Customer Reviews

Onkyo TXLR552S Silver Slimline Design Receiver

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

 

 

I did not purchase this reveiver through Amazon... but want to share my experience with those who are considering buying this receiver. I chose this receiver because it was digital, compact and inexpensive. It is supposed to generate less heat - I put it in the closet along with my Panasonic DVD player (home theater setup) and they barely get hot. The receiver is rated at 65w per channel so it probably can't drive big, floor-standing speakers efficiently but I hooked it up to a set of 6.1 JBL satelitte speakers (2 front, 1 center, 3 rear speakers and 1 subwoofer) and DVD movies sound terrific. Its slim design and moderately light weight makes me feel safer setting it on my glass shelf. I only encountered one inconvenience during set up - I had to manually tell the receiver which optical digital connection my DVD player was using. This issue is covered in the user manual so you won't be lost. Overall, I'm very happy with the features and performance of the Onkyo TX-LR552.

The main reason I bought this receiver is because two things work together to make it simple:

1. It does video upconversion. That means I can plug my VCR into this with an RCA connector, and I can plug my computer into it with an S-Video cable, and I can plug my VCR into it with Component Video cables, and all I have to send to my TV is a single set of Component Video cables - it converts from the other cables automatically.

2. The front of the device only has a few buttons - there is the power button, the big volume knob, left and right buttons for tuning the radio, and a button to choose what device to listen to/watch (VCR/TV/etc.)

So what I end up with is a box where all someone has to do is hit 1 button (i.e., the VCR button) and the VCR is being shown on the TV. I like this simplicity. If you are going for simplicity, though, watch out for the remote control - it's rather large and confusing. I just used a universal learning remote that I already had that is nice and simple - the Sony RM-VL700S.

The one downside I've run into so far is that the "TV" input does not have a S-Video connector - only the RCA connector. So I have my Satellite Receiver plugged into "Video 2" with the S-Video cable and all is well - I just wish it could be the "TV" button.

I decided on this reciever a couple of months ago, and just this weekend it was available at a retail store for dirt cheap, so I went ahead and purchased it.

So far I really like it. It's small, simple, and it works well. I have a good set of speakers plugged into it, and I'm planning to buy an Infinity Sub to go with it.

I would highly recommend this receiver to others.

With the Panasonic sa-xr55 going for under two hundred fifty bucks and the new xr57 going for about three hundred, this receiver (which offers almost-as-good sound quality though fewer features and less power) would only be worth buying if you can get it for significantly less: a hundred to a hundred fifty, in my opinion.

I had it for about a week before taking it back, which I now regret since I had bought it as an open-box from Fry's for just a hundred bucks...would be an ideal bedroom or office receiver, can easily be hooked up to your computer. It's a bit more attractive looking than the Panasonics, and curiously lets you set the lowest crossover at 60Hz instead of the Pannys' floor of 80Hz. The sound is just a smidgen coarser, more so at higher volumes. For moderate levels esp. of casual listening it would be more than adequate though, and far preferable to any traditional analog receiver under two to three hundred dollars---those God-awful Sonys in particular.