I decided recently that it was time to grow up and get rid of my Samsung home-theater-in-a-box. I’ve had it for nearly 3 years now, and though it was a good starter setup, my needs have exceeded it’s capabilities.
Enter the Onkyo TX-SR576.
My current A/V setup includes 3 sources connected via HDMI (PS3, 360 and MacBook). Since my Panasonic plasma only has 2 HDMI inputs in the back, I’ve been using a crappy Monoprice analog switch to swap the signals. Besides being annoying, this provided me with an audio problem. I had to figure out how to get surround sound out of my devices into my Samsung’s single optical digital input. Yet another switch was required to run optical-out of my 360/PS3 to the Samsung, however the switch I bought was really cheap and just didn’t work consistently – save yourself any hassles and just never buy an optical digital switch, they’re junk.
Just to give you an example, playing my XBOX 360, it required me to turn on the TV, choose the HDMI input, then go push the button on the HDMI switch, and also turn the optical switch to #1 to feed the audio to the receiver, then switch the receiver to the optical input. If I was lucky I might actually get audio out of the receiver. The same process was required all over again if I wanted to switch to the PS3. Frustrating.
After doing a ton of research and realistically evaluating my budget, I ended up with the Onkyo TX-SR576. This would be considered by most “audiophiles” to be a beginner’s or budget model, however I find that it’s the best value for your dollar for a number of reasons:
1. The most important aspect of this receiver over all others – it is the ONLY one in it’s price range that can process 5.1/7.1 digital audio over HDMI. This matters because the other receivers simply pass-through the signal to your television, so for example if you’re pushing a Blu-Ray player through the TX-SR576, you can get the surround audio to come through the speakers connected to the receiver. With other receivers you will only get the audio over your television’s speakers. The TX-SR576 does this at a $250 price point, which is amazing. Offerings from Sony, Denon, Yamaha and even Marantz do not give you this feature and though I assume it’s going to be standard across the range of receivers in the future, this is the only “budget” model that currently gives you this flexibility, and it works incredibly well.
2. Linear PCM decoding – For anyone with a modern Blu-Ray player or a PS3 this is another killer feature. Most of these newer devices can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD within the device itself and output over PCM, so the receiver doesn’t have to do the work. So, in the case of the TX-SR576 you don’t need to be bothered that it doesn’t decode DTS-HD or TrueHD because your player does it for you, and spits it out over Linear PCM, which the TX-SR576 can decode, giving you the benefits of these newer audio formats without paying a ton of money for a receiver that has the little logos printed on it.
In conclusion, I’m extremely happy to have a true A/V receiver for the first time in my life. It does everything I need it to do and more, with options for future upgrading (7.1 & bi-amping capability). The TX-SR576 has an automatic Audyssey speaker and EQ setup, which used to only be available on high-end models costing $1000+ and it is a much welcomed feature. Zone 2 is another cool feature which lets you run a second set of speakers in another room via a totally different audio source. You get the standard DTS and Dolbly offerings as well as some Onkyo-specific presets for sound. Onkyo makes an option iPod dock as well, which can be controlled via the remote and information displayed on the unit itself.
My setup now is much more streamlined and easy to use, with the highest quality signals and connections possible. Everything is connected digitally, and accessible via my Harmony 520 remote with a few button presses. Since my optical ports were free I decided to use one of them for my AirPort’s optical out. Oh, wait… you have an AirPort Express and didn’t know it could do digital optical out? Well guess what, it can, and it spits out some really heavenly digital audio at 144khz. Couple this with the Remote App for the iPhone and you have the ultimate in music-geek luxury.
If you’re thinking about stepping into a receiver for the first time, or upgrading to a model with HDMI processing, I have to HIGHLY recommend this model. Onkyo is known for great quality and value and the TX-SR576 is the embodiment of those traditions.
even though I understood about .2% of that, I am a bit jealous!