Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-SR575 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before purchasing this receiver, I did my research, trying to find a receiver with HDMI capability, 7.1 sound, 80 - 100 watts (this one outputs 80 watts per channel which is plenty for me) for under $500. This is the best choice on the market! Here's some information you may find useful.

This receiver has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output (i.e. to an HD TV). I have an "upconvert" DVD player (changes 480i format DVD to 1080i video resolution) attached via HDMI (video), and a digital optical (audio) cable. I have a second DVD attached as the "VCR", using composite video cables and a digital coax (audio). I use the second DVD player to play CDs. Both can be programmed in the setup of the receiver, so that the SR575 knows which cables are used for which inputs. The sound is very clear. Make sure you use the microphone to auto calibrate the speakers after your system is in place. It takes 10-15 minutes and is automatic, just start the setup and it takes care of itself. The sound will be much better than sound out-of-the box, since it calibrates for your room acoustics. Once the setup is completed, you will like the results...there are several "listening modes" that you can try out to see what sounds best in your room.

Here are a few caveats that I learned about after I purchased the receiver....

1. If you have a phonograph (turntable), then you need a pre-amp (can be purchased from Amazon for about $40). Connect the left/right RCA cables from the turntable to the pre-amp, then from the pre-amp into one of the inputs in the receiver (I use the "tape" input for my turntable since I do not have a tape deck attached - which means I program the setup of the "tape" player in the receiver for my turntable - it's simple to do).

2. Do not be confused by the Onkyo "upconvert" capability - the receiver does NOT upconvert the video from a DVD from 480i resolution to 1080i resolution - you need an upconvert DVD player for that (also on Amazon for under $100). Instead, it will upconvert the audio from one type of input to a different type of output. See the Onkyo web site and download the user's manual for more info.

One more cool feature - this receiver has satellite radio capabilities. You can buy a separate satellite turner and hook it up...OR...since I have a portable satellite radio, all I did was use the audio out line from the radio to the auxiliary in (right and left) cables, and simple as that I can listen to my XM satellite radio thru the receiver and 7 speakers.

Bottom Line: The Onkyo 575 is a very capable receiver with the latest technological innovations (as of Spring 2007) in a really good price range (appx $350). If you are looking for high quality sound with HDMI capabilities, this is the best choice. I hope this helps you out, best of luck with your audio system!

Overall the Onyko tx-sr575 is a nice receiver. It received a recommended buy from Home Theater Magazine who I highly respect. The few minor complaints are that the remote buttons are very small and the volume has to be turned way up, ~ 20, to be heard.

However, for $299, it's a great buy and I would buy it again after having it for 6 weeks of testing. The sound from the system is crystal clear. Also, you can choose either 5.1 or 7.1 depending on how many spoeakers you want to use.

I bought this AVR, Onkyo TX-SR575, at the recent (04/08) price of $219. I have it hooked up with HDMI from cable box to AVR and HDMI from AVR to TV. I have the TV volume turned off and play the audio though the AVR 5.1 system. I added Sirius radio using the Sirius SC-H1 receiver through the little din connector. Power is not provided through this connector so you need to use the power adapter which comes with the Sirius receiver. I have my old Dual turntable plugged into the CD IN connection but I did have to put a turntable preamp inline here. I used the Pyle PP-999 Phono Turntable Pre-Amp from Amazon. My wife has some wireless speakers that she loves to carry out on the patio. I plug the transmitter for the wireless speakers into the TAPE OUT connection. At the moment I have a plain vanilla DVD player plugged in using component video and optical for audio. I will upgrade this later and use the 2nd HDMI input to the AVR. The speaker calibration process is easy and takes about 10 minutes. In my case the calibration makes a big difference. My center speaker is hidden behind some decorative knick knacks and calibration makes a big difference in the sound. I don't pretend to be an audio expert. All I can say is it sounds great to me and was very easy to get everything hooked up and working properly. Oh, the remote that comes with the TX-SR575 controls all of my other components for normal operation. If I need to change the setup of one of the other components I may have to get out that particular remote but for normal input/output, channel, DVD, DVR, volume and Sirius radio the TX-SR575 remote does it all. At the current price I think this AVR is a great bargain and I am very happy with it.

I was disappointed in the fact that the audio is not being transmitted to the receiver through the hdmi cables. It requires seperate cables for digital audio to be processed, although it processes audio through hdmi to my hdtv???. When I hooked up my upconvert dvd player through the receiver, I receive an error message on some dvd's that it's format is not supported by the receiver. So in essence, I cannot even use the hdmi ports on the receiver, the video goes straight to the tv and I use coax cables to the receiver. I also experience an audio "drop out" that Onkyo's website, if I remember right, refers to as a problem that they are working on with Dolby... On a positive side, I really like the auto speaker configuration, and the sound of the unit is good..The price was extremely good.

The first strike against this is overheating. Part of that is my fault, I stuffed it high in my cabinet without much ventilation. When the sun hit the cabinet glass it would heat up until the sound started to distort significantly. I lowered it in the cabinet and gave more ventilation and that seems to have taken care of it.

I'm not using a sub so I can't comment on cross-over and tuning features, although I've scanned through them and they seem comprehensive and feature packed. I haven't used the satellite radio features. The remote works great and programed really easily.

The sound is really good. I based my purchase largely on a pro review where he called this receiver his favourite budget receiver for its good sound reproduction. That's really what I wanted from a receiver. Turns out he was right. That's why I've rated it so high (4/5). I rarely rate products this high unless they really impress me. It doesn't get a 5/5 because it has to be truly amazing to get that, even in this price range. And I'm assuming the subwoofer would work flawlessly.

Great receiver. Has additional "B" speakers group which can be used with or without the "A" group; makes for creating extra sound for an entire house as opposed to just one room. If you can get this 7.1 channel receiver programmed (works by using remote microphone which is provided)you are in for a great surround sound which works on any medium (cds, IPod, Blu-ray, etc.) Not that programming the surround sound is difficult, it just requires that you have everything wired correctly and there is little/ no white noise in the room. If you can find it on sale BUY IT.

I recently purchased a new Samsung LN52A750 HDTV from Amazon and decided it was time to upgrade my RX-V2200 Yamaha receiver too. I had been happy with the Yamaha's performance (it was $850 in 2001) and it had never given any problems. But the Yamaha did not have HDMI connections and I wanted to make use of the new connections and capabilities of the new TV and a new Blu-Ray player.

This time around I didn't want to spend a lot of money on another receiver that might quickly become obsolete as the Yamaha did. The way technology progresses it may be time to upgrade again in 5 years or so to gain additional capabilities.

After quite a bit of research it appeared this receiver would do everything I wanted. I've now been using it for the past 8 weeks and just can't believe how much better the sound has been compared to the much more powerful and expensive Yamaha! The sound separation and clarity is way better than before - and I'm still using the same speakers and wires. I can tell this receiver is not packing the same wattage because I have to turn up the volume to about 50% on the Onkyo while I only needed about 25% on the Yamaha. Even so, there is no distortion and noticeably more "punch" to sudden sounds such as gunshots, explosions, and breaking glass.

It would be nice to have at least one more HDMI and Toslink input for possible future needs, but right now everything is working out fine. It would also have been nice to have the Onkyo pull sound input directly off the HDMI connections, but it really is not a big deal to simply run a coax or Toslink audio line to the receiver. After all, this solution saves a lot of money by not having to upgrade to another receiver that can do this. I knew of these limitations before purchasing and still feel this receiver was the right choice.

The Audyssey 2EQ did a fantastic job of automatically configuring audio output to match my speaker layout. There is now a noticeably smoother sound transition from each area and the subwoofer performance is 100% better than before - more punch and a much smoother crossover transition.

We are completely satisfied with this purchase. This Onkyo receiver was inexpensive (only $219), yet performs like I would expect a top of the line system to perform.

Very satisified. The Onkyo replaces my Mitsubishi 1000 receiver. I have a 5.1 system which was very easy to coonect. I especially like the mic which automatically sets the speaker levels.

It may be last years model but it had all the features I needed.

I could not get the Direct TV remote to turn the receiver off. I tried all the codes and could only get it to turn the receiver on. Therefore I use the Onkyo remote for that purpose (to turn receiver off). The buttons on the remote are small and I can't read them since the font is even smaller.

Overall, I would definately purchase again.

First of all, I got this receiver early from Amazon, and what a great deal as well. The system looked great, with clean lines and nice silver finish. There was a set of quick setup instructions and the more robust manual. It took about 5 minutes to set up video output. At the time of the purchase I still hadn't bought a home theatre system. However, I had a cable box, game system, and a dvd player.

My one caveat, which probably falls on me more than the product, is that the money I spent I wish I could've done a little bit more research. One of the reasons for this is that I have a plasma mounted on the wall, with component video cables running behind the drywall. This system however, if you want to use the HDMI connection (for example, HDMI from DVD to Receiver), you need to have an HDMI cable connecting your TV to the Receiver. Otherwise, you won't get a signal. I guess that's what they mean by HDMI pass through. So that's just a word of warning to all the AV noobs like me out there. D'oh!

Besides this, I love this receiver. It does the job of managing all my devices in a simple manner, and I can't wait to hook up my sound system.

I bought this stereo about 1.5 years ago to replace an Onkyo I had purchased in 1993 (which still sounds incredible). I LOVE this stereo, sounds fantastic!!! I'm hooked and will only by Onkyo!

The only thing I don't like is that the HDMI is only a pass-through for 1080p (not converting), I had to buy a separate convertor for my old big screen HDTV.