Onkyo tx-sr702 vs. tx-sr608, considering upgrade

[mareque]

Hi all,
I've been the owner of Onkyo 702 amp for 5 years was and happy with it. I mainly listen to the radio and use the receiver for movies (70/30%). Currently I have a Quadral QLX-160 speaker boxes in 7.1 setup but am considering an upgrade, too, to Paradigm, either monitors or studio. I've an opportunity to trade my Onkyo and, for not a lot of money, buy a newer one, like tx-sr608. My main question is whether, after the receiver 1:1 switch, I may experience any lacks in sound (is the new Onkyo at least as robust as the old one was?). Yes, I care for HDMI switch, but this is not a key factor to decide on whether or not to deal my 702.
I'm also careful for the sub outputs - in 702 I had a chance to connect an active sub over L/R pre-amps and use the subs cross-over to set up my system, the 608 has "2 paralel sub outs" - would it substitute my current connection well? Ok, I use ZONE2 low-level outputs, both AVRs seem to have them.
Audyssey - yes, use once and forget, so seems to be a nice add-on, but not a 'must-have'.
So, is the upgrade an upgrade or not worth it?

Thanks in advance

 

[ZeGhostbear]

Maybe you can demo those Paradigm speakers somewhere. Once I listened to the Studio series I no longer considered the Monitor series, even though I had to wait a little longer to get them. Hopefully they would also be willing to hook up different receivers/amps for you, so you can decide how much you want. Of course you can always just get the 708 now which would give you pre-outs for an external amplifier keeping your options open for later upgrades. Also has Audyssey MultEQ vs. the 608's Audyssey 2EQ.

 

[mareque]

Thanks for the speakers recommendation. One more question...

I'm re-engineering my wires, as of the new AVR and this will be actually a migration for me from analog to digital world
So, does the X(6? 7?)08 series of Onkyo have the option to
1)set up equalizer for digital audio coming over HDMI, say, from a game console or a DVD? (I mean, bass/treble +/- adjustment for the "effective" sound from a HDMI sources)
2)remember EQ and/or listening mode settings per each HDMI separately?

By the time I had only analog audio coming in (all my HDMI devices were coming connected to my TV and then, decoded to analog, were connected over L/R cinch plugs to AVR).

Thanks for sharing your experience.
M

 

[ZeGhostbear]

Here is the manual for the 608:
http://63.148.251.135/redirect_service.cfm?type=own_manuals&file=SN29400239_TX-SR608_En_web.pdf

Some primitive treble/bass adjustments are mentioned on p.52 and p.54, nothing close to an equalizer. The room correction feature should result in much better sound. You can always add a little gain to the subwoofer level for a little extra punch.

On p.49 you can see that there are "Listening Mode Presets" for each input. Works well once you have found your favorite mode for each source. I seem to remember an option on my receiver for "last working" which is nice to have when you are switching modes frequently, not sure whether either the 608 or 708 has that.