Where are the happy onkyo 500/600 owners? (1 Viewer)

[Niel_JL]

It seems onkyo has been getting bashed as of late, specifically due to the drop in wattage with all channels driven. This does not make me feel good about my purchase of the 500 which should be here next week. I ordered it along with the NSP1's. Could all the happy owners please speak up and give me your impressions thus far of your 600, and which speakers you are using them with. I keep getting flashes of my speakers blowing, and that is really not reassuring...

 

[Greg Yeatts]

It is important to remember that even though Onkyo has been getting lots of negative posts, these posts all originate with one person. Check it out. All of the other posts are just asking this person to elaborate.

How many others, of all the people that you see that purchased the SR600 complain.

I am a SR600 owner. I think it works very well. It pushes my fairly inefficient speakers to reference levels quite easily. I do have a subwoofer. I think that having a sub substantially lessens the work a receiver has to perform.

Go to the store. Listen to the Onkyo. If you like it, find a store with a good return policy and take it home. Listen to it. If you don't like it, return it.

Every room sounds different, every speaker sounds different. You have to be your own judge.

 

[Jim Tressler]

I agree.. so far so good with my 600.. the speakers are not the greatest (Harman Kardon HTKS5) but i have had no clipping even at exreme volumes.

jim

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

I'm happy with my Onkyo 600. After setting it up, calibrating w/Avia & testing out various DVD, DVD-Audio & CD titles, I'd rate the receiver a B+ overall. It has a warm sound with enough power for a medium-sized room. Sure, I wish it had more power (volume level 0-30 on this receiver is pretty much useless)--I usually have to have it around 55-70 (max is 99). But, when you take into account all the features (DPLII, DD-EX, DTS-ES, etc.) & sound quality, the Onkyo 600 is quite a good receiver for the money.

 

[Eric_M]

Well I must admit those reports do have me worried some. I have a 600 and while it seems like a nice reciever, this talk of it possibly ruining speakers due to insufficient wattage is reason for concern. I will be running monitor 7s and am not sure how many watts it needs. In any case, most people seem to be ok thus far.

I guess your other choices would be Denon or Yamaha.

Hopefully we hear more about this from other people and what speakers they have with the 600.

 

[elMalloc]

You shouldn't pair a cheap receiver up with expensive speakers. The clipping can occur in tower speakers that want a minimum wattage more than the receiver can provide...if I had monitor 7's I wouldn't be looking at receivers that couldn't power a minimum of 50-60w.
-ELmO:star:

 

[Philip A]

I have had the 600 for nearly 3 weeks and am reasonably pleased with it. I have alternately driven Philips towers (2-7" & 1-1" each) as well as some inefficient Technics (embarrassed to admit I own them, but they do sound fine actually) with no problems. I've taken them to 78 db without clipping or any problems (though this was with music, not movies). I do have an MK sub with the set up, so as an earlier post noted the Onkyo doesn't have to work for the LFE and other low bass. I have been suprised at how much db you need to get to "theater" level sound, but there's still 20 db left, so I guess I shouldn't be bothered by it.

Overall I'm thinking this receiver is a good deal for the money--switching, auto detection, full array of decoding, etc. are wonderful. I must admit I have been eyeing the Yamaha 1200 (more $, but mostly the same capabilities and probably more beefy in the amp section) while I still have the 30 days at CC, simply due to the fear factor of 30 watts with all 6 channels driven, but I don't know. I still haven't tried really throwing a difficult movie at it...

 

[Walter Smailus]

Have had my 500 for 2 weeks now. Admittedly that isn't a long time but I like it and have had no problems. It's not as intuitive as my old Sony (615) but the sound is better even with less wattage/channel (in theory). The old Sony said 100/channel with the Onkyo 500 at 65/channel. Even with less wattage it seems to sound better and I can still shake the room ..

 

[Christopher_H]

I have had my 600 for a while now and I think it sounds great. I am running NSP1's as well and have had no complaints whatsoever.

 

[Eric_M]

elmalloc,

so you think the 600 and the Monitor 7's may not be a good idea? Where do you find out how much watts it takes to drive a speaker?

 

[Eric_M]

Ok if I understand correctly the Paradigm Monitor line needs a min of 15 watts to drive them. Not sure if that is ok in the case of the Onkyo now or not..

 

[Jason Spencer]

I've had my 600 for a few weeks and love it. (I also have the NSP1, N26 mains, and Sony WM40 sub.) I played TPM this weekend (getting ready for episode II) and it was awesome. These 35 watt claims have me wondering if I'll have problems down the line due to low wattage, but for now they really crank. I seriously doubt with this setup will ever have trouble (due to wattage).

I don't forsee any changes they can make to home theater that will make me have upgradeitis within the next decade as good as this sounds. For $1k, I don't want to spend anymore for a while...

 

[Eric_M]

Well what do most speakers require as far as watts goes that may cause it to have issues later on?

As I posted earlier it says the monitor series says 15w - I think 200w. This is taken from the paradigm site. If this is the case, wouldn't 35w x6 be sufficient so that it wouldn't cause problems later on?

 

[John E F]

Eric, one important lesson I have learned is that you get what you pay for with receivers. Not to say the Onkyo 600 is a piece of junk, it seems to be an awesome receiver for the money from what I have seen. On the other hand, you can't really expect a $400 receiver to perform like a $1500 model. I would definately recommend buying a receiver with a better wattage rating if you have spent a good amount of money on speakers. I really like Onkyo products, I own an 898, but I find it hard to believe that they can include all those features and six high quality amps for less than $500.

 

[Eric_M]

John,

Hey. Thanks for the advice. Yeah I am spending quite a bit, for my budget anyway, on speakers and this whole HT/Music thing in general. I figured speakers are the most important part so I decided to spend more on the speakers and less on the reciever. Most recievers have features I don't really use so I tried to find the best reciever that fits my budget. I figured if I ever do upgrade then at least I will have good speakers already. I am just hoping that this reciever will not cause any problems with the speakers in regards to damaging them or whatnot. I don't expect it to sound like a 1500 piece but I do expect it not to ruin my towers which seem to be a concern. Anyway if you or anyone else can help me as far as knowing if these Monitor 7's will be ok with the 600. I guess it's not too late to send back the 600 but to think of looking for a reciever all over again........ Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Norman L]

Eric,

It seems not to many people like me, but if you want to protect your investment try a receiver with pre-outs for the mains. Most of you would be pissed also, if your expensive speakers blew when you relied on the specs of the Onkyo 600.

 

[Greg Yeatts]

Norman L

Please don't take my post above as dislike. I don't really know you. You present yourself in a pleasant manner. I have no problem with you.

There was no animosity in my earlier post. I did not single you out by name because I didn't really want to make this personal. Please notice that I am not aware of any other posters having any significant problems with the SR600. Your posts did create a lot of interest in your problem.

We have had vastly different experiences with our SR600s. This happens. My SR600 meets my needs very well. Yours did not. I understand. I am glad you returned it. I wish you luck in finding a replacement you are happy with.

Peace

 

[Norman L]

Greg,

Thanks, I have helped many buy the unit for less: $399.

My true problem is with Onyko adverstising 80x6 and they should correct that and the power supply in their units.

Would you buy the unit if you knew it was 34x5?

Norman

 

[John E F]

Eric-

I have no extensive experience with the 600 and the Paradigms, but from what everyone is saying you will probably be okay. I doubt that Onkyo would knowingly market a receiver that would damage speakers during normal use. The damage to there reputation would hardly be worth it. Onkyo, like many manufacturers, have had problems show up in some of their units. I really didn't mean to infer that you thought the 600 would perform like a $1500 piece, but it didn't sound like you took it that way.

Actually, what I meant was that the specs on the 600 make it sound like it should cost alot more than it does. It sure looks like it belongs in the $700+ price range along side the 797. This can be very misleading. From what I saw the other day, it looks and sounds like an awesome receiver in that price range. Judging by the amount of money you have spent on them and the quality of your speakers, I would put about $200 more into the reciever if I could just to be safe. One local dealer told me that expensive speakers will sound only as good as the inexpensive receiver. Another told me an expensive receiver will sound only as good as inexpensive speakers. I figured there had to be a middle ground somewhere when I put together my system.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Norman L,

No one in there right mind would buy it if they knew that...which is why these things are never going to be rated properly. Of course, this is nothing new...it's been going on for a long time in certain price brackets...but now we have the advent of even more channels of amplification...really, where do people think these prices savings come from?