Home > Consumer Reviews > Onkyo TX-SR575 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

Before purchasing this receiver, I did my research, trying to find a receiver with HDMI capability, 7.1 sound, 80 - 100 watts (this one outputs 80 watts per channel which is plenty for me) for under $500. This is the best choice on the market! Here's some information you may find useful.
This receiver has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output (i.e. to an HD TV). I have an "upconvert" DVD player (changes 480i format DVD to 1080i video resolution) attached via HDMI (video), and a digital optical (audio) cable. I have a second DVD attached as the "VCR", using composite video cables and a digital coax (audio). I use the second DVD player to play CDs. Both can be programmed in the setup of the receiver, so that the SR575 knows which cables are used for which inputs. The sound is very clear. Make sure you use the microphone to auto calibrate the speakers after your system is in place. It takes 10-15 minutes and is automatic, just start the setup and it takes care of itself. The sound will be much better than sound out-of-the box, since it calibrates for your room acoustics. Once the setup is completed, you will like the results...there are several "listening modes" that you can try out to see what sounds best in your room.
Here are a few caveats that I learned about after I purchased the receiver....
1. If you have a phonograph (turntable), then you need a pre-amp (can be purchased from Amazon for about $40). Connect the left/right RCA cables from the turntable to the pre-amp, then from the pre-amp into one of the inputs in the receiver (I use the "tape" input for my turntable since I do not have a tape deck attached - which means I program the setup of the "tape" player in the receiver for my turntable - it's simple to do).
2. Do not be confused by the Onkyo "upconvert" capability - the receiver does NOT upconvert the video from a DVD from 480i resolution to 1080i resolution - you need an upconvert DVD player for that (also on Amazon for under $100). Instead, it will upconvert the audio from one type of input to a different type of output. See the Onkyo web site and download the user's manual for more info.
One more cool feature - this receiver has satellite radio capabilities. You can buy a separate satellite turner and hook it up...OR...since I have a portable satellite radio, all I did was use the audio out line from the radio to the auxiliary in (right and left) cables, and simple as that I can listen to my XM satellite radio thru the receiver and 7 speakers.
Bottom Line: The Onkyo 575 is a very capable receiver with the latest technological innovations (as of Spring 2007) in a really good price range (appx $350). If you are looking for high quality sound with HDMI capabilities, this is the best choice. I hope this helps you out, best of luck with your audio system!

Overall the Onyko tx-sr575 is a nice receiver. It received a recommended buy from Home Theater Magazine who I highly respect. The few minor complaints are that the remote buttons are very small and the volume has to be turned way up, ~ 20, to be heard.

However, for $299, it's a great buy and I would buy it again after having it for 6 weeks of testing. The sound from the system is crystal clear. Also, you can choose either 5.1 or 7.1 depending on how many spoeakers you want to use.

I bought this AVR, Onkyo TX-SR575, at the recent (04/08) price of $219. I have it hooked up with HDMI from cable box to AVR and HDMI from AVR to TV. I have the TV volume turned off and play the audio though the AVR 5.1 system. I added Sirius radio using the Sirius SC-H1 receiver through the little din connector. Power is not provided through this connector so you need to use the power adapter which comes with the Sirius receiver. I have my old Dual turntable plugged into the CD IN connection but I did have to put a turntable preamp inline here. I used the Pyle PP-999 Phono Turntable Pre-Amp from Amazon. My wife has some wireless speakers that she loves to carry out on the patio. I plug the transmitter for the wireless speakers into the TAPE OUT connection. At the moment I have a plain vanilla DVD player plugged in using component video and optical for audio. I will upgrade this later and use the 2nd HDMI input to the AVR. The speaker calibration process is easy and takes about 10 minutes. In my case the calibration makes a big difference. My center speaker is hidden behind some decorative knick knacks and calibration makes a big difference in the sound. I don't pretend to be an audio expert. All I can say is it sounds great to me and was very easy to get everything hooked up and working properly. Oh, the remote that comes with the TX-SR575 controls all of my other components for normal operation. If I need to change the setup of one of the other components I may have to get out that particular remote but for normal input/output, channel, DVD, DVR, volume and Sirius radio the TX-SR575 remote does it all. At the current price I think this AVR is a great bargain and I am very happy with it.

The first strike against this is overheating. Part of that is my fault, I stuffed it high in my cabinet without much ventilation. When the sun hit the cabinet glass it would heat up until the sound started to distort significantly. I lowered it in the cabinet and gave more ventilation and that seems to have taken care of it.

I'm not using a sub so I can't comment on cross-over and tuning features, although I've scanned through them and they seem comprehensive and feature packed. I haven't used the satellite radio features. The remote works great and programed really easily.

The sound is really good. I based my purchase largely on a pro review where he called this receiver his favourite budget receiver for its good sound reproduction. That's really what I wanted from a receiver. Turns out he was right. That's why I've rated it so high (4/5). I rarely rate products this high unless they really impress me. It doesn't get a 5/5 because it has to be truly amazing to get that, even in this price range. And I'm assuming the subwoofer would work flawlessly.

I was disappointed in the fact that the audio is not being transmitted to the receiver through the hdmi cables. It requires seperate cables for digital audio to be processed, although it processes audio through hdmi to my hdtv???. When I hooked up my upconvert dvd player through the receiver, I receive an error message on some dvd's that it's format is not supported by the receiver. So in essence, I cannot even use the hdmi ports on the receiver, the video goes straight to the tv and I use coax cables to the receiver. I also experience an audio "drop out" that Onkyo's website, if I remember right, refers to as a problem that they are working on with Dolby... On a positive side, I really like the auto speaker configuration, and the sound of the unit is good..The price was extremely good.