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

Setup was easy, sound is good, but the lack of HDMI audio is COMPLETELY LAME. How can you put HDMI in huge letters on the front of an audio receiver, and not play audio from HDMI? Yes, I saw "play through" in the product description, but contrary to other reports it DOES NOT say "play-through only", it just says "play through," which in my mind was a plus. Like, hey, it plays through the video to your TV so you can just plug HDMI straight into the thing and not worry about it. Awesome!

The only reason Onkyo would do this is to differentiate the thing from the higher-end models, and that's a very lame reason. If an audio receiver doesn't play audio from HDMI, then it shouldn't have HDMI jacks, and it shouldn't say HDMI in 140pt font on the front. The price point wasn't even that important to me; I picked it because it had everything I needed and no more. Oops.

I was very excited to get this and I was able to get it for an amazing price from Amazon.com.

When I got it, I couldn't wait to get it set up. I connected it to my speakers from my previous receiver (which I'm selling) and hooked it into my projector, HD cable box, DVD player, and Nintendo Wii. The receiver does an auto calibration, which takes about ten minutes but it seems to do a good job of setting everything just right. The sound out of this receiver is actually quite good, but then again, I'm not exactly an audiophile who really knows exactly what to listen for. However, for the vast majority of people who just want digital surround sound, this receiver is probably a pretty good fit for you.

But, now for the bad thing. If you have an HDTV, I would run your video cables through the TV and then send the audio from the TV to the receiver. In other words, don't try running your video first to the receiver then to the TV. The reason why is because: 1) there probably aren't enough inputs for your needs (especially if you're using component cables), and 2) the component inputs do not handle HD signals all that well. If you're wondering what I mean by that second reason, here's why. Since I use a projector instead of a normal television, my projector only has one component input so I was sending the component video first to the receiver and then out to the projector. But, when we're watching HD images, any bright flash or bright colors on the screen will cause the video signal to blank out until the bright image is gone. Like the other day we were watching HDTV and a drug commercial came on. During a scene that showed the drug with an almost entirely white screen, the video went black and the projector was searching for a signal, almost like the cable had been unplugged. As soon as the channel stopped broadcasting that white screen, the projector seemed to find the signal again. This happens constantly and there is no way to stop it. If you check the specifications of this receiver, you'll see that the component cables can only handle from 5 to 50 MHz. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the signal loss, but I've read on some forums that the receiver should have at least 75 MHz in order to keep this from happening. So, again, this receiver WILL switch between HD formats, but beware that you WILL have this problem if you're using component cables to watch HD video.

UPDATE: I called Onkyo about this and they tried to blame the cablebox! The technician acted like he knew all about this issue, but when I asked him how it was possible, he just told me to talk to my cable provider! I told him the model number of my cablebox and he said that with that specific model, I just needed a firmware update. I called my cable provider and they said that I already had the latest update! Besides, before I put this receiver into the mix, the cablebox worked great, so it really is only an issue with the receiver, but Onkyo was trying to pass the blame on to someone else! Talk about bad customer service. Anyway, what I discovered (no thanks to Onkyo) is that if you switch your cablebox to only output 720p signals through the component video outputs, then the problem goes away. For me, my projector is an 800x600 resolution, so the 720p signal looks the exact same as the 1080i signals did. But, if you have either a high end projector or a true HD television, then this solution may not be the best for you, but it'll work.

Oh, and before anyone gets the idea, this receiver (and most receivers) will not CONVERT between video formats. So, if you connect your DVD player to the receiver using an S-video cable, then you must connect the receiver to the TV with an S-video cable as well. This receiver will not take your S-video signal and output it through the HDMI port or the component video output. Most receivers won't do that unless it is one of the features of it.

But, other than those issues (which may NOT be an important issue for some of you) then I would buy this receiver again, but maybe not for anything over $200.

This was an emergency purchase as my old Technics system blew up. I couldn't be more pleased! The Technics was a ProLogic simulated surround system, so this was my first experience with true surround sound, and I just can't get enough of it. The sound quality is great, crystal clear and rich. It automatically detects the best listening mode for a source (for instance, if you are watching a DVD the Onkyo can tell if it is a 2.0, or Dolby 5.1, etc) so you are not forever changing the sound settings. As a side note, if you experience an echo while watching a DVD, make sure the volume is turned all the way down on the TV itself. The Onkyo came with a set-up MIC which allows the system to measure the volume of each speaker from 3 listening positions in the room, then automatically balances them. Another cool feature is the "Zone 2" for which you can power a 2nd set of stereo speakers in a different room, and although I have not tried it, apparently you can have one source playing on "Zone 2" (like the radio) while using a different source (like the TV or DVD) in the main room. My only minor complaints would be that the display is classic mint green rather than white (though it can be dimmed, which is neat) and the remote control is awfully "busy". It is capable of being a universal remote, but in my opinion it is too small to have 50 child-sized buttons on it. Finally, to Amazon's credit, I chose 7-10 day Supersaver Shipping, and the Onkyo was delivered by FedEx in 3 days! I would definitely recommend this product!

I'm no NASA specialist. For what I needed this AV amp to do, it was fine for me. If you're looking for the ultimate HD high end whatever, read this closely to see if this is what you're looking for. For an average user like myself, is was great for the price. By the way, my other Onkyo receiver is still working in my living room and it's 20 years old now ( I just use it for sound not HDMI). I'm happy with what I got here.

This receiver was just as promised....easy setup and installation, great sound, good value....and 6thAve Electronics shipped immediately for a great transaction...very satisfied.