Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)
by Onkyo
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List Price: Our Price: $179.99 You Save: $319.01 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Speakers See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Customer Review: Why Onkyo over Denon, Pioneer, etc?
Summary: 5 Stars
Before purchasing this unit, I did quite a bit of research regarding what receiver would fit my needs. For about a month, I read over many different reviews and forums (mostly at AVSforum). I have a Sony KDL46-XBR4 and a set of Harman Kardon HKTS-18 speakers. When comparing to Denon, I got the impression that Denon is the creme of the crop. However, their prices are also fairly high. I wanted the Denon 2308, but the price was a bit high. The 1908 didn't have all the features I wanted (namely analog - HDMI upconversion and Dolby TrueHD and Digital+ support). The latest Pioneer 1018 model had all the features I wanted, but because it was released just this June, the price was still fairly high. The power rating as far as watts / channel on the pioneer was a good deal higher than the Onkyo 606, however the general consensus is that only Onkyo and Denon achieve their rated power. There have been many tests on the other brands, and they usually do not achieve anywhere close to their rated power. I will say that I might have chosen the Pioneer 1018 over the onkyo 606 if they were equal prices, but luckily that wasn't an option. If price wasn't a sticking point, I probably would've gone with the latest Denon (the 1909 is coming out soon). The one thing I would've liked on the Onkyo 606 is the upconversion to be 1080p, but I think I will be fine with 1080i. Most things I will upconvert will look insanely better at 1080i anyway.
Currently, I have a Knology digital cable box run by HD component straight to the Sony XBR4 TV. I have an audio optical cable running from the digital cable box out to the receiver. I did it this way instead of straight HDMI to the receiver so I can watch TV without surround if I choose. My Xbox 360 is connected via HDMI to the receiver, and the receiver is HDMI to the TV. I was glad to know that the receiver will pass through 1080p if it receives it via one of the HDMI inputs. I soon plan to purchase a bluray player and run it via HDMI into the receiver as well. The Onkyo manual is very clear in explaining how to change things like crossover frequences and speaker distances. The Audyssey auto-setup is handy as well.
Customer Review: the best i've ever had
Summary: 5 Stars
Before this system, I had two other home theater in a box system. They both stop working in a few months. So decided to buy all the components separately. I had two months of research backing me up behind the purchase of the speakers and receiver. I bought the speakers first (Onkyo of course). I placed all 7 speakers where i wanted them. The next week I was about to order the 605, then i saw the 606 had come out. So I waited another week so some reviews could come out. When they were available, they were all good. So I ordered the 606. It was delievered on my birthday. I hooked it up with the speakers. Hooked the 42 inch Samsung LCD and the PS3 up viA HDMI. I used the auto setup for speaker calibration, which was only 10 mins of pure silent joy :)
After everything was setup, it was pure audophile bliss. From watchin regular stations to HD stations, it sounded looked so beauitful (regular stations were decent). From playing games on PS3 to watching Blu Ray, it was heaven!!! I use my PS3 as my music box also, and the music never sound better. There might be better receivers out there, but this is by far the BEST i've ever had. Watch 3:10 to Yuma, Casino Royale, or any Blu Ray with HD audio. Its simply amazing. Even regular DVD (dolby digital) sounds amazing. I havent had any problems yet. My receiver has good insulation, so it doesnt over heat. People told me that the stock speaker wire is so so, compared to the thicker wire. So that might just be my next purchase even though it sounds great to me.
Anyway the Onkyo TX-606 is a really good purchase for anyone who wants to build their own home theater unit. I love it SOOOOOO much. Oh yea this whole set up is in MY BEDROOM. My roommate bugs me all the time about putting this system in the living room. I say we can BOTH buy one for the living room :)
ONKYO ALL THE WAY BABY!!
UPDATE 2 YEARS LATER (3/28/10)
my SR606 is still working...it may happen down the road but so far nothing is wrong with it...the highest I've had the volume was 55...i still HDMI switch between channels...PS3, Wii, and cable is still looking & sounding good...so i still give my Onkyo, 2 thumbs up!
Customer Review: Exceptional value and performance. Just one minor irritation
Summary: 4 Stars
I was running out of high-bandwidth audio connections on my old home theater receiver, so I started looking around for an affordable replacement. For the sake of simplicity, I wanted something with at least (4) HDMI connections that also processed audio. For $400 or less, there was this Onkyo or the Sony STRDG820, but the Onkyo has more features and has received better reviews.
I ordered mine from Amazon and received it very quickly. Installation was very simple. (4) HDMI's in, (1) HDMI out, speaker connections, and the power cord. Setup takes a little bit of time but it's fairly simple as well. The unit is equipped with "Audyssey 2EQ and Audyssey Dynamic EQ". Basically, you plug in the supplied microphone, position it at the right end, left end, and center of the listening area and it automatically measures the distance to each speaker, acoustical properties of the room, etc., and sets each speaker level automatically. And it works very well. I wasn't really expecting much of a sound improvement over my Harmon-Kardon AVR-146 but I got one. Big time. Also, whereas the HK had enough power, this unit has more than enough.
In addition to the normal formats, this unit will also decode TrueHD and DTS-HD which some of the newer Blu-ray titles are equipped with.
In spite of the almost endless settings in the menu, there's one thing that the Onkyo won't do that is a minor source of irritation for me: You can't relabel the inputs. The HK that cost me about half as much as this could. Fortunately, it's not TOO big of a deal if you have a Harmony remote because they do all the work for you.
The unit will upconvert analog sources to 1080i though it doesn't get very good reviews in that department and I haven't tried it.
Some people claim to have a "humming" issue with this unit connected to a PS3 but I haven't experienced any.
Considering the (4) 1.3a HDMI's, sound processing abilities, and cost, it's a very affordable and fairly future proof unit.
I've always been a Harmon-Kardon fan so I didn't know what to expect from an Onkyo. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Customer Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the 606 about 2 weeks ago after buying a sony s350 blu-ray player. After seeing those beautiful images, you really notice if the sound isn't up to par. So far, this thing is everything I want out of an audio receiver. Before buying it, I read every review I could find, and I'd like to address my experience and solution to some of the issues people found.
First, the buzzing. So far, I've had absolutely none. I read people saying it was a voltage issue, so, right off the bat, I plugged this thing into a different surge protector than the rest of my energy draining components, and I haven't had the slightest hint of a buzz.
I read everywhere about the terrible ability to upconvert. My solution to this was just to plug all hdmi sources directly into the receiver and all other sources into the tv, using an optical toslink from the tv to the receiver. Only HDMI sources can get 7.1 anyway, so there's no reason not to do it this way. Sure, you lose the upconvert, but do I really need a nintendo 64 be be upconverted? I've got a 360 and the s350 blu-ray player going into the box through hdmi and from there to the tv via hdmi, and picture and sound quality are great.
As far as other issues, I've had no problem with heat so far. I've played sound-intensive blu-rays, like band of brothers and iron man, and everything is fine. Of course, I have it sitting separately from my other components, so it has plenty of breathing room. Another tiny thing to watch for is to make sure you let the receiver do the converting, not your components. I wasn't able to get any audio at all from my rear speakers, until i set my sony s350 to send audio Direct to the 606. You'll know you're doing it right if the front of the receiver says something other than PCM. With the Xbox, I was out of luck. No bitstream available. The only real thing you can't get around is that this thing is HUGE. If you have a small room, be prepared to move things around to fit it in.
Well that's that. I've paired this up with an Onkyo SKSHT750 7.1 speaker set (with its mammoth sub), and it shakes the entire building. Great receiver.
Customer Review: Lasted two years and died.
Summary: 1 Stars
Edit Sept 2010: Consider what I wrote below prior to the hardware failing and dying. Over the last month we've had big issues getting the PlayStation 3 to "sync" with the HDMI signal and as of this week, our Tivo fails to sync with the signal for 20-minutes before it kicks on. Searching the Internet finds that many folks have issues with the capacitors that handle the HDMI signal failing (or something technical like that), causing the box to respond with "no signal" until they apparently "warm up" which may take 10-20 minutes before you can watch TV again. This is a show stopper. No amount of money is worth the hassle of having a 2-year old piece of hardware crap the bed, now I'm looking at Pioneer and Sony, never buying Onkyo again; just not worth my time.
-- Here is my old review before the system died for those that still need it --
I've never had an Onkyo product before, this replaced my fairly new Rotel which was a good triple the cost. The Rotel was nice, but for the amount of money I spent I was burned when HDMI and all the other technologies came out and were adopted by hardware designers.
The Rotel was nice, but cost wise, the amount I spent for five years of life (before it was obsolete) was disappointing. The Onkyo adapted well into my environment, with my HD Tivo and wired my old DVD player into the Onkyo to upscale to HDMI. I'm not worried about picture clarity (although it's great) but that it fits the screen well, requires less wiring and can run through the same TV source--it's all about simplicity.
Although the system is a big big, it's a cost effective way to enable HDMI and high-end audio/visuals. It has a great on-screen menu system which is navigational and usable, configures just what I need and gets the job done in short order.
Simple to install, simple to use, set it and forget it. Nobody wants to spend all their time trying to get electronic devices to work to perfection, they want it to do this out-of-the-box. Onkyo did that for me, and I've since forgotten it was there, another piece of working electronics and that's how things should be.