Good ole' UPS
. Congrats again on the deal, I am still kicking myself a little for not getting one. I can still get it for $999 though so who knows.
I will probably be kicking myself more after your first impressions.
A little thread necromancy here to make good on my promise of giving some first impressions. I'll try to get some pictures this week.
When I received the box UPS had dropped the box on the right rear corner pretty hard. The foam inside on that side was broken into several pieces. The unit is quite heavy, with a shipping weight of 60 pounds. Most of the weight is on the unit centerline behind the display where the power supply(?) sits. Build quality and packaging are quite good - the unit survived the rough handling and works great. (I tested most of the connections on the back even though I'm currently only using the HDMI, at least until my subwoofer arrives.)
After maneuvering the unit into place I proceeded to hook up the unit to my LCD TV, cable box, PS3, and DVD/VCR, all with HDMI - goodbye component cables and separate audio connections! Speaker connections were easy to route and the wires stayed out of the way, due to the binding posts running along the bottom edge of the back panel. (BTW I'm using some Phillips 16ga wire I got on sale from Fred Meyer.)
When powering up the unit several relay-type clicks can be heard and then the unit's display will light up. The default setting for video output is analog so if you're using HDMI you have to go into setup and set the default to one of the HDMI outputs before you will see anything the first time. Then you have to go into the on-screen menus and set the defaults for cable, game, and other components to HDMI also, their defaults are also the analog connections.
The menus are easy to navigate and will transmit over the HDMI connection to your display. You can set default sound modes, volumes, video processing options, and several other settings individually for each component. Also when making changes that don't require going into the menus (volume, stereo mode, etc.) the change will be displayed on-screen in an unobtrusive white font.
When switching sources or going from HD content to standard and back there is a pause of quite a few seconds before an image is displayed. Also, there is a shorter pause when switching channels. These delays last a few moments longer than the delays I used to get with my Comcast cable box hooked directly to my tv. I have not had any lipsync issues with any of my sources. The unit will not feed video or audio to the tv without it being turned on. Heat production is typical Onkyo. The two warmest parts are upfront in the center and at the right rear corner. After extended operation you can place your hand on it without discomfort but I would definitely not recommend letting the unit sit in a sealed cabinet.
One interesting note, if I'm watching tv and select the radio tuner without doing anything else the video from the cable still feeds to the tv and only the audio is switched to the tuner.
On sound quality: This receiver has made a noticeable improvement to my old speakers (a crappy Sony all-in-one system that's about 13 years old). Surround imaging is much better and detail at low and high volumes remain consistent. I am currently working with Salk Sound to get some Songtowers that should really let this receiver stretch it's legs.
