Onkyo TX-SR707 Receiver (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Reserving this for discussion of the Onkyo TX-SR707 receiver.

I'll have comments on my 707 in the coming days. I'm just getting it set up, and am short a few HDMI cables.

 

[Parker Clack]

Looking forward to it.

How many HDMI cables are you short?

 

[DaveF]

I had two, and thought I needed three. However, I forgot that one of those two was actually in use on the bedroom TivoHD. And then I further realized that I had never used a receiver as a video switcher, and forgot about the cable from receiver to TV. So I need a total of four HDMI cables, and now had two in hand. So two more are on order from Blue Jean's and should arrive Fri or Sat. But now I'm working on Saturday, so may not get it fully hooked up until Sunday!

I've got it setup for TivoHD (HDMI) and Xbox 360 (Component / Toslink). I really like the OSD setup menu. That's super great. Getting my Harmony One remote to control it is taking a lot of trial and error, but is working. I'm uncertain about continuing to use it for passing OTA HD from the Tivo to the TV. We get flaky TV reception sometimes and the Onkyo doesn't handle signal loss on HDMI as well as it does via Toslink digital audio.

But overall, I'm looking forward to reducing the cabling to a simple set of four HDMI cables. So clean....Mmmmm.....HDMI.....

 

[DaveF]

Onkyo took a radical design departure with their new receivers. Now includes Pulsating Ultrasonic Resonance Reverberator (PURR). My wife likes it, as it goes better with our decorations than standard flat black.



(I'm still suffering an HDMI deficit and haven't yet got it all hooked up. My cats, however, have helped me every step of the way.)

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Dave,

Is that a Torrodial Purr Supply? hahahah

Can't wait to hear your impressions! And hey do me a favor if you have Hancock on BR, play it and let me know if the Onkyo loses it's mind on the audio!

 

[DaveF]

Yes, the 707 has the Toroidal version, over the 607's linear form

I don't have Hancock and from the reviews don't plan to watch it any time soon My Blu Ray selection is limited to three Pixar films just now.

I hope to go through the Audyssey process this week. My wife wants her living room put back together and is more anxious than I am for the cables to arrive and connections to be completed!

 

[DaveF]

I've had the receiver connected for a couple of weeks, and have some initial impressions.

Sonically, I can't tell any difference. If this had been swapped in for my old receiver while I was asleep, I never would have known. That's no surprise: my speakers are low end and receivers haven't changed much in a decade, since I bought my last one. And it's not a problem: I didn't expect a change, not until I've run Audyssey, at least.

The back panel is something of a mess. This Onkyo has the very same case size as my previous unit; but it has more and different connections, including an additional four speaker posts for the 7.1 output. Clearly design and arrangement compromises had to be made. The biggest interface compromise to me is the speaker outputs are no longer arranged in group-block arrangement (that in my opinion made a lot of sense). Rather, they are in a straight line along the bottom, from left to right, and then a couple up the right side; and the subwoofer pre-outs in the middle somewhere. The Left to Right speakers follow from left to right, so it's as sensible as can be. But I miss the old arrangments -- and think Denon and others have a leg up on this minor detail. But, after an hour of cabling, this is never looked at again, so it's not an ongoing annoyance.

And the front face is arrayed with micro-dot buttons with low-contrast, unreadable labels. I think my old Onkyo was similar. The front face is mostly unusable. But the only time I used it before was to program radio station presets and to operate the setup menu. Not a big deal.

Which brings me to the setup menu. My previous Onkyo had a setup menu, which when I first bought it was amazing to me. It could also output to a monitor, but for reasons now forgotten it was inconvenient to use, so I never did. The 707 is a different beast. My three devices are HDMI, and it's HDMI out to the TV. Press the SETUP button on the remote, and the OSD appears for easy viewing and working of the setup menu. It's well designed, sensibly laid out, and amazes me.

So then, HDMI. Previously it was a hodgepodge of cables: Component video and coax and fiber digital audio. 12 connections between devices to TV and devices to receiver. Now, I've upgraded everything to HDMI. Four cables. Three devices to receiver. Receiver to TV. Done. Brilliant. Love it. And a single HDMI today is cheaper than video and audio cable pair from a few years back. The down side was an additional $100 of new cables.

Honestly, the only reason I bought this receiver was I was upgrading to a Blu Ray player and it was either overpay for a higher-end Blu Ray that could connect coax-digital audio to my old receiver, or buy a new receiver to connect via HDMI to a cheaper Blu Ray. I've been watching receiver reviews for three model revisions: this revision of Onkyo had the reviews, the quirks were fixed, and an amazing Black Friday sale. The stars aligned, my wife said OK, and I splurged for pricier but better net upgrade.

The old receiver worked well, but had become outdated in terms of connections. This receiver has connections to spare for future upgrades. At least until HDMI is obviated.

And that's part of what pushed me to Onkyo specifically: I meant to try a different brand, specifically Denon. This year, the $550-range Denon has a decent four HDMI inputs: I need three right now, so that would give me one to spare. But for the same price, Onkyo gives me five rear and one front! Two inputs to grow with (PS3? Cable Box? AppleTV?). And one for front, just in case, for something like a video camera. Maybe I'll never go beyond these three devices, and a 3-input device would have been sufficient. But on the brink of a new receiver purchase solely because it lacks one input (an additional fiber audio input would have kept me from upgrading), I figured I'd rather overbuy inputs.

So Onkyo won substantially because of a surplus of HDMI inputs.

Just getting started, I like this receiver. A good, perhaps fantastic, value. Easy setup. Connections to spare. Newest DPL IIz processing and speaker output (which I hope to try). I'm convinced you can't go wrong with any $300+ receiver from the major manufacturers. But I've become brand-loyal to Onkyo (how does this happen?) and again it won me over.

I hope to have more to say after Audyssey. And hopefully after new speakers next year with a 7.1 Front Height configuration. (Here's hoping for another OK from the wife!)

 

[gene c]

Sonically, I can't tell any difference.

Give it some time. I bet you'll start to notice subtle differences, even without Audyssey in use.

The biggest interface compromise to me is the speaker outputs are no longer arranged in group-block arrangement (that in my opinion made a lot of sense). Rather, they are in a straight line along the bottom, from left to right,

I would have thought having the speaker posts in a row, single file, would make it easier to insert the bare speaker wire. Maybe I'm wrong.

So then, HDMI. Previously it was a hodgepodge of cables: Component video and coax and fiber digital audio. 12 connections between devices to TV and devices to receiver. Now, I've upgraded everything to HDMI. Four cables. Three devices to receiver. Receiver to TV. Done. Brilliant. Love it. And a single HDMI today is cheaper than video and audio cable pair from a few years back. The down side was an additional $100 of new cables.

Brilliant indeed. Wonder what took them so long.

The stars aligned, my wife said OK, and I splurged for pricier but better net upgrade.

You'll be happier in the long run. So will your wife.

And that's part of what pushed me to Onkyo specifically:...

They say Onkyo give the most bang-for-the-buck.

But I've become brand-loyal to Onkyo (how does this happen?) and again it won me over.

I don't know. But it's human nature. Right now I'm kinda loyal to Pioneer Elite. Before that it was H/K (still love my 520 but wasn't crazy about their newer offerings). But I am pushing my brother towards Denon so...

I hope to have more to say after Audyssey.

We hope so too.

And if you thought buying a receiver was nerve-racking...

And hopefully after new speakers next year with a 7.1 Front Height configuration. (Here's hoping for another OK from the wife!)

I really think you made the right decision going HDMI vs. 7.1 analog. I'm seriously considering putting all my Elite 59 stuff up for sale pretty soon. A year and a half ago this whole HDMI thing was a mess. Now it's clearer so maybe it's time for more of us to take the plunge.

 

[DaveF]

When I was looking at this upgrade, I didn't see the same complaints about HDMI connections from even last year. There's no connection loss when using Forward / Rewind / Pause functions on the Tivo. The biggest glitch I have is when I have bad reception for the OTA HD: the receiver will clickety-clack as it finds and loses the signal and starts and stops the audio. It's very annoying, but it's when the video is breaking up and stuttering and the audio would otherwise be choppy.

Assuming next year is good, I'll likely upgrade speakers (which I don't relish shopping for, just as you note), which will bring major sonic improvements

I will add one negative on the receiver. The one thing I like least, a real downgrade from my previous receiver, is that volume is in dB rather than an arbitrary units scale of 1-100. I dislike seeing volume as -28.5 dB. Nothing about gives practical information or is easier for household use (and I'm an engineer who understands decibels in a technical manner). Perhaps I'll have a change of heart if I can do some measure of calibration and get 0 dB to be the default volume.

On a positive note, there are more soundfield modes than I know what to do with. And the jaunty blue glow on the volume knob can be turned off by remote, if it's not your thing. (I kinda like it.)

Originally Posted by gene c

I would have thought having the speaker posts in a row, single file, would make it easier to insert the bare speaker wire. Maybe I'm wrong.

I've now got banana plugs, so I can't comment there. The issue is that it's harder to figure out which post corresponds to which speaker (especially where you're straining to see around the back of an enertainment center inches from the wall). The block configuration is easier to understand what is what. At least in my view.

Finally: the Logitech Harmony One remote seems to control it completely. (But you must use the 607 device info. I've asked Logitech to fix their database for the 707). Onkyo's remote is good, as receiver remotes go, but the Harmony One is a superior replacement. But I suppose that's a different product review...

 

[Ed Moxley]

I will add one negative on the receiver. The one thing I like least, a real downgrade from my previous receiver, is that volume is in dB rather than an arbitrary units scale of 1-100. I dislike seeing volume as -28.5 dB. Nothing about gives practical information or is easier for household use (and I'm an engineer who understands decibels in a technical manner). Perhaps I'll have a change of heart if I can do some measure of calibration and get 0 dB to be the default volume.

I didn't like that at first either, but over time I've grown to like it. 0 dB is very loud. That is what most consider to be "Reference" level.

I've now got banana plugs, so I can't comment there. The issue is that it's harder to figure out which post corresponds to which speaker (especially where you're straining to see around the back of an enertainment center inches from the wall). The block configuration is easier to understand what is what. At least in my view.

It's all in what you get used to. Before I got banana plugs, the block configuration you speak of, was much harder to work with, for me and my big fingers. It was why I went with banana plugs. They make things so much easier. Can't you pull one end of the entertainment center out enough to get things done, in the back? Use the diagrams in the manual to help you find the right posts.

I like the Audyssey a lot. The only problem I found with it, is it tends to set the front speakers to fullband (large), even if you use a subwoofer. I changed mine to 80 Hz, I think, and all was fine. I double checked all the level settings with my SPL meter, and Audyssey was so close, it wasn't worth the time and effort to change them. I only set the mic in three positions.

The 707 is 4ohm certified, so when you upgrade your speakers, you can get some good, higher end speakers, for your front three. They will make a difference. My front three Polks are all 4 ohm, and my other four speakers are all 8 ohm. It works out very well. If any speaker is 4ohm, you need to set the receiver up for 4 ohm. Any idea what speakers you want?

I think you'll be very happy with the 707. It should be an awesome receiver. I'm loving my 805. I saw on our Craig's List today, someone was selling their 805 for $475. That's a killer deal for someone, as long as nothing is wrong with it.

Enjoy the new toy.

 

[gene c]

The one thing I like least, a real downgrade from my previous receiver, is that volume is in dB rather than an arbitrary units scale of 1-100. I dislike seeing volume as -28.5 dB.

It's funny you should mention this. When my brother bought his Onkyo HT-500 htib (the original one, I believe) 4-5 years ago, there was a sheet of paper placed on top of the contents stating that you had to turn the volume way up before you hear any sound. The volume went from -80 to + 10 but you had to get to about -40 before any sound was heard. Apparently so many people thought there was something wrong with the receiver that Onkyo received many phone calls and decided to slip the cheat sheet in the boxes. Some receivers allow you to chose which volume setting you want to use. Not sure if Onkyo does.

I've now got banana plugs, so I can't comment there.

I also use them on my "block" receivers but the line array looks easier for bare wire. Either way I still can't figure out what goes where without pulling the silly things out of the cabinets.

And the front face is arrayed with micro-dot buttons with low-contrast, unreadable labels.

I forgot to comment on this one earlier. Must be getting old. This also infuriates my sister in-law. She keeps a flashlight and knee pads nearby. It's why I prefer the silver ones and my H/K 520 (gold on black). But they're still only a very little bit better.