-Works well in both small and large rooms -Still sounds great at high volumes -Easy to use -Logical Setup

-Remote has a bunch of useless buttons, and lacks more important ones. -Produces quite a lot of heat

I receved this reciver from my Dad after he upgraded to a more powerfull and advanced Receiver, and it is great for my bedroom. I have KLH speakers hooked up to it; 5 surrounders and a 120 watt powered sub. Together, they make a great team making an awesome audio experience. Sounds great with music, movies, video games, and just regular TV. For high quality VHS, DVD, TV, and video games, I use the Dolby Pro Logic setting, which takes advantage of the high quality audio capabilies of the source. For music and and lower quality sources, or sources not in surround, I use the Live setting, Which still is surround sound, but more like a Dolby 4.1 setting, because the center speaker is switched off. This setting is also good if the source is mono. Well designed overall amp has pleanty of power to fill my room with clear, crisp sound. The total price of my system would be about $500. $300 for the reciver, and $200 for the speakers

For$100, you can''t go wrong with this one, if you can find them. They are going fast. With the advance of semiconductor technology, amp is no longer that difficult to make. Spend more money on speakers.

I purchased the Onkyo TX-SV444 due to the 6 RCA input jacks which allow connection of a Dolby Digital decoder. I purchased a Proscan PS8600 which has a built in decoder and RCA analog outputs. I connected these two products and what I got was not a lot of anything. At 25 watts per channel going to the rear speakers the Dolby Digital effect is completely lost. Not to mention the fact that due to having to use the RCA jacks digital quality is sacrificed. When playing music CDs thru the Proscan and Onkyo it is only the Velodyne sub which contributes anything to the bottom end. There was only one solution to this problem . . . I purchased the Harmon Kardon AVR 85 which has 3 digital inputs built in decoders etc. The brash Onkyo receiver will however make a nice addition to the bedroom where it will be matched to another audio nightmare, a full Bose Acoustimas 10 speakers, which are, in my wifes opinion very "cute".

I was listening to the Mirage AVS500 "HTIB" system at Audio/Video Solutions in Laurel, MD, driven by the Onkyo TX-SV444. On music, the thing sounded pretty good, but YMMV because I was in a large showroom, and I'd never heard the speakers, receiver, or CD player before.
A caveat for those reading. I wanted to test the speakers from a Pro-logic source material, so I popped in my "Cinema Choral Classics" CD, which is
Dolby Surround-encoded. Set it to Pro-logic mode, and cranked the volume control up halfway. I immediately heard some nasty clipping noises from the rear speakers. I can't imagine what it would do on heavy action scenes. It
could've been something related to the speakers or the connection, but could
also have been the low-power ratings (measured at 1 kHz I believe) to the
rears.

I have had the TX-SV444 since April and have it matched with the Take 5 speakers from Energy, and powered sub. This receiver performs well and has excellent Pro-Logic performance with good separation, etc. Some have complained about the relatively low power to the surround speakers but I have had excellent performance and very low noise which is especially nice to find on relatively inexpensive equipment. There is more than enough power for music as well. Probably the addition of a powered sub helps, but the quality of sound is very good for music. Recently I added a Sony DVP600 DVD player which has the built-in DD decoder. Using the 6 channel analog outs from the Sony to the multichannel input of the Onkyo has really shown off the quality of this receiver. With a little tweeking of the surrounds and center channels (+ 2dB surround and -3 dB to the center) The 5.1 effects are amazing, and very clear. In a medium sized room 75 dB response is achieved at relatively low volume levels (1/3 max) and remember that Onkyo amps have a linear response to volume control (unlike most low current amps). There has also been some concern in previous reviews about lack of response through the multichannel input but this was probably due to poor DD decoding in the DVD player. In my case the receiver was an excellent buy providing good surround sound for with VHS and now excellent DD surround on DVD.

I bought this receiver a week ago at J and R for $250 dollars. At first I brought the HK-5 but I return it after using it for a short period of time; the HK only handles 35W * 5. I needed a receiver a little more powerful, so I went with the Onkyo. This receiver is great, it has enough power for my medium sized room and the sound quality is soooooo clear. I auditioned other receivers, such as the HK-65 and the Onkyo is somewhat better. I was recommend this receiver for anyone looking for quality under $300.

can't expect too much for the price. This receiver does the job for the money you paid for. I've tried it with DDP-2 Yamaha AC3 decoder and does the job although the rears are very anemic. Stereo sound resembles Yamaha but can sound harsh at times. Still a good entry-level DPL receiver.

Onkyo 444 is a good receiver for a cheap product. It has low power but is enough for an apartment or small house. Its sound is flat without bells (not like others Onkyo that have colored sound). With an equalizer you can get an very good sound. Its surround is low with VCR, but with DVD (that included digital decoder) its surround sound is very good.

OK for small HT systems. I use it with B&W 602 as front and B&W 302 as rear, and it sounds really OK. For a price around 500$ it's fair enough.

For the money, this is a terrific product ... extraordinarily clean, low low noise, sub out that works great with my Velodyne CT-100 sub, lotsa controls and a great little receiver for my music system. Buy one especially if you can get it cheap ... shop around and you'll find an open box for under $200.