Editorial Review

Key Features are110 Watts X 7, 7 Channel Configurable Amplifier, Surround Back. Dolby Pro-logic IIz or B Speaker, Dolby True-HD / DTS-HD Master Audio and Advanced MCACC. It has a 9 Band EQ.Auto Crossover Setting, USB to PC Graphs, PQLS – 2 Channel, Auto Level Control – Multi-Channel, Sound Retriever AIR – Multi- channel. It has a Internet radio. iPod Digital USB / USB Memory Audio. Its iPhone Certified, Sirius Satellite Radio, HDMI Repeater (6 In / 1 out), Analog to HDMI Video Conversion, HDMI to HDMI 1080p Scaler, Component Video (2 in / 1 out), Full Color GUI, iControl pioneer AVR iPhone / iTouch “APP” Multi-Zone A/V Pre-out, Preset Remote Control ... Read more

Reviews

Outstanding Bang for the Buck, Future Proof (7.1 & 3D), iPhone App is Great, Buy an Airport Express Too, May 20, 2010
I tend to do a lot of research before making large purchasing decisions and so far this receiver is receiving a pretty rosy reception! Its successor, the 1019, was CNET's and Gizmodo's top mid-range receiver. Both reviewers had just as high hopes for the 1020, and Gizmodo already called it the best receiver $550 can buy, saying the 1020 "hit the sweet spot" that gave the most bang for buyer's buck.

The critics I read all raved about the excellent sound quality, but the 1020 brings some new offerings to the table for a mid-range receiver.

In short, the most valuable features you get with this model that you don't get with the next step down are:

1. A fifth HDMI port in back, an extra sixth in front (for digital cameras, computers, etc.).
2. Analog video upscaling (which I don't care too much about since most of my content is HD already or played through an upscaling player).
3. The iContolAV iPhone app. Very cool for controlling volume and switching inputs. Works simply by having your receiver connected to ethernet and your iPhone connected to the network via WiFi. A few times the app has had trouble properly connecting, but it usually works well.
4. Internet radio with programmable stations, which is cool, though you can't currently control the station selections from the iPhone App, unfortunately.
5. A color configuration interface output to your TV via the HDMI output. I can't imagine trying to configure all my speakers without seeing a graphical representation of their location on screen.

That last feature feature, the HDMI 1.4 ports that support 3D, the 7.1 surround capabilities, excellent sound quality and the iPhone App are what made the VSX-1020 the clear choice for me. I also appreciated the automatic calibration with the included microphone and the included iPod cable/compatibility, but those weren't as strong of selling points.

The only negatives of note for me is that the little front port cover is a little cheap. It's not even a door, simply a little plastic piece that pops out if you push one side. I, like others, have also experienced the issue where the receiver switches to TV/Sat when first turned on, but I've yet to determine whether that's a problem with the receiver itself or my Harmony universal remote (I'll update the review as I get more information).

One last tip to buyers, however. If you're considering listening to your phone's music over Bluetooth by buying the $99 AS-BT100 adapter, I'd consider buying a $99 Apple Airport Express instead (assuming your music is managed through iTunes). It lets you stream music from your computer to the receiver over WiFi and control what's playing via iTunes or Apple's robust "Remote" iPhone app, but more importantly the Airport Express acts as a USB print server and a one port wireless bridge (something that lets you connect wired devices to a wireless network).

That wireless bridge capability is especially valuable, since you'll need it or something similar for internet radio and iControlAV iPhone app support if your VSX-1020 receiver isn't close to your wireless router (mine isn't). Buying the Airport Express kills two birds with one stone.

UPDATE:

A few ideas have been thrown out by other Amazon posters to help alleviate the issue with the receiver switching to TV/Sat when it first turns on. The first idea is to change the receiver's settings thusly:
"1 Press Receiver , then press Home Menu.
2 Select `System Setup', then press ENTER.
3 Select `Other Setup', then press ENTER.
4 Select `HDMI Setup', then press ENTER.
5. Set Control to 'Off'."

The second idea is to adjust your TV settings like so.
"Go into Menu under HDMI-CEC and turn it Off. If the set is a Samsung look for AnyNet+ (default is normally On) and turn it Off."

I'm still having issues going directly to a given HDMI input when the unit first power on (going to "HDMI Input 1" simply toggles the current HDMI input instead of going directly to the one you want), but I've made the quirk tolerable by programming one of the buttons on my universal remote to toggle inputs, so it's easy to fix.

Very good performance and versatility with a few shortcomings, May 10, 2010
I picked up a 1020 over the weekend. I have been building custom cabinetry and needed a slimmer (and cooler) receiver for our secondary viewing room and the 1020 seemed to fit the bill in large part based upon a pleasant experience with the 919/1019 and the elite 21.

For reference, the 1020 is replacing an Onkyo 1007, which I really enjoyed, but was a bit big for the cabinet and largely unused with a baby's bedroom nearly adjacent to the area. Keep in mind, the Onkyo weighs 52 lbs and draws nearly 11 amps - not a fair fight between the two.

In comparison to the 1019/919 (which powers my second and third zones), the 1020 looks very similar, but Pioneer removed the blue led power button (they did the same with the bdp-320 from the 51fd last year as well). The front panel buttons have been reconfigured slightly, but overall the two look very similar.

I have the 1020 configured as 5.1 plus wides. The speaker setup was pretty easy, but it appears that setting it up as normal plus wides would prevent you from operating Zone 2 despite the manual saying the contrary.

In terms of audio quality, the receiver sounds very good and similar to the 1019/919. That said, when turned louder (say -5db), it appears to lose its legs a bit sooner than the 1019. I heard a bit more distortion in playing music loudly (i was alternating the same speakers and source via speaker switch before I had the two connected). That said, I would think most folks would not be able to tell a difference at normal volume levels, but the power draw cut from last year does seem to manifest itself at loud levels in my amateurish testing. Please do not try to pull every thread in my comparison - just an average guy comparing the two side by side.

Running MCACC was as simple as other pioneer models, but the system did seem to be a bit too generous as to the speaker size of the speakers in my setup (audyssey classified them as small and set the individual speaker crossovers at 100hz). I have been using the wide listening mode and have found it reasonably effective in providing a broader sound array for the wide room. I will need more critical listening time to compare it to Audyssey DSX's wide presence processing mode. Overall, I am pleased with the sound quality of the 1020, but it could benefit by a bit more power. I would caution about tying to drive large or inefficient speakers with this receiver if your listening preferences are very loud.

The remote is an improvement in that it is learning, but a step back in dark room navigation. Yes the keys glow in the dark, but labels are small and difficult to quickly identify. It is miles ahead of Denon's odd remotes, but lacks some of the simple and easy to identify buttons of Onkyo.

The receiver has run cooly, which is an improvement from the space-heater my Onkyo could be.

The receiver does offer a really good listening experience for a very light (and presumably efficient) unit. That said, I do lament a few things: onscreen osd - at least volume/source/audio codec; a slightly ergonomic remote; and assignable speakers to let you customize presence and zone 2.

Overall, I am happy with the unit and pleasantly surprise how cooly it runs.

Packed with features but does have some flaws, June 10, 2010
This thing is loaded with features. My favorite by far is playing internet radio directly from an internet connection. It has an easy way to program and rename stations from an http site. It has a nice glossy front and runs really cool especially compared to my old Onkyo oven. The iphone control is pretty cool although it would be nice if you could turn on the receiver from the iphone app. It plays an ipod well and does display cover art for music although very small. It's pretty cool that you can use a standard USB cable to connect an ipod as well as some other USB devices (Haven't played with that). I do wish the USB input was on the back. I have an ipod dock that i want to leave plugged in and it looks pretty bad plugged into the front.

This thing switches inputs relatively quickly and can scroll through audio settings without long interruptions in sound. Powering up on the other hand is extremely sluggish. I timed 40 seconds from power up to get picture and sound rolling. I really like that you can customize the input names although the method of scrolling through each letter takes a while. It's also nice to be able to hide some inputs so that you don't have to scroll through a bunch of inputs that are never used when scanning through.

The remote is setup like a universal remote. You have to select a specific mode for most inputs. Say you're in ipod mode, you have to go back into receiver mode to use many of the settings buttons. This makes it very difficult to program a universal remote to control the receiver. you have to have a different set of arrow commands programmed for each input. Also, for programming a universal remote. All inputs have a separate button that you can program except of course HDMI inputs which are the ones I use. To select one of the 5 HDMI inputs you can continually press the HDMI button to get the one you want which is not a good method when you just want to hit one button to get to the correct input. There is a backwards way to reassign the analog input selection to use an HDMI input then rename it, but it takes some work. It is impressive that the included remote can be programmed for other devices and can even learn commands and perform simple macros.

The display on the unit I received has a small thread of some sort hanging down inside the display. This is probably just rare defect but it is annoying when looking at the display.

HDCP ERROR
I see this message flash multiple times on the display every time I power on. This is some kind of copyright nonsense built into HDMI cables. Although all HDMI inputs on my TV are HDCP compliant and I have used the same HDMI cables on a previous receiver without issues I had all kinds of problems getting my receiver to work at all because of this error. Time and time again I would be watching TV and then without touching anything I would see this error, then no inputs would work and it would take a while for anything to come back up. After playing with lots of setting and trying multiple cables and inputs on my TV now I just get the error without losing picture and sound. The manual says this: "Some components that are compatible with HDCP still cause this message to be displayed, but so long as there is no problem with displaying video, this is not a malfunction." Ummm, sorry Pioneer but when an error is displayed incorrectly that is called a bug and IS a problem. I'm sure they are being forced by law to incorporate this HDCP stuff in their unit but they are doing a very poor job.

Zone 2
Buying this receiver I had a plan to wire an adjacent room as a zone 2 so that I could play music in that other room. Unfortunately the zone 2 feature on this unit does not work with any digital inputs. Because I have everything connected via HDMI this makes zone 2 a worthless feature to me. As an alternative I decided to hook up the other room to the Speaker B connection. This won't allow me to listen to two different inputs simultaneously as zone 2 does, but at-least I can listed to digital inputs in the other room when I want. The problem is for some reason the speaker selection cannot be controlled with the remote. So I have to walk to the receiver to select to use Speaker B and then walk back to turn it off That may not sound like much, but part of my plan was to use an RF remote to control the music in the other room while in the other room. There is just no way to really get this unit to perform in such a scenario.

Almost a perfect receiver, August 23, 2010
Well normally, I don't post reviews, but I certainly base my purchase decisions off of fellow reviewers hear on Amazon, so it's time to pay it forward. This receiver purchase comes after needing a receiver that has HDMI inputs to compliment the new additions to my downstairs entertainment setup. After buying the Samsung 55" LED 240hz from Amazon, I decided it was time to upgrade the receiver.

Components I have include a Samsung Bluray player, Wii, Scientific Atlantic DVR (from Cox) and I also have the Apple airport which allows me to stream my upstairs music library to the downstairs (very awesome!). I also bought the Harmony One remote which I'll get into a little bit later in this review. The receiver so far has very much met or exceeded my expectations, with only a few things that I have to say would equal a "con".

Pros:
Sound. Although I'm no audiophile by any means, I certainly have become one. Pioneer does a great job at offering several different presets of how to listen to your content. I also like that each input maintains it's own setting. I have my bluray's played with a certain audio setting, as with radio, the Wii, etc.

Extras. I'll admit, that I actually paid a little bit more to have the iPhone remote feature which works really well....for volume and selecting inputs only though. I'll admit that all my friends almost expect me to "wow" them with my gadgets and toys, and the Pioneer app does not disappoint. I also took the time and renamed all of the inputs that I'm using, so rather than seeing "HDMI 1", I renamed it "DVD", or "iTunes" and "Wii". The receiver is nice with that option.

Internet connection. As mentioned, I have the Apple airport express and because I have several devices which needed a physical LAN connection to include the Samsung TV and DVD player, I bought a Netgear switch (which basically just expands the Internet connection to up to 5 devices). With the receiver, it was literally plug and play and no setup was needed on my end, which I was glad for.

Speaker setup. At first, I didn't think much of the speaker MCACC setup, but after doing it with the wired microphone, it was actually very easy. For those who don't have their speakers perfectly centered within their room (for example, I sit a lot closer to my rear left speaker, versus the rear right speaker), I suggest using the MCACC setup. The only thing I changed was the setup identified my front speakers as being large, when in fact they were small. I have Bose speakers with the bass module (which is not the same as a sub-woofer!) and I think that was the reason.

Plenty of inputs. I honestly can't imagine that you could use all of the HDMI and other inputs that are provided to you...which is great feature. I like having a device where I've got room to grow into it versus wondering how I'll make another device fit.

Heat. When I was reading reviews for receivers, heat seemed to be concern. Now that I have a somewhat more enclosed setup, I too have noted that's a good thing to keep in mind. I would rate the Pioneer as being very good in this department. Even after hours of running it, the Pioneer puts off less than moderate heat. If anything, I think the cable box is more to blame. But I would recommend leaving the receiver on a shelf to itself, with nothing on top of it.

Cons:
Remote. If there was any frustration, I think it had to do with being overwhelmed. Between the DVD player, TV, and receiver remote, hands down, do yourself a favor and invest in the Harmony One remote. I didn't even bother trying to program the Pioneer remote to learn the other remotes, etc. Also, I definitely agree with the criticism of the Pioneer remote...c'mon Pioneer - no back light, small buttons...you guys need to do better. But like I said, that remote is sitting in a drawer right now thanks to a REAL remote, the Harmony One.

Input selection. I too experienced problems initially when turning on the receiver and it would automatically go to the "BD Input". But thanks to other reviewers, I turned off the TV's "Anynet" feature and made some adjustments on what HDMI slots I used. What's nice about the Harmony One is that it allows you to select an actual HDMI slot of your choice (for example HDMI 3, which could be your DVD player) versus having to manually select input several times to toggle your way there. I did read some other reviews where the "input complaint" seems to be popular, but was slightly confused, because even on the Pioneer remote, you could easily select HDMI 1 to Radio, to HDMI 5 without having to manually toggle. I think the reviewers who are having those issues are using devices that do not even have HDMI inputs. I'll just say this, if you don't own 1 device that had HDMI, you're probably wasting your money with a high end receiver like this.

Pass through technology. Okay, so here is BIG con for me and I'm a bit shocked. I initially had the bright idea that I was going to run everything into my receiver and only have one HDMI going out to the TV...well that bright idea won't work for you. Why? Well because this receiver does not have "pass through technology". Meaning that if I want to watch cable TV, I can't just turn on my Samsung and start flipping away, I would have to turn on the receiver AND would have to select the TV input...somewhat disappointing. It goes the same for watching movies, because everything goes through the receiver, you're committed to turning on the receiver (even if you do not want to watch it on surround sound). Now, I will say Pioneer does allow you to toggle the volume so you can choose to listen to a device through either your TV or surround, but the steps to make that toggle are not worth it to me AND, you would still have to have the receiver turned on. So for me, I adapted and hope you take this advice: for watching TV (via cable box), I suggest you run your HDMI cable from cable box into to TV HDMI, but then run audio cables out from the cable box to your receiver (either through standard red/white cables OR what I did, which was using the optical cord with the red laser). Running the audio cables separate allow you to listen to audio on your receiver when YOU want to. Because I'll be honest, although I love this receiver, it only goes on when I'm watching DVD's, playing the Wii, or streaming my iTunes library.

You could easily do the same thing with your DVD player, but I actually only watch movies via surround, so the above work around was only needed with cable TV.

So-So:
Multi zone setup. Although I'm not using the multi-zone feature, I am powering outside speakers. Again, I love the ability to stream my iTunes library (using the Apple airport express) and this is what's nice about having an iPhone (I can use the Remote app and or Pioneer app), but what I do not like is the fact that I have to select the "B Speaker" feature from the receiver itself...there is no remote option that allows you to toggle between "A, B, or Both"...if anyone knows otherwise, please advise.

Audio selections. While the instructions were okay, I wish it would have provided a bit more insight on what audio options should be used under certain conditions. Again, I'm no audiophile, so I have a very sneaking suspicion that I'm not maximizing my surround sound experience for Bluray movies. One thing to note, I'm not impressed with the Samsung Bluray DVD player one bit and plan on bringing my PS3 downstairs (which is the BEST Bluray player out there today), just remember to turn on the highest audio option from the DVD player, to achieve that golden digital / DTS 7.1 or even 5.1 sound.

Internet radio. Although I have a LAN Internet cord running into the receiver, it's strictly to support the Pioneer iPhone app...not the Internet radio feature. I tried the Internet radio feature a few times but wasn't impressed. It does have some decent channels, but the biggest issue I see is that you have to have the TV turned on so you can select your channels you want to listen to. For me, if I'm going to have my TV turned on, then I might as well use the cable box's radio station features...even using the cable box stations, I can easily select a channel which I know to be a "Top 40" station, without actually having to have the TV on. The Internet radio through the receiver is a let down because of how slow it is going between channels and the fact that you need to have your TV to see what it is you're selecting.

Thanks for reading!

Great AV Receiver with a few quirks, May 20, 2010
I purchased this receiver about 1 week ago and love it. It has great sound, tons of features, and lots of connectivity for whatever device you may have. The only real issue I had was how the receiver would switch to TV/SAT every time I would turn on the system using my Harmony One remote. However, I discovered that this problem was caused by my TV and the fix is the following: Go into Menu under HDMI-CEC and turn it Off. If the set is a Samsung look for AnyNet+ (default is normally On) and turn it Off. Once I did that, the problem was gone. Once that problem was resolved I was really able to appreciate the features of this receiver. I used the automatic setup with the MCACC and it worked out very well. The only minor problem was that it listed my surround speakers as LARGE so I manually went into the setup and changed them to SMALL. Overall, I would say this receiver was pretty easy to set up, has great sound, and does not run hot like some of the other receivers out there so it can easily be placed in a closed cabinet without overheating. I was upgrading from a Sony STR-DE995 so this is a noticeable improvement now that I can listen to BD and HD DVD movies in TrueHD instead of standard Dolby Digital. I love it and can really hear the separation of the channels that was lacking with my Sony. I highly recommend this AV Receiver for the money.

Preliminary Review for VSX-1020-K --Verdict: Recommended, August 29, 2010
I am writing this review with limited experience. Very likely, the review will be updated later with more time spend with this receiver.

I purchased this item after another purchase went sour with a Yamaha Receiver (simple shipping damage by UPS). I was originally very attracted to Pioneer, however, I did not want to pay extra $150. Lucky for me, damaged Yamaha became an excuse to upgrade to this Pioneer.

I admit, I am not an audiophile. However, I have much experience with technology, and technology is what got me with this device.

Summary of Goods:
-Internet Radio built-in, IP configurable
-Device specific iPhone App, free
-Very easy to navigate on-screen menu
-5+1 HDMI input (you never know when you need the 5th one)
-Very pleasant design
-Very clean sound, with good speaker of course
-Multiple pre-configured presets for various movie and music situations
-Very functional universal compatibility with FIOS and Cable remotes
-Front HDMI (very important if you need to hook up an HDMI camera)
-Front iPhone/iPod interface (also charges, I think. cable is provided)

Not so good (but still OK)
-Very complicated remote with small keys
-Depth size is a bit high, if you have IKEA TV stand (stands out about and inch)
-No Wi-Fi (Ethernet only)


As you an see, this receiver does not have many negatives that would effect its functionality much, especially the sound quality. Therefore, I will not focus on details for what is good, rather give some tips to potential purchasers. I will also provide more information here later in coming months based on further experience.

I would also like you to pay attention to a general tip at the end of this review for possible network connectivity challenges you might have in your current and future system and how to over come.

TIPS:

Set-up and configuration:
Basic set-up was very easy, and teh system was on after 10 minutes. Make sure you use the BD input for Blu-Ray, and HDMI 1 input for cable/sat source. It becomes easier to navigate later on. You can go to home menu and rename the sources as you like.
Provided booklet is a bit complicated but it is worth reading, in fact, it is a must to read it. You will have to go to it back and forth later in advance configuration phase.

Given my lack of experience with home-theater systems, originally I tried to use it with only two Polk Audio Monitor 70 3-Way Floorstanding Speaker (Single, Black), only to find out that you MUST have a center speaker in a system like this in order to comprehend the spoken word on TV. The system will otherwise eat up the dialogs and output the effects and music only..So, I later on picked up BIC America FH6-LCR Dual 6.5-Inch 175-Watt LCR Speaker with Mid/High Frequency Horn. It made all the difference. You may be able to survive without rear speaker in an home-theater system, but center is a MUST.

Internet Radio:
I am an avid internet radio listener. This device connects to internet with ease and stream any ".pls" URL's with ease. Forget about trying to set-up radios from the remote. You can go to the system's home menu and see the IP address of the receiver, and then log-into it from your computer and change default radio stations URLs. Unfortunately, there are only 24 stations at any given time. It is OK for most of the users I guess, but not for me. Still, having a built-in Internet radio is sufficiently awesome.

Internet Connectivity:
As long as, you hook up an Ethernet cable to the receiver, connection is not problem. Once it is connected, make sure to upgrade the firmware. the one on the receiver is not the latest version.

HDMIs:

Unlike many of the current receivers, VSX-1020 has 5+1 HDMI inputs. 5 on the rear, one up front. I was particularly impressed with the front HDMI. It is a must have for those who own HDMI cameras. Nowadays, many manufacturers are providing HDMI out-put on digital cameras. Imagine the convenience.

iPhone/iPod:

There is a free app in the app-store for this device which enables you to control many functions of this device from your iPhone/iPod. You must be on the same network connected via the same Wi-Fi network. Once both your iPhone and receiver are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the app immediately recognizes the receiver without further configuration. Again, make sure you are in Wi-Fi with your iPhone, not 3G for this.

Blue-tooth:
I do not own the Pioneer Electronics AS-BT100 Bluetooth Adapter for Compatible Pioneer Products (Black) for this. You should be able to stream in music from your iPhone (or another blue-tooth enabled device) via this. I am yet to try, perhaps if the adapter sells below $50, I will. Yet, I am afraid it will increase the depth of the receiver and became more problem to fit into some shelves. Alternatively, you can get an Airport Express and stream all the music you like from iTunes on your computer. Again, with he internet radio, I am sufficiently connected to external music sources already.

Remote:
For some configuration and mode changes you definitely need the Pioneer remote. However, to increase the sound level, mute, and turn it on and off, you can easily program your cable/FIOS remote to turn on all the connected systems (TV, Box, receiver, blu-ray) at once. I think, you would prefer to use a single button to turn on and off your entire home-theater system, instead of switching between remotes. Just read the user manual for your Cable remote, it is easy. Not only you have to enter the right codes, but also configure it that the sound controls (volume, mute) works for the receiver not TV.

Design:
Like all other Pioneers, this receiver is nicely designed, with curvature corners. two large knobs to control Volume and Source looks very classic.


GENERAL TIP ON NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IF YOU LACK ETHERNET JACKS:

If you are getting this system or a system like this one, you are likely to have or will have network connected TV and/or Blu-ray player already. Today, NOT many HDTVs and Blu-rays come with built-in Wi-Fi. If you have one that does, good for you. However, for those of you who need to connect his/her blu-ray player, HDTV and receiver to the network via Ethernet cable, you have a challenge. But there is a solution, less than ideal but it works.

If you are lucky like me and you have single Ethernet jack on the wall, it is still not enough for all four devices. What I did to overcome this was to purchase TRENDnet 300 Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router TEW-639GR (Black) for $50 and then hook it up to the single available jack and use the LAN jacks on the wireless-router as splitter. It worked fine, now I have a faster N router,a nd wired all four devices still room for another future one.

Of you have no Ethernet jack close by, and you do not feel like laying one across the rooms for a single connection Airport Express works fine, but it has single Ethernet jack on it. For multiple connectivity, you will need to use the wireless router as bridge. Still a $90 solution, but for today home media devices connectivity is a must to upgrade the firmware, stream radios and watch Netflix.


**FIRMWARE UPDATE QUESTIONS:

Just confirmed by calling Pioneer USA at 1-800-421-1404. There is no way to update the firmware by the end-user from home. AND THERE IS AN UPDATE TO THE FIRMWARE. The item must be taken to closest Pioneer authorized service center for an update. Please visit the Pioneer USA website or call the number above to get the location for nearest service center. I think, firmware update is important. I would call the service center about to get it done. IT IS FREE. I hope this info helps.


That is all folks..I will provide more information with more time pent on this receiver.

***Buy it or Do not Buy it ??***

DEFINITELY, BUY IT !

Thanks..

Borderline totally Awesome, May 27, 2010
First receiver I've spent real money on. Most have been hand me downs from family and friends. Glad I waited!

I have all my gear going to the VSX-1020 and only 1 HDMI cable going to my wall mounted Samsung LCD:

1. Comcast HD DVR cable - HDMI
2. PS3 - HDMI
3. XBOX 360 - Component video / Optical audio
4. Wii - Component video / RCA audio
5. Home theater PC - DVI-HDMI / RCA audio
6. DJ turntables and mixer - RCA audio
7. iPod or iPhone - USB front
8. Digital Camera - HDMI front
9. Internet Radio - Ethernet

The setup was challenging but was made much easier after plugging in a USB keyboard to rename the inputs and navigate the GUI. Even after plugging in the mic and performing the auto MCACC setup for 5.1, manual adjustments where needed to make it sound right. The manual does not help much and you are better off reading forums and reviews to figure this beast out.

The remote control is solid in function (excellent support for my Samsung LCD and Comcast cable box) and crucial for certain tasks (displaying video to the monitor while spinning records and dj'ing) but lacking in aesthetics (ugly) and intuitiveness (buttons are all the same size, labels are teeny, impossible to use in the dark).

The iPhone app is very handy for controlling source input and volume, not much else (for now hopefully).

No onscreen volume or source info provided to the monitor, but the onscreen GUI for setup is the best and prettiest I have seen.

Pandora, last.fm, slacker are *not* supported in the "Internet Radio" however the preloaded stations are nice and the ability to customize the list of stations is awesome. No more FM for me!

The VSX-1020 is highly customizable and has a steep learning curve to setup but well worth the effort as it now switches effortlessly between all sources producing crisp 1080p picture and excellent 5.1 audio.

Pioneer VSX-1020K Review, June 4, 2010
I received the 1020k about 3 weeks ago. It replaces an old Pioneer receiver that has served me well for years. Overall, I feel this is an excellent receiver. Setting it up was easy. The Advanced MCACC works very well. I am only operating in Stereo right now driving an old pair of AR-5 speakers. The MCACC did an excellent job of equalizing the speakers for the room and gave a noticeably better sound quality. The power is more than adequate for my set up. Advertised as 110 watts driving a single channel. It is 80 watts per channel when driving stereo. Not sure what it drops down to when operating in 7.1. My speakers are very inefficient and it drives then much louder than I would ever listen to them. Even at very high volume I did not hear any distortion. It does play an IPOD/IPhone with no problem, however it does not recognize my Creative Zen. I found the remote control to be a bit cumbersome. It is OK for the receiver, and it works fine with my Sony XBR TV, but for some reason, I never could get it to recognize any of the codes for my Sony BluRay or my DirecTV box. So, I do have a Harmony One remote ordered to hopefully control all the components. The GUI is nice. It is nice to be able to plug in a USB keyboard and change the input descriptions. I have a tape deck and turntable hooked up and could change the descriptions accordingly. There is no preamp for a turntable, so that is an additional expense. I added the Behringer PP400 Ultra-Compact Phono Preamp for approximately $24 and it works well with my turntable. Pioneer gives you a pretty cheesy FM antenna which is no more than a strand of wire. To pick up FM stations better, I hooked up the old FM wire dipole that came with my old Pioneer receiver. Though the receiver does up convert all your video to 1080P, I have not seen much if any difference in the video quality. Overall, I think this is a very nice receiver and I am very happy with my purchase.

Excellent bang for the buck., October 28, 2010
First of all, kudos for Amazon and 5th Ave Electronics for FAST and safe shipping.

Really like the iPhone integration features. New modes step up functionality from my previous receiver which cost me nearly 4 times as much (Marantz SR-8001). If the Marantz hadn't suffered an early death I wouldn't have bought this.

There is no comparison between the sound of the Marantz 8000 series and a receiver of this level. That's why they cost big bucks--not only do they have HDMI but they also have essential sound features like a massive toroidal power supply and anal-retentive shielding and wiring design to minimize sound degradation from all the electronic whizbangery going on.

The midrange is Marantz's claim to fame, with a fast, liquid quality reminiscent of real high-dollar stuff. With smooth highs and tight bass, I love that Marantz sound. It's obviously what they focus on.

Now, for $400 this baby don't sound bad! If you have under $600 to spend on an A/V receiver, you should listen to this one, because it sounds as good or better than pretty much everything else in its range.

The networking and iPhone/iPod integration features are a step above for this receiver.

When I plugged the cat 6 cable into the back of the receiver, it was on the network and visible in seconds. My iPhone was controlling the dialogue and subwoofer volume in seconds. Now I just have to figure out how to stream sound over the iPhone's wifi connection to the receiver. So much more reliable than a bluetooth connection. Since that connection is there, there must be some way to exploit it.

As far as I can tell, we're waiting for an iPhone app that addresses the receiver as a digital media server. The receiver has firmware to receive multimedia over ethernet, so if it can see your iPhone online as a multimedia device it should be able to stream all your iPhone/iTouch movies and music over your wifi network. Then you can have two-way wireless communication with your iPhone and no need for the fancy white iPod cable that comes with the unit.

If this functionality can be added simply by adding a playback feature to the Pioneer iPhone app, I'm sure the software developers at Pioneer have it on their to-do list.

It sure would be cool.

Programming my Harmony One remote was more involved. Logitech doesn't automatically program the buttons of the remote for iPod control in its iPod/mp3 activity code.

So you have to go in and designate all the buttons for that activity. It's involved, but all the codes are there and correct so it's just point and click. When I was done I had full iPod/iPhone control with my universal remote. When I've lived with this receiver for a few months, I'll know what other features to build into the remote's receiver profile to properly automate use with this Pioneer unit.

As for HDMI performance, this receiver has more features than the Marantz SR8001. It has more two-way communication along the HDMI path between components, and seems to respond logically to signals from the sat dvr box, video game consoles and plasma display. Picture is a LOT better through this machine than through the 8001. I've heard that Marantz has also significantly improved picture quality in their newer receivers, so this isn't a knock on Marantz. It's just a comment that you will get good picture switching HDMI through this inexpensive little unit.

Sound quality: bass is muddier so far. I haven't yet fine tuned bass response with this. I didn't use the automatic calibration with this receiver, since auto calibration has been hit or miss in the past with me. So I set up the speaker sizes, measured distances and levels manually. There is almost no deviation from default for everything but sub. The sub was very muddy--perhaps I need to change the crossover point to lower than 80 Hz. My speakers don't roll off until 50 Hz so that's doable--I was just trying to save precious watts for my speakers because this receiver isn't terribly powerful. I'll try it both ways for an extended time and see which I prefer--a little more volume with less precision because more signal is being sent to the sub, or a little less volume with cleaner sound in the midbass.

Mids and highs are acceptable, though clearly not as refined nor as powerful as in the 8001. When you pay high dollars for a receiver, you are paying for incremental increases in sound quality, not a whole lot of computerized functionality. The functionality is cheap. Sound quality gets expensive rather quickly. That said, Pioneer seems to have prioritized fairly well on the sound quality front. There are receivers in this price range from Sony and Harman that are quite frankly unlistenable. This one is quite easy to live with, remembering how much money you saved over a high line Pioneer Elite or upper level Marantz/Denon, Onkyo, or beyond that into Outlaw, Sunfire, Arcam, etc.

If you have $5000 to spend on a home theater receiver, you aren't reading this review. If you want 80% of the SQ of those units for less than ten percent of the price, here you are. I would rather go with one of the big boys, but I'm still paying for my house and my kids are approaching high school age. By the time I can afford one of the nice units, I'm sure my hearing will be shot anyway!

So I buy the best sound and video I can afford, which means this unit for me.

You can get a lot of better receivers out there for more money. But in this class this one sounds almost as good as the class leader from Denon, and completely outperforms the Denon in modern network functionality. If you want to integrate your home theater into your home network for low dollars, this receiver gets you there without paying a serious sound penalty--and if you want better sound, Pioneer's Elite series will soon incorporate all the network functionality of these new receivers and better sound in the bargain. Just remember you'll pay significantly more for marginally better sound.

For me this setup is a winner. I'm very impressed.

Best receiver available for less than $500, October 31, 2010
I did quite a bit of research before buying this receiver with certain criteria in mind.

Due to the height of my entertainment center, most high end receivers were out of the picture as they tend to be very tall. In fact that's why I had to trade in my Sherwood Newcastle R965. The Pioneer has a small footprint, and has had zero problems with heat dissipation as there is minimal room surrounding the unit for air circulation.

The unit has plenty of connectivity options (as most do nowadays), including the convenient iPod/USB input on the front. I don't have an iPod, however was able to borrow a friends to try the UI and was quite pleased with the simplicity and speed of the interface.

Coming from a acoustically superior receiver, I'm having a hard time saying the Pioneer is a SQ unit, however with the auto-tune initial setup, I feel like it's a more balanced sound than the Sherwood, and therefore I'm happier.

I'm running a 5.0 stereo with the rear speakers directly behind the listener's head. The autotune spent some time with the time alignment and balancing the sound for the rears, and the end result is fabulous. I can listen to surround sound movies and hear the rears perfectly without being obnoxious.

I do feel like the autotune removed a lot of the bass that I'm used to. I can probably manually add it back in, but it's been motivation to finally add a woofer. Also, because of positioning of the entertainment center, one tower is closer to the listener than the other, the pioneer made adjustments for that as well.

I've had Pioneer receivers in the past and always complained about their DSP settings and remote controls. This model is a great improvement over the previous ones I've owned as it has 4 easy categories to switch through for DSP settings. They are easy to understand and make sense. The remote is an improvement over previous versions, but still far from where it needs to be. I use a Logitech Harmony 1100 touch screen universal remote, so I tossed the Pioneer in storage.

I have 3 inputs; Cable (HDMI), PS3 (HDMI), and Wii (RCA) with my output to the monitor over HDMI. The receiver switches sources quickly and does a very good job decoding the various source formats. I've had receivers in the past that make very loud internal switching noises when switching between stereo and Dolby - this makes quiet quick switches.

There is a plethora of logical adjustments that are easy to understand and implement including display changes. Pioneer really did a great job with the software on this model,and for the price I couldn't be any happier.

I'd highly recommend this to anybody who has multiple inputs of various formats, who enjoys simple setup and operation, who has a less than ideal speaker setup, and who requires a smaller footprint. Don't buy this receiver with the idea that it's going to be a sound quality receiver as you'll be disappointed. Not saying it's terrible sounding, only that it sounds a little digital and overly processed. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Sure, we call it an "entry-level" A/V receiver. But when you witness the full potential of the TX-SR608, you'll know the level you're entering is far beyond the ordinary. For a start, you get six of the latest HDMI 1.4 inputs for simple hook-up of all your high-def sources. HDMI 1.4 also brings compatibility with the new 3D video format, as well as an Audio Return Channel from your display back to the receiver. Complementing HDMI on the input front, you have an analog RGB video input for connecting your PC, and a Universal Port for Onkyo peripherals. All video sources, regardless of resolution, can be upscaled to big and beautiful 1080p via HDMI and Faroudja DCDi Cinema. Audio processing incorporates quality Burr-Brown DACs, lossless Dolby and DTS codecs, and the expanded surround formats of Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz. Three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry and jitter cleaning technology work to ensure extremely precise and faithful amplification. In recognition of the TX-SR608's outstanding A/V prowess, it has been awarded THX Select2 Plus Certification. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Key Features are 110 watts X 5, Dolby True-HD / DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Pro-Logic IIz Height Channel Decoder, Auto MCACC with room EQ, Phase ControlAuto Level Control – 2 Channel, Advanced Sound Retriever – 2 channel, iPod Digital USB / USB Memory Audio / OSD, Front A/V Inputs, Sirius Satellite Radio w/OSD, Bluetooth Ready w/ optional AS-BT100, HDMI Repeater (4 In / 1 out), Deep Color, x.v. color, Component Video Inputs (2 in / 1 out),Audio Inputs (6 in / 1out - includes Tuner),Audio/Video Inputs (4in / 1 out), Digital Inputs (3 - 1 coax / 2opt), Dolby PLIIz Pre-Out, Glossy Black Cosmetic, Preset Remote Control. ... Read more

Editorial Review

At the budget-conscious end of the home entertainment spectrum, you’re looking to maximize performance and features without putting undue strain on your finances. At Onkyo, we get it. That’s why we’ve redefined the entry-level A/V receiver once more, with the high-value TX-SR308. Not only is it ready for the 3D video future—thanks to its HDMI 1.4 specification—but it also handles high-definition lossless audio codecs from Dolby and DTS. Advanced A/V processing on a bedrock of classic Onkyo engineering is complemented by a bevy of convenient features: a new overlaid On-Screen Display for easy adjustment of settings; a Universal Port for single-cable connection of peripherals; and a front-panel audio input for direct connection of iPods and other MP3 players. With the TX-SR308, you get a home theater centerpiece ready to drive the latest high-def entertainment sources, today and beyond. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Give your home entertainment a powerful boost with the STR-DH510 5.1-channel high-definition A/V receiver. Outfitted with 5 HD inputs (3 HDMI, 2 component), it's easy to integrate your HD home components such as a Blu-ray Disc player or PlayStation 3 system. You'll also experience audio closer to the way it was recorded with built-in Blu-ray Disc audio decoding (LPCM only). Additional features include Audio Return Channel which eliminates the need for extra cables connected to your TV, and standby pass-through which lets you access all of your HDMI connected devices without having to power on the receiver. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reciever, Onkyo ,Tx SR508 Stereo ... Read more

Editorial Review

As the first - and most affordable - of Onkyo’s new-season network-capable A/V receivers, the TX-NR708 brings the audio goldmine of internet radio to your living room. Now you can kick back on the sofa and surf all your favorite channels in superior fidelity. With seven HDMI 1.4a inputs, the TX-NR708 offers copious connection possibilities, as well as 3D video compatibility. For your convenience, one of the HDMI inputs is located on the front panel, along with a USB input for flash memory devices and iPod models. If you want to connect a non-HDMI multichannel component - say, a legacy SACD or DVD player - the TX-NR708 sports a full complement of 7.1-channel analog inputs. The Onkyo name connotes serious audio quality, so it’s no surprise to find low-jitter Burr-Brown DACs and sophisticated Audyssey MultEQ room-correction onboard, along with lossless HD audio formats and the expansive surround dimensions of Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz. All of this processing and connectivity power receives the coveted THX Select2 Plus stamp of approval. ... Read more

Reviews

Nice mid-level AVR, July 20, 2010
I've really been enjoying my 708. It runs cool enough to be fine inside my tv console with the door closed. Another thing I like is it comes with RIHD (disabled by default) which basically means it talks to my Samsung TV that also has RIHD. I can control the AVR volume with my tv remote. The TV automatically turns off it's own speakers and outputs sound to the 708 if the 708 is on. Otherwise, it just uses it's own speakers. Also, if I turn off my tv it automatically turns off the 708 for me.

Networking with Windows 7 was a breeze as well. All I had to do was make sure Windows Media Player allowed the 708 to use it and I was good to go.

Getting internet radio was also easy. I didn't have to do anything special to get it to work. It's nice to be able to listen to net radio without having my computer turned on. vTuner is nice since it has several local stations. I've always loved Pandora and this makes it that much better.

Switching inputs does take a few seconds but that's not really something I care about and wouldn't have really noticed if people hadn't asked about it due to issues with previous Onkyo models.

I use my fat PS3 to watch Blu-Ray movies and they look the same as they did before which is great. It seems to do surround sound just fine through the PS3 as well using Linear PCM. The analog tv signal also looks the same as it did before.

I haven't hooked up my PC through this yet but will get around to it and update my review.

Edit: RIHD has started causing problems. With it enabled I've had times when I would turn on the receiver and get no sound from the speakers. The only things that worked to get sound from the receiver again was to either A)unplug it B) turn off RIHD.

I've also had Pandora lock up the NET/USB input. It would get stuck at 100% buffering. With RIHD on, the only way to get use of the input back was to unplug the receiver and plug it back in. I now have RIHD permanently disable because it's just not worth the hassle.

I've now hooked up my PC through the optical input and it sounds great. The HDMI input is worthless though. My video card outputs to the 16 x 9 resolution my HDTV uses but the 708 is still scaling it to a 16 x 10 ratio which makes the tv cut off some of the top and bottom of the screen. I just went ahead and plugged the computer video back into the tv and only use the 708 for the sound and that works fine.

Supurb Receiver, August 20, 2010
Synopsis: The TX-NR708 is a great value in this price range. It has THX Select 2, three 7.2 sound fields; they include 7.2 discrete HD/EX, Dolby z, and Audyssey DSX wide. There are connections for up to 11 speakers (excluding the 2 subs. Note that the 7.2 specification means that there are 2 preamp outs for 2 powered subwoofers). There are more than 50 listening modes to obtain the perfect sound for your room and source. For video processing, there are a total of 7 HDMI inputs (along with 2 component, 4 S-Video, and 5 composite inputs) 6 in the back, 1 in the front. Digital audio inputs: 3 coax and 2 optical. The remote is easy to use and setup for your other components. Menus are relatively straight forward, though there is a learning curve, depending on complexity of your particular setup. This receiver also has network connectivity with Upnp, and a webpage interface, making it simple to change fields without your remote, enhancing the TX-NR708 network's usability. With the release of future firmware updates, one can envision Onkyo adding features that will keep your home theater cutting edge. The power rating is 110 watts per channel, 8 ohm, @ .08% harmonic distortion, providing this receiver with enough power and clean sound for a small to medium sized room.

Setup

If you have all HDMI inputs, setting up the TX-NR708 is a breeze, given you already have your speaker wires run, of course. The binding posts are high quality and have a smooth feeling and, unlike some other receivers, it's easy to tell when the wires are secured. Since this receiver has binding posts for 11 speakers, connecting the speakers would have been confusing if I had not first researched the new Audyssey DSX and Dolby z sound enhancements, which are simply awesome in my view (more on that later). The drawback is that you need 4 more speakers to enjoy them. I extended wires and labeled them for testing later. If you do this make sure that you do not allow the wires to short. Tape them until you are ready to connect your speakers.

My setup, speaker wise, is nothing special. I use 2 large generic 3-way speakers, placed on either side of a 6' entertainment center for my fronts (not sure who makes them, but they have good balance and frequency response). A Polk CSi3 center channel sits above my 50" LG plasma TV. I advise you not to skimp on the front and center speakers. For surrounds and Audyssey DSX wides, two pairs of Sony SS-B1000 speakers serve nicely. For the heights, I thought I'd try a pair of Pyramid 4080 budget speakers, with wall mounts included. It was a perfect solution for the z channels, and they go down to a solid 100 Hz after being broken in. A BIC America V-1220 12-Inch powered sub provides all the low end punch I'll ever need. Placement for the `wide' and the `high' speakers can be tricky. Perfect placement (according to this diagram: [...] is generally not an option. From the diagram I mathematically calculated placement for my room, and was able to place them pretty close to where their sweet spots were supposed to be. The heights (Dolby z speakers) are about 5 feet above and 3 feet wide of my fronts, while the wide speakers (Audyssey DSX) are placed at ear level, about 4 and a half feet toward the center of the room away and 3 feet wide of the fronts.
Listening and Watching

The first thing I noticed when I powered up the receiver was an improvement in my satellite TV picture, especially in the text at the top of the screen. Next, I ran the Audyssey speaker setup and it balanced out all the disparate speakers perfectly into a seamless sound field. I popped in "The Transporter" movie (DVD), and tested the new sound fields. They were both awesome. "IP Man" is a good movie to test the z channels, as well, especially the final fight scene. The Dolby z field makes your room seem bigger than it actually is, expanding the front sound stage, while the Audyssey DSX field seems to bring the front action closer to you with more detail. At least that is the best way I can describe it. No doubt others will describe their sound experience differently with respect to these new fields. Whatever the case, these new sound dimensions provide a definite enhancement, in my view. And the discrete 7-channel DTS-HD Master in "Shoot `Em Up" does justice to that new Blu-ray sound format, as does "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

The Dolby z field works well with THX and gives you a lot of versatility when it comes to sound conditioning. Perhaps in a future firmware update, Onkyo will allow you to put the z and width channels together, like they already do with some of their high end receivers. If so, one might expect a net reduction in the power output, since more speakers will be running at once, and the power will have to be divided between them; thus, it would be equivalent to 9.2 or even 11.2 surround sound coming in the form of new listening modes.

Even though I only listened to Winamp radio and network radio, the sound quality was superb. I listen to jazz mostly, so I cannot comment on rock or other genres. Additionally, one would expect the sound quality of CD's and higher quality input sources to be even better.

Ease of Setup: Menus.

For the most part, I found the TX-NR708 menus to be pretty straight forward. I had no problem assigning components to my inputs of choice, with one exception. That exception being the sound input for an HDMI source when it does not come from the HDMI connector. For some reason the TX-NR708 does not let you do it from their main I/O Assign menu; you can only do it by using the "home' button on the remote while in that particular source mode. This might be necessary, for example, if you want to use computer motherboard digital coax sound with your HDMI video card output. Since Audyssey did such a good job setting up my speakers, I did not need to change any of those settings. Keep in mind that the Sub crossover frequency is set automatically in accordance with the rest of your speakers. You can, however, adjust the LFE crossover setting manually if you want. There are menus for THX and other sound conditioning (such as Audyssey EQ and Dynamic Volume), as well, and you'll need to experiment with those to find out what best suits your particular listening preferences. There is also a menu for programming your remote, eliminating the need to reference a manual for a code list.

Remote Control

The remote control that comes with the TX-NR708 is very good. The buttons are well organized and, unlike my last receiver, it is the only one I need for the basic listening functions of all my components. Programming this remote for other components, such as your TV, satellite/cable, and Blu-ray player is made simple by an onscreen menu. And once you're all set up, the pre-programmed macro buttons simplify operation even more. Moreover, this remote is a great improvement over the one that came with my Dish Network receiver; the TX-NR708 remote is more powerful than the Dish remote, eliminating the need to aim and press a button multiple times to get the receiver to respond.

Network

The network features that come with this receiver are sweet. Being a computer technician by trade, I appreciate the added functionality. Most users probably will use the default DHCP setting for assigning IP addresses, but you have the option to set them manually as well. Be aware that it is a wired connection, so you'll need an access point, or a bridged computer and a switch to make use of it, unless you already have an available network cable wired to your entertainment center. In many cases, the v-tuner feature will make it unnecessary to use an external FM antenna to listen to local stations. Add Pandora, audio streaming from your computer, and other services, and you have just about everything you could ever want from a network connection for playing music. One thing I really love is the web page interface for accessing network fields on the TX-NR708. This makes it easy to change network settings via a computer keyboard, rather than the remote, which can make setup much quicker and simpler.

Heat and Power Consumption

The receiver runs cooler than any other receiver I have ever owned. Nevertheless, I placed a small 12V computer fan atop for additional cooling. With that extra small fan my TX-NR708 runs as cool as a cucumber. One thing I did notice, though, is that the receiver stays warm, even when turned off, or when in the standby mode, indicating that it is consuming power (probably because the network is still active in the standby mode). So in order to conserve energy, I have it plugged in to a surge protector strip along with my TV, and turn them both off at night.

Summary

I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a better receiver at this price anywhere. It is packed with features that even many higher priced receivers do not have. Whether you like listening to music or watching movies, the TX-NR708 has most everything the home theater owner will ever need--and then some. I highly recommend it and give it a solid 4.5 stars.

I'm a novice and I love this receiver, September 5, 2010
I won't go into details; I actually have not gone into much of what this receiver can do.

I set this up in one evening with 5 HDMI sources and 1 Component source as well as set up the internet radio, AM/FM radio, DLNA connection to media on a home server, and the automatic tuning. All of this goes to a single HDMI (upconverted) out to a 46" TV. My set up is a 5.1 system at the moment.

I almost had no problems installing the above and have connections to spare. I have not messed with any settings yet (so all is at the 'default' setting) and the sound is amazing. I previously had a Sony entry level receiver (fried by lightning) and had spent hours trying to set that up to get a decent sound; never understood why it was so hard to just turn it on, play a movie, and listen.

The On Screen Display is a God-send, although this also has my one complaint so far, it is weird that it only seems to come on intermittently - can't figure this out, I think it only is available with certain inputs or something? One other small complaint is that the Harmony Remote I have does not have some of the keys mapped correctly and so I am having to program this manually (but this isn't Onkyo's fault).

Anyway, I highly recommend, if this is in your price range (I paid $550), you'll have a ton of connections, lots of features (ie ethernet connectivity and OSD), and the sound is great without much fussing.

PC IN issue and 3D issue, July 18, 2010
I chose the TX-NR708 because of its video de-interlace and up-scaling features. Who'd have thunk a modern flat panel Samsung PN63C7000 63-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV (Black) would display 480i as 480i? It looked awful! My old PRO-510HD would de-interlace 480i and display it really well. The TX-NR708 certainly resolved my Samsung's 480i issue.

The TX-NR708 can up-scale everything to 1080p - but interestingly not everything looks better at 1080p. I suppose it all depends on the source quality.

The sound is fine and the internet radio features are great. Also, RIHD works, in that my TV can turn on/off the receiver via the HDMI cable.

One issue to watch out for is the PC IN. The max supported input resolution is 1280x1024 @ 60 Hz - and it'll output it through the HDMI output at 1080p supposedly - but I never could get anything from the PC IN to come out anywhere. I did unassign the PC HDMI and PC Component inputs. If someone knows what the secret for routing the analog RGB PC IN signal out the HDMI monitor port please comment.

My TV is 3D capable and using a 3D signal from a Direct TV HR-24 directly to the TV is fine (but shown in 1080i), and the TV's auto detect 3D circuitry works pretty well. But, going through the TX-NR708 does cause an issue where the picture shows as 2 side-by-side images instead of the alternating 3D frames. So, it appears to break the 3D auto detect feature of the TV - not a huge deal because there's a manual setting, but interesting to note.

Would liked to have a switched 120v output from this unit to power my subwoofer.. then it would have been 5 stars.

So far so good..., July 12, 2010
Its been 5 days now, I hooked this up with Energy Take Classic 5.1, Samsung LN46A850 and PS3 80GB Fat one. As of now, I am ok with 5.1, I think 7.1 is a hype (fact - no place in my apt :( ) and not many movies are with 7.1, but got this receiver just to be future safe.

o The sound is clean and crisp, I was expecting it will be loud.. but good enough for my small apartment.
o Networking - Works clean as expected. Sometimes it says cannot play - may be I didn't wait to initialize fully.
o iPhone,iPod - recognizes iPhone 4 well and plays in extended (on-screen) and standard (iPhone controlled) mode.
- Saves 100$ on that dock thingy.
o Video up-convert is good,didn't test with the 24p blu-ray yet for the the Onkyo infamous stutter,or its compensated by my TV (120Hz).
- will update on this once I test with that.
- 480p Netflix (PS3) looks better after up-convert.
- As per THX standard (from manual), the video should be untouched in the receiver.
o Able to decode DTS and Dolby in receiver very well. (have to disable Linear PCM 5.1 and 7.1 in PS3)
- But my PS3 (FAT ones) cannot send HD Audio format in bit-stream, so have to trust on Sony's decoding for HD Audio formats.
(Another reason for avoiding 7.1 till I get a PS3 slim :D )
o Audyssey setup was good and pretty fast (not like 30 mins as mentioned in manual). After this, able to hear distinct sounds from surround speakers. But still had to increase center channel after this, I needed more dialog sound.
o Sometimes the remote behaves strange, after a remote controller reset, it works fine.
o As everyone says, remote control operation this is a rocket science for my wife.. hope the macros in remote should help here.

Overall I like this receiver and Energy Take classic. Still playing with it...

awsome, October 13, 2010
after 2 years my pioneer died on me. for half the price i get twice as many bells and wistles and better sound. i have been getting buy with my old harmon kardon and it was adaquite but this onkyo is easily the best reciever i have ever owned. i do not know if i can be called an audiophille because i do not like spending to much money on to little improvement on my system. don't hesitate if the other reciever you are looking at costs more just buy this one you will not be disappointed.

Great Receiver So Far....., July 15, 2010
I've only had the receiver a few days so I'm still in the learning phase. Sounds great, runs cool and has a ton of features for the price. I am, however, fighting an HDMI handshake issue between the Onkyo and my new Samsung HDTV. It takes multiple power cycles of both the Onkyo and the Samsung before the Samsung will finally "see" the Onkyo and connect to it....otherwise, the Samsung displays "searching for signal" then finally "no signal". Neither Samsung nor Onkyo tech support were helpful with this issue. If a factory reset doesn't solve the problem, they're pretty clueless. My research shows this in not an uncommon problem when trying to connect two devices from two different mfgs (Samsung especially) through HDMI . I'm going to try a workaround while I wait for a firmware update to hopefully fix the problem.

Update: Turns out the HDMI problem is with the Samsung. The 708 is working perfectly so far so I'm upgrading it to 5 stars.

3D Interface with DirecTV does NOT work, December 6, 2010
I bought this TX-NR708 to replace an excellent performing TX-SR804 to gain the new 3D capability with DirecTV's added 3D offerings. However, it will not pass the DirecTV's 3D HDMI output to my new Panasonic TC-PX65VT25 Plamsa. If I connect the DirecTV receiver directly to the Plasma input it works as advertized. However when I go through the TX-NR708 it produces two side by side frames much like the old stereoptican viewers my Grandmother use to have.

I called Onyko Tech Support to see what I was doing wrong. Unfortunately, the Tech said there is a known problem working with DirecTV 3D receivers. No estimate when a solution will come out. If you are a DirecTV subscriber stay away from this until DirecTv or Onyko finds a fix.

Onkyo TX-NR708 Revives my old speakers, November 12, 2010
Onkyo TX-NR708 7.2-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (Black)
After owning this receiver for a few weeks and a patch from Onkyo that fixed some major issues with the network features. I LOVE it! It sounds wonderful!! The sound at all volumes is even and accurate. Lower volumes seem full, and at higher volumes it doesn't overwhelm.

Audyssey setup is easy and straightforward. While the sound level correction is a slight disappointment (Commercial volumes could use even more correction) the other Audyssey features and sound more than make up for it.

The main reason I picked this receiver was the VGA (DSub) input. I have a PC for the entertainment center, and this allowed me to use my existing PC without upgrading to HDMI. I was able to assign the audio input for digital and works perfectly. This is a great receiver for MS Windows Media Center.

The price was a little more than I planned on spending, but now I don't regret it. I am now thinking of adding 2 more speakers to see how the 7.1 would perform.

The only thing this receiver is missing is an app for iPhone or a much better web interface.

Excellent, July 12, 2010
For a mid level receiver this receiver is great. Installation was easy. The menus are straightforward. After hooking up the wires to my existing speakers (NHT) and running Audyssey setup my speakers never sounded this good. The network works great as well. vTuner is awesome. It does not feel hot to the touch like some of the old Onkyo were known to be. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Key Features are I20 Watts x 7 – (20Hz – 20kHz @ 8 ohm w/ .08%THD) It has a 7 Channel Direct Energy Configurable Amplifier with Surround Back. Dolby Pro-logic IIz or B Speaker, THX Select 2 Plus Certified, Dolby True-HD / DTS-HD Master Audio, Advanced MCACC with 9 Band EQ , PQLS – Multi-Channel, Auto Level Control – Multi-Channel, Sound Retriever AIR – Multi- channel . It has a Internet Radio. It supports iPod Digital USB / USB Memory Audio, HDMI 1.4(6 In / 2 out), 3-D and Audio return Channel, Dual HDMI Output, front HDMi In Marvell I080p Video Scaler. Analog to HDMi Video Conversion. It has HDMI to HDMI 1080p Scaling. Component Video (2 in / 1 out). Full Color GUI. It has PC Control with Multi-Zone A/V Pre-out.9.1 Channel Pre-outs, RS-232 & Detacheable Power andLearning Remote Control ... Read more

Editorial Review

Take your HD surround sound experience to new heights with the STR-DH810 A/V receiver. Offering an abundance of connectivity options (4 HDMI, 3 component), you will have room for all your components including a Blu-ray player, PS3 system, DVD player and more. And with DVD upscaling via HDMI you can watch DVDs in near HD quality. This 7.1-channel receiver has LPCM, Dolby trueHD and dts-HD decoding technologies for audio that is true to the original master recording. The STR-DH810 features wireless 2nd zone audio capabilities, which allows you transmit wireless audio in up to 10 additional rooms via optional S-AIR accessories. Additional features include Audio Return Channel which eliminates the need for extra cables connected to your TV, and standby pass-through that lets you access all of your HDMI connected devices without having to power on the receiver. ... Read more

Reviews

Great Receiver! Improved Remote. Easy set-up., April 25, 2010
I just received my new Sony STR-DH810 7.1 on Friday afternoon. I already had the previous version, the STR-DH800 set up in the living room. The DH810 I got for the den. It took less than an hour to pull the plugs out of my old Sony (non-HDMI) receiver and set-up the DH810. I would recommend that anyone getting this get a set of banana plugs for the speaker inputs. You "can" get the wires in the "screw-in" connectors, but banana plugs are just so much easier to deal with. I am using all 3 component inputs, 3 of 4 HDMI, Composite and CD, including DVD Coax, and all Optical audio inputs. Everything is very accessible and clearly labeled.

Once I had everything set up, I ran through the Audio/Video set-up manually. The DH810 comes with a mic that allows you to automatically configure your sound system (the receiver does all the work, but I prefer to do the "tweaking" manually. But that's just me. However, that said, after manually setting up my system, I reset the receiver and allowed the included mic to automatically detect and set up my sound system (just to see how it handled the task) and it did a bangin' job! Very easy automated and intuitive set-up.

The initial set-up is a breeze. Hold down the On/Off button on the receiver for 5 seconds until the receiver says CLEAR (which you can do anytime you want to undo any major blunders or just start fresh). Press the speaker button on the receiver until your speaker set-up appears, select your desired input button on the remote, crank up the volume and you have sound! From there, the remote's menu allows you to configure all the tweaks like EQ, Speaker distance, balance, bass, treble, you TVs resolution, etc. I would prefer some kind of TV-On-Screen Menu, but that is not really a big deal to me.

The sound is phenomenal and the DVD upscaling is very cool. I have Avatar on DVD (not blu ray) and the picture upscaled crisp and clear. The sound coming out of the speakers is clean and crisp. My audio CD's, movies, Cable TV, all sound great with the DH810.

I had been putting off buying this until someone gave it a rating, and I finally found a couple on the web that convinced me to give it an "early-adopter" try. Suffice to say, I am NOT DISAPPOINTED! The Price of $285 with no shipping was just a BIG plus too.

I will probably add to my rating later on, but for now, I HEARTILY recommend the STR-DH810 to anyone that has been hankering to upgrade their sound system with an upscaling 1080p A/V Receiver.

An excellent buy for starting a 7.1 system, April 25, 2010
I purchased this receiver a few days ago and waited until I ran it through as many set-ups and combinations as I could in order to be as thorough in my review as possible. The STR-DH810 has been able to easily handle everything I've thrown at it through every type of cable imaginable and has only had one flaw that I've noticed: upscaling a composite video signal to 1080p (from a Nintendo 64 in this instance) seems to come with some flicker to the upscaled image, but flicker was solved by changing the resolution to 480p or 1080i. My only fault with the input set-up in the back is that there are no audio inputs that correlate directly with the component video inputs, so when I want to hook up a Wii or Xbox with component cables I have to hook the audio cables up to different inputs. Therefore, I have to have the L/R audio cables plugged into the BD composite audio input and reprogram where the video signal comes from in order to have the video and audio programmed to the same input selection. Because of this I had to do some unconventional reassigning of inputs, but since each input can be named by the user it is simple enough to keep track of.

Programming the remote to work with all of my components was very simple. Everything is working smoothly together, especially by utilizing Bravia Sync with a PS3.

5.1 and 7.1 DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD have been handled perfectly and the 7.1 set-up has given my living room a sound field that I wouldn't have believed. I prefer to calibrate my speakers by my own ear, but using the Auto Cal option to see how well it works was a very pleasant surprise, and trying to fool the mic by placing it in tough spots was harder to do than one would imagine. As long as the environment is quiet during the Auto Cal, then the calibration will do a fantastic job. I preferred to do a few tweaks of my own after the Auto Cal, but for the most part I felt that it was spot on.

This seems to be a fantastic starting receiver for the price, and the only reason I could see to upgrade to the STR-DH1010 would be for HDMI 1.4 support for 3D. If 3D isn't your concern then this receiver is the way to go.

Sound and video is great but not intuitive (for HDMI components), June 9, 2010
First, I'd like to say that after I got it working, it looks and sounds great. I don't even have the annoying lip-sync problem with some of my movies, now that I am running only HDMI for video and sound.

BUT, the main negative I have for this receiver is that you cannot assign the BD or DVD or Video1 as HDMI video and sound. It can only do HDMI video. If you want sound, you have to connect the optical or coax. However, if you use the buttons HDMI1, HDMI2, HDMI3 and HDMI4 then it all works fine and the HDMI will carry video and sound. You can rename the LCD display to say Blu-Ray if you use HDMI1 but when using the remote, it just doesn't make sense! Why would you want to press HDMI1 when you see a button called BD on the remote?

Other posters on other forums have raised this issue and sadly, some users actually think there is a problem with HDMI video/audio and have resorted to using HDMI for video and optical/coax for sound. There is actually NO technical problem, you just have to use HDMI1, HDMI2 etc. to get the video/audio via HDMI.

There is another small problem which is no biggie, I tried to run either DVI-HDMI, or component from my cable box to the receiver, and it briefly shows the picture on the TV, but then a message says there is digital protection and the picture blanks out. That's fine, I've experienced that before, so I just run component straight to the TV and only use the receiver for sound (via optical).

The highlights? Too many to mention. The sound is great (no dropouts or lip-sync). The video is great (no dropouts). I actually bought the receiver for its av lip-sync feature but I haven't had a need for it yet because everything works. I've reduced all my cable/wiring clutter (optical cables, splitters, red/white cables etc.) significantly since I moved to mostly HDMI.

I have connected:

1) PS3 via HDMI (video and sound)
2) HD DVD via HDMI (video and sound)
3) xbox 360 via HDMI (video and sound)
4) Motorola Cable Box (TimeWarner) (sound only via optical)

The manual is terribly written with some very poor English sentence structures. Sony should really invest in a couple of good technical writers.

** edit 7/22/10 **
The receiver broke down in less than two months. Similar to another reviewer, the receiver started hissing and crackling. I tried possible solutions and I will now have to return the receiver with shipping costs and the trouble of using my AV components without a receiver. Quality control seems to be lacking.

** edit 8/9/10 **
Received the unit back and reconnected. They sent me the original unit back so that means they replaced the defective component. Speakers no longer hiss and crackle, so hopefully this is the end of the problem.

Great receiver with a few drawbacks, August 27, 2010
OK, I admit that I am pretty much a Sony brand loyalist; having items ranging from clock radios to cameras to televisions dating back over 25 years. But I am also a person who people say is a "call 'em like I see 'em" kind of guy. The STR-DH810 is a good, solid A/V receiver. However, some disappointing shortcomings and a lopsided emphasis on the "V" part of A/V keeps me from giving this unit a 5th star on its rating. I still would not hesitate to recommend this unit to friends with the caveat that they should be aware of what they are not getting as much as what they are.

It is obvious that the folks at Sony have put most of their focus on people who have the newest equipment at the expense of the large customer base that have a significant investment in Sony products over the last several years that are still going strong. This is evident in the constant touting of HDMI connections and 3D readiness. What you don't hear is what connectivity was dropped. I always strongly recommend to my friends that the[= download the user manual from a manufacturer's support site before making a final decision. For Sony, that is esupport.[...]. This is literally a case of "a picture is worth a thousand words."

For me, what was lost was needed audio connections; there is only one set of dedicated audio in/outs (labeled SA-CD/CD/CD-R). You can always use the audio connections of a video input, but it still feels a tad wasteful to leave the video connections forever unused. It is also inconvenient for the need to give a briefing to your family telling them that the audio connection you labeled "HD Tuner" is operated by first pressing the "Video 1" button on the remote. However, I do understand that at this price point it is hard to fit the majority of configurations conveniently.

Another disappointment, for those that use this receiver as much or more for audio, is the FM tuner. First, the tuner section is not as good as the one in the 10 year-old Sony it replaced. In a quiet room I can hear the noise floor hiss during silent moments in the programming. As I said, my old tuner did better and I live about 20 miles from most transmitters and us an outdoor antenna so signal strength is not the problem. Secondly, why did Sony invest valuable production budget putting in the S-AIR and DMPORT connections that only a small portion of the customer base will use and not bother putting HD Radio capabilities in its tuner? I ended up purchasing a Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner which overcame both problems but I still wondered why I had to do that in this level of receiver.

Several other reviewers described some shortcomings in the video options despite the promise of the many connections. Once again, for me, the problem is what they have dropped in recent years. For instance, my DIgital 8 HandyCam is still making great videos, yet there is not a single S-Video input. Fortunately my TV still has one. I really would like to have seen what upscaling would have done with my D8 videos.

I have a similar disappointment with the speaker connections. It's obvious from the 7.1 designation that the 'DH810 has connections for Surround Back speakers. You may have also heard that there are connections for "Front B", "Front High", and "Bi-Amped" speakers. What is not obvious from most literature or the Sony Style website is that these are referring to the SAME set of connections. Of the four configurations I just mentioned, you can only use ONE of them because of this. For example, if you have both a remote pair of speakers and surround back speakers you are out of luck; one pair will go unused. This is where downloading the user manual before purchasing can save you some grief, and possibly $$'s

The other major reason for only 4 stars on the ratings was the manual; about which many reviewers have already written. Sony has definitely cut back in their Tech Writing department in recent years. It's not so much that it suffers from bad translation into English, although there are a few cases of awkward grammar, but rather it doesn't take enough pages to adequately cover some of the complex switching/configuration capabilities of this unit. This manual is far shorter than some of their earlier, less capable receivers.

A good example: Connecting and using a second set of "Front" speakers. (In the past know as just the "B" speakers; in the manual referred to as "Front B" speakers.) No matter how hard you try, you will not find a complete set of instructions in the manual on how to correctly set the unit up to listen to a second front pair once they are connected. Here are the missing instructions:
1. Press AMP MENU on the remote. 2. Use the up/down arrows until you see SPEAKER displayed. 3. Press the right arrow button and then the up/down arrows until you see SP PATTERN on the display. 4. Press the right arrow button to see the setting options. 5. Use the up/down arrows to select a setting that that is either "equal" to 3/2.1 or below (see the list on pg 78 of the manual). 6. Press the left arrow button to save the selected setting and get back to the parameter menu. 7. Use the up/down arrows until you see SB ASSIGN displayed. (If this option is dimmed, you didn't select a correct setting in step 5.) 8. Press the right arrow button to see the setting options. 9. Use the up/down arrows to select SPK B. 9. Press AMP MENU to save the setting and exit the menu. 10. Press the SPEAKERS button until you see the configuration you what displayed (A, B, A+B, OFF)
Unfortunately there is no direct way to go back to a surround configuration without basically following steps 1 - 6 to undo what you just did.

Enjoy

For the price this item is really nice, May 29, 2010
Surround sound Quality is excellent. Was told and read alot about how Yamaha was a much better product but wanted to keep all my equipment Sony just for the Bravia sync features which I love. I don't know how much better a yamaha amp would be but I love the sound and picture quality of this Sony. hooked up 5 1/4 inch Polk Audio speakers for my surround set up and was and continue to be blown away with the improvement of my movie watching experience, it really does sound amazing. Great surround setting options (although the settings themselves could have been labeled better) for movie veiwing and listening to music. My only complaint is that I wish there was on screen controll features which I didn't know I would care about untill I wanted it but for the price I got this for I really have no regrets about it.

I can't complain about this receiver, July 1, 2010
This Sony STR-DH810 receiver has plenty of power for my 20 X 24' living room. I have never maxed it out, and volume level 40 is about all I can stand anyway. I usually watch a movie at volume level 27-30 most of the time. At 110 watts RMS X7, per channel, you can really rock the house. I have coupled it with a mix of speakers. I use Energy Take TWR speakers (200W) for front left and right, Energy Take FPS speakers (200W) for rear left and right sitting high on CD tower racks (the height helps clear the back of the recliner or couch), Bose 201 series 3 bookshelf speakers (120W) on stands for the surround side speakers, A Sony 6" long throw powered sub woofer pointed at the wall for sound board reverberation (it really shakes the house), and a Polk Audio Center Channel speaker (110W) which has 2 - 6" full range speakers and a tweeter with ported bass duct. This Hines 57 mix produces excellent surround sound. I have heard that there may be a problem mix matching the speakers, not being sonically identical, but I think it gives the sound a more rich variety. I don't see a problem as long as the speakers can take the wattage. I think the Bose 201's give a lot of depth to the sides because of the speaker configuration in the speaker it's self, pointing in different directions. I may replace them in the future with the Energy Take FPS speakers.

I tried setting up the receiver by using the included microphone, but I didn't like the results. The front speakers were too loud. I tried to set the microphone closer to the front but it was still too loud compared to the rear speakers. So I decided to adjust the speakers manually, this was much better. You can adjust the sound on the fly and I usually listened to about a 3 minute stretch of the movie over and over to get it right. After I had adjusted this movie to my liking, I discovered that every movie has a different level of center channel in particular. It seems that 7.1 movies have a lower center channel output than 5.1 movies. So I have learned how to adjust the center channel from the remote to change it on the fly with different movies. Usually the level of the center channel is -20 on 5.1 and +30 on 7.1 and other misc movies are a guess. Of course this level would depend on your speaker. I don't think this is a problem with the receiver, it's just the way someone mixed the sound on the movie. It took me about a week of playing with it to get the sound settings the way I liked it. I prefer a louder surround than normal but that's just me.

A special Note * If you are using a PlayStation 3 connected through HDMI to play Blu-Ray, you must go to the sound/audio configuration menu in the PlayStation 3 and let it auto detect what formats the Sony STR-DH810 can play, or you will only get stereo output. Also make sure the PlayStation 3 is set to BITSTREAM output.

I have an HD ATSC 8 bay bow tie antenna for digital TV and the TV plays great surround sound through the optical TV input on the receiver. I also used a RG6 splitter to connect the HD antenna to the FM antenna input on the receiver and I get excellent FM reception (even though it is a UHF antenna).

I like the buttons on the remote. It gives you a button for each input on the receiver individually instead of rotating inputs on a single button. However other controls (like speaker volume adjustment) are two levels deep into a amp menu which takes getting used to.

I like to set the display on the L.E.D. readout to show what kind of surround sound is playing from the movie so I know what to expect in sound. My old Sony 5.1 had a blue light to indicate that digital surround sound was playing. This Sony STR-DH810 shows a diagram of all the speakers and which ones are being used, plus the name of the particular surround sound is displayed.

I was also able to get surround sound from my media PC through the Gigabyte GV-N210D3-512I video card using HDMI output. I had to plug it into my TV's HDMI port first and let it play through the optical TV output to the Sony STR-DH810 before it would work though. I don't know why it wouldn't work plugged in directly to the Sony STR-DH810's HDMI port. Maybe I missed something. Also if you try this remember to set the audio settings to use the HDMI video card's sound card, and set the speaker configuration to 7.1.

Concerts sound amazing!! It's as if you were right there. I played Chris Botti Live Blu-Ray and you can hear the crowd in the background when they cheer, and super sharp audio in the front with reverberating echos of music bouncing off the walls in the background. It makes your viewing room sound like a big concert auditorium. The sound is so realistic, or even better since it is mixed. Also The Pink Panther 2 Blu-Ray has some great sound effects. When Steve Martin was trying to catch all of those wine bottles he knocked over, I heard a pinging sound to my right and I thought fell over in my house, then I realized it was on the movie and came from the Bose 201 side speaker on my right. :-) Also Avatar Blu-Ray Has a realistic surround jungle sounds when they are on the planet and other effects. Also Star Trek Enterprise (the latest movie) has great sound effects and explosions. It's worthy of using as a sound reference movie for setting up surround.

Overall I can't complain about this receiver. I gave it 4 stars because of some difficulty in setup. Once I got it setup right I was very happy with it. If you have little audio/video knowledge you may get frustrated at first, But if you keep at it, read the manual, and ask a few questions, you should succeed. Sony has techs that can help as well. Thanks for reading my review. I hope it was helpful to your decision.

Very satisfied with initial use, July 19, 2010
I really like this unit and would refer you to other commentators for discussion of features and specs.

My receiver is connected to an HP computer to which I added an HDMI card, a SONY Bravia TV and a SONY Blu-Ray DVD player. Now, instead of multiple wires running between units, I have a single HDMI cable from the computer to the receiver (HDMI 1 input), a single HDMI cable from the DVD player to the receiver (HDMI 2 input) and from the receiver to the TV a single HDMI cable. Now I have wonderful surround sound and glorious HD video from two sources.

I receive over the air HD broadcast and have no cable service. I use my computer as my TV video recorder using Microsoft Media Center and several Hauppauge USB tuners to convert the antenna signal.

I have an older Logitech Harmony remote which works with all the components, although I had to do a lot of manual "learn" mode input to set it up to my liking.

Since I added an Nvidia HDMI video card to my computer, I did have one additional step to perform to get the audio right. The Nvidia card disabled my HP on board video, but it did not disable the onboard audio. So I had to go into the computer's BIOS via the boot setup process and disable the onboard audio. It was no big deal, but until I did so, I had two audio devices vying for control of the computer's audio output and it gave me serious howling until I turned off the onbaord card. At first I thought it was a possible problem with my new receiver, but since it only happened with the video sourced from the computer (and not the DVD), it was sort of self-troubleshooting.

My only negative thought so far is that the receiver has no back panel electric plug. I could have seen that from the photos, but it never occurred to me to look. My old SONY receiver had two such plugs, which let me plug in my subwoofer and it powered up whenever I powered up the receiver. Now I have to push the button on the subwoofer -- no big deal, but just a thought for others.

I would parrot others in saying that the manual could be written in much clearer fashion. Hooking up and getting things running was pretty easy -- at least for someone who has used a/v receivers before -- but I suspect that I will have no idea of all the capabilities of this unit unless I commit myself to reading and interpreting the manual.

Hard to Confiigure, But Sounds Great, June 16, 2010
Bought this unit for $280. Great value for the price.
The Dolby Pro Logic II works great at converting 2 channel stereo to 5 channel surround.
Trying to configure the connections to what is on the remote is very hard and not well detailed in the instructions.
And the remote's code is new, so my Dish Network remote will NOT control the receiver's volume.
The remote is HUGE, but has every conceivable button on it.

If Sony had written a complete manual covering all the complexities, I would give this receiver a 10, but the manual is written by a Japanese translator who had one day to write it.

Missing a feature; poor documentation, June 11, 2010
Nice receiver, but missing a few features. I selected the Sony 810 because it had upscaling, and a single HDMI-out to a TV -- which I thought would simplify my configuration and wiring.

--Upconversion from VCR worked, but upconversion from DVD had jumbled video. I chased this for hours: swapping cables, driving the TV directly, trying a different DVD player, etc. Called support at ABT (which sold it); nice guys, but not with deep knowledge. Telling me "you must have a bad cable" was not helpful. Finally I noticed a difference when the two different DVD players were each plugged directly into the TV, bypassing the receiver. In one case it reported a 480i input, but the other reported as a 480p input! One DVD had been set with the higher-quality 480p output, but THIS RECEIVER DOES NOT CORRECTLY UPCOVERT 480p. Easy to change the output format in the DVD player, but by then I had wasted hours. I then called Sony, to double check; helpful lady; she found the obscure, poorly worded sentence in the manual that talks about the receiver only doing 480i output -- by which it really means it only accepts 480i iNPUT.

--Perhaps it's just me, but I had naively expected that with upconversion and HDMI I'd be able to run one cord to the TV to carry video and audio. Not quite -- that works for HDMI inputs, but when the video upconversion is taking place, the audio DOES NOT go along on the HDMI. If you want to see unconverted video and its audio on the TV, you have to run separate audio input cables to the TV -- which defeats the whole purpose of the single HDMI input cable.

But the price was good, and the auto-calibration seemed to work fine. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Performance and affordability are the hallmarks of the AVR-391. A powerful 5 channel x 110W (6-ohms, 1kHz, 5 x 75W 8-ohms, 20 – 20kHz) amplifier section delivers detail and dynamics to music and movie soundtracks. It’s equipped with 1080p compatible HDMI 1.4a Repeating technology (4 in, 1 out), with 3D pass through (all formats) allowing delivery of both audio and video to your HDTV with a single HDMI cable. HDMI connectivity supports the latest generation surround sound formats available on Blu-ray disc, including Dolby TrueHD and DD+, dts-HD and dts-HR. You can also connect and control your iPod/touch or iPhone using one of Denon’s available iPod/iPhone docks. When connecting iPod and other MP3 players, the AVR-391 features Denon’s exclusive Compressed Audio Restorer to improve sound quality and dynamics. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Enjoy bolder, quality sound without the fuss. The solid, 2-channel STR-DH100 stereo receiver delivers clear stereo sound for everyday music fans and rooms where a complex home theater system is not needed. With the right mix of inputs and technologies, the STR-DH100 transforms any secondary living environment into a concert hall. In addition, it also includes the Digital Media Port input that allows you to extend your music selection from an iPod, Walkman digital music player, Bluetooth device or from a PC (accessories sold separately). ... Read more

Editorial Review

Meet Onkyo’s mid-range powerhouse. The TX-NR808 earns its prestigious THX Select2 Plus certification by blending the latest connectivity and processing technology with Onkyo’s renowned amplification prowess. As a network-capable receiver, the TX-NR808 is your gateway to streaming audio from your PC or internet radio. Other connection highlights include seven HDMI 1.4a inputs with 3D and Audio Return Channel capability; 7.1-multichannel analog inputs for legacy components; a Universal port for Onkyo peripherals; a USB port for iPod models and flash memory devices; and an analog RGB video input for your PC. Employing two advanced 32-bit DSP chips and low-jitter 24-bit Burr-Brown DACs, the TX-NR808 effortlessly handles your audio-processing needs. Whether it’s lossless Dolby and DTS formats on Blu-ray Disc, or new-dimension surround formats from Audyssey and Dolby, your audio signals retain every lifelike nuance.All things considered, the TX-NR808 is a serious challenger for the middleweight crown. ... Read more

Editorial Review

If you want your receiver to focus purely on two-channel audio, the TX-8255 could be just the answer. It`s perfect for your living room, or anywhere else you like to sit back and soak up your music.The TX-8255`s rock-solid construction incorporates a heavy-duty extruded aluminum heat sink to ensure cooler operation.The whole unit is housed in a rigid, reinforced chassis-finished off with a hairline-brushed aluminum front panel-to help eliminate vibrations. Add compatibility with RI dock for the iPod(R), and you have a superb stereo solution that brings out the power and dynamism of your audio sources. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Enjoy a revolutionary home theater experience with the Yamaha RX-V667 Audio Video Receiver. With 90 watts per 7 channels, 6 HDMI inputs (including a front input), multizone support, and the latest hi-def audio and HDMI specs for upscaling to 1080p, this receiver plays well with all your home theater equipment. Enjoy more than just your movies with SIRIUS-ready and yAired compatibility, as well as iPod support for album art (when connected via supported dock, sold separately). There's also a full-color GUI for controlling all the action when connected via HDMI. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Remote Controlled Stereo Receiver with Phono Section 100 watts RMS per channel from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with no more than 0.2% THD, 6 OhmsTotally Discrete Amplifiers for all channels (TDAS) Heavy Duty Binding PostsSwitching for two pair of loudspeakers (in parallel) Phono Section43-Key Remote ControlAM and FM Stereo4- Gang FM Front end 30 Station Presets5 Audio Inputs (Including Tuner)Sleep TimerGeneral FeaturesDigital Encoder Volume ControlSystem Illumination (Dimmer) Headphone JackTone DirectLarge Fluorescent Display ... Read more

Editorial Review

Samsung wireless rear stereo amplifier. ... Read more

Editorial Review

50 Watt Power Amplifier for multiple Custom Home Audio Distribution and Home Theater Applications. Ideal for use as aremote amplifer, A single zone amplifier, or rear channel amplifier for Dolby 6.1 / 7.1 systems. ... Read more

Reviews

Good amp for people who will read a manual and think things through., September 14, 2007
I've owned one of these amps now for about six months. All the complaints I've read in the reviews have come from people who obviously can't be bothered to read, pay attention, or think things through. I'm specifically referring to Auto Input Switching/Power, lack of features, and output power.

First, this is NOT an integrated amp. Nor is it designed to be used primarily as a standalone system. It is intended to be used as a node on a distributed music system. The feature set for this unit has this use in mind.

It can function as a standalone unit but if you are going to use it as such you need to use it with a pre-amp or with an input source that provides adequate line in, input selection and the tone/equalization control you want.

Second, the auto input switching. The manual isn't clear on this and the feature can't be switched off, which is why I docked it a star. But some reading and thought will provide the solution. The auto input feature is only on input 1. If you run your primary input to input 2 you will have no problem with auto switching cutting off your music during quiet passages or after the track has started. If you need to use multiple sources without the auto switch cutting the input then you need to use external input switching (see pre-amp above) and make sure the switch/pre-amp is fed to input 2 on the amp.

Auto-power on issues: This feature can be turned on or off by way of a selector switch on the rear panel of the amp. Default is on. This is in the manual.

"It doesn't have a sub out": No, but it does have a line out/pass-through for input 2 which can be used for a sub out.

"It isn't loud enough": One of two things is happening here; 1. The line in isn't sufficient to properly drive the amp. 2. The speakers aren't efficient enough. If you are running speakers with less than 90db sensitivity you won't get decent performance from this or any other "low power" amp. I'm using Athena AS-B1.2's and I'm getting more than adequate volume and bass response. I recommend these (under $100 if you shop around) or the Athena AS-B2.2. Klipsch, Infinity, JBL, and Yamaha all make some nice bookshelf units with 90db sensitivity or better that would work nicely with this unit. Just because this is an inexpensive amp doesn't mean you can get away with cheap speakers.

"There isn't enough bass": 1. Make sure the source is providing enough bass input. If the source doesn't have a tone control for bass you may need to use a pre-amp. 2. Use better speakers. When I first got my amp the speakers I had ordered for it were delayed, so I used some old early 80's bookshelf speakers to test the amp out.

Those speakers had no bass at all, or treble, or much midrange. Basically it sounded like an AM pocket radio. When the Athenas came in and were properly broken in the sound improved greatly. It also helps to have the speakers placed properly. If your speakers are rear vented they don't need to be in an enclosed space or pushed up against a wall (I see this all the time, even on store displays).

My experiences with this Amp: I ordered this amp with a pair of Athena AS-B1.2 bookshelf speakers for use in my home office. Inputs are from my PC (by USB DAC) and an iPod dock. Both inputs run through an audio switch to input 2 on the amp. The files played through it are a mix of OGG, FLAC, AAC, ALAC, WAV, and MP3. Mostly FLAC.

I was impressed by the fit and finish of the unit out of the box. I've seen many allegedly high end products that don't have this level of finish (Cameras, turntables, TV, PC Cases, Cars, etc.). The weight is substantial. As near as I can tell by looking through the vent slots the transformer takes up at least half the case. The power lines in my house aren't very clean and I have hum issues with most A/V equipment I own, but I have yet to hear any hum (in normal conditions) from this amp when turned all the way up, even when it's been plugged into outlets that give other equipment fits. The only way to get hum is to touch an input with a finger. In normal use the background is dead silent. Good power supply.

The design is minimalist and clean. The only panel controls are power, speakers, volume and balance. It is low profile and unobtrusive and gives off very little heat, even when left on (with the volume turned down). Mine doubles as a monitor stand, LCDs only.

There are two inputs but they are auto switched. The first input is the auto switch input, as stated above. This means that if an input is detected it will switch to input 1 over input 2. It is fairly sensitive and will switch back and forth during pauses or quieter passages in the music. If you listen to a lot of Jazz, classical, or chamber music with pauses and quiet bits you will definitely want to use input 2 to prevent it from dropping out during those passages.

There is an autopower feature as well. If left on it will cause the same problems with the amp cutting out during quiet passages as the autoinput switching. However it can be disabled by a selector switch on the back of the unit. This is clearly explained in the manual. The intent is to allow the unit to be powered on remotely when used with a distributed music system. If you want a standalone system disable this feature and turn it on and off manually.

The sound is deep and rich with excellent separation, depth, and imaging. There's plenty of bass for most of what I listen too (Jazz, folk, and classic rock), and outstanding midrange. Treble does seem to roll off a bit, but that may be the speakers. Volume is more than enough to shake the walls and floor of my office and the music can be heard clearly throughout the second floor of the house. Personally I think it's more than loud enough to use as a primary system if you have a smallish living room (but with larger speakers). I haven't heard any distortion at loud volumes, but excessive line in might change that. More importantly to me the sound doesn't get muddy at low volume levels. It remains clear and detailed. I have no problem listening to most of my collection for hours on end with this amp while I work, or kicking back on the office sofa with some whiskey.

Most of my music files on the PC are lossless, but I do have a few dogs among the MP3 and WAV files. It's no great feat for an amp to sound good with a lossless file so I ran a few of the nastier files through it to see how it did. For the most part it took the edginess off most of the rougher files and made them almost pleasant to listen to. There are a few bad tracks that are best left to regular PC speakers, and a few FLAC files ripped from CD where bad mastering shows up more clearly now. Win some, loose some.

Nitpicks: My amp pops when turned on and off, which has the potential to damage speakers. It's not loud, but I turn the volume down before I hit the switch. I would prefer a manual input switch. Price has changed by as much as $30 on Amazon over a relatively short time.

Before buying this I listened to a friend's office setup with a Super T-Amp and a pair of Infinity Bookshelf speakers. To my ears the Amp100 sounds just as nice at lower volumes plus it can pack more of a punch when called for. It's not as compact as the Super-T or as stylish, but it fills my needs.

Solid product!, January 18, 2006
I had the reported switching problem ("UPDATE: This device has one annoying defect ... a "clever" feature of switching inputs automatically when it senses no input on one of the two stereo inputs ... any stretch of silence will cause it to switch"). I called AudioSource and I have to give them credit. The problem is relatively easy to solve by using Input 2 instead of Input 1 if you're only using one input.

Compact solution to complement my IPOD, October 5, 2005
My stereo configuration is four KLH outdoor "rock" (they look like pieces of granite) speakers, an IPOD, and a ten-inch deep book shelf that I wanted to use as the location for the amplifier. I looked at Fry's, Best Buy, and Circuit City and couldn't find anything that was compact enough to fit on the bookshelf unless I went really high-end with a Bose setup. I had a spare Sony surround receiver that worked fine, except that it didn't fit the shelf, plus I wasn't really looking for all the bells and whistles of the receiver because I won't be using this setup to watch TV, my CD's are all on iTunes now, and I get crummy radio reception at my house. So, the technical requirements were to be able to drive the four speakers using a line-in level input coming from the IPOD. Pretty simple.

Anyhow, I purchased the Audiosource AMP100 amplifier on Amazon (to my consternation they dropped the price 3 bucks between the time I placed the order and when I received it) and it arrived in about a week using the free shipping option. It came well packed and sealed, and was as simple to set up as you'd expect of a unit like this. So far, I have tested it once and it worked fine, in fact it sounded a little better than the Sony. All four speakers were being driven normally in A+B mode. I haven't tested the auto-on feature, but it allows the box to power up automatically when it senses a signal on one of two audio inputs. The power plug on the back of the unit is unswitched (always powered). If I have any problems with the unit I'll update this post, but so far, so good.

No good for dual sources, August 21, 2008
This product had great potential and it does everything promised as long as you only use 1 source and you attach it to the LINE2 input. LINE2 is the default input meaning whenever there isn't any signal on LINE1 the unit instantly switches back to LINE2. The issue is with the "instant" result. When I play a DVD movie through LINE1 the AMP100 annoyingly switches back to LINE2 every time the audio goes quiet - even in between dialog. The switch makes a discernible "click" and usually does not return back to LINE1 right away so some of the audio you hope to hear is lost. Same issue with music tracks - during quiet passages the AMP100 switches back to line1 and if there is anything playing on LINE1 your other audio source starts chopping in and out. I have two AMP100's and they both operate this way. I spoke with Audio Source tech support and they acknowledged this shortcoming and tried to push me to buy the AMP200 which apparently has a time delay that prevents this undesired chopping of content that is connected to LINE1. They don't even provide a switch on the front panel to manually switch LINES, you have to unplug your cables to take control.

Otherwise a great product. It powers down nicely when no signal is sensed.

Nice Minimalist Amp with Strange Feature, January 26, 2007
My feature-laden Yamaha RX-577 receiver/amp finally gave up after 11 years of service, and since we now live in the country with little or no radio reception, I looked for a simple amplifier, with simple controls and adequate capacity (hint on the meaning of "adequate" - I am no longer 19). This amp is an understated black box, with basic minimalist styling and simple controls that adjust balance and volume, and speaker outputs to A and B. It does a fine job on my average home stereo system. I concur with other reviewers that the silly feature of automatically turning itself to a stand-by state when no input signal is present is essentially useless on any kind of music other than the constant drone of Scottish bagpipes or techno. Between tracks of a CD, or even in silent pauses in music, it dutifully and maddeningly turns itself "off", and then, oops! - back on again when the music resumes - after missing a few measures, of course. Happily this feature is only present on line 1 of the system. If you use line 2 as your primary source, it overrides line 1. As an engineer, I find this logic perplexing. Since when should a secondary line signal override the primary signal? Who thought of that? Anyway, this is the only fix that I know of to stop the automatic stand-by feature, and it does work.

Beyond that user-correctable deficiency, if you don't need 110+db sound anymore (or never did), this amp is a highly suitable piece of equipment that appears well built, is simple to use and understand, and simple to hook up. It is relatively heavy for its size, and like watermelons, heaviness potentially equals quality, especially with things that supply power.

I am overall quite satisfied with this amp.

Built for streaming music, October 20, 2005
UPDATE: This device has one annoying defect. I'd drop the rating to 4 stars. It has a "clever" feature of switching inputs automatically when it senses no input on one of the two stereo inputs. Problem is, any stretch of silence will cause it to switch. A mechanical switch would have been a far better choice. Since I bought it I've added an external mechanical switch and given up on the secondary input.

Also, the manual Amazon deposited in my lockbox is for a different model.

Nonetheless, this is a unique device. I looked far and wide for it, and when I found it another reviewer had exactly the same need as me.

Firstly, let me help with some details. Amazon lists 3 different measurements for the depth of this device (main page, tech page, manual). The model I received is in fact:

- 8" deep using the cabinet measurement
- 9" deep including the banana plugs for speakers
- significantly deeper if one connected speaker leads with banana plugs, I use bare wire and screw in the connectors

I needed this to fit in a narrow shelf, so depth was critical. It fits perfectly, as long as I don't put banana plugs on my speakers. I threaded in the speaker wires and screwed down the banana plugs. It fit my cabinet.

The amplifier seems to have been designed to auto-switch from TV input to a CD player input. There are two rca plug inputs, one output. Two dials, balance and volume. Two sets of stereo speaker posts - A&B. You can drive A, B or both. Speakers MUST be at least 8 ohms resistance. There's even a headphone out, and you can direct sound to two speakers and the headphone. (As noted in my correction the auto-switch feature is problematic.)

I use low volumes and small speakers, to me the output is very agreeable. I am not, however, and audiophile.

Genius Product, May 14, 2006
The reason I bought this amp was similar to another customer - I wanted something to use with my iPod so I could hook up speakers of my choosing. I didn't want/need a big-bucks home theater receiver with all the gizmos. The amp works a treat, it is solidly built and very low profile - fits in a small cabinet. Interestingly enough, I had the exact same problem with the amp switching - you actually hear it switch over if you have any silent phases in a song playing on the iPod.....was bugging me till I read the other customer's review....simply changed the input from Line 1 to Line 2 - works a treat now.

Very nice for the price, May 20, 2007
I was looking for medium-budget whole-house audio system. Finding the right receiver at the right price was pretty easy. Using a speaker selector to split the audio to multiple rooms is an affordable option, but speaker impedance matching can be a problem and you need lots of power from the receiver if you want all rooms on at the same time. A power amp is a better solution, but the multi-room amps I found were over $1000. The AudioSource Amp 100 is a great compromise solution - even power distribution to all rooms, good sound quality, and enough power for enjoyable listening. I'm sure the $1000+ amps sound better and can drive more power, but the Amp 100 has what I need.

Some of the older review complain about the amp switching off too quickly when losing the audio source. I definitely don't have this problem - the amps shut off after about 5 minutes of no audio signal.

The one surprise I got when I received the amp was the volume selector. From the pictures I saw (with two knobs on the front of the unit), I assumed the two channels had separate volume controls. In fact, one knob is volume for both channels and the other knob is balance. Not a big problem, just not what I expected.

Great buy from Amazon, March 29, 2007
I realy couldn't go wrong with this one. At under $100 with free shipping and Amazons return policy... I got one just to test it out. I sent the first one back because it made my speakers squeal when I turned the amp on. Audiosource said it may be a problem when bridging 4ohm speakers. It was a problem with 4ohm, 8ohm, bridged or stereo. Anyway, the second one was fine. This amp doesn't have much power, so don't expect to run much of a subwoofer with it. It will power a sub, but when pushed, it may dammage your speakers, so keep your hand on the volume control when testing. You'll know when to turn it down... trust me. This amp is great for versitillity. With two speaker sets and the ability to run one set at 4ohm or 2 sets at 8ohm. Or if your like me, bridge A and B. I use a 4ohm butkicker for quiet nightime listening on speaker A or hit speaker B for a 4ohm 12" Sony explode subwoofer. (Run 2 4ohm speaker at the same time bridged at your own risk!) This, I set up for my son's xbox360 as a perfect solution so I don't hear guns and bombs going off all night long. Bottom line is, for the price, it's great. I plan on taking it outside this summer to hook up to speakers on a gazebo. It's light enough to to carry around. It's a snap to connect. Just connect an mp3 player with a small headset to rca adapter and I'm done. Bannana connections are always a plus as well. A small complaint i have is the auto signal detector. It doesn't work at low volume. This is a bit annoying if you want good sound quality when somebody is sleeping in the next room. I'm being way to picky here. I just set it to manual. God forbid I have to push an extra button. If this thing breaks, I won't get to excited. Under $100 delivered! Amazon realy takes care of customers who buy damaged stuff "shipped and sold from Amazon". They don't pad their shipping items very well though...

Zone 2 and Zone 3 amps for Home Use, October 30, 2006
I am giving this product a 5 star rating, even though I am waiting for tech support to get back to me on one issue. At least they have tech support, and they are very knowledgable and helpful.

I bought 2 of these amps to power 4 sets of AudioSource in wall speakers I have installed. I have one pair in each of 4 bedrooms (the review I wrote on the speakers is also on Amazon). These amps are connected to my Yamaha 5890 receiver which is capable of driving 3 different zones using 3 different inputs, which is cool, but totally overkill for me.

When I activate Zone 2 or Zone 3 from the receiver, the AudioSource amps kick on automatically, a great feature. At first, I was having a lot of distortion in the speakers though. I called tech support, and they told me to reset the jumpers in my Russound in-wall volume controls, to allow the amp to push more power to the speakers at 8 ohms. Apparently the volume controls were cutting the resistance to 2 ohms, and the amps dont like that.

Well, I made that adjustment, and voila. The music comes through clean and clear. Not deafening, but certainly loud enough to enjoy in the bedrooms. Thus far they perform admirably, and I found no other products that match their functionality, let alone value.

But more than that 5 STARS FOR REAL TECH SUPPORT!!! They even called me back to talk, and were familiar with my volume controls and walked me thru the process. I know just enough to be dangerous, and the tech I spoke with was top notch. You just dont get enough of that these days, and I hope AudioSource keeps such a wonderful feature and resource, its truely a differentiator in today's market. Real people, with real answers, imagine that. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Take your high-definition surround sound experience to the next level with the STR-DN1010 7.1-channel Blu-ray Disc A/V receiver. Enjoy 3D images while hearing sound closer to the way it was captured, plus improve image quality of non-HD video sources to HD using one convenient cable. Offering plenty of connectivity options for your expanding lifestyle, this A/V receiver features 4 HDMI inputs, 3 component inputs and is SIRIUS Satellite Radio-ready. You can also share your music in multiple rooms with wireless 2nd zone technology. ... Read more

Reviews

A very good receiver is even better when used with the BDP-S570, June 21, 2010
It has only been a few days since I received and setup my STR-DN1010. I purchased it along with the BDP-S570 Blu-ray player. Its interesting that Sony calls the receiver a Blu-ray receiver, they really go together. After three years I replaced my Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray and five year old Sony DE898 receiver where both devices preformed well, they did not offer the sound and features that I now have. The DN1010 is a good receiver, but with the addition of the S570, you have a wonderful sounding system with all the features that one would want in a new system.

Upgrading from your old devices is not that simple. If you have a lot of devices like I do, you need to create a diagram to lay it all out where each device will be plugged in. To start I would not begin without using banana plugs, as I do not like the plastic connectors on this receiver. Connecting the HDMI devices is easy. For me it was the Blu-ray player, a HD-DVD player, and an AT&T U-Verse receiver. I also have a Sony Turntable that was pluged into a phono jack on my old receiver. I changed the EQ switch to on and plugged it into the only analog audio port that being the SA-CD/CD Audio In and it works just fine. Now I also have an old CD Recorder. I used an Optical cable and plugged it into the optical port 1. My next device I needed to port was a Laser Disc player. I used its S-video output and went directly to my Samsung TV as Video 1 and ported the sound using its digital optical port to the receiver's optical port 2. Now all I had left was my Roku Soundbridge (great for internet radio). It has a coaxial port that I plugged into the receiver's coaxial port. Before I got my new receiver, I never had enough digital ports. You can not change the keys on the remote, but the name of all my devices show up just fine on the receivers display and when using the GUI display on my TV. Renaming is very easy using the GUI mode and the tools/options key on the remote. It all works and after setting up the speakers using the Auto Cal and a little fine tuning, I was ready to try it out. I put in my David Foster and Friends Hit Man Blu-ray disc and Wow, the sound is so much better then the setup of my old receiver. It is that good and every device works so well together. The receiver does not have DNLA streaming, but using that feature on the BDP-S570, I have online my whole music collection and using the Blu-ray's HDMI connection to the receiver, the sound is much better then what I am getting from my Roku Soundbridge. You can view on your TV what playlist you want to listen to, select it and then turn off the TV if you like. After a few days I desided to switch back the U-verse HDMI cable directly to the TV and use its speakers without turning on the receiver. I can also use the optical out from the TV and connect it to the receivers TV optical in and can enjoy surround sound from the receiver by selecting the TV key on the remote.

I hope I helped anyone interested in this receiver in getting the most out of a great system. And know that you are ready when the day comes when you purchase that 3D HD TV we may all want someday.

Update December 19th.. Just purchased a Sony 55HX800 3D TV and works great. When TV sees the receiver is on, sound switches to the receiver. All my Sony devices talk to each other. Only thing I do not like is when you turn the TV off, everything else turns off. Using Uverse or any other source I still recommand running a HDMI cable from the box directly to the TV. Most new TV's have an optical out from the TV and the receiver has optical TV in. With this TV which does not have the best speakers, when the receiver is on the TV will automatically switch to the receiver. With receiver off, sound will switch back to the TV. One last comment, because you have the same network features on the Blu-ray and the TV, I would use them from the Blu-ray because you have a HDMI connection to the receiver and then to the TV, where as you would need an optical cable from your TV to the receiver. Still both work great with great sound and picture.

Good Price for A/V Amplifier 7.1 Excellent Sound & 3D pass compatible, October 16, 2010
I've replaced STR-DG910 with this new STR-DN1010 mainly for 3D pass compatibility. The GUI (Graphics User Interface) is not bad, but is not GREAT. The sound is Excellent, I've used to have a little Zumm on the speakers with the old one, and a little sound's of the mechanisim of the Blu-Ray player too. NONE with this one. If you are looking for a good deal between Price & Features, this is it.

Pretty Spiffy, June 24, 2010
While I can't get all professional and state numbers and audio jargon, I can say that if you're never had a receiver or looking for a new one for general use, this is a great one! I mainly got it to complement my other Sony products and hoping that their products with 3D and Blu Ray would be firm and absolute. It is a very pretty unit with hidden controls and a smooth front. I'm not into knobs, so it's a plus to me. I suppose it might be a disadvantage if you lose the remote, but there are still a few controls under the folding panel.

I haven't used it with 5.1 or 7.1 yet, just centers and fronts. It's nice. I had a Samsung HTIB and this receiver with just a center is more vivid and lively than that was. It's amazing how much is missing from a home theater by only opting for an all in one package.

My only current issue is the remote. Being new to having a receiver, there are so many options and settings you can use. To top that off, if you have other Sony products, you can adjust even more settings. It's taking some time to get used to, that's for use. I assume most quality receivers have the same remotes, but golly, it takes some time to figure out. I'm excited to learn them all.

This product has only been out for a few weeks (perhaps months), so we can't give a longevitiy review, but I have had no problems with it and have just enjoyed the sounds and video upscaling it can filter. I only have HDMI products, so I can't attest to any other inputs/outputs (and there are many). On second thought, my Wii is component. It's pretty cool to have the Wii plugged into it.

I use it with a Sony Blu Ray Player and a Samsung LED TV.

Overall, it's amazing to me. If you're looking to jump into the general waters of a receiver with 3D pass through, this could be for you.

Great Receiver for your Media Center!, December 9, 2010
Pros:

1) Has the blue LED that indicates the receiver is decoding multi-channel audio (for me this was great because my previous receiver had it)
2) Has HDMI pass through and support for 3D
3) GUI mode is great and works flawlessly when you use it to connect all your peripherals. Setting individual speaker distances and volumes is a breeze and makes it much less of a chore seeing the visual of your system
4) Has bi-amp capabilities and Speaker A/B for having Front High or Surround Backs or just a dual front (by activating A and B speaker sets at the same time). I personally like double stacking front speakers.
5) It is sleek and looks good with the mostly button and knob-less front.
6) Assignable component inputs for seeing which video source it is hooked into.
7) ALL signals are sent out the HDMI out cable. This includes standard analog connections like RCA and Component, as well as digital video and audio sources such as S/PDIF connections and other HDMI sources. You need only 1 cable into your HDTV.
8) Up-converts all analog sources to 1080p. My Wii looks fantastic running through this receiver using the component cable adapter.
9) The receiver and my TV learned the input selections based on the receivers current selection. Now when I select PC or Game, etc on the tv's input it automatically switches to the corresponding audio input on the receiver. It also shuts off when I turn the TV off now. I think that is pretty awesome, considering my TV is a completely different brand. My previous receiver was pretty old so maybe this isn't news for anybody but I thought it was freakin' sweet. Especially because I didn't program anything to make this happen.
10) My previous receiver would never activate the subwoofer when watching something that was 2.0 audio. With this receiver, no matter what I'm watching, my front, center, and sub are always on and working. I love it.

Cons:

1) The manual is a LITTLE overwhelming at first, but this is to be expected. There are SO many features and functions to this receiver, it takes a while to let it all become natural using it. But after a couple days behind the remote, you will never go back. Also, be sure to check the online version of the manual on Sony's website, which is in PDF form so it is easily search-able for specific terms.
2) Front of the receiver is a fingerprint nightmare. But honestly, who actually goes up and presses anything on they receiver? Use the remote and avoid smudges. Everything will be ok. I promise.
3) The screw down speaker wire things are kinda on the "cheap plastic" side of the scale in terms of other receivers I have used, but in the end they worked just fine and after a few times tightening and loosening them they got easier to turn and worked as good as anything else. I prefer the screw down ones to the retention clip ones as those can easily pull out. These can't. I got a great deal on this receiver, so I don't expect miracles. Especially when paying any less than $700 for any receiver.

Other Thoughts:

The overall sound quality produced by this receiver is great. Digital decoding is what this thing was made for. If you are not using a digital receiver with a media center that is setup to send digital surround sound to it, you are missing out. I thought it sounded clear and good with my last Sony, but the sound clarity and surround effects have never been so pronounced and good sounding. And with support for all the new digital decoding such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master, I'm set for a while. And if I decide to take the plunge and get a 3D compatible TV, I already have a receiver capable of passing that information through it.

Good stuff to test your receiver's sound:
- The first flight scene in How to Train Your Dragon, when they crash into the rock faces a few times. That whole bit is amazing when you are using the receiver to decode the digital audio.
- The title sequence on 2 Fast 2 Furious. The swirling color's sound on the actual title sound crazy decoding DTS 5.1
- Any good hip-hop from a digital audio source (I like 1080p music videos with HD audio)
- Any space flight scene from any digital audio source (I like the scene in the new Star Trek movie where they are in the field of debris).

My Speakers:
Front Highs - Sony SS-B3000 Bookshelf Speakers with 8-Inch Woofer (Pair, Black)
Front Lows - Sony SSF-5000 Floor Standing 3-way Speaker (Pair)
Surround Backs - Sony SS-B1000 5 1/8-Inch Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)
Center Channel - Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Subwoofer - Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line 12" 180-Watt Subwoofer (each, black)

Excellent choice, August 17, 2010
I picked up this receiver after learning that my older Sony receiver did not have a 3-D pass through feature as I am looking to upgrade to a 3-D TV in the near future. I cannot speak about it's 3-D ability yet, but I can speak about it's sound output. This receiver is a marked improvement over my last Sony which I thought was excellent. After hooking up my Comcast High Def box and Sony Blu-Ray player the sound reproduction in my home theater is amazing. For such cheap money this receiver is well worth every penny.

Great receiver, great price, December 2, 2010
Much better price that Best Buy. Receiver is great. Two comments: (1) took awhile to get acclimated to menu, then easy and (2) when switching video sources, it takes awhile (4-5 seconds) to update on the TV. Not a big deal, but it is frustrating to wait for.

Big Improvement, July 9, 2010
I've been using the new receiver for a few weeks now and since I was upgrading from a 12+ year old system, the sound is a big improvement. This may be in part to the automatic calibration during setup. This would have been a 5 star rating if it wasn't for the fact that the manual is horrible to read through and you need to do that to figure out which inputs go with what and the on screen menu is slightly confusing.

2 units both defective, November 3, 2010
I've tried two of these STR-DN1010s. The first one had bad audio problems -- crunching, then would just quit. The second one would not pass the component video signals through, though the audio seemed to work for the 15 minutes I had it on.

What's with Sony? I've been a Sony fan for a long time, but I am thinking Pioneer now...

Nothing bad about this, July 26, 2010
I ordered this receiver, and got it in 3 days. setup was easy. the sound is amazing. it was everything i was hopeing for and more. best receiver for the price. ... Read more

Editorial Review

While we may define it as an entry-level A/V receiver, the HT-RC260 gives you performance and features that leave class-competitors gasping in its wake. Six of the latest HDMI� 1.4a inputs provide easy connection for all your high-def sources and compatibility with the eye-popping new 3D video format. Another connectivity highlight is a handy Universal Port that allows you to hook up Onkyo peripherals such as a Dock for iPod/iPhone. Meanwhile, if you want to distribute music to another room, the HT-RC260 provides Zone 2 line-outs and speaker outputs. Regardless of their resolution, all video sources can be upscaled to stunning 1080p via HDMI and Faroudja DCDi Cinema . High-quality Burr-Brown DACs work alongside jitter-cleaning technology and three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry to minimize distortion and deliver extremely realistic audio for movies, music, and games. The HT-RC260 also offers compatibility with lossless Dolby and DTS codecs, as well as the expanded surround formats of Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic� IIz. Quality home theater has never been more affordable. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Recent years have ushered in a new era in flat-screen displays, high-definition video, and sophisticated multi-channel audio. But there's still a vital role to be played by the dedicated audio system. This streamlined two-channel receiver lets you focus solely on your music or get high-quality sound from movies, broadcasts, and gaming. The TX-8555 is packed with proprietary Onkyo amplifier technology and housed in a sturdy, vibration-resistant chassis. Whether it's channeling your iPod, SIRIUS satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio, CDs, or other traditional audio sources, the TX-8555 translates your music with effortless power and finesse. It even offers Zone 2 capability, so you can simultaneously play a separate audio source in a second room. ... Read more

Reviews

Great bang for the buck!, October 13, 2008
To say that this Onkyo is a performer for the money is an understatement. I have an Onkyo 705 surround receiver so they were my first choice for my stereo setup as well, but I auditioned a lot of other equipment in the price range, and nothing came close! This is exactly what Onkyo is known for; clean, crisp power, good signal-to-noise ratio, etc. I am using it to power some Bowers and Wilkins bookshelf speakers that have a sensitivity of about 85db, and at only 40 volume, the house is filled with beautiful sound! I would recommend this receiver to anyone looking for the best performance from their stereo system without buying separate components (pre-amp and power amp)!

The construction is very solid, as with all Onkyo products, and it has a nice weight to it without feeling like it's full of lead. It keeps to the clean, simple component styling that Onkyo and so many other brands are known to use, which I find very attractive. My two main complaints are trivial, but still should be addressed. 1) I could have used a backlit remote like on the 705 and... 2) You have the press the PURE AUDIO button twice to get the PURE AUDIO mode... otherwise, from one press of the button, it goes to DIRECT mode.... Like I said, trivial.

Value: 10/10
Power: 10/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Construction: 10/10
Remote: 8.5/10

Overall: 9.75/10

Superb, January 4, 2010
I purchased this amplifier recently. I own a few older, well-regarded amplifiers (tube and solid state) that cost a lot more money when new, so my expectations were not high for this Onkyo. That said, I am stunned by how nice this amplifier sounds. I run the amplifier in Pure Audio mode (press the Pure Audio button on the front panel twice, then the blue LED comes on indicating Pure Audio mode). If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was a high-end tube amplifier. There is absolutely no background noise. No hiss. No hum. Nothing but dead silence. It makes music with silent passages jump to life. Whether I use this amplifier to drive Paradigm Titan speakers or Grado headphones, the quality of the sound reproduction and the dynamic range is absolutely remarkable, especially bass reproduction. Using a quality CD audio source, I can clearly hear every cymbal, with all the timber, every bass note, with all the string vibration from every finger pluck. For what this amplifier costs, I can't imagine looking elsewhere unless you need to drive large reference monitors. This amplifier is more than capable of driving anything up to full-sized floor speakers at reasonable volume. The amplifier includes an AM/FM tuner that works well enough. FM channels come in loud and clear using the included wire antenna. AM reception is a bit more difficult using the included loop antenna and its short wires, so at a minimum expect to add four to eight feet of wire to the AM antenna to get the loop well clear of any power cords. But that's really of little consequence if what you're looking for first and foremost is a high-quality stereo amplifier. I've listened to high-end amplifiers costing many times as much and few sound this pure and clean. The overall look and feel of the unit is professional grade, with just the right amount of heft. All controls have positive feedback and none feel flimsy. The volume knob is particularly nice, with a heavy, smooth action that is slow to respond, resulting in very fine, analog-like volume control. In brief summary, I doubt anyone with reasonable expectations will be disappointed. This stereo amplifier provides performance and quality well beyond its price level.

Superb, January 22, 2009
After three decades of using Sony products ranging from phones to TV's and stereo equipment, we decided to venture into the world of Onkyo. This receiver had good reviews, fair price and seemed very simple to use. Boy, what a surprise when it arrived: heavy, well constructed, actual knobs for bass and treble, easy on eyes LCD panel, and a boat-load of connections in the back. I'm actually surprised I was able to find a stereo receiver of this caliber.
The built quality is excellent. Instructions... not necessary and the sound! The sound is spectacular. Very linear, clear and direct. No volume spikes, muddy sounds or any form of "hiss" from this unit. Power is more than enough for an average size living room. I have it connected to a Yamaha sub and a set of old KLH speakers. Both of them emit sound that I've never heard before: clear and punchy. It seems the speakers run more efficiently as well (if that's possible). They don't seem strained or overworked. Overall, a great product and I hope it's as reliable as Sony has been.

A couple of minor gripes, again in no way do they affect my satisfaction with the unit. 1) Remote... wish it was as basic as the receiver itself, 2) position light indicator on the volume knob.

Good Stereo, January 14, 2009
I use this receiver for my whole house audio, which means it's on all the time. Hook up was easy, controls are clear and easy to use. Sound is great. Setting up the Sirus radio requires the use of the remote, which isn't obvious unless you read the manual. For the price, this is perfect for me.

Love my Onkyo, April 27, 2009
I LOVE this product. For 12 years, I had a top of the line Harmon Kardon, which I loved, but it died. I was skeptical about paying so little for the Onkyo, but there were so many good reviews. Well, they were right. Although there may not be quite the quantity of sound as the Harmon, the quality is fantastic. I listen to a lot of classical music, and the highs of violins as well as the bass factor are excellent. I live in a small condominium, so I don't really need tons of sound. I have surround sound speakers for my movies, and it is FABULOUS.

Decent audio that won't break the bank., March 12, 2009
I don't know why it is so hard to find a reasonably priced stereo receiver but after searching high and low for something to replace my Carvin TM 35 amp and preamp I settled on the Onkyo TX-8555. I wanted something that would give me enough inputs along with a phono input that did not cost and arm and a leg and have decent sound quality. After setting up the unit into my Klipsch speakers the sound was different from the Carvin, not bad just different. The Onkyo did not over pump the bass frequencies and once the volume level was set at a comfortable setting, the sound was pleasing. I plugged my Sony DVD player and played a few discs: Beggars Banquet in SACD and Neil Young's Greatest Hits in High Res and both sounded amazing. Regular CD's sounded just as good as through the Carvin.

This is a basic unit with very basic controls, which is fine by me. The set up time took about 15 minutes. In addition, the price was just right so if you are looking for a decent quality integrated receiver that will not break the bank then look at this.

Great value for less money, February 25, 2009
I reviewed many stereo receivers for my home which has pre-wired speakers in 4 rooms. I hooked 4 speaker sets to a speaker selector (Monster ss-4) and connected it the stereo receiver.

The quality of sound, bass was excellent, clear, and crisp. I also hookedup my Satellite receiver and TV, and it works great. I like all the inputs and two zone speaker connector. The product is of high quality and price you pay for it is well worth. I paid $224 with free shipping.

I recommend it to all music lovers and can connect to multiple speakers sets.

Thanks,
Ven

Pleasing sound, February 1, 2009
A very nice unit. Suits my needs, which are simple--phono, CD, tape--just music, although there are jacks for TV hookup also. The sound is good--it seems fuller and warmer than my old Denon. I did not expect that.

Love it!, March 26, 2009
Have had the receiver for a few weeks now and just love it. It is a solid piece of machinery, very heavy and will get hot, so you probably don't want to park anything on top of it, or park in on top of anything. Lovely to look at in the front and the back is all business -- more plugs than most of us might ever use. (right now am just using CD and tuner, may add DVD and TV later.) The remote is a nice add-on, and could help keep the fingerprints off the receiver, an added plus. Of course, the reason I really this receiver is the way it sounds; it really makes the music glow. My old speakers have never sounded so good.

TX-8555, April 19, 2009
Great product at a great price. Works great with my HD TV for a home theater and not overly complicated. The subwoofer output makes for a great sound. It also has a phonograph input which includes a preamp to play all my old albums. I also like the remote control for the volume. ... Read more