Onkyo TX-SR576 AV Receiver Comments

Nice review, however unless its a typo, I am suprised you did not highlight the fact it does not have the HDMI 1.3 standard but the lesser 1.2a standard

Kimbie

The reviewer did? twice on the first page!!

As a side note I have the Onkyo 605 version of this (looks the same) and I have to say combined with my PS3 it is a fantastic Receiver and the auto claibration is brilliant, really set my mixture of speakers up well. Would recommend

I've got the TX-SR705 at home and it's awesome.

Onkyo make some great AV receivers and no wonder this one scored 9 for Value :)

Another happy Onkyo customer here - I've got the TX-SR674 - does get a bit warm but apart from that it's a great receiver.

Yeah, mine gets warm too and a little noisy when the fans kick in as a result, but as long as the film you're watching doesn't have too many quiet bits (and lets face it, all the best films don't anyway!) then it's not too much of an issue.

Certainly one that couldn't be solved with a decent AV cabinet (mine's just on a shelf with open air around it)

Dear Danny,
Thanks for your helpful review of the Onkyo TX-SR576, your Impressions help me decide buying this unit.
on a side note, I'm afraid you have a slight error in your review, I've got a strong feeling that the TX-SR576 actually have HDMI 1.3a ports and support DD+ playback, but I assume Onkyo tried to avoid consumer misinformation, and marketed the receiver as a 1.2a Repeater, since it's not a 1.3a repeater (since it can't decode TrueHD / DTS-MA).
accoring to it's manual, The 576 supports xvYcc, Deep Color and Lip Sync, besides DD+, all of which are 1.3a exclusive features, which further support my theory. the only way to know for sure is to feed the receiver with a blu-ray/HD-DVD which has a DD+ soundtrack, I don't currently have the means to preform that, and was hoping you tried / curious to try that clarify this point for your readers.

Thanks for the great review,
Tal Aloni

Dear Danny,
Thanks for testing and replying so soon,
I'm glad to hear that my beloved TX-SR576 has succeeded decoding DD+. (I was a bit worried after your original review.)
The HDMI v1.2a standard has indeed been updated to allow bitstream transfer of DD+, the new standart is called v1.3a... ;)
For many reasons, I find it hard to believe that the v1.2a standart would be changed after this long, as it would cause enourmous counfusion in the market, I hope Onkyo will confirm my original theory on the subject, as it is the simplest explanation (and thus the most likely).

Keep us posted,
Thanks a lot,
Tal Aloni

I find it interesting that ONKYO product page overview gives specifications at 1.3a....
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR576&class=Receiver&p=i

but the features page gives specifications at 1.2a...
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR576&class=Receiver&p=f

I'm assuming one of those has to be a typo.

Dear Pope
you said "..mine gets warm too and a little noisy when the fans kick in as a result",
Does it have fan? and How many? feeling good though before buying it.
Thanks.

You can also mail me to moin-2001@hotmail.com.

Moin,
I assume Pope was talking about his TX-SR705 (or similar model) which has a built in fan.
the TX-SR576 hasn't got a fan.

Thanks for the review Danny, it covered most of the important points.
There is one thing I would very much like to know about, which is the bi-amping capability of this receiver.
We are told so often these days that bi-amped speakers are Hi-Fi heaven that it would be a shame not to have your opinion on using the receiver as a 5.1 with the front stereo speakers bi-amped.
It's been a while since the review, but please let us know your thoughts.
Regards,
Steve

Hi Guys, I am a newbie into the world of Home Cinema so having read the review of the Pioneer BDP-51FD I quite like it.....and coupled with this I believe would make a good little set-up. Im not fussed about BD -Live or gimmicks etc...just good picture quality. So I'm hoping that this Onkyo model would decode DTS HD Master Audio when combined with the Pioneer. It'd save me a lot of money if it did. Which means the Kuro Plasma is on my list. Cheers in advance.

Is there a passive version of this unit? i.e. - I have active powered studio speakers and only need an AV unit with a volume control as opposed to an amplifier - or can it the amp be bypassed?

Many thanks

Paul

looking forward to a review of the new tx-sr 577!! as i am in the market for one - or the yamaha rxv765!!