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onkyo

Onkyo's new AV receiver streams Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, and Internet radio

Last week, Onkyo released its new "HT" line of receivers, and the company has followed-up with two additional models in its traditional "TX" line. The Onkyo TX-NR807 ($1,100) and TX-SR707 ($900) are both available now and are step-ups to the popular TX-SR607 model that we reviewed in April.

The TX-NR807 is the most interesting of the two; on top of normal AV receiver functions, it adds streaming-audio functionality from Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius and Internet radio (using vTuner's database of stations). It's also DLNA 1.5-compliant and capable of playing back MP3, WMA, FLAC, … Read more

Onkyo releases 'new' HT series AV receivers

Onkyo is one of the heavy hitters in the AV receiver market, with its TX-SR lines of AV receivers consistently scoring well in our reviews for their combination of features and performance. Wednesday, Onkyo announced a new line of AV receivers, dubbed the HT series, which includes the HT-RC160 ($550) and HT-RC180 ($1,050).

Although the model name is new, the HT-RC160 is only slightly different from the existing TX-SR line. For example, if you use the "compare" feature on Onkyo's Web site, the major difference between the HT-RC160 and TX-SR607 is that the HT-RC160 has slightly … Read more

Music 2.0: Where stereo rules

Face it: Most people listen to music on CD, LP, radio, or some form of downloaded file, and each and every one is a stereo format.

Even high-resolution formats like SACD have stereo mixes, so it's no surprise that Onkyo just introduced two new stereo components: An integrated stereo amplifier, the A-5VL, and a stereo SACD player, the C-S5VL.

The amp seems like a rational alternative to a feature-laden AV receiver, jam-packed with so much wizardry you need to read and comprehend a 100 page user manual to get it to do much of anything. Stereo is simple; no need to navigate multilayer menus to turn the bass up or down. No, with the stereo Onkyo amp, all you'll ever do is select the input--CD, aux, radio, etc.--and adjust the volume. Then sit back and enjoy the tunes. … Read more

Onkyo flexes some muscle with its new HTIBs

Onkyo's home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems tend to be everything HTIBs usually aren't: big, boxy, and they actually sound pretty good. Today the company rolled out two new 7.1 HTIBs, HT-S7200 and HT-S6200, which are step-ups to the existing HT-S5200 and HT-S3200 (full review).

Onkyo's new HTIBs have several upgrades, but the first thing we noticed is that the systems aren't stuck with the same "pass-through-only" HDMI inputs that plagued the step-down HT-S3200 and HT-S5200. Both the HT-S7200 and HT-S6200 can accept audio over HDMI (you don't need to run separate cables like on … Read more

Onkyo's new Blu-ray player does BD-Live, but no other streaming content

Onkyo is best known for its home theater systems and AV receivers, but the company also produces both Blu-ray and DVD players. Today, Onkyo announced the latest Blu-ray player in its line, the DV-BD507.

The DV-BD507 is the company's first Profile 2.0 player, which means it can play back BD-Live features available on some discs, although you'll need to have an SD card in the slot to download the content. (There's no onboard memory.) Like virtually all the Blu-ray players this year, it has onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential, so you … Read more

Dolby Pro Logic IIz: Taking a second listen

Recently, Steve Guttenberg, our resident audio guru, took a listen to the first AV receiver to offer Dolby Pro Logic IIz. And he wasn't impressed.

Pro Logic IIz is the latest surround format from Dolby Labs. This one utilizes "height speakers" placed above the left and right front-channel speakers. The configuration Guttenberg tested utilized a 7.1 configuration (a standard 5.1 setup, plus 2 height speakers), but Pro Logic IIz is designed to support 9.1 as well (7.1 plus 2). That will presumably be supported in future

According to Dolby's Web site, the advantages of Pro Logic IIz are as follows:

With Dolby Pro Logic IIz, rain in a movie now seems to be actually falling on the listener's roof, concert videos bring a more intense sense of being at the performance, and orchestral works deliver more palpable depth, power, and connection.

In games, the added dimension increases the realism and immerses players more deeply than ever in the action.

Because it processes only nondirectional sounds for the height channels, Dolby Pro Logic IIz maintains the integrity of the source mix and the effects are always appropriate to the material. The added dimension complements the sound from the rear-surround speakers, adding spaciousness while honoring the original intent of the content creator.

Alas, Guttenberg could barely hear a difference when Dolby Pro Logic IIz was engaged: "The height speakers didn't make a discernible difference. I couldn't hear them at all, so I increased the height speaker volume by 3 decibels. Still no difference."

Needless to say, Dolby and Onkyo (the maker of the TX-SR607, which is the first IIz-compatible hardware) weren't too happy with that evaluation. So, we told them we'd give it a second chance, with more ears in the room.

For Round Two, Steve Guttenberg (again), Executive Editor David Carnoy, Senior Associate Editor Matthew Moskovciak, and I crowded into the CNET audio room.… Read more

Onkyo TX-SR607 has six HDMI inputs, stellar sound

When Onkyo announced the TX-SR607, the company made a big deal that it was the first AV receiver to include onboard Dolby Pro Logic IIz processing. Dolby's new format relies on "height" speakers--two satellite speakers situated above the standard front right/left speakers--to create a more "airy" soundscape--or at least that's the idea. We tried our best to enjoy the extra atmospheric effects, but the reality is our ears had a tough time hearing anything beyond placebo effects. But honestly, who cares? The Onkyo TX-SR607 is a great midrange AV receiver without Pro Logic … Read more