Onkyo SR803, plus a HDMI receiver question...

[patrickvp]

Greetings! New member. Hopefully I won't embarass myself TOO quickly.

I'm looking at equipment for a new home theater, and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the Onkyo SR803 receiver. I originally found this one because it was a 7.1, has HDMI switching, THX Select2 certification, and seems to be hovering around $800. I haven't seen any reviews out there.

By the way, if anyone knows of a different 7.1 receiver that is cheap (below$1000), has HDMI switching, and THX, please let me know, as I'd like to look at them all. I'm also not really interested in having a million inputs; the plan is to have it switch between DVD player and a computer.

I also had an HDMI question, based off the specs for this receiver. While it does have HDMI switching (2 in/1 out), it says on the spec sheet that it does NOT do any upconversion. I initially thought this was no big deal, as the DVD players I'm looking at do the upconversion. But would this work? Can I pass an upconverted signal through the receiver and have it go back out to the projector unchanged? Or does the receiver need to be capable of upconversion?

Sorry if its a stupid question, but I only learned about HDMI a couple days ago.

Oh, while I'm here, an even simpler question: Which is better for inputs? Digital Coax, or Digital Optical.

 

[jcPanny]

HDMI receivers.

You should be able to find the Yamaha RX-V1600 and Pioneer Elite 74??? models with HDMI switching from around $1K.

Concerning your receiver purchase, make sure you understand the significance of the following features:
Video Conversion - Ability to take a composide, s-video, or component video input and output over the HDMI cable.
Up-scalling - ability to take a 480p video signal and upscale to 720p or 1080i. The Yamaha RX-V2600 ($1300) is the only receiver that includes this feature.

If you don't have more than 1 HDMI source, you might consider saving money and buying a Yamaha RX-V2500 or Denon 3805 for $7-800. You can directly connect a single HDMI source to the HDTV and you can always add an external HDMI switch box for $200, if necessary.

Coax and Optical are the same quality for digital inputs.

 

[DaveOCP]

Greetings! New member. Hopefully I won't embarass myself TOO quickly.

I'm looking at equipment for a new home theater, and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the Onkyo SR803 receiver. I originally found this one because it was a 7.1, has HDMI switching, THX Select2 certification, and seems to be hovering around $800. I haven't seen any reviews out there.

By the way, if anyone knows of a different 7.1 receiver that is cheap (below$1000), has HDMI switching, and THX, please let me know, as I'd like to look at them all. I'm also not really interested in having a million inputs; the plan is to have it switch between DVD player and a computer.

I also had an HDMI question, based off the specs for this receiver. While it does have HDMI switching (2 in/1 out), it says on the spec sheet that it does NOT do any upconversion. I initially thought this was no big deal, as the DVD players I'm looking at do the upconversion. But would this work? Can I pass an upconverted signal through the receiver and have it go back out to the projector unchanged? Or does the receiver need to be capable of upconversion?

Sorry if its a stupid question, but I only learned about HDMI a couple days ago.

Oh, while I'm here, an even simpler question: Which is better for inputs? Digital Coax, or Digital Optical.

I'd suggest Marantz SR-8500, Denon 3806, or Pioneer 74TXVi. Onkyo used to build great products, but their quality has taken a serious nose dive. The 8500 technically has DVI switching, but thats close enough. The HDMI 1.1 ports currently on receivers are already obsolete, anyway. The Pioneer has the most bang for the buck in terms of connection options, with Firewire, HDMI, switching (including analog to HDMI conversion, not on all HDMI receivers) XM radio, and iPod support. If your DVD player already upconverts a DVD to 1080i, you wont need the receiver to do any upconverting.

As for coax vs. optical, you'll get different answers depending on who you talk to. Optical is more prone than coax to jitter, but it is completely immune to RF and EMI interference. Either format can sound very good, provided that you use glass optical cables, or well shielded coax cables. Personally, I tend to prefer coax.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

I have been a fan of Onkyo for a while, but as stated earlier, they are starting to slide.

I use the 803 in my sound room at work and I have to say it isn't nearly as strong as the 801. It doesn't the same punch that the 801 did, as well as being signficantly lighter, which seemed odd.

Just my .02.

~Chuck

 

[patrickvp]

Thanks all!

Bummer about Onkyo, then. I liked the look of the player. I'm not a super-high-end audiophile (yet), but I figure two "going downhill" comments should warrant some caution.

I'll dig through the others. I *may* be able to forgo the HDMI switching for now, but I have a nasty feeling I'd be wanting it later. I didn't know HDMI was "unstable" though. I did a quick search elsewhere, and apparently its wreaking havoc with random crashes and other nasty bits.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I have been a fan of Onkyo for a while, but as stated earlier, they are starting to slide.

I use the 803 in my sound room at work and I have to say it isn't nearly as strong as the 801. It doesn't the same punch that the 801 did, as well as being signficantly lighter, which seemed odd.

Just my .02.

~Chuck

Onkyo's are nice for PC connectivity. You can always go this route, and wait a few years to really upgrade when the newer units have some type of HD/Blu Ray DVD connections, true 7.1 discrete surround processing, and improved HDMI connections. My guess is in a few years, most amps will be digital - but only time will tell.

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=20578&FEID=130&PMNID=1121&ASaP=1

 

[MDS]

Bummer about Onkyo, then. I liked the look of the player. I'm not a super-high-end audiophile (yet), but I figure two "going downhill" comments should warrant some caution.

Two "downhill" comments are absolutely meaningless when there are millions of Onkyo owners and no specific evidence was provided. I've had many Onkyo receivers over the years and have never had a single problem with any of them.

You need to read a whole lot more and try out receivers yourself before you can make an informed decision. Same goes for other 'facts' you sometimes see posted - case in point: 'optical cables are more prone to jitter than coax cables'. Cables cannot affect jitter! Jitter is inherent in any digital audio system but the levels of modern components is so small that it is inconsequential and entirely inaudible.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

Two "downhill" comments are absolutely meaningless when there are millions of Onkyo owners and no specific evidence was provided. I've had many Onkyo receivers over the years and have never had a single problem with any of them.

Well put. In my comment I was just stating that the newer 800 series model (803) doesn't seem as well built as the older one (801), mainly because it isn't as heavy, and it doesn't seem to push out as much sound as the older one did. I swapped out the 803 for the 801 as soon as I got it in, and played it on the same speakers. I just felt that the 801 was more hardy compared to the 803. I am by no means saying that the 803 is a poorly built receiver, I'm just saying I don't think it is as good as the last one.

~Chuck

 

[patrickvp]

Point taken. I was just looking to get a sense of peoples feelings about it (since I know very little). Course, there's a guy at work who swears by his Onkyo, so I know there's a certain "perception" factor. I'm certainly not ruling it out (heck, I a couple months away from buying anyway, I think), but I was interested to see what others people here would recommend.

 

[JPW]

Onkyo Sucks!

Two "downhill" comments are absolutely meaningless when there are millions of Onkyo owners and no specific evidence was provided. I've had many Onkyo receivers over the years and have never had a single problem with any of them.

Well I've owned two Integra receivers (Onkyo High End) and I will tell you that I'm not impressed. The first one failed under warranty, and it was a B!tch getting them to replace it. 4 Months, 5 trips to the shop, and to many phone calls and emails to mention, before they (Onkyo) steped up to the plate. The replacement I received has problems as well. Unfortunately, they won't do anything about it as they count my warranty from the day the first unit was purchased.

So take it from me, AVOID ONKYO! There are to many other good offerings, and I've read to many Onkyo horror stories like mine. If I were you, I'd try Yamaha or Denon.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

So take it from me, AVOID ONKYO! There are to<b>o</b> many other good offerings, and I've read to many Onkyo horror stories like mine. If I were you, I'd try Yamaha or Denon.

Obviously a very biased statement. Every company has their horror stories. I had a couple come into my store swearing that Denon only makes crap because theirs failed on them more times than they cared for. Nobody is immune from it.

~Chuck

 

[JPW]

Obviously a very biased statement. Every company has their horror stories. Nobody is immune from it.

Obviously I'm biased, two failed units from the same manufacture is not a good track record. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that there is no such thing as a warranty if the manufacture doesn't want to honor it. If you had to deal with the crap and hell Onkyo made me go threw to get a replacement, you might feel as I do. Unless you've been there, you wouldn't understand. As for me an my money, we'll avoid Onkyo at all cost in the future.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

Obviously I'm biased, two failed units from the same manufacture is not a good track record. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that there is no such thing as a warranty if the manufacture doesn't want to honor it. If you had to deal with the crap and hell Onkyo made me go threw to get a replacement, you might feel as I do. Unless you've been there, you wouldn't understand. As for me an my money, we'll avoid Onkyo at all cost in the future.

Well I'm glad you got two failed units instead of two people each getting one, because then Onkyo would have lost two customers. Just kidding

In your situation I would have done the same thing, so I can't say I wouldn't be biased. I'm also surprised that Onkyo was being stingy with their warranties, I have never had a complaint about them from customers. The only Onkyo product I own is their 6 disc cd changer and it has been great for me.

Sony on the other hand, is a weird situation with me. A lot of their products are crap, but every time something goes wrong, they have always backed up their stuff. Out of all the mechanical issues I have had, I haven't had one customer service issue with them... Weird how that works!

~Chuck