center. I did everything but could not get rid of it. Then I bought HK AVR7000. Good Receiver but no Guts. In other words you can't feel the punch in the chest like with Onkyo. I listened to Onkyo 787 and boy it kick butt of AVR7000. At same db level Onkyo sound much better and crisp. The on screen set up is simple. It has 7.1 channel (One Rear) but can add two with Amp. I love it. DVD sound Awesome at DTS 5.1 mode.

My System:

Polk RT-2000P (Upgrading to RT3000 in a month)
Rear Polk RT-1000p (Upgrading to F/X1000)
Center Polk CS400 (Will be upgrading to CS1000)
Receiver Onkyo787
DVD Onkyo 600

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 777 and Harman Kardon AVR7000

THX Select-certified Surround EX receiver,6.1-channel amplifier, 130 watts (6 ohms)per channel, high current, preouts for 7.1-channels,two component-video inputs (1 out),

remote control is somewhat limited in programmability

My system:
Panasonic 29" TV (using S-Video)
Paradigm CC-370 (center)
Paradigm Mini Monitor (surrounds)
Paradigm Monitor 11 (front L/R)
Paradigm PS-1000 (sub)

This is one of the sweetest sounding systems I've heard (for the price range). The entire frequency spectrum is nicely balanced. You never experience harsh sounds even at high volumes. All channels provide clean crisp sound. Configuring the system for optimal performance is a breeze with the straight forward menus on the Onkyo A/V receiver. And not to mention the THX Cinema mode...
It nocked my socks off!