Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-SR507 5.1-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I did a lot of research (including Consumer Reports) and settled on this Onkyo as the best compromise between performance and price. I've had it 2 weeks now and am very happy.

The auto setup function works better than a much-more expensive Denon unit I set up for a friend. I used the microphone (included) to measure speaker levels at 3 different locations in the room and the Onkyo did everything else. (It's connected to some older Polk speakers-- they sound so much better through this amp!)

I bought this primarily to process audio from our new BluRay player and the Onkyo does an outstanding job. The sound is better than in most movie theaters! Especially BluRay DTS or HD Master. Wish more movies were recorded in these formats.

We also have our DirecTV HD DVR hooked up to the Onkyo. Audio and video travel through the HDMI Cables, so there's no need to hook up audio separately. Very nice and a feature you will find missing from some more expensive amps.

The amp does get very warm. I put a small fan in the back of the cabinet and that seems to help.

BTW although this is a 5.1 channel amp is DOES support 7.1 if you want the 2 extra rear speakers... you just have to hook it up to your old amp (or any cheap 2-channel amp) and process those 2 channels that way. The 7.1 decoding IS built into this box.

I am not using the "Zone 2" feature but it's very unusual to have that in a receiver in this price range. You can watch a movie in one room while someone else listens to an iPod or FM in another room.

I don't think you can find a better receiver in this price range (and keep an eye on the price-- it's falling!)

I am replacing my 17 year old Onkyo receiver and bought this after a bit of research. Much improved over the years and sounds better than the old unit. I love the sound and the easy setup. The instruction manual is great.

I have a variety of components, some HDMI, some composite video, some digital video, etc. As mentioned in other reviews, this unit will only output the same format that is input. This means that if you have composite video in, you will need to output composite video. For my situation, this meant a variety of output cables and additional button pressing when switching between components (e.g. cable box to DVD player).

Considering the cost of cables, I decided to go with the TX-SR607 because it converts all inputs to HDMI output. This means no adjustments to the TV input when switching components and no additional cables. Wish I knew this before I ordered the product and thought I would share my experience.

If all of my components were HDMI I would certainly choose this receiver.

Just got this TX-SR507 set up.

Here are some initial impressions. The setup is very easy and fast. Had all the connections complete in less than 15 minutes. Despite some misinformation out there this receiever is not HDMI passthrough for audio. Instead it has HDMI repeater technology. This is way way better than pass through. What this HDMI repeater technology allows you to do is to run a SINGLE HDMI cable from each source (cable box, blueray, dvd player, roku box, or any other device that has hdmi out) to the reciever (you can hook up all the items into this as its loaded with HDMI inputs. From the receiver you run a SINGLE HDMI cable to your TV. Meanwhile the audio is processed by the reciever and sent out to your surround sound system. No additional toslink or analog cables needed. This feature alone is worth the extra to buy this unit. If it was only HDMI passthrough you would need to run separate cables for your surround sound in addition to the HDMI to get your audio output from the reciever to your surround sound system. You can set up inputs on this receiver to pass the audio along to your TV but why would you want to do that.

Another great feature is the Audyssey speaker setup mic included. It measures several listening positions in the room and optimizes the audio output for each speaker in your system. This also is super easy to do and other than moving the included mic around and pushing the enter button on the remote you just sit back and let it do the rest.

I have this set up with a Martin Logan sub and Klipsch SL speaker system and it sounds great for both music and HT use. This blows away the out of the box HT systems although it costs a little more to get it all together.

This receiver does not disappoint and runs cooler than my old Sony receiver. I have read that some say the Onkyos run hot but not an issue for the 507. The only thing i wish this had was a satelite radio tuner built in but other than that it has everything needed to pull everything together. Price was very reasonable considering all the HDMI connectivity this unit has.

One thing i would recommend is getting a Harmony remote to add the icing on the cake. Nothing better than pushing one button to get any activity started without having to fumble through 3 or 4 remotes and then one button to shut all the components off when done.

Let me start by saying I did tons of research and settled on Onkyo because of the ease of setup, hdmi inputs and price. I initially thought I was going to get the sr606, but decided against it because it's a behemoth, the video upconversion didn't get good reviews, and I'm only going to use 5.1 surround sound. This receiver offers a lot of the same features as the 606 in a much smaller package. I paired it with Definitive Technology Procinema 600 5.1 surround system and it sounds great. Much better than my 10 yr old Sony receiver with sony and bose speakers.

This is probably the cheapest, quality receiver that can strip out HDMI audio ( many hdmi receivers don't ). It has plenty of HDMI inputs and is very easy to setup. Something I had trouble finding out is if this would drive 4 ohm speakers. I recently bought some lsi15s on craigslist and they are 4 ohms and are notoriously hard to drive. After wasting some time on audiophile forums they kept trying to convince me that only after I had the double helix flux capacitor extreme amplifier ( only 3,999! ) I would actually "FEEL" the speakers or some other mumbo jumo. I decided to try it out myself.

The onkyo 507 did not disappoint. While I never listen at these absurd levels I stress tested it by cranking up the volume to 50 and playing classical for an hour ( this was loud enough that I had to step out and close the door). It got hot, but sound quality was sustained and it topped out at 50C I think. All onkyos get hot and driving 4 ohm speakers makes them even hotter, but they'll do it and they'll do it well.

Hopefully this helps anyone who is wondering if these will drive 4 ohm speakers even though they're not certified for it.

NOTE: DO NOT PLACE THE RECEIVER IN A CLOSED AREA. Onkyos do get hotter than other brands, make sure you have adequate ventilation.
Also; don't pay attention to watt ratings, an increase from 80 to 100 watts per channel is nothing. Not only are the ratings essentially made up ( see contrast ratings for TV ), but the difference is essentially nothing ( You need 4x the power to have 2x the volume ). What you want is a quality amplifier, and this onkyo is one.

I've never owned a A/V receiver before so I tried to do my homework before I made a purchase. The TX-SR507 has many of the same features as the more expensive models for a fraction of the price (four 1080p capable HDMI inputs and TrueHD/DTS-HD decoding). I pre-ordered and got it for $279.00 with free shipping, so the price was right too. I've paired it up with Energy Take Classics 5.1 (which I paid $379.00 with free shipping). I'm extremely pleased with the results. I use it mostly for gaming with my PS3 and watching Blu-ray movies. The Audyssey Auto Speaker Calibration with the included mic made precise set up a breeze. I doubt that you could find a better A/V receiver for that price.

I wanted to upgrade my sound to HD with HDMI audio but I didn't want to spend alot. This was a perfect fit for me. I have a 5.1 system and am not interested in 7.1 or more. This system after the sound calibration is a huge step forward from my H/K AVR 125. The HK has a slightly warmer sound but I would not say the Onkyo is bright, I would say it is more neutral if anything. I could never get the HK to truly surround me with sound, I really didn't try very hard but it always annoyed me that all the sound was out of the CC and very little out of the back no matter how hard I tried. The Onkyo in about 10 minutes was calibrated and sounding incredible. I tried a bluray movie and wow, what an improvement with very little effort. The setup was easy and intuitive. It also works well with the RIHD and my Panasonic Bluray and TV. When I put in a movie everything switches to the right inputs automatically and when I turn off the tv so does the receiver. The only downside I can see is the heat issue. The H/K would only get warm to the touch, but this Onkyo gets hot to the point it would be uncomfortable to keep my hand on certain parts of the amp under just normal listening conditions. I am installing a fan to help but beyond this I am very happy with my purchase. Hopefully this amp will last as long as the H/K I had for 6 years.

Onkyo TX-SR507 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver

Overall I was very exited for this new receiver. -it was priced affordably and $150 less than the $500 Onkyo TX-SR606 that I thought I was going to have to buy unitl this beaut hit the market. I didn't need the 7.1 Surround that comes with the SR606. If your after a bar none receiver that has Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD and only require 5.1 surround then I don't think you can find a better buy out there. It may seem contradictory to require HD sound and not have at least 6.1 surround but for me I was upgrading from two decent sized 3-way bookshelf speakers to my first 5.1 surround sound system so I didn't see the pnt in getting too crazy.

It powers my Polk RM85 Home theater system wonderfully along with the PSW111 Woofer. Used some Banana Plugs from Monoprice and was set.

I didn't need an outrageous amount of watts because I don't get crazy loud with my Home theater, although this receiver can get too loud if I wanted it to.

The only CON I have found is when using the B speakers; i.e. Zone 2. It's awesome to be watching cable inside and listening to music off my iPod outside on our patio (Zone 2) but that's also the flaw. Zone 2 only sends music sources; i.e. radio, cd, aux. It does not play the cable audio. This was a huge set back for me because I was excited to be able to have college football on in the house on the 5.1 surround while also playing it out on the patio for those weekends spent constantly running around the house. Additionally we have a Sanus swinging mount so that we can angle the tv out from our fire place in to direct view with our hot tub that is out on the patio. I was really looking forward to watching Conan from the hot tub while playing the audio from Zone 2 but that `s not how Zone 2 works, unfortunately. Furthermore, when Zone 2 is in use you lose the rear speakers for the 5.1 surround and only have the front 3 speakers playing. So the idea of someone being able to watch a movie in one room while someone else is listening to music in another is somewhat deceiving because the person watching the movie would only be getting the front three channels and woofer...that's hardly watching a movie in my book as you lose the entire surround that this receiver is built to do. Essentially your rear speakers become your Zone 2 speakers if that makes sense?

Anywho, I rate this receiver 3.5 stars (I'll be generous and round up) because for the money it can't be beat, but it so lost 1.5 stars with the wackiness Zone 2 causes and the limited sources that can only be played through Zone 2. If you don't have intentions on utilizing Zone 2 then I would give this baby 5 stars.

Have had this product for a few weeks and it performs great.Setup was easy and it has plenty of power to produce great sound,so much in fact that I had to adjust the bass settings down a little. I have it hooked to a dish network 722 HD receiver,PS3,and a Sony dvd player all running to a Samsung LN46B550.The picture quality is amazing and the switching between components is seamless other than a slight clicking noise when the receiver changes between sound formats(DTS to Dolby and vice versa)but that is my only minor complaint. I think it is a great receiver for the price.

I bought this receiver to replace my Sony 5.1 receiver, primarily because I wanted a dual room/dual source receiver but it needed to fit into a tight space, less than 6.25" high, so my selection was already limited.

It's a good receiver, don't get me wrong, but I'm not super-impressed. For starters, they don't really tell you that when you are using the dual room/source feature, the primary listening location cannot play 5.1 surround sound. So in my family room if I'm watchng a movie and the deck is listening to music, both areas are only experiencing stereo sound. Kind of a bummer. Similarly, they don't tell you (until you get the instructions) that the source for your second room can only be an analog signal, which is silly. I have an AppleTV input into this receiver via HDMI for my primary room, but since I want to listen to the AppleTV in the second room, I had to hook up separate left and right channel RCA cables to the SAME receiver.

Don't get me wrong, this receiver has good features for the price and has plenty of power, but it's the little things that make it ho-hum.