Which AV receiver should I buy?--Ask the Editors

The Onkyo TX-SR606 is a great value and packed with features, but it's got competition this year.

The most common question we get at CNET is, "what should I buy?" Unfortunately, instead of just spitting out a product name, that question usually forces us to follow-up with our own questions--how much do you want to spend, what features are important, and so on. However, last year when people asked "which audiovisual receiver should I buy", we actually had a pretty simple answer: the Onkyo TX-SR605. At $400, it was right in the "budget" sweet spot, and it included more next-generation features--such as onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, and analog upconversion--than any other receiver in its price class. Unless you were looking to spend a lot more money, the TX-SR605 was by far the best value.

So which AV receiver should you buy in 2008? Well, it's not that easy this year.

Onkyo has followed up on the TX-SR605 with the TX-SR606, which we reviewed favorably earlier this month. The company managed to make a good thing even better, as the TX-SR606 has four HDMI inputs and can upconvert analog signals to 1080i. And amazingly, for all these updates, the street price is still less than $400. But there are some snags that keep it from being our go-to pick.

The first major problem is that the upscaling video quality on the TX-SR606 just isn't up to snuff. The full details are in the review, but if you're even mildly interested in upconverted analog video quality, you're not going to be happy with your upconverted analog signals with the TX-SR606. There's a significant loss in resolution, and if you're upscaling to 1080i, the TX-SR606 actually adds black bars to the top, bottom and left sides of the image--yikes. If you're only using HDMI devices, it's not a problem, but there are a lot of Nintendo Wii owners out there that want to play Super Mario Galaxy without extra annoying jaggies.

The Sony STR-DG920 has an impressive feature set, and costs only $200 more than the TX-SR606.

The second problem is that Onkyo actually has competition in this price range from Sony. The Sony STR-DG820 has most of the same features as the TX-SR606 (minus upscaling, which isn't really a usable feature on the TX-SR606), and it also goes for $400. Even more enticing is the step-up STR-DG920, which features Sony's icon-driven menu system, XMB, plus upscaling to 1080p--which is likely to be better than TX-SR606's upscaling. We're still trying to get our hands on a STR-DG920 to review--Sony hasn't been receptive to sending us a review sample--but from the specification sheet it looks like it might be worth the price premium if you plan on using an analog video-only device and like the icon-driven approach of Sony's XMB interface.

If you're not set on getting four HDMI inputs, there are some other compelling options out there with HDMI upconversion. Pioneer's VSX-1018AH ($550 street) has three HDMI inputs, as does Denon's upcoming AVR-1909 ($650). Yamaha's RX-V663 only has two HDMI inputs and is selling for about $500. And if you already have a good universal remote, it's pretty easily to add more HDMI connectivity with an HDMI switcher.

Don't get us wrong, the Onkyo TX-SR606 is still a great receiver at an outstanding price point, but Sony and other manufacturers have stepped up to the plate this year to offer similar functionality at competitive prices. So this year when you ask, "what receiver should I buy", you're going to get bunch of questions instead of a simple product name. Sorry.

[nathron]

wow,Idon't know what to say product is getting better but gas and mortgage is putting the economy in an uproar thanks Bush for nothing or should I said dreamer are for dreamer go out there buy aPS3 and enjoy the bluray and games and live life to the fullness is that what life about.

[xZero2007x]

Nathron: Please learn and execute proper English when you can. It totally helps and adds to the article rather than being an eyesore. As for your comments, I don't normally like discussing politics in comment form, but your lack of intelligence or ability to actually research facts opposed to what you hear on the news just sent me over the edge. Yes, products are always improving--that's what moves our market forward. As for the gas and mortgage problems... for the longest time, we've always had cheaper gas than other countries--Japan had prices higher than our current day prices a few years ago on top of their already heavy tax and toll burdens--if you're complaining now, just wake up and take a look around! If you want to live the lifestyle modernized countries usually encourage, then know it comes at a price. Nothing's ever going to stay static unless we become socialists or our market just comes to a halt in terms of innovation, so there will always be times when inflation and other factors drive up living expenses. Inflation adjusted numbers show that we're going through the same trend we've gone through every decade since the industrial revolution. What that means is that we're doing fine. As for the mortgage problems the US is in right now, that's due to idiots and irresponsible lenders working with loans they can't afford! If you can't afford something, or don't even have any back-up savings or plans to compliment your borrowing habit, then just don't do it! The whole thing with the government bailing out those idiots with the recent bill passed by Bush is stupid--if we can't learn a lesson the hard way, what's going to prevent history from repeating itself? As for Bush, he did just fine as a President. If you look at how the people back from 9/11 wanted to go war and find the terrorists, he gave the people what they wanted. We should have known it would be hard and arduous, but our country's just ignorant like that. Everyone's had their heads stuck up the ***** for the longest time that they forgot that when they demand war, they're putting time, money and people's lives on the table. If there was one thing he should have done in hindsight, it should have been warning us about this, but I don't blame him for that error due to the fact that I think most people would have made the same mistake anyways. As for the whole Iraq thing, there's a lot of controversy there, and if anything, seems like a side mission. But if we suspect (despite intelligence errors and such) anyone of anything, it's best to make sure you do a thorough job. With our presence in the mid-east, the muslim world's just gone into a ruckus and imagine the what-if scenario if Saddam were still in power--he'd be a threat to us as much as Iran is to us now. But I'll just emphasize an earlier point: war isn't something that can be done easily and quickly. We asked for it, and we got it. As for the economy itself, Bush's tax cuts for the upper class has caused the middle class to shrink since 2002. That's a fact that anyone could find in the IRS inquiries. Where did the middle class go? Majority of them went towards the upper class, which is a good thing, and is what living in America's all about: opportunity to live the life you want.
If you're interested in reading any of the various resources I used to compile my opinion here today, feel free to contact me through my profile and I'd be glad to share them with you.
Don't talk without thinking, otherwise it'll just show how ignorant one can be. Research facts, not opinions or facts that have been spun to present another point to accompany your opinion. That way, we can all enjoy the articles AND reader's thoughts.

[dean-l]

I had some gas this morning; Bush's fault.

[xZero2007x]

I definitely agree with the article--it all depends on what your home theater requisites are. Because of employee discount (wholesale), I'm going to be forgoing value sets since I have a lot more flexibility in terms of what I can get, but Matthew Moskovciak's right (the editor of this article)--asking for a specific model without any requisites or thought as to how you want to use the system's just going to be a waste of time. Accompany the question with considerations into pricing, what you hope to achieve with the receiver, what speakers you're using currently or planning to look at or how the room is structured.

[stepyourgameup]

I just bought a Denon 988 on sale for $675. Only two HDMI but that's all I need. Nice amp with 110w, network ready so I can play internet radio, pre-amp outputs. If you can still find one then BUY IT.

[Starfires]

Good to see that the HDMI-related features are becoming commonplace, so that we can choose from other aspects. That Sonx with an XMB sounds very enticing- but at the end of the day there are going to be a lot of only slightly-outdated models around that do what I need- essentially to handle the 1080p video and high-resolution 5.1 PCM that my PS3 can output. The rest is just icing on the cake for me, leaving me free to concentrate on sound quality.

[angola20]

I am trying to decide whether to buy a used/refurbished SR605 or a new SR606. Does anyone have an opinion?