Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-SR502 Home theater receiver with Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, and Dolby Pro Logic IIx Black

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As with all electronics, there is a clear trade-off between value and quality. If your home theater budgets puts you in the under $300 (probably more like under $200 today) range, this is an excellent receiver with plenty of inputs and features.

I upgraded to this unit after owning a Yamaha Pro-Logic Receiver for nearly 7 years. I immediately noticed a huge difference. A couple of things worth noting...

For one, this is a 6.1 system. I don't know how many people are running 7.1 systems, but if so, this is probably not the unit for you since you most likely have a large home theater with larger speakers that could probably use some more power than this offers.

Now, for the many positives. This unit features a subwoofer pre-out, which seems to work a lot better than the prior connection I had on my Yamaha. The sound is really outstanding for both DTS/DD applications and normal stereo. The digital inputs (3 optical, 1 coax) are assignable to any function (i.e. DVD, Video 1, etc.). The power of this receiver is pretty impressive. I have 2 B&W DM302s as front, a B&W CC3 for a center, and a B&W ASW500 sub, and the system rocks. I have an optical cable connecting my laptop to the receiver, and even 128 mbps mp3's sound wonderful.

I purchased it for $199 from J&R Music World- very good value. As with most consumer hi-fi equipment, there is always the risk of product defect or burn-out mentioned in some of the other reviews. Onkyo seems to offer a good warranty (2 years I believe). Go for it. Perfect for an apartment or smaller living room.

While the Onkyo TX-SR502B is not a high-powered receiver, it's still a great value for a starter's home theater receiver, esp. considering the namebrand and high quality you are getting. The 6.1 digital surround is awesome; get Onkyo speakers to go with this. The moderate output power is actually a boon for those of us who live in apartment buildings, since we can never crank up our speakers to high decibels anyway. (Those living in a house with the next neighbors 10 miles away should get a receiver with more power.)

BTW, if you don't already have your own speakers, you might want to consider a home theater in a box (HTIB) system that includes both the receiver and teh speakers. Onkyo and Yamaha have some high-quality systems for decent prices.

you cant ask for anything more, they say it has a small power, it depends on your room size, i have a 12x 15 room & power is more than enough, just be sure to buy good set of speakers, dont be fooled by BO$E brand they are overpriced, set up your own home theater, more exciting & less than half of that cube speaker & stuff

Sure, my father has the TX-SR502 and 503, and it appears to hook up the rooms wall speakers, HDTV, DVD, CD, Tape, Satellite very well. But this feat is marred by their horrendous, and let me use CRAPPY support. Email support is "too busy to accept", so the "Submit" button is disabled. I called their non-800 number, was on hold for 2 hours, and never got through. Voice kept saying my call would be answered in 30 minutes for an hour. But that countdown only comes on after you've already waited an hour. Yes, I was able to hook up the wires fairly simply; it's easy to follow. The "listening mode" button enables the various speakers around the room, and is not too intuitive. "Stereo" means only half the speakers are on-air. You have to toggle through the non-intuitive listening modes to send audio through all the channels. But everything is connected. A VCR clock-challenged guy like me was able to hook it all up. But if you have a problem or question, good luck trying to get in contact with someone. You probably have to call your local service center, and have someone come out to look at it and pay them a fee, while it's under warranty. Because of their EXTREMELY POOR service, I personally will NEVER conisder an Onkyo product. You try waiting 2 hours to no avail, and go buy that product again. I'm no masochist.

I love this system.
It has the outstanding 3D effects, with DTS-which emulates sonic performance of AC3 from Pro-Logic sources

7 DSP modes - Even my old vinyls/tapes come alive!!

I hooked with my Bose AM6 Speakers and I don't feel like getting out of my house.

Pros. Great sound quality. powerfull. many dsp modes. inespensive, great remote.

Cons. Have not found yet

This may be nice and all for the price but beware: it auto-mutes your speakers when you insert headphones. I was looking for an inexpensive amp to replace my beloved but ancient (and now deceased) Marantz SR-92 when this Onkyo popped up for a seemingly nice price.
I bought it from Circuit City, took it home, hooked it upto my PC and thought it sounded pretty good for the price...(I have very high-end ears...my home theater's brain is a LINN Classik)...I then proceeded to fire up Half-Life 2 when I noticed I had no subwoofer. See, I like to listen to my PC game audio through headphones while running my subwoofer.
This Onkyo doesn't allow you to override the auto mute feature. Too bad.