Onkyo TX-SR701 6.1-Channel THX/Dolby Digital EX/DTS-ES Receiver

Rating:
Summary: Only receiver on the market with a Phonograph Pre-Amp
Review: I am a huge audio file and a fan of Onkyo. I have had an Onkyo TXSV515ProII for a long time that was a super receiver until it died recently. With a new receiver I pretty much had my mind made up to get a new Onkyo but I compared others just to make sure I was getting the best choice. I looked at Dennon, Harmon Kardon and Yamaha and none of them compared to the Onkyo for features and sound quality. Unfortunately, Onkyo has also grown to be a little more expensive than these other choices. At the three stores I went to, to comparison shop the sales people seemed upset that I was even considering buying anything but an Onkyo. (Each sales person I talked to, personally owned an Onkyo also) The only thing I liked better about the others was the styling of the Onkyo is getting very dated. In fact, I took the feet off my old receiver and put them on the new one to jazz it up a bit. This receiver has connections for everything you have and will likely have, including phonograph input. I have mine connected with two VCRs, a cassette tape player, DVD/Laserdisc player through the component inputs, HDTV receiver connected to the fiberoptic input, digital recorder through the fiberoptic output, and also, phonograph player. This receiver is also THX 6.1 receiver and I have the full set up of speakers three surround speakers, two fronts, center and subwoofer. I also have rock speakers outside connected to the zone 2 speaker output. There are also pre-outs for the zone two speakers and a 12V DC control output to work with Niles Audio speaker switch. This way you could wire up your whole house with speakers. I have used every single feature on the receiver and am very pleased with the sound. Like my old Onkyo this handles all video switching and you can dub tapes from one source to another by selecting different inputs. I read some complaints on other sites about the volume knob. It is not linear like you would expect it to be. Between 0 and 50 on the volume knob it does not get very loud but after 60 it gets very loud quickly. This is done so that you have a wider range of control for low volume where you listen to it most. I would have bought the TXSR601 which has features more analogous to my old receiver but this one has a phonograph input. And now that I got it all the other features that this has over the 601 make me feel better about spending nearly twice as much.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Receiver, great cost-to-quality ratio
Review: I have had the Onkyo SR-701 for 4 months now and I think it really is a very good receiver, especially for the mid-range price tag it has (at Circuit City it was $760 at the time, though I got mine from EBay for less). This is a receiver with a lot of available connections which I frankly do not care for, but you can connect two completely different sets of speaker systems to it if you so desire. What I use it for is DVD's (and CD's), and paired with Bose Acoustimass 15 Series II speakers I get really really good sound (I do have THX component audio cable between DVD player and receiver, too). The receiver supports 6.1 sound though you really need only 5.1 for almost anything you watch. You can set individual speaker distances and the receiver adjusts the volume accordingly to provide full surround effect. The sound is very crisp, very clear, and very intense. The receiver supports THX. I had read of a couple of "quality tests" for your audio which I am happy to say my speaker-receiver combo satisfies :

(a) In the Fellowship of the Ring, when the RingWraiths surround the hobbits on the hilltop and their King moves towards Frodo, Frodo crawls away. You should hear the sound of his feet dragging/scampering on the ground even with all the music playing.

(b) For rear-positional audio, I like to check when Gandalf and Pippin enter Denethor's chamber in "Return of the King". The door shutting sound should clearly come from behind you.

(c) For overall effects, the very beginning of The Two Towers where Gandalf falls along with the Balrog is great. You should hear the crackle of fire as Gandalf hits the Balrog, and all the while the drums work your subwoofer, while the elvish chant should come from all directions, they should definitely be audible from the rear speakers. Also, immediately after this chapter, we cut to the Hobbits talking, the rear speakers again should give a very clear effect of wind moving about behind you.

All in all, if you are looking for very high quality sound at middle-class prices, this is something that I think hits the sweet spot. The side-benefit is that Onkyo is supposed to be a very reliable company and it is unlikely you will run into defects, it is like buying a Toyota or a Honda, or more appropriately a Lexus.