Looking for a new receiver. What are your opinions about the Onkyo TX-SR805?

[guitarplyrstevo]

How much of an improvement would an 805 be compared to my current onkyo tx-sr574? I don't need to crank the receiver to extreme levels since my room is very small (9x9 bedroom for now until i get out of college). I currently have 2 Polk Audio RTi12's as my front left and right, and I will be getting my center and rear surrounds in the future. Besides connectivity, would there be a big difference in sound quality compared to my current 574?

I forgot to mention that the 805 is going for $600. Since I work at an electronics store, I can tell all my other associates to not sell it so the price can drop a little more (since its sitting in the backstock) but I am afraid my supervisor will find out and put it out on the floor and someone will buy it. So what would you guys say would be a good deal on that 805?

 

[adk highlander]

With a room that small and only running two speakers the extra power it offers will not do you too much good. The reason I would see going to the 805 would be if you needed/wanted HDMI and the new lossless audio codec's.

The multizone, room correction and upconversion are also nice features and down the road when you get a bigger place this unit would drive a full surround system quite nicely.

600 bucks is a great deal on that unit. My only comment as an Onkyo owner is that you need to have breathing room around this units. They do get warm and good airflow is a must.

 

[dssmith999]

Reply

Shoponkyo had the refurbish for 499 the other day. The good thing about the refurb is it comes with newer firmware. They run hot but who cares if you have the breathing room. They have had issues with signal lock delays that could be quite annoying and if you use component video there will be lip-sync issues. SQ was very good though! I had one for about 3 weeks before returning because I was sensitive to the lip-sync. New firmware may fix these issues but it is a crapshoot IMO. Good luck

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

So aside from more power (something I won't use due to my room size) and connectivity, it will sound exactly the same as my tx-sr574?

 

[adk highlander]

In general that may generally be true. Changes in sound quality in many cases are source dependant. If you hook up an 8-track it will sound like crap through a 5000 dollar receiver. If you are going to say go from analog to digital connections where you could take advantage of the digital processing that is improved in the 805 then you would see an increase in sound quality.

What are your sources?

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

Well I have my computer connected to my receiver with an optical cable, but in the future I plan to get a blu ray player.

So are you telling me I will hear absolutely the same sound from the 805 as my 574?

 

[adk highlander]

I would guess you would hear differences in the dynamic range of the music and movies you listen too. The bigger amp section may give you more punch at lower volumes. Don't get me wrong the 805 has much better DA converters than the 574. I honestly don't know if you could here the difference. If you are going to get a blu-ray player then I would not hesitate to upgrade. The new audio codecs do offer lossless sound quality and will do onboard decoding so you will have many choices for players.

 

[PENG]

I think the RTi12 will like the 805 better. The 574 is a little weak for those large speakers regardless of your room size.