I must say that buying my DS 838 is my best bargain ever. I got it on sale, paying only $700!(mind you the real price in sweden being $1700). Now 2 weeks later i am even happier, having been able to play at very high volume I now know that 50 watts in surround is no problem,the surrounds can handel tremendous sound outbreaks. the pro logic works very well,the 3 front speakers plays like one gigant speaker.In stereo mode the 838 is truly a monster and plays very loud and clear almost effortless.My complaints are first of all the remote that has ugly colours and a strange design, almost ugly. Second I would have liked a bit more space between the speakerconnections they are too close and with thick´cables its a swetty job putting them to place. Undoubtly a truly good reciever and the rating can only be one!

My Onkyo TX-DS838 AV receiver is one of the more musical systems I have heard, a little on the bright side, but with lots of depth in the power section. The volume control has lost it's precision, and become jerky.The digital section also has a problem with decoding AC-3 audio, this is an intermittant problem, and dependant on the source material. The effect is sound that is very jittery,and the only solution is to restart the DVD to clear the system. Overall it is a very good receiver, for first generation Dloby AC-3.

I have ONKYO A-M50 but I can't find any compenents on your sites. I want to control my amplifier with remote controler.

The Onkyo 838 is indeed a power-horse, but the volume server does get jittery and peaks at times. The ac-3 decoding is excellent. I did found small artifacts when connecting the video through the 838, so I decided to connect the output from my Panasonic A110 directly to the TV. The pre-outs are great, especially if you hook-up a millenium DTS decoder with a 5 channel amp. I must say that 50 watts to the surrounds is not enough, so I got my self an ADCOM 7000 amp. The price was a bit high when I got it (Jan. 1998) but this was one of the first receivers with onboard ac-3. At the time, the only competition was the much pricier YAMAHA DSPa3090.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE ONKYO CAN BE SOLVEDBY TURN THE VOLUME CONTROL UP TO MAX POSITION
AT LEAST 3 OR 4 TIMES.
I DISCOVERED THIS BY ACCIDENT, BUT IT WORKS,
MY ONKYO USE TO SPIKE AS STATED BY MANY OTHER 838 OWNERS.
THIS HAS SOLVED MY PROBLEM.

I ALSO DID SOME EXPERIMENTING WITH SOME OLDER CERWIN VEGAS
I HAD JUST TAKING UP SPACE. I STARTED TO USE THEM AS SURROUNDS
AND I GET A REALLY DECENT SOUND AND GOOD RESPONSE
CONSIDERING THEIR AGE. THE BASS IS AWESOME, BY THE WAY,
THEY ARE THREE WAY WITH 15 INCH BASS WOOFERS A MID-RANGE AND TWEETER.
CAN ANYONE SUGGEST OR OFFER A BETTER WAY OF SETTING THEM UP.
I'M PRESENTLY OR WAS USING THE NHT SUPER ONE'S.
WITH A SW2PI SUB AND AMP SET UP.
I'M ALITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT WHERE TO SET THE HIGH PASS AND LOW PASS FILTER CONTROLS.

THANKS FOR ANY INPUT

H. SMITH
VA BEACH, VA

After doing some research, I've decided to buy the ONKYO TX-DS838 and the Sony DVP-S7000. If anyone knows where I can pick up these items for a really good price, e-mail me. I've only been able to find 2-3 dealers in the area that sells these items. Now I'm going to the internet for prices.

Dude, lay off the caps.

This thing is a tank !!!!the dolby Digital sound feilds are awsome. Yeah they don't have the most power I have seen but it sounds nice anyways.
I have the following in my system:
Onkyo TXDS-838
Onkyo DC-340 cd player
Onkyo DVD-7
RCA HI-Fi VCR
INFINITY Overture 3's,CC-3 center channel, and 2000.3 surrounds and a Sunfire MK2 subwoofer

And let me say when you hear the difference you'll know where that money went.
yes there is a problem with the volume conrol but its not a big deal and yes the remote looks like shit but I am down to 2 remotes instead of 6.

I give it 4 1/2 stars

I bought my 838 about 15 months ago and it's a monster machine. The sound (music or AC3 movices) is sweet yet crisp with every details coming out realistically. With B&W/Solid Solutions speakers all around (including a powered subwoofer) the sound is fantastic even when compared to more expensive "Japanese speaker" setups I have listened to in showrooms here in Fiji.
And yes, as others have mentioned, there is a "spike" problem with the volume. There is yet another problem I have found with the 838: There is a substantial bass loss when the Dolby Pro Logic (DPL) Surround mode is in operation. I don't know whether other owners of 838's have noticed this. However, when used with a powered subwoofer, one may not notice this. I'd suggest that some of you try this: Set the the subwoofer parameter to OFF and compare the sound (say from a CD or movie with Dolby Surround encoded soundtrack) in stereo mode and DPL mode. I note that the power in the left and right speakers are somewhat different in stereo and DPL mode but I don't think this is the problem. I tried using an external power amplifier and the same "loss of bass" is experienced.
Currently, I have set the 5 main channels to a +12 calibration.

Does anyone out there have any ideas or suggestions for solving the above problem? I'd be glad to receive e-mails.

I bought my Onkyo 838 about 7 months ago, and still very satisfied with it. I mostly listen to music and I find the 838 lean towards the bright sound. But when macth with Onkyo DF602 speaker and cardas quadlink 5c interconnect the brightness dissappear. Actually, it even gave the midrange warmer and richer sound. I highly recommend this receiver. I'll give it a 4 1/2 star.