Home > Consumer Reviews > Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

This is a good basic A/V receiver. I got this for my computer to drive the 7.1 speakers I already had. I'm strictly using it for amplification so I'm not concerned with the lack of audio through HDMI. Audessy is a nice plus for easy setup. I would definitely recommend this receiver as long as it is not a center piece for a home theater setup with HDMI.

Installing the product is extremely easy, thanks also to stickers to name each cable or device linked to the receiver (simple but great idea).
Output level is far above the receiver I had before (Aiwa) which makes my JBL set sound terrific.
Remote control is complete, however is good to take a look at the instruction manual as some of the commands are not so intuitive.
I was also able to pair some of the devices I have into the remote control, but not all of them... (a DVD from Gradiente is not working).
Zone 2 also works perfect, and independent from he rest, as it is my case I can watch a DVD in my TV room and have a CD playing in the living room at the same time.
I do not have HDMI connections (I read some of the people who have them complained a little), so for me it is an excellent choice at a very affordable price.

I was considering this receiver for a home theater system but then I saw the amazon price and it was too good to pass up. The setup went great - results with Aperion Audio in wall speakers and a Polk sub were fantastic.

Thanks for the great deal!

I used this receiver to easily switch between/connect my HP computer to my PS3 and hook up my 5:1 theater system. Onkyo is very easy to set up (compared to Sony receivers). Only thing I made a mistake on is the 501 model doesn't relay audio through HDMI input to HDMI output (the 606 apparently DOES relay audio through its HDMI). But it worked out fine--I simply used coax cables for the HP computer and an optical out for my PS3. Sounds incredible!

I can now push one button on the Onkyo receiver and my desktop shows up on the monitor. I push another button and the PS3 shows up on the monitor. (it's a huge monitor, so I didn't want to invest in a new TV... plus I'm cheap and I just wanted to buy a receiver. The Onkyo 506 on Amazon was the best price I could find anywhere.)

Here's a sketch of my theater layout. Hope it helps some people:
(ah! They deleted my link... probably no external links allowed. Instead...) Google the following: Onkyo my theater layout flickr chevassus

By the way, definitely buy the HDMI cables on Amazon. They're about $4 each and they work just as good as the $80 Best Buy ones. Also, my optical cable was dirt cheap on Amazon too, and it works just fine.

Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

After reading consumer reports that this was a very good receiver for the price, I purchased one from Amazon. I found the quality to be very good and the instruction manual easy to follow. I did use the enclosed mic and let the receiver auto set-up do all the calculations for distance, level, speaker size and frequency. My system has five speakers and a sub and was done in around 15 minutes. I followed up with my radio shack sound level meter and all speaker levels were very close. There are several sound settings for music and movies. I found pro-logic II to do very well with music and the digital auto setting for my dvd's. Overall a very good sounding receiver that is easy for the average consumer to operate.