Order Onkyo TX-SR806 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

I have had the Onkyo SR-806 for a few weeks now, and so far am very happy. It was very easy to connect all my components and go through the set-up, using the on-screen navigation. The user manual is very thorough and helpful as well.

Note, I am not yet using all of the features it has to offer. For example, my Panasonic 42" plasma (connected via HDMI) only supports 1080i, so am not using the 1080p capability. Also, I have it connected to Polk Audio RM6880 speakers (5 + subwoofer), thus am not using the 7.1 capability either (note, none of my components support 7.1 anyway). Further, the RM6880 subwoofer does not accept a standard subwoofer cable (I have it connected to the pre-out front speaker output with RCA cables), thus the SR-806 does not recognize the subwoofer; this has not seemed to cause an issue, although I had to turn the volume on my subwoofer up to about 75%.

For video components, I have it connected to an HD cable box (with HDMI), a Wii (through component cables) and a DVD player (through component video and optical audio). I found that the video 'up-conversion' did not work with the Wii (similar to issues others mention), and also did not see any noticeable benefits with other components, thus am using the pass-through setting. I do get the blue screen sometimes with the Wii still (although audio still comes through), but after pressing buttons for a while on the Wii remote it does seem to go away - odd, but not too much of an issue.

The Audessy automatic speaker configuration is a MUST. I operated the system for a week with just manually adjusting the speaker settings. After the Audessy setup, it was a VERY noticeable difference.

There are an overwhelming number of settings and features on this unit. However, the manual does a reasonably good job of describing the differences. It's also 'smart' unit, whereby it detects the type of audio input it is receiving (i.e. Dolby 5.1 vs. Dolby 2.0, etc.), can display the info, and it adjusts the available sounds settings accordingly. You can also adjust the volume level of your different components, in case some initially come on louder than others (i.e. my Wii seems WAY louder than others, so I have turned that down to equalize it).

I agree the unit gets pretty hot, but it doesn't seem so hot to be concerning. I did move the shelves in my cabinet to allow about 1-2 inches of clearance above the unit (originally had about ½ inch), and this seems to be sufficient. My cabinent is enclosed wood, open only on the front. It also is very big and heavy - so measure your space before buying.

Like others, I do wish the remote had backlighting, but that's really my only complaint. It comes with a huge number of codes to control your various components, and I was able to find all of mine very easily. The manual also explains how the buttons work with the various components, and I have not had any issues (even the A/B/C buttons for cable are pre-assigned). Further, it is a 'learnable' remote, in the event you can't find a code for your component (have not need this yet). And, it has 2 'macro' buttons so that you can execute a series of commands with the push of one button (for example, I recorded a sequence to turn on/off the TV, cable, and receiver with one button).

This is the only receiver I have owned, so cannot compare directly to other models, however I did do a fair amount of research through amazon.com and many other websites prior to selecting this model. I feel that it offers a very good value for the money, and amazon.com offered the best price that I could find.

Enjoy!

p.s. on February 14, 2009 - If you plan to connect the unit to a TV, audio/video recorder or any other output by a method other than HDMI cable, be aware that the system only outputs audio and video via the input method. In otherwords, it only 'upconverts' to HDMI, not to any other output method. For example, if you have a video input source connected to the unit via composite (yellow) cable, it will only pass through to composite or HDMI. So, in this example, if your TV or recorder is connected via component (red, blue, green) or S-video, you will not receive the composite input source. The same holds true with digital vs. analog audio - it is only output to the eqivalent method, or HDMI. Therefore, if you plan to use any outputs other than (or in addition to) HDMI, you will need to connect your input sources to the receiver through multiple cables that match your intended output method.Get more detail about Onkyo TX-SR806 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black).