Home > Consumer Reviews > Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

There are lots of reviews available out there on the 706. Many reviews claim issues with the Audyssey mic and setup process not working - luckily I had no such trouble; setup was breeze and I am very pleased with the sound quality. The setup includes this receiver, two Polk Audio R50s front, two Polk Audio R15s surround, a cheap Infinity center (needs upgrade) and a Polk Audio PSW303 subwoofer. Clearly this receiver is geared more towards movies than music, however with the Audyssey equalizer on, it sounds much better than my 2 year old Onkyo TX-SR603. The center channel sounds sonically closer to the Polks with the Audyssey eq on. Bass management seems much better than the 603. One thing to note is that the subwoofer level is a bit high for Dolby Digital movies vs. stereo PCM music - I believe this can be adjusted using the menu options for level based on source signal type; yet to try this out.
The video issue I encountered is as follows. I currently have an older DVD player connected to the receiver using component video hookups. The receiver in turn sends this video signal out through the HDMI output. Things are fine, until the picture turns very bright (close to white e.g. explosion, bright sky etc). The converter seems to think there is no signal coming in and switches the HDMI output to a blue screen; once the brightness/intensity drops, the signal output recovers. The issue does not exist on the s-video input which can also be uplinked through HDMI - thus my s-video output Nintendo Wii works fine, whereas the DVD player running component video has this issue. You should not be affected by this unless you plan to have a component video source uplinked via HDMI to your television. Apart from this issue, I would highly recommend the TX-SR706 to anyone looking for a very good receiver, with lots of connectivity and many of the latest features and standards.

I like to listen to my music VERY LOUD. The Onkyo TX-SR706 delivers an oustanding and clear sound at all volume levels. Sound & Vision (check their review) helped me select this item and I couldn't be any happier.

This is my third Onkyo receiver, and I really have had no complaints about any them. The one I replaced with this receiver gave me over ten years of service.

I decided to upgrade because this receiver brings me into the digital age. This unit sports four HDMI inputs and an HDMI output for the TV. Now I can pipe the A/V from the cable box DVR to the receiver and from the receiver to the HDTV while staying in the digital domain the entire path.

When I first hooked up the unit, I hooked it to a standard definition TV via component video inputs/outputs (there are two component inputs and one output). The resulting picture was much better than with the S-video I used on the previous unit. - I was surprised with the picture improvement. This receiver also supports 7.1 channel surround allowing me the use of two surround back channels. I find that the surround sound quality is definitely improved over the previous unit. I attribute this to the extra back surround channels, the multitude of listening modes, the THX certification, and the Audyssey MultEQ automatic speaker setup.

Briefly, the Audyssey system did a good job of setting up the speakers. It automatically calculates speaker distance, performs equalization on each speaker, sets the high pass cutoff frequency (if necessary for small speakers, my small back surrounds were set to 150Hz for example), sets the level, and did I say it does this all automatically! I double checked the SPL settings via a Radio Shack sound pressure meter and the levels were all very close. I did increase the LFE channel 1.5 dB, however. Also, Audyssey said my subwoofer was thirty feet away. This was the only error. My subwoofers are built into my left and right front speakers which are about nine feet from the listening position. I simply changed this value via the menus.

I also want to mention the large number of listening modes. There is a slew of Dolby, DTS and THX listening modes in addition to a number of DSP modes. Check the online manual to see just how many there are on the Onyko website.

This unit comes with a 119 page manual covering all aspects of the receiver, and believe me, there are many.

Overall, I am well pleased with this receiver. Excuse me now; I have a movie I want to watch.

Most of the reviews on this are spot on, this is an excellent receiver for the price. It's simple, it has plenty of power, audio performance is outstanding and the fact that it will de-interlace HDMI to HDMI is just unheard of in a lower cost unit. This is currently is the heart of my man cave system that includes Definitive Audio BiPolar speakers, DP2X's for surround, BP7006's for main, a CLR2002 for the center channel and a Sony KDL-46Z4100 rounding it out. Games on the Xbox 360 look and sound fantastic, BluRay's look and sound as good as it gets, especially with the TiueHD & DTS-MA decoding and my SACD player has never sounded better. If you're looking for a great receiver without breaking the bank I would highly recommend considering this one!

This Onkyo 706 Receiver is the third Onkyo receiver I have purchased, the first two from traditional retail sellers. Onkyo receivers are not always intuitive or easy to use. The manual can be less than helpful to use, but this receiver's manual is an improvement. I recommend careful readings of the manual. However, this receiver is well built and great for a family room of average size, a good buy over the internet and reliable. Do give it lots of "breathing" space to extend its life as it runs hot. I would purchase another if my wife would allow. My old receiver is going to our master bedroom.

I chose this one for HDMI inputs for our patched together home theater, including a 50 inch plasma TV, 20 year-old CD changer, Sony Blue-Ray player, VCR, mismatched speakers and media hard drive. The receiver works flawlessly and relatively easy to connect with lots of connectivity options. My wife can now turn on the TV and select the correct input. The automated speaker calibration is really helpful as a start for customization of speakers.

Finally, this being my first review, I greatly appreciate the reviews provided by others. ALL the reviews are so helpful in improving the decision making process, as challenging as that can be at times.