Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

My previous receiver was a 9 year old Sherwood. It was a little above a low end unit. It started buzzing and I decided it was time for a replacement. I have 2 nice Wharfdale floor speakers, a nice center, decent rear surrounds and 2 really decent sub woofers.

I read extensive reviews on several brands and decided that I would purchas Onkyo. I went to Fry's looking for the 606 model. They were sold out and just received the 607. I purchased the 607.

I wanted something HDMI based that allowed audio through the HDMI cables. The thing was a snap to set up. Make sure to run an HDMI cable to your TV from the receiver so that you can do on screen programming.

As I said, I have 2 sub woofers and the 607 has two output RCA jacks to enable 2 subs. No more RCA splitters. I fired the thing up and was shocked at the sound quality. The thing sparkles and the lows are clean and deep. I adjusted the individual speaker levels with a Radio Shack db meter on an easy to use Onkyo menu. I did not use the calibration system built into the receiver. A few trips through the menus and you have them mastered. The menu system is REALLY SIMPLE.

Unless you have some REALLY expensive speakers, this is the unit for you. Great sound quality, simple setup and easy menus make this a good choice for the novice or mid range home theater enthusiast.

I highly recommend the unit.

Unpacked this baby last night and found hook up and setup to be straightforward. Replacing an aging Pioneer VSX-21, which I never quite got used to. Love the Audessy 2Eq funtionality on this unit. I used the automated speaker set-up which was very simple (my daughter was tickled by the test tones it sends out). Also had the issue with the subwoofer being over-amped but easy to remedy. I haven't tried the unit without the auto-volume or auto-eq funtion, so can't compare that yet. CNET review was really down on it, but so far I liked being able to hear everything without blasting my wife out of the house!

Someone mentioned that it does not have HDMI pass-through but this is incorrrect. It does. You have to flip the switch in the setup menu, but it is there. The upscaling for non-HD tv leaves something to be desired but otherwise I think it actually improved my HD viewing from my FIOS box.

My only negative so far if you can call it that was no XM interface, only Sirius. With the merger I'm hoping that won't be a big issue, but that is really not a major negative at all for me. Would have prefered that it had HD-Radio unit built in rather than HD-ready but again, don't listen to the radio that much. The remote could be better. I too hate having to push the receiver button, but once I get the universal programmed it'll go in the drawer with all the others.

I was down to this model vs. the Denon 1909, but after reading all the stories of how difficult it was to set up and the extra $71 off at checkout, this choice is really a no brainer. I have not run into any of the humming or running hot issues that so many have claimed on other Onkyo units. I'm starting to think this is a myth. I used to sell stereo equipment and I got more Denon's returned on me than any other brand. One even caught fire in the showroom. Never had any trouble with the Onkyo's.

No other receiver in this price range can come close to this value.

UPDATE: Two years in now with this unit and still extremely pleased with it. It is a little bit finicky sometimes powering up in sequence with Cable Box and TV with Universal remote, but otherwise a great purchase. I have it powering old 5.1 Velodynes and it really sounds great.

I am using this with a couple of Thiel CS 1.5's and a Yamaha center. The Thiels are 4 ohms, and while the Onkyo is rated for 6 ohms or higher, it handles the Thiels with no problems and no clipping. The Audessey was simple to set up. The on-screen display makes set up very easy. The sound is amazingly clear, clean, and open. When listening to music, the sound stage is very evident and I can hear things I hadn't been able to hear with my previous Luxman R 117 receiver. Watching BluRay movies, the receiver does a great job giving me realistic surround effects with only 3 speakers.

Now for the downsides, only two as far as I have been able to ascertain: 1) Even though my new Panasonic G10 plasma says it complies with the CEC HDMI control protocol through Viera Link, it will not work with the Onkyo. It won't even work with a Panasonic BluRay player hooked up to the Onkyo via HDMI. Onkyo says their version, RIHD works with the Toshiba, Sony and Samsung versions, and should work with Viera Link, but it does not. So I bought an IR repeater and solved the problem of "behind the cabinet door" control, but I wish I didn't have to.

Problem #2: When having your CD player hooked up to the Onkyo with an optical digital cable, Zone 2 (which I use to power speakers I have poolside) does not work. If I connect using analog RCA jacks, Zone 2 works fine. But darn it, I want the best digital output in the house and would be fine with analog in Zone 2, but Onkyo doesn't even give me that choice.

And here is another minor annoyance: using the remote, if I punch the CD button (or any other source button), I have to push the "receiver" button again to adjust the sound. Why this extra step? Adjusting the volume should be the default regardless of which source button I push.

Would someone be kind enough to recommend a subwoofer for this system? That will be my next purchase.

Oh, and yes, it does run hot, but no hotter than my Luxman did. I think all high-current receivers run hot. It is the nature of the beast.

I bought this receiver after returning a Yamaha RX-V465 (see my 2-star review on that receiver). I was looking for the cheapest receiver that could really handle HDMI in and out, and I thought the RX-V465 was it. Not. As I mention in my Amazon review of the Yamaha, its HDMI handling is a joke.

This is not a cheap receiver, but to my surprise, Amazon currently gives you a $74 promotional discount, which you won't see in your shopping cart, but which mysteriously appears when you check out.

That makes this a $419 receiver including shipping! Best price on the Internet. Amazon allowed me to return the Yamaha and they even paid for the return shipping. They are by far, the best retailer on the Internet.

Unlike the Yamaha, this receiver integrates a wide variety of input & output ports that can be configured in a setup menu to meet just about any need you may have. There are input channels for up to 9 devices, and for each device (DVD player, cable box, etc), you can configure the ports you need, such as HDMI, component video, RCA, etc. And unlike the 5.1 surround sound on the Yamaha, you get 7.2 surround with the Onkyo. In fact, the Onkyo beats the Yamaha with every feature. The Onkyo has 6 HMDI inputs, and the HMDI output sends out sound as well as video, unlike the Yamaha (video only).

But what about the sound? I don't consider myself an audiophile, and with my untrained ears, I was astounded by the difference in sound between the two receivers. The Onkyo TX-SR607 sound quality is nothing short of spectacular.

At $419 including shipping, this receiver is a bargain (only $90 more that the Yamaha RX-V465). Look no further - this is a no-brainer.

I have to start off this review and say that the sound quality that comes from this receiver is amazing. I have bi-amped my TSI400's for better sound and have the polk cs10 center. Hands down sound quality is fantastic.

One possible complaint... I do not believe this amp has HDMI pass through. This is a little disappointing because there are times i would rather use the tv speakers.

Like the other review, this takes some time to set up. I have had this receiver for almost 2 weeks and i feel like i still have a lot to learn about it.


All in all i would recommend this receiver to a friend.

Update...

The clicking sound i was getting was because i had a defective unit. Amazon sent me a new one and it works perfect with no clicking. Also, this receiver will allow for HDMI pass through. You have to go into the menu under hardware, select HDMI and turn the RIHD on. Then you can use the tv speakers without the reciever on.

I absolutely loved this receiver when I first got it. It worked perfect and did everything that I asked of it. The way I had it set up was to run my 5.1 theatre off of the main amp and then had it connected to a speaker selector off of zone 2. This worked great for about three months. All of a sudden a month ago it just stopped working. I then went to amazon.com to try and get he returned to them and they were no help. They advised that I needed to get a "work id" from onkyo which I came to find out was a made up thing on the amazon side. Amazon said I had to go to Onkyo. Well I did that and drove an hour to the service center. I got to the service center and they were very nice. I waited two weeks and got my "fixed" receiver back. I plug it in a Zone 1 works great. I try to turn the power on to zone 2 and bam broken product again. I then try and call up onkyo to get a replacement and they tell me I need to drive the hour each way two more times before they would consider a replacement for the faulty receiver that I have. The product works great till you have a problem. I was really surprised by the lack of customer service from both ends. Needless to say I am disappointed in both company's.

I don't have much to add from other reviews. This is a simply wonderful receiver. I can find only one fault with it (see below) and it's not even Onkyo's fault.

The feature set is quite complete, and it appeared to me that there was little reason to pay more for features in Onkyo's more expensive models in the same line (e.g. THX certified sound). I was also very impressed with how easy it was to set up (with the auto speaker calibration) and a very effective universal remote control which worked with all of my equipment except my Playstation 3 (which doesn't have an IR remote).

While I'm not a true audiophile, I know what good sound is. Also, I recently had a friend over who owns a $100,000 system to audition my set up. We both agreed that for a $400 receiver, the Onkyo produces a wonderful, smooth sound. My Onkyo replaced a well regarded Denon receiver which had cost over $1,000 new and there is simply no comparison in the quality -- the Onkyo is far superior. I am using my Onkyo to drive some Magnepan speakers (which are excellent by the way) but are known to need a lot of good clean power to run effectively.

My only criticism is how opaque "surround sound" has become these days. Both Dolby and DTS have introduced quite a few artificial processed surround sound modes that to my ears do not sound very good. The receiver doesn't do a great job making it clear whether you are getting the true surround sound from the source or a fake "processed" mode. To make matters worse, it actually requires some setup from your BluRay DVD player to get the right output (or it did at least from my PS3). You have a choice of allowing your player to do the processing and output a multichanel PCM signal or to allow the receiver to do the processing. What I found interesting was that BOTH of these modes were turned off on the PS3 by default so I was actually getting no true surround sound and it was very unclear why...anyway, none of this is Onkyo's fault...but I mention it in the review to point out that you should make SURE you are getting the full output from your player. Listening to content in DTS HD from a BluRay player is simply magical...but I bet a surprising number of people who have the equipment capable of doing so are not hearing it...

After reading lots of reviews on various receivers I found the Onkyo TX-SR507, and thought that it was finally the one to buy. I then decided to take a look at what I could possibly get for a bit more, and found the TX-SR607.
Let me tell you the extra features on the 607 are worth the $[...].

First: Six (6) HDMI ports, including a front HDMI port.
If I were to buy the 507, I would have filled all but one of the four HDMI ports. Leaving me very little room to upgrade in the future. The front HDMI port is also a perfect addition. I can connect my laptop easily and run slideshows or online videos. Even my compact digital camera has HDMI(mini) on it, perfect for showing new photos.

Second: Analog to Digital video up-conversion. Even though my only analog component is a Nintendo Wii, connected via component video. However my TV is wall mounted, and the 607 allows me to run just a single HDMI cable from the receiver to my TV to carry all signals. This is far easier then running bulky component cables. The Up-conversion quality is pretty good, not the best I have seen, but again when the source video is 1/4 the output resolution you can never get perfection.

Third: Automatic volume control. This is the feature that pushed me over the edge. Automatic volume control means no more super-loud TV ads, or changing channels and getting blasted by some overly loud broadcast. Note that Automatic volume control is NOT the same as dynamic compression. Dynamic compression dulls your audio by making both the quiet sounds louder, and the louder sound quieter. Automatic volume control preserves the full-range audio while still keeping the overall maximum volume in check.

The TX-SR607 is short (depth wise) enough to easily connect everything and not have lots of wires crammed up behind it in a cabinet.

The unit does get warm while operating, but never too hot to touch. It is fanless, so that means zero extra room noise. A trade-off I will take over a fan any day.

The sound quality is great. I am using the system with all identical Polk speakers, and a 10" 100-watt subwoofer.
The setup was painless and the automatic calibration worked wonders.

My only request for improvement is to make more if the menu only functions accessible by remote, such as the night mode, or the auto volume level setting.

I purchased this AV Receiver thru Amazon but it actually came from Vann's. I ordered black but was sent a silver unit from Vann's. I decided to keep the silver unit as opposed to the return hassle involved. I'm very happy with the AV capabilities. I am using it with 3 HDMI devices and 3 analog video devices. I'm very happy with the way it up-converts the analog thru the HDMI output and the way it handles the HDMI audio. The only complaint I have is the remote control and it's lack of learning capability. It would have been great if they had added a few catch-all buttons with learning capability from other remotes. I ended up buying a Logitech Harmony 890 to replace all of my remotes including the Onkyo.

This is a very nice piece of equipment for the money. The sound quality is impeccable and it has many features. There are several items it doesn't have which disappointed me. There is no switched AC outlet. The panel is VERY difficult to read because the print is so small and there is very little contrast of the labels against the black cabinet. A digital audio source cannot be played through zone 2 which is a major setback for me. Finally, the Listening Modes are very confusing and unnecessarily complicated.