Onkyo TX-SR605 Instruction Manual

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Onkyo TX-SR605 ◆ £400 (approx) ◆ 01494 681 515 ◆ www.onkyo.co.uk

Onkyo completes a mission impossible

Richard Stevenson decides that Onkyo’s TX-SR605 can’t actually exist,

but remains very glad it does

LAB REPORT

Excellent

Good

Aver age

Manufacturer’s Output 140W per ch into 8Ω

Measured Power @ 1kHz

2ch driven: 125W into 8Ω ✓

5ch driven: 30W into 8Ω ✓

2ch driven: 175W into 4Ω ✓

5ch driven: 45W into 4Ω ✓

Fidelity firewall @1kHz/2ch

Ω (0.05%THD) ✓

30W into 8

Distortion @ 1kHz

0.02%THD @ 50W (8Ω) ✓

Frequency response

20Hz-20kHz +/-0.2dB ✓

here are many things in the world

that are impossible. Dividing by

zero, bumblebees ﬂ ying and the

advertised price of sofas during the Bank

Holiday sales are the usual examples. You

can now add Onkyo’s TX-SR605 to the list.

Put it this way, for less than 400 of your

hard earned pound notes, this receiver

simply cannot exist.

But I have bitten it and it’s absolutely

real. I have also taken the lid off and

guestimated the cost of all the sexy

processing components.

To this ﬁ gure I added a few shekels for

the analogue bits and generic hardware,

put on rough manufacturer and retailer

margins, factored in the cost of customer

service and support, etc – and came up

with what I thought was a sensible price.

It was between £600 – £700. But here

sits the Onkyo TX-SR605, with a 400 quid

price point. Miracles happen. Even before

it’s switched the Onkyo on, I can safely

say that no other budget receiver gets

close in terms of features or technology.

Poor

Fully loaded

The top-line specs are pure eye-candy

and designed to get even lay-home

cinema enthusiast drooling. Top of the

‘must have’ list is a full HDMI v1.3a

implementation, allowing DeepColor

picture enhancing technology and

decoding for Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital

Plus and DTS HD Master Audio, but

you’ll have to wait for an HD player

capable of outputting bitstream HD

audio over HDMI.

The baseline ﬁ gures are super-model

territory; the TX-SR605 claiming seven

channels of 140W with the option to bi-

amp the front channels or go powered

multi-room if you are happy with 5.1

channel in the main room. There are neat

192 kHz/24bit DACs for all channels and a

healthy selection of inputs. Okay, there

are only two HDMI inputs, no pre-amp

outputs and no 12V triggers – but the

rest of the spec sheet more than makes

up for it.

Operationally, the TX-SR605 is a dream

to use. The setup is fully automatic and the

system comes with basic Audyssey Room

EQ. There is also a snazzy full-colour GUI

which eclipses the blocky text menus of

SPECIFICATIONS

ITEM SUPPORT DETAILS

Dolby Digital DD-Plus DTS Audio THX ✕ No certification AV Inputs Audio Inputs Component Inputs Tape Loop AV Monitor output Component output Video upconversion HDMI input/output DVI input/output ✕ Not here Multi channel output ✕ Subwoofer output Digital Audio input ●● 3 optical, 2 electrical Digital Audio output ✕ Phono input stage ✕ Speaker out Headphone

Amplification: 7 x 140W; Tuner: AM/FM

Dimensions : 435(w) x 174(h) x 377(d)mm; Weight: 11.5kg Also featuring HDMI v1.3 compatible, Faroudja de-Interlacer, Audyssey 2EQ and auto set-up mic, bi-amp capability, Zone 2 audio outputs, Onkyo RHID system control, 192kHz/24Bit DACs, Preprogrammed remote control

● 5.1, EX(7.1), ProLogic IIx, True-HD,

● 5.1, 6.1ES, Neo:6, DTS-HD Master

● 5 composite/S-video, audio

● 2 inputs

3 inputs

● 1 input, 1 output

1 S-video 1 output Everything to HDMI de-interlaced 2 inputs, 1 output

A sad omission 1 phono output

But not as relevant as it used to be No vinyl here 7-channel + stereo zone 2 1 output

84 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

HCC148.onkyo 84HCC148.onkyo 84 11/9/07 16:36:4211/9/07 16:36:42

NOVEMBER 2007

Tr ie d &Tested... AV Receiver

‘The Onkyo creates an intense and sometimes eerie atmosphere that

few budget receivers get close to’

other similarly-priced receivers.

On the video side you get full HDMI up-

conversion for every video input, albeit

simply de-interlaced rather than upscaled to

HD resolution. Not only does this simplify

receiver to TV connection, it still does a ﬁ ne

job of improving picture quality from your

old analogue sources too. There’s also a full

RI-control system for multiroom or

integration with, say, Onkyo’s RI iPod dock.

Clean bill

It would have been easy for Onkyo to

cut corners internally to achieve this price

point at the expense of quality of course

– but if the sound is anything to go by,

it certainly haven’t. This receiver is clean

and crisp and immaculately detailed

with both Dolby and DTS movies alike.

Not the all-action monster I perhaps

suspected, but a tense and cool-sounding

performer that lusts after complex,

emotionally taut scenes to wring every

last nerve-straining moment from

the soundtrack.

Stick on a moody classic like House of

Flying Daggers and the TX-SR605 is in

its element, eking out details and effect

with samurai-like precision. The dialogue

is forward in the mix and projects well

into the room

and bass effects are tighter than a

spandex cat suit. Dramas like The Painted

Veil are not my personal cup of tea

(the missus insisted...) but the Onkyo

turns in a sterling performance, creating

a grand impression of the scale of the

sweeping scenery and keeping the

dialogue intense.

300 on HD DVD is more my style, and

the ﬁ lm is utterly gripping from start to

ﬁ nish as the Onkyo creates an intense and

sometimes eerie atmosphere that few

budget receivers even get close too.

The tension builds and by halfway

through the movie sweat will be beading

on your brow and palms.... largely

because the TX-SR605’s case gets hotter

than a Dutch porn channel.

However, when the screen is full of

clashing swords, blood-soaked leather and

beards you could lose badgers in, the

Onkyo does begin to reveal some

of its shortcomings.

Bass effects never really get into

‘thunderous’ territory and with all channels

driven hard the sound can head towards an

acerbic ear-syringing if you have even

remotely frisky speakers. I do feel guilty

giving the TX-SR605 a dig for lack of

ultimate grunt though. At £400 the only

receivers that eclipse it for sheer drive do so

at the expense of subtlety, features,

advanced technology, future-prooﬁ ng,

classy GUIs and usability.

Conclusion

So, do I give a ﬂ ying duck about why the

TX-SR605 costs only £400? No! As long as

the current price remains unchanged and

Onkyo doesn’t suffer a mysterious stock

shortage, this receiver will remain the

deﬁ nitive budget best buy for ages ■

RATINGS

Highs: Outstanding value; barmy

features count; HD-Audio decoding

Lows: Creaky remote control; Not

the most powerful receiver on the

Sound

Build

Despite its price, the TX-SR605 musters HDMI 1.3a connectivity – and support of the latest hi-def audio soundtracks

NOVEMBER 2007

HCC148.onkyo 85HCC148.onkyo 85 11/9/07 16:36:4611/9/07 16:36:46

A busy handset to work in conjunction with the snazzy GUI

Features

OVERALL

HOME CINEMA CHOICE 85

★★★★

★★★★½

★★★★★

★★★★½