Sony STRDG820 vs. Onkyo TX-SR606 (1 Viewer)

[mcthings]

Hi,

I am in the market for a new reciver. I currently have a Harmon Kardon AVR30 (old!!!!!).

I am looking at the Sony STRDG820 or Onkyo TX-SR606. I need at least 3 HDMI inputs, I would really like the Dolby HD and DTS HD (I have a ps3... it will take advantage of DTSHD (Blu-Ray) through HDMI, right?), and I only need 5.1. As you can see, I'm in the $400 max budget.

I'm really torn between these because I feel like the Sony is a good deal with better RMS Power, but Onkyo I know is a good brand.

Any insight would be great. I am currently using old Sony SS-V17 speakers, but I am going to upgrade to probably polk's cs1 series probably even before I buy the receiver.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[gene c]

Spend a little time wandering around the "speaker" forum before you buy the Polks. Not saying Polks are bad, but there's probably a few speaker brands out there you may not be familiar with like SVS, AV123, Swan, Axiom, Elemental Designs, HSU among others. Many others to at least consider.

 

[mcthings]

Gene,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

My current receiver stopped selling in '97 according to my research. Pro Logic just isn't cutting it for me!!

I was wondering if you could expand on why the 606 is the best deal under for 400 or less. I went to a store this evening to see both receivers (they were not hooked up to listen to them), and I didn't feel like one was better made, etc. than the other.

As far as RMS, it good to know that those ratings are not always accurate. I'll be more vigilant in my specification comparisons from now on.

As far as your speaker recommendations, I will check all of those brands out for sure. You are right, I haven't heard of any of them before, so I will definitely do my research. I just hope that those brands have speakers in my price range.

Thanks again for your insight,

Matt

 

[gene c]

The 606 seems to have more features than other receivers in it's price range including Audyssey room correction and DCDi 1080i video upconversion. It also weights quite a bit more than the 820. It's always at the top of the list for avr recommendations under $400. These things go in cycles. Two years ago it was the Denon 3806/2808, last year it was the Onkyo 605/805 and this year it's the 606. Great bang for the buck.

 

[mcthings]

Cool. I'm sold on the 606, then. On to deciding on speakers. Looking at eD 5t5's right now. I realize this is the receiver forum, so I'll post any questions over there. Thanks for your help!

 

[Bluzman]

If you haven't pulled the trigger already, you may want to take a look at the 606 thread over on AVS (The Onkyo TX-SR606 Owners Thread - AVS Forum. The 606 reportedly has issues with heat, humming/buzzing audio, playing nice with the PS3, etc. Now all receivers have their own particular set of warts but you may want to add Yamaha's RX-V663, Pioneer's VSX-1018AH-K, Denon's AVR-1909 and Harmon Kardon's AVR 254 among others to your deliberations. You may end up back at the 606, but I wouldn't go blithely down that path without doing the "due diligence". JMO.

 

[Brent Hutto]

FWIW, I've had three Onkyo receivers and zero problems including our current TX-SR606.

The first AVR that I bought as a demo/used floor model in 2002, don't recall the model. It worked great until a lightning strike put paid to its power supply a couple years ago (along with our wonderful Velodyne sub that I'd gotten a tremendous deal on, also in '02).

Replaced it with a TX-SR505 which introduced me to the wonders of Audessey 2EQ. I would not even consider any HT receiver that does not have an Audessey setup feature but I realize not everyone finds it as amazing as we do.

When we went Blu-Ray a couple weeks ago I upgraded to the TX-SR606 to get TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding. That also brought the Audessey DynamicEQ feature (in addition to the 2EQ setup) which is yet another marvel of the modern age. We like to listen to most movies somewhere around 10-12dB below reference and the Dynamic EQ really keeps the dialog sounding natural and the surrounds fully in the mix at lower volumes while keeping that great Audessey sound. Highly recommended although I suppose in a pinch I might somehow consider buying a receiver without that particular feature. Maybe.

So anyway, three Onkyos, three reliable experiences going back 6+ years now. Of course we aren't very demanding of our HT equipment. The current setup is quite basic with only a BD30 Blu-Ray deck, TH-50PX80U television and a Time-Warner 8300HD DVR connected to the receiver which drives a set of decent-sized Polk speakers, a cheapish Velodyne sub and a couple of crummy diecast aluminum Radio Shack speakers for rear surrounds. No PS3, nothing funky to drive, just a good-sounding bit of movie watching gear. For those purposes the Onkyo is the best thing going and we paid well under your $400 budget by using a Circuit City coupon.

 

[mcthings]

I haven't bought anything yet.

Thanks for the link to the AVS forums about the bugs. While I am worried about the PS3 issues, the alternatives are 100 bucks more atleast. I plan on buying from Crutchfield. They don't have the best prices, but since the 606 seems to have some potential bugs, their customer service and return policies more than make up for it.

Thanks for the confirmation on Onkyo's quality. Hopefully your experience is common with their products.

 

[Michael Nelson]

I went through the whole 606 or 820 thing recently. I went with the 820, replacing an Outlaw Audio 1050 (audiophiles, please don't string me up!).

I was all set to buy a 606, as I wanted a budget HDMI receiver that could decode the newer DD and DTS formats, I came THIS close to buying the Onkyo before reconsidering in favor of the 820. Here's why:

1) I realized that in 10 years (or so) with the 1050 I never once used the 5.1 analog inputs.
2) The 606 upscaling by all reports is less than stellar
3) My BD player and TV upscale at least as well as the 606
4) As I am attaching everything with HDMI, audio transcoding isn't an issue
5) Except for a $320 refurb, I couldn't find any 606 for less than about $360
6) At $280 delivered (PriceGrabber found it), the 820 saved me almost $100.

On movies the sound from the 820 is noticeably different than that of the Outlaw. In fact, it sounded superior in some ways (which surprised the hell out of me). The 820 it's a bit brighter (I generally prefer warm), and more encompassing than that of the 1050, but lacks its "depth", for lack of a better term. I haven't spent much time listening to music on the 820 yet, so I'm afraid I can't offer an opinion there yet.

There has been some reports that the power rating on the receiver is over stated by Sony. My experience, however, is that it easily drives my Take 5 Classic Energy speaker system cleanly at volumes much louder than I am comfortable listening. That said, my listening room is a smallish 12x20 or so.

In short 820 sounds pretty good (especially after calibration). So for $280 (American), I'm pretty happy with the purchase so far.

 

[dougiestyletone]

I own an Onkyo receiver - very nice and well made. I also own a Sony receiver - very nice and well made. Since I have a big house with several big screen viewing areas, I find myself factoring in value in the home theater equation. My Sony STRDG520 was an excellent addition to my loft system ($170.00) It sounds fantastic - excellent bass, headroom, and soundstage definition and my 5.1 system sounds awesome. I plan on moving up to the 820 ($300.00) soon since it has 4 HDMI inputs which carry audio. Ideal receiver if you have an XBox 360, PS3, Blu-Ray player, etc The Onkyo stuff is well built and heavy - buy if you are like me, your receiver is housed in a cubby-hole not much bigger than the actual unit. If heat is an issue (like it is with Onkyos) you have a problem. Sony has a very cool running, clean, powerful, light-weight, and excellent sounding line of receivers here and I feel they are the ones to get. If you are an audiophile with loads of money, move up to the really cool stuff. But if you are like most of us, the new Sony line is the best buy. Also, try the B.I.C. speakers - I have the powered 12" subwoofer - AWESOME!