Recommendations on Onkyo TX-SR806 and Soney ES STR-DA3400 (1 Viewer)

[dakinemusic]

I am about to purchase either the Onkyo TX-SR806 or Sony ES STR-DA3400 receiver, unless someone can convince me there is a better valued receiver on the market for my needs. Appreciate feedback as to which might be better for me. Here are my requirements:

- I'll be hooking up to an LCD television, Blu-Ray DVD player

- I want multi-room, so I can connect to a separate amplifier to play music outside where I have existing speakers.

- I want ability to play my iPod music.

- Ease of set-up is preferrable

- I plan to use my VCR for kids VHS library

I have read about heat problems with the Onkyo unit. I'm concerned since I'll be putting receiver into an enclosed entertainment unit. Will a component fan alleviate the heat well enough and what about the ambient sound?

Are there any other receivers that you would recommend in the same price range that I should consider?

 

[Brent_S]

If they're close to the same price, I'd pick the 806 just because of Audyssey. Based on a recent review of the 5400ES, I'd also bet on the 806 (THX U2 certified) having a much better amp section than the 3400.

For a bit less money, the 706 can do everything the 806 can except it's THX-Select instead of Ultra-2. Audio/video processing is the same, but the amp section isn't tested for stability into quite as low of an impedance and power requirements are somewhat lower.

-Brent

 

[dakinemusic]

Do you know much about the Onkyo giving off excessive heat? I'm planning to place it inside an enclosed area. I've heard that some people use fans to displace the heat. Any experience?

 

[Brent_S]

It really depends on what you mean by enclosed space. All electronics are going to produce heat and have a limit on how much they can tolerate. My gear, including a front projector, can raise the temperature in a 3400 ft^3 room 2-3degrees F over the course of a movie.

I haven't checked the 706/806 manual, but the 805 recommended having 8" of space above the unit and along with a having a chimney effect to remove heat, presumably for a closed front cabinet. The Sony probably has cooling guidelines that nobody bothers to read as well. ;-) The main heat generator in the 805, and likely any modern HDMI receiver, is the video processing section...think PC video cards that have dedicated fans mounted on the GPU itself. My gear's in an armoire with an open back (chimney effect) and about 6" to the shelf above the 805. I only run my 805 as a prepro, yet the 805's internal heat probes reported mid 50°s C...essentially same operating temperature as folks running full 5.1 or 7.1 speakers off of it, indicating the amp section was a minor contributor. Putting some quiet PC fans directly over the video section dropped the operating temp 10-12°C. FWIW, from testing, folks have found the 805's internal fans don't come on until somewhere in the 60s

 

[Dave Moritz]

Well how picky are you about your audio David? Now as far as choosing between the Sony and Onkyo goes. There are some thing about both to consider. The Sony is said to have a nice gui interface for setup. The Onkyo has Audyssey and one more HDMI. The Onkyo doesn't have Burr Brown DAC's but if that is not improtant then it will be no big deal. No idea whos DAC's Sony is using but I am not a big fan of how Sony receivers sound anyway, I even didn't like the 9000ES about 6 years ago.

I would say that the Onkyo is stougter than the Sony and has a bigger power supply. I would trust the Onkyo to have a stronger amplifier section hands down. This is an area that I believe Sony has trailed in for many years and one of the reasons a Sony reciever will not replace my current Yamaha RX-V995.

Onkyo 806:
130 Watts per channel
5 HDMI Inputs / 1 HDMI Output
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA Decoding
Audyssey

Sony 3400:
100 Watts per channel
4 HDMI Inputs / 1 HDMI Output
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA Decoding

Here is another one to Consider.
Denon AVR-2809ci $1,199
115 Watts X 7 @ 8 Ohms at 0.08% THD
4 HDMI Inputs / 1 HDMI Output
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA Decoding
High Current
Burr-Brown DAC's 24-bit/192-kHz
Audyssey
Audyssey Dynamic Volume

And another plus for going with the Denon 2809 and above right now is that Denon is offering a free Bluray player with the purchase of certain receivers right now. They are offering there Denon DVD-2500 Bluray that may be a nice upgrade depending on what bluray player you currently have.

I would recomend the Denon over all with better build quality, sound quality and intergration of technology. Then the Onkyo even with it running on the hot side and bad customer service problems. Sorry I just do not think much of the Sony even with its flexibility and interface. I guess you could always turn the 3400 into a pre/pro if it has 7.1 outputs. I would add a Emotiva power amp to it that would definantly take care of Sony's aniemic amp problem.

By no means am I anti Sony, Just not a fan of there receivers. If they ever build a real good reciever then I will consider it!