ONKYO TX-SR601 A/V Receiver REFURBISHED

While doing some fairly extensive research on available HT receivers, those street-priced below my purchase ceiling of $400 (with tax), I soon realized that I would have to spend my limit in order to get a high-quality unit with all the wanted trimmings. Yes, I did see those $300 factory refurbished units at eCost, and wanted badly to pull the trigger on occasion, however, I thought if I could only reach a compromise between the asking price at a brick-n-mortar store vs. that of a factory
refurb unit advertised online, I'd be on it like a tick on a dog! Well, it happened!

With the bulk of research behind me, there were a handful of receivers I felt commanded my respect, while still sitting at or below my $400 ceiling. Honestly, I did pay additional consideration to the Denon and Onkyo units. In alpha-order, the receivers were:

Denon AVR-1804
Harman Kardon AVR-230
Onkyo TX-SR601
Yamaha RX-V740

I'd finally decided "research over", I'd make my purchase before the weekend. A visit to a local Tweeter store turned-up a $100-off ($399 to $299) sale on Denon's AVR-1604. A very nice unit, but feature-wise, a grade lower than I wanted. Could I possibly get the manager to drop the price of Denon's AVR-1804 from $499 to $399? Not today. Next stop, Best Buy. It was at Best Buy that I realized why my research was so important. OK, where to next? Let's try Circuit City (again). I remembered them having all the receivers on my list, except the Denon brand. Once there, I
immediately saw that they'd dropped the price on a new Onkyo TX-SR601 from $499 to $449. Hey, now we're getting warm! Nosing around a bit more, I noticed that they had two OPEN-BOX 601s for $429 each. That's when I went for broke! I prompted the sales clerk to tell his manager of my $400 drive-out offer on one of the OPEN-BOX 601s. Trying to steal a bit of whispered cross-talk between the two, I could not gather enough information to conclude if Yes or No. After about 5-minutes, the manager exited while the sales clerk pounded away on his POS register. A few moments more passed when the sales clerk finally asked me if $395 drive-out would be OK? Well..... I suppose.....

Heck Yea! Bring it out to the car, NOW!

Also, of the two OPEN-BOX 601s there, I got to pick the one I wanted! The one I picked just happened to be one that was put on the floor the previous day. It looked like it had just been unboxed, and not a finger-print on it! Of course, I had to take it naked (no box), but it came with every available
accessory and a full 2-year factory warranty. Keep the box and give me my $75-$80 savings!

MY TAKE ON ONKYO RECEIVERS IN GENERAL:

Well-known is Onkyo's long-sustained reputation for building affordable, high-quality receivers. To many, Onkyo receivers seem to have a purer sound over that of the competing brands. Reason? Well, I believe it's primarily the fact that Onkyo integrates superior low-noise, high-current amplifiers into
their receiver lineup. Whether driven at a whisper, or cranked to rated limits, Onkyo amps are up to the task. Even while driving a set of 4-ohm speakers (a real challenge for many receivers because the amps are driven harder), an Onkyo will kick-it-out effortlessly!

Delivering on that purer sound, an Onkyo tends to run hotter than most (Harman Kardon integrates a highly-regarded heat-generating amp set into their receiver lineup as well). Because of this, when compared to other receiver brands, Onkyo recommends nearly 4-5 additional inches of clearance above the receiver chassis. In summary, the Onkyo's upside is a clean sounding unit with power to spare, while the downside is unusual heat generation and the resulting additional real-estate required for proper dissipation.

MY TAKE ON THE TX-SR601:

While I could list many features I like about the 601, some would be superfluous in that those features are pretty-much the norm for receivers in this class. Instead, on the upside, I'll list those qualities I believe unique. The 601 does have some downside also, and I'll list whatever those items are as well.
All in all, though, the good far out-weighs the bad.

Upside:

- Subwoofer crossover can be adjusted from a low-end of 60Hz to
a high-end of 150Hz.
- Zone 2 line out (can simultaneously play differing source
material to two different locations).
- IntelliVolume feature allows switching of sources to arrive at
same or user adjusted volume levels.
- Ability to efficiently drive 4-ohm speakers.
- High-current amps provide additional headroom above power
rating.
- Color-coded rear panel layout sports I/O connections aplenty,
comfortably spaced apart.
- Long-standing reputation for reliability.

Downside:

- Unusual heat generation from receiver amps prompts additional
clearance requirement.
- Remote control requires multiple key presses when switching
sources; no back-lighting.
- No video conversion to component level (conversion is
Composite -> S-Video only).

** NOTE ON VIDEO CONVERSTION:
I've researched HT receivers in this price-class from A-Z, and
found none that will convert video to the component level.
That said, this feature is very desireable because it's use
would keep most cable-bulk away from the TV. Said differently,
one would not be required to compromise aesthetics (cable-
bulk) to gain component-level video quality from desired
source(s).

[Conclusion]:

After a full month of ownership, I can heartily recommend Onkyo's TX-SR601. From the hours put-in researching all possible candidates, I can say without reserve that IT IS the best HT receiver available today under $500 MSRP.

My first reaction was that the sound volume was too low, I had to turn up to 70/100 to hear it. Then I figured out that you can change your speaker levels, awesome feature. So I turned up my front speakers 10dB and instantly I got the result I wanted.

If you have the receiver hooked up to a TV, during the setup, the menu shows on screen, which makes it a lot easier to setup. It also lets you choose to your speaker distance in feet or meters of how far you are from the speakers and the receiver will adjust the speakers to you.

The sound is very crisp, and even when you turn on surround sound, the receiver is delivering plenty of power to all speakers. Not like the average surround sound systems, when you actually enable center speakers, you lose 30% of your volume.

The backside has all the connectors you could ever wish for, it does get a little jammed back there, but once it is all connected, you're set.

The remote is pretty handy, although it is way to big for my taste.

I trust this receiver will last me at least 10 years with superior sound quality. For $350 (amazon.com) and FREE shipping you can not beat the bang for the buck, anywhere. I would be willing to bet on it.

If you are the home uset that likes to have high quality hi-fi systems, but don't want to spend $1000 on a receiver, this one will blow you away, and you will have money over to buy a really nice pair of speakers. And if you are in to design, this version comes in silver as well.

Thumbs Up! Get it before it is too late.