Showing posts with label dolby truehd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dolby truehd. Show all posts

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Yamaha RX-V1065BL 7.2-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

Yamaha RX-V1065BL 7.2-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I needed to replace a couple of old receivers so I found a great deal on the RX-V1065 and RX-V765 on Amazon. I ended up getting both of them for aboout what 2 V665's would have cost me a a Big Box store. I first setup my Main Theate Room with the 1065, I thought it was somewhat difficult to get everything the way I wanted it but the automatic speaker setup was slick and the sound is fantastic compared to my old Sony I had previously. The Menu system takes some getting use to but once you do it's not bad to navigate. All in all I was pretty darn happy with my purchase, My JBL's sounded much better then before and although I didn't really notice any difference in video quality, it was as good as before and now I had everything coming thru the same box. Surround sound was a huge step up from my old receiver also, you are almost looking behind you now because you'd swear someone is behind you, where on my old Sony it was more or less a quieter front speaker.
I then went to hook up my 765 in my cave TV room, first thing that I noticed was that is basically identical to the 1065, sure the menu system is not as polished but as far as the functionality that I need it is the same. I have a few year old Bose surround sound in this room with a JBL center chanel speaker and what a HUGE difference this receiver made over my old Onkyo, the Onkyo was really good for music but surround sound was sub par, but it was 10 years old I guess. Granted I'm only hooking up a Xbox 360, blue ray and TV in this room but watching Vikes beat up the the Packers in surround sound with this receiver was great, I haven't figured out which sound field I like best but there are a couple perfect for sports.
One of the coolest things was when I grabbed the TV remote from my Samsung LCD by mistake to turn the volume down and it says RX-V765 un the upper corner and starts to tun down the volume of the receiver from the TV, displaying the volume the whole time it's changing. I guess that Anynet capability on the Samsung TV's with a HDMI reciever gives you a few more bells and whistles. Also really cool is when I turn on the Xbox or turn off the TV the receiver will come on or off accordingly. I haven't setup the remote for additionaly devices yet, but it seems to be easy to use and is exactly the same for the 765 and 1065, I actually expected the remote to be better for the 1065 so i was a little disapointed when I saw it, but in using it it seems OK/
One thing I do not like is the Zone 2 ability on the 1065, I almost wish is was more or less a A/B speaker selector, I have a normal 5 speaker surround setup, in addition to that I have 2 speakers in the kitchen, right behind the TV room which are connect to Zone 2 that when I'm listening to music we like to have on so that you have more sound. The problem is that Zone 2 running the same input as the Main Room is off by a few fractions of a second and if you stand right between the 2 rooms, it sounds like the song is a half a second behind in the kitchen, I tried the lipsync thing, which only made it worse, I haven't given up on it yet, but it's not obvious how to fix this.
Bottom Line -
Both the 1065 and the 765 have more inputs than I know what to do with.
Neither have HDMI on the front, I didn't want it anyway, as I think it looks stupid to set all your equipment up and then have a big cable hanging off the front of your system anyway. That's why the put the jacks on the back, right???
May not have quite as many sound fields as some others out there, but I pick the 2 or 3 I like for movies, sports and music anyway and don't care about the rest.
The YPAO is cool and works great to setup the speakers.
The onscreen Menu is better on the 1065 but adequate on the 765.
HI-DEF Radio sounds amazing on both.
Don't think I will ever use the remotes as universal remotes, but they are adequate for running the receivers.
I cannot comment much on the video conversion, as everything I am running is HDMI and looks the same as it die running straight into the TV.
Sound on both of these is fantastic, even at volumes that start to hurt, the sound is clear, the bass is crisp not slow and there is no distortion, my old receivers would make my speakers start to hiss at a much lower volume, and these receivers never do.
Save yourself some money though get the 765, once it's all setup and you don't need to go into the menu anymore, you'll never notice the difference.
I read a lot of reviews and narrowed it down to Onkyo and Yamaha, at last second I pulled the trigger on Yamaha and for what I paid on Amazon for the 2 of them I am thrilled with my purchase

Click Here to see more reviews about: Yamaha RX-V1065BL 7.2-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver (Black)

Yamaha RX-V1065BL 7.2-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver

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Monday, January 9, 2012

Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I'll start by saying I'm not an Audiophile. I just wanted a decent mid-range receiver that does all the latest lossless audio formats and has 7.1 channels so it's ready to take advantage of BluRay as that format evolves. So my primary focus is on a system that plays audio for movies and video games as it's primary function. Currently I have this receiver setup in a 5.1 configuration since that's the type of receiver it replaced. I have more speakers on order to expand it out but to be honest, right now if you're building a home theater from scratch, you only need 5.1 . The 7.1 specs aren't really supported yet and DVDs and Playstation/Xbox are all 5.1, so if you're starting from scratch save some money and setup for 5.1 first and expand as support grows.
I used the automated speaker calibration feature to setup all the channels. This is where you place the provided mic at ear level at three different listener positions. The receiver then sends out tones which will drive you and your dog nuts for about 15 minutes while the entire process goes on. Once it was done however, I was/am very pleased with the results.
I've heard some people ask about humming, i can detect no humming. I have some WiFi equipment close by which is 2.5 ghz and so far have not heard any humming. Some other people have said the Receiver runs hot to which I would ask those people, is this your first receiver? They do run hot ! This one runs no hotter than the old one i replaced from a different manufacturer so as far as I'm concerned, the heat issue is normal. I have it in a small component rack that's enclosed on the sides and back with a door on the front, it's got maybe half an inch space around the sides and 2 inches of space on top and so far everything is good.
The back has tons of inputs, but the primary reason I waited for the 606 over the previous model is the number of HDMI ports, the next generation audio/video cable which is a requirement for full resolution BluRay playback. They're rev 1.3a to support all the latest audio formats as well (none of which are currently supported by the discs themselves yet though). The receiver will pass through a 1080p signal from a BluRay or other high def video source. If you feed it a standard def 480i video source, it will upscale it to 1080i or 720p. It does a decent job but i would say upscaling isn't the receivers strong point, it does an acceptable job though. But lets face it, Onkyo doesn't build TV's, their bread and butter isn't video, it's audio.
I'm pleased with the performance and the styling of the receiver, it's just very basic and sleek. No built in graphical user interface and all that other nonsense that receivers 3x this price but no more times the performance come equipped with. This receiver for a mid end system for movies and video games just really can't be matched in terms of performance per dollar spent.
I have matched this receiver with some Polk Audio speakers. Specifically i have a Polk CSi3 center channel and six Polk RTi4 bookshelf speakers (all of which you can find at great prices here on Amazon where I ordered them from) and I am very very happy with the results. The Polk speakers like the Onkyo 606 receiver are over achievers for their price point, so they match together extremely well.
The only thing I have left to say is buy it, I wouldn't hesitate recommending this receiver to anyone looking for a solid movie/video game home theater experience.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

As part of the second generation of Onkyo high-definition-capable receivers, the TX-SR606 is at the forefront of affordable home theater. The key is to have the most capable version of HDMI. The TX-SR606 provides high-definition video and audio processing for four source components—another first for Onkyo at this level. From Blu-ray Disc players to gaming consoles and cable/satellite boxes, you have everything in the digital realm covered. Apart from 1080p video, the TX-SR606 can upscale all video signals to 1080i, regardless of the connection, for output via HDMI. Onkyo's own RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) also gives you inter-operability with the displays and playback components from other leading brands. And with an expanded version of Audyssey's room correction technology, the TX-SR606 maintains the fullness of surround sound audio quality at low volume levels. The TX-SR606 offers all-round excellence rarely seen at this level.

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
My previous receiver was a 9 year old Sherwood. It was a little above a low end unit. It started buzzing and I decided it was time for a replacement. I have 2 nice Wharfdale floor speakers, a nice center, decent rear surrounds and 2 really decent sub woofers.
I read extensive reviews on several brands and decided that I would purchas Onkyo. I went to Fry's looking for the 606 model. They were sold out and just received the 607. I purchased the 607.
I wanted something HDMI based that allowed audio through the HDMI cables. The thing was a snap to set up. Make sure to run an HDMI cable to your TV from the receiver so that you can do on screen programming.
As I said, I have 2 sub woofers and the 607 has two output RCA jacks to enable 2 subs. No more RCA splitters. I fired the thing up and was shocked at the sound quality. The thing sparkles and the lows are clean and deep. I adjusted the individual speaker levels with a Radio Shack db meter on an easy to use Onkyo menu. I did not use the calibration system built into the receiver. A few trips through the menus and you have them mastered. The menu system is REALLY SIMPLE.
Unless you have some REALLY expensive speakers, this is the unit for you. Great sound quality, simple setup and easy menus make this a good choice for the novice or mid range home theater enthusiast.
I highly recommend the unit.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Onkyo TX-SR607 7.2-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black)

The TX-SR607 raises the bar once again in the competitive world of mid-range home theater. With HDMI 1.3a inputs for up to six components, it's ready to handle all your high-definition video and audio needs. Whether it's a Blu-ray Disc player, a cable or satellite box, or a gaming console, your video signals will be traveling first class. Lower-resolution analog video signals, meanwhile, can be upscaled to 1080i and fine-tuned by Faroudja DCDi Edge™. HDMI version 1.3a also transports the master-quality HD audio formats, DTS-HD Master Audio™ and Dolby TrueHD. The very latest Dolby technology, Dolby Pro Logic IIz, enhances the spatial sensation

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