Onkyo 703-has anyone tried?

[arielshiran]

Hi,
I am looking for a receiver to be connected to a set of Energy Take speakers and wanted to know if anyone has any experience with this new Onkyo model. My other options are Denon 2805/Yamaha 1500/HK 435. European reviews of the former 702 model were great and the build quality of Onkyo's receivers is well-known.
I plan using the receiver for both music and movies about 50% each.
Please let me know what you think should be my choice and tell me whatever you know about the 703 and if there are any reviews of it.
Thanks!

 

[KrisJ]

The 703/803 havent been out very long. Might have a hard time finding feedback this early

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

The 702 and 3 sound the same, so if you've heard the 702, you get the picture. The main difference is the new face and I also noticed it is considerably lighter than the 702.

All of the options are nearly identical except the fact that the 703 has the XM radio option, which I might add is convenient, but not as user friendly if you don't have experience with XM. It also has the iPod interface.

One thing that bugs me is they put one light in the volume dial instead of two, thus making only the top of the dial light up. I think that was kind of cheap on Onkyo's part.

~Chuck

 

[DaveOCP]

Personally, I think Onkyo quality has really gone down hill. The TX-DS939 was a battle tank, they just dont make products like that anymore. A friend had a 797 that failed in something like a year and a half, which is pretty pathetic for an $800 receiver. The TX-NR1000 is pretty cool, but otherwise I havent been impressed with Onkyo's efforts lately.

Id suggest looking at Pioneer, Denon, or Marantz instead.

 

[MDS]

You could say the thing thing about any brand. When a company produces millions of receivers, there is bound to be a few that go bad. For what it's worth, I've had Onkyo receivers that were approaching ten years old without a single problem before I gave them away. My current receiver has no problems at all either. I've never had a problem with any of them.

If you go solely on anecdotal evidence from people complaining on forums you would think that H/K makes the absolutely worst receivers on the planet. There are hundreds of posts on every forum about quality control with H/K - there seems to be a reason they sell alot of 'refurbs' on ebay. For every one of the posts about new or refurb receivers that were broken the day they were received, you get lots of other posts saying the user thinks their H/K is the greatest thing since sliced bread - just like I'm saying every Onkyo I've ever owned has been perfect.

 

[JPW]

Personally, I think Onkyo quality has really gone down hill. The TX-DS939 was a battle tank, they just dont make products like that anymore. A friend had a 797 that failed in something like a year and a half, which is pretty pathetic for an $800 receiver. The TX-NR1000 is pretty cool, but otherwise I havent been impressed with Onkyo's efforts lately.

I couldn't agree more. I owned an Intgra DTR 7.1 It failed a little over two years old, with a three year mfg warranty. It was a battle to get Onkyo/Integra to replace it. So much so that I vowed never to buy another Onkyo/Integra product. The replacement Integra DTR 7.4 isn't near the quality (build wise) of the 7.1. While fighting with them for a replacement, I realized I would have been better off with Yamaha or Denon.

My suggestion is you check out both the Yamaha and Denon receivers, then decided what you like better. Personally I'd buy Yamaha.

 

[DaveOCP]

Thats what I was getting at. It isnt just failure rates, Onkyo simply doesnt have good build quality anymore. Compared to the 939, the 989 seems pretty flimsy. I'm not really a fan of Yamaha receivers, but in my opinion at least Denon and Pioneer build better receivers now than they did 10 years ago. Marantz I'm not so sure about. The SR-9600 is well built.. but better than monsters like the SR-18EX? I dont think so.

 

[arielshiran]

3 weeks have passed

Has anyone tried the Onkyo 703 yet?

 

[Dryseals]

I just bought one about two weeks ago, so far I'm very happy. They had both last years model and the new models. Last years model seemed much heavier, so I would suspect the power transformer has change somewhat and I almost did not buy it. I'm old school, it's not easy to create that much power without an hefty transformer. It replaced an older Onkyo surround system that was an add on. My older system was a Niko pre amp feeding a Sony ES power amp split off to the Onkyo. I'm still running some older model AR 610s and for the rears some AR 19s with DIY JBL sub and DIY Bose/AR center channel.

Set up was very easy and straight forward and I like the settings is made for the THX, you have to do a tad bit of lieing to get the speakers lined up without the right and left surrounds but it can be done. The only thing I have found that I do not like, is that I cannot set the EQ for different input devices, that would make for a very nice option and if it is possible, then I have yet to figure it out.

Anything in particular you want to know, give me a yell and I'll see what I can do.

 

[kelly]

I have an onkyo TX-ds777 2000 model. I have abused this reciever in every sense of the word, and almost never listen at low volume. I have yet to expeience any problems with it. I am however shopping around for a new reciever, and probably will not buy another onkyo. I don't believe the build quality is what is was. I have also owned some of onkyo lower end products that weren't worth the box they came in. You definatley have to go high into the onkyo line up to get any quality. Take a look at the NAD 763, and the 773.

 

[sokrman14]

The 703 is a great receiver. It has great power output and packed with features like component upconversion for high def tv's. Sound quality on it is great. In comparison to something like the HK it will have a little fuller sound. The HK's tend to run a little flatter. It will produce more close to the sound of the Denon and Yamaha, but get more features, and in my opinion, still better quality for your money. Denon's are a little over rated

 

[arielshiran]

Kelly, Dryseals and Dorkman- a few questions

I really consider the NAD T763 as an alternative but I think that its lack of the audio delay (lip sync.) feature may be critical when I upgrade my TV to a new digital display. Therefore, I am afraid to buy this model (and it may be my mistake not to take it just because its lack of this feature).
Other options I have for the same price are Denon 2805, Yamaha 1500, HK 435, NAD T763 and for about 20% more Marantz 7500 and Rotel 1056.
As I understood from you, you wouldn't take the Onkyo. My question is: Are there any other better options in the models I mentioned? I live outside the US and the prices here for all the models I mentioned are the same besides the Marantz which is more expensive. What would you recommend?
Have you checked these models as well? Are these models cost the same in the US?

 

[arielshiran]

Everybody is welcome to help...

Your advice is highly appreciated.
Thanks.