Onkyo TX-SR602 -- 7 or 6 channels?

[Shaft0rz]

I just picked one up from ecost.com, so it may seem a little strange for me to be asking how many channels it is. There's a sticker on the front that says 7.1. All the ads I see for it are 7.1. The back panel
http://www.onkyousa.com/images/products/Receiver/large/TXSR602r.jpg has binding posts for 7 channels (or 5.1 + zone 2).

Yet http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR602&p=f&class=Receiver says it has 6 channels.

The majority of people saying 7.1 (and the fact that it has outputs for 4 surround speakers...) makes me think the spec page is wrong, and that it's actually 7.1.

Either way, the thing sounds great and I'm only running 5.1 right now, but I'm just a little curious....

Thanks for any insight,
Peter L.

 

[Takeereasy]

It is a 7.1 receiver. It does provide only 6 discreet channels because that is the highest amount of discreet channels that there is in existance (except for certain Yammies and very high end units I believe). 7.1 is a matrixed signal, meaning they split the information meant for the discreet 6th channel into two signals and by doing so they allow sound to come from 7 speakers as opposed to 6. DD ex and DTS es are the two most common decoders that use a 6th channel and allow you to matrix up to seven. I do think that Onkyo should be clearer on their website with this info, but rest assured it is indeed a true 7.1 receiver.

 

[MDS]

The Onkyo website is frequently wrong. So are the spec listings at sites like Crutchfield. When in doubt, download the manual for the receiver. In my experience with Onkyo, the manuals are accurate.

 

[Shaft0rz]

Ahh, thanks for the tip. I didn't realize 7.1 was 6.1 with a split rear channel, that would've cleared things up.

Either way, my most likely use of it will be 5.1 + powered zone 2 anyway, so I was set either way