7.1 audio, lots of connectors

Pricey

The Onkyo TX-DS989 Home Theater Receiver is the receiver to
get if you want to build a home theater and entertainment
center big and bold enough to charge your friends admission. Packed in this 48.5-pound receiver are all the features you might need to compete with the sound at the local multiplex -- Dolby Digital, Pro Logic and DTS decoding, THX certification and Surround EX support, true 7.1 channel support (that's seven total surround-sound speakers and a subwoofer), simulated surround sound for two channel setups and more. The only feature the TX-DS989 doesn't have (yet) is support for the new DTS-ES Discrete format. But the TX-DS989 supports software upgrades, and Onkyo should have a Surround EX upgrade available sooner than later.
The TX-DS989 can supply a good amount of power to your
speakers -- 130 watts per channel at 8 ohms. The total
harmonic distortion of the TX-DS989 is rated at 0.05 percent, which is very good and low enough that only the most discerning ear can notice. The TX-DS989's frequency
response actually goes beyond the human range, but because
you're human, chances are you won't notice. The impressive
range is more of an indicator of the TX-DS989's outstanding
audio output. Overall, I highly recommend the Onkyo TX-DS989 Receiver. If you want the best home theater system, start here. It’s expensive, but well worth it. It’s probably overkill for “the rest of us,” but for serious home theater buffs, it’s hard to beat.

Keeps my papers on my desk on windy days when my window is open

BEEN THROUGH 3 OF THESE PIECES OF S*...THEY DONT WORK!!!!!!!!!

I WOULD NOT WISH THIS F*N PIECE OF GARBAGE ON MY WORST ENEMY. HAD 3 UNITS ALL HAD PROBLEMS WITH SURROUND PROCESSORS AND ELECTRIC PROBLEMS. HAVE HAD MANY SONY/HARMON KARDON RECEIVERS BEFORE THIS WITH NO PROBLEMS. FIRST UNIT BUZZED VERY LOUDLY WHEN I TURNED IT ON, ONKYO SERVICE WAS NO HELP, HAD TO SHIP AT MY EXPENSE TO GET IT FIXED HALFWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SO I RETURNED IT, AND THE SECOND UNIT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM PLUS WOULD SWITCH REAR/FRONT SIGNALS INTERMITTENTLY WHILE PLAYING (EG-WILL ALL OF A SUDDON SWITCH IN THE MIDDLE OF A MOVIE AND YOU HEAR THE REAR SOUNDS COMING FROM IN FRONT OF YOU). THIRD TIME WAS NOT A CHARM, NO SOUND FROM REAR AND SUB, BUT AT LEAST IT DIDNT BUZZ. EXCHANGED FOR A SONY ES AD HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COLLOSAL PIECE OF S**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES, Harmon Kardon

all you can think of

none you can even dream

folks i have seen this reciver at my local onkyo showroom
here in my city with the following setup
speakers which are all onkyo
1)front onkyo-skf-201
2)sub woofer-skw320
3)onkyo center channel
4)onkyo surrounds
5)dvd dvs-535.
6)cables-standard patch

my god what a reciver it is crystal clear sound quality and great power and amazingly accurate decoding.
i saw the matrix in DD and saving private ryan in DTS and the THX demo disc they blew me away with the sound and accuracy.i had also heard the 939 some time back and this is awesome compared to it.
for all folks looking ofr technical data here is a link
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/SoundAndVision/images/0900_onkyo_07.pdf
there is a technical review here and it will give you all the tech info you neeed.
and all those who talk about less features go and buy other stuff this is for a purist who wants nothing but the best sound and reasonable ease of use
keep it up onkyo

Similar Products Used:

none

Powerful Amps, Crystal Clear Surround and Very Good on Screen Setup

The Fan is Loud

This receiver has more power than any receiver that i have heard to date. I did very through research before i spent my money by listening to the B&K, DENON 5800, and the YAMAHA RXV1 and i drove the sales people crazy but after about two months i am glad i did. I was set on the denon 5800 and about to buy it when i heard about the INTEGRA DTR9.1 and went to hear it to my amazement the dealer had the same speakers on the DTR9.1 as i heard on the denon 5800 wow! So i even got to hear the same demo clips and after some great home theater and music demo's i felt that the INTEGRA was more like seperates and even though the power is rated higher the INTEGRA seems to have more headroom. The DENON is a great receiver and comes with a better remote i already have a MARANTZ RC5000I witch is a better remote still so the choice ( for me) was a no brainer, I would recomend to any one to look around first and not listen to retail sales people because they are bias trust me i used to sell retail.A sales person at a Florida high end retail chain that sells DENON and Yamaha tried and tried to sell me the RXV1 even when the sound was much MUCH better on the Denon i felt that i was buying a used car.I dont know why Sound Advice even sells DENON when there sales people try to shove gimeky YAMAHA receivers down peoples throats.The fan is noisey on the INTEGRA but i have a solution ( PUT A PEICE OF FOAM OR THICK CARPET OR ANY SOUND ADSORBIVE FODDER ABOUT TWO TO THREE INCHES DIRECTLY BEHIND THE FAN THIS WILL SOLVE THE NOISE PROBLEM)THIS MADE A HUGE DIFERENCE IN MY SYSTEM!
My System:( IN CASE ANYONE CARES )
Snell XA60 MAIN SPEAKERS*****
Snell XA55 CENTER SPEAKER*****
4 Snell .5 DIFUSE SURROUND SPEAKERS****
M&K MX350 THX POWERED SUBWOOFER*****
INTEGRA DTR 9.1 THX RECEIVER****
MARANTZ LASERDISC PLAYER( FOR STAR WARS EPISODE ONE IN EX):]
MARANTZ DV19 MKII THX DVD PLAYER****
MARANTZ RC 5000I REMOTE CONTROL*****
ROTEL 5- DISC CD PLAYER****
SONY DSS RECEIVER W DOLBY DIGITAL OUTPUT***
MISUBISHI DIAMOND SERIES 65" WIDESCREEN HDTV READY TV****
LOVAN CENTER DIRECTOR SPEAKER STAND ( BIG IMPROVEMENT )
MIDDLE ATLANTIC EQUIPMENT RACK ( NOT AS EXPENSIVE AS YOU THINK )
IN CASE ANYBODY CARES! THIS HOBBY KICKS A**

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR 5700 , Marantz SR18EX and SR14EX ,Onkyo TXDS 939

Good sound when it works.

Unreliable. Extremely poor customer service.

I've had my 989 for 3 months now. It worked fine and I was very pleased for 2 months. Then it broke (with a loud POP then NO sound). It spent 3 weeks in the shop. When I got it back the sound worked again, but the video didn't work. I luckily managed to get through to Onkyo tech support and talked to a technician, who confirmed I had a problem. He suggested I talk to the customer service manager to work out a refund or exchange. I tried to contact the customer service manager via email and phone to find out what my options are. After trying for two weeks, he doesn't answer the phone and will not return phone or email messages.

At least I have a 2 year warranty, but the way it's going, it will spend all two years in the shop. I will NEVER, NEVER buy another Onkyo product. I will NEVER recommend an Onkyo product to anyone. I paid way too much for the quality I received.

I was hoping to receive the highest quality, but unfortunately, I'm very diasppointed. Don't you also waste your money on Onkyo like I did.

Similar Products Used:

Sony.

Real Power.
That Onkyo sound.

I see the Grafiti Artist from the 575 site has found another site to spray.
Anyway if you have a problem with a product why don't you take it back where you bought it from? I don't know what kind of cusomer service you have going on in the States but here in Australia you just take it back where you bought it.
I've been able to exchange products on the basis the color didn't match the rest of my gear.
I've owned plenty of onkyo gear and if I bought the 575 say and a couple of days later wanted to try the 787 no problems.
I'm not saying that people don't have problems with their gear but why the Onkyo bashing?
I think it should be dealer bashing for not Exchanging a faulty product.What, you buy a Chev over there and when it breaks down ring GM and ask them how you fix the piston and valves.Yeah right.No you take it back to the dealer and tell him to fix it.
As far as the hiss on Onkyo gear,I had hiss with my Onkyo but that was when I selected say CD and and didn't press play but turned the volume up.When you pressed play and the music started playing the sound was fantastic,no hiss.
Boy I've heard plenty other brands that don't hiss but when you press play the sound was worse than the hiss.
Also if you buy stuff over the net for a cheap price but then don't like what you bought,go listen to it first and buy from the dealer.Don't just use him for your own benifit and then go buy over the net.Support your dealers cause I'd hate to see the day when dealers can't compete with over the net suppliers and you can't walk into their shops for a listening session or you have to travel far for it.
Oh yeah the 989 rocks.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha Denon

Great sound.
Absolute quiet through speakers when driven (almost eirie)
Built-in EX, with all 7 amps.
Excellent volume settings (absolute & relative and useful increments)
Component video switching.
Many digital (optical & composite) easily configured to source.
Range of DSP settings are focused and USEFUL.
Very intuitive interface.
Nice remote (but prefer Pronto)
Software upgradable (will support new pseudo discrete DTS 6.1 format (not just matrixed)) in the future.

Fan noise (being corrected but will require service center)
Bandwidth of of component video switching (using good cables, but fault may be on my side)

Since unboxing the unit from One Call (the inside carton saying it should be a two man lift after I lugged it upstairs) I have a few observations and questions.

1. The unit is incredibly simple & straightforward. This may be a downer for gadget freaks, but it is a definitely plus in my book (even being a gadget freak).

2. The build quality seems OK. Where sheet metal on sides is screwed in, did not impress me. Of course I could only get US approved black for color.

3. Displays are VERY intuitive.

4. All the optical & coax digital inputs are great and easily assignable to sources.

5. Remote is OK, but I went straight to programming into my Pronto. I will unlikely set up the bundled remote to handle all the feeds.

6. The need for 7 vs. six speakers is annoying. I basically upgraded my center channel speaker and was moving my old center to be the rear surround. I have it configured as my back left rear & raise the decibel; settings to compensate for the lack of a right rear. I'm sure this is not a recommended configuration, but appears to work. There should be a setting to allow this directly, but I understand the THX part of EX does not allow such a configuration.

7. One of the main reasons to acquire this unit was to be able to switch HD component video sources. It appears to be some image degredation in using HD sources, specifically for 540p sources. The rating is 40Mhz, so it should handle 1080i w/o problem. Will do some more tests when I get a Dish 6000.

8. Fan noise. I made more room for the unit w/o out other equipment directly over, under or next to it & actually do notice less kick in of the fan. (May only be coincidental. It does kick in even w/o significant loudness or changes in volume, which seems pretty crazy to me, and it is loud. Understand from Onkyo that there is a fix in the work which will require service & software update. I also understand the new dennon will be louder and the whole fan issue is again driven by THX certification. I think the new fix will use a quieter computer based part and potentially a software update.

Oh yeah, it sounds GREAT.

Tim

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everything you need for a receiver, needless to say.

none yet

I really have my eye on this one, I wasn't looking for anything else eversince I knew this was coming. It took me a while to buy it cause I went all around the homeaudio stores that carries onkyo to find the best price possible, and men, I found a few, and got the best deal(I think?).
Future Proof! It is!

Similar Products Used:

onkyo-lower models

I think that the information that you have received from that website is wrong. I have auditioned the 989,DTR9.1 and it does not send the same signal to all the back channels. I have listened to them on the M&K 7.1 set with a special SurroundEX encoded DVD. It sounds awsome. The distortion on this baby is unbelieveable low. Clarity wise it is unbeatable (for now). Since I can't afford the 989 I will buy the 919THX, plus the new decoder onkyo is coming out with (decodes dd,dts,surr-ex) plus two mono amps. So you see I will be in Home Theater Heaven pretty soon.

My System:

TX-DS555 Receiver (soon to be TX-SV919 THX)
DX-C340 CD-Player
Onkyo THX-Ultra Certified (HTS-SYS2) Speaker set.
Velodyne CT100 (soon to be velodyne HGS 12)

PS: If you have the money go for the Integra DTR 9.1. But don't think this uniot is not good. Go audition the 989 and I will promise you that that is the worlds best receiver next to the DTR. Denon does not stand a chance against this one.

Florian Wiegand

Incredible Power, Versitile, UPGRADEABLE, Clean, and Crisp.

None

This receiver is incredible. The ambient sounds from well engineered movie tracks are clear and concise. Now I know why you get Acadamy Awards for Sound Mixing and Reproduction, some movies simply do not cut the mustard. This is the first receiver I have ever owned that allows you to really critique the sound track. Even between scenes the sound creation and production can be inconsistant and poor. As far as the DTS discrete "true 7.1" challenge, Onkyo engineered an upgradable receiver as the following information from Onkyo proves. It's the software that makes it work and this one is ready for the future. And about the fan......I say what fan???......there are one hundred times more ambient house noises louder than this very quiet fan. A person with a good ear would have a hard time distinguishing it in my house.

NEWS FLASH******************************

Onkyo Offers Software Upgrade to DTS-ES

Following the recent announcement by DTS of a discrete-rear-channel variant of its DTS-ES surround-sound format, the Onkyo Corporation announced plans for upgrade software that would allow several of its products to process music and movies encoded for the new format.

The products, which are sold under the Onkyo, Integra, and Integra Research brand names, are already compatible with the derived rear-channel variant of DTS-ES. As a long-time DTS licensee, Onkyo's engineers are working with DTS engineers to translate this new format into an easy-to-use installer program for all upgradeable products from Onkyo, Integra, and Integra Research. The upgrade programs can be installed via a common RS-232 cable connecting the component to a personal computer.

"This is exactly why we developed our future-proof upgradeable processor," says Mark Friedman, senior vice president, Onkyo USA. "We introduced the Onkyo TX-DS989 and Integra DTR-9.1 receivers in the spring, and if they didn't have an upgradeable processor they would already be obsolete in the minds of many home-theater enthusiasts. We were selling products that will be able to use this format even before it [is] introduced. No other company can make that claim."

Onkyo anticipates it will have its DTS-ES installer upgrade program available in the first quarter of the next year. The software, available at a nominal fee through authorized dealers and servicers, will be compatible with the Onkyo TX-DS989 and Integra DTR-9.1 home-theater receivers, and the Integra Research RDC-7 preamplifier/processor.