Very good receiver from a very reputable company
Written: Jul 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Conservative power rating, sturdy construction, clean sound, good price
Cons: No DTS (DTS ready)
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| LiTeSp3eD's Full Review: Onkyo TX-DS474 Receiver |
To put it shortly: I couldn't be happier with this receiver. Rated conservatively at 55 watts/channel, this unit puts out much more than enough clean power to serve as the heart of your home theater system.
This unit often sells for around $360 dollars. I was lucky enough to find it for around $270 on the Internet. It's a heavy unit and may cost you $25 to ship, but the savings you get over a local store will probably still make it cheaper to buy over the web.
Onkyo is a company that specializes in home audio. That's all they do. And they do it well. Ask any audio buff and they will tell you that companies like Onkyo are conservative when it comes to rating the power their units produce, unlike companies like Pioneer or Kenwood. So don't be fooled by bigger numbers from other companies; go audition the players at an audio/home theater shop. This unit has plenty of power for my taste. I live in an apartment with vaulted ceilings and a fairly open plan, and as a college student, I like to crank it up every now and then (for music and movies), and I have never even come close to taking full advantage of the power output. Nor does distortion play a factor, even at the highest volumes that I play.
When you pull this receiver out of the box, take a deep breath and lift with the knees! :) This unit is heavy, and heavy in home audio generally means quality. Bigger power supplies and solid steel construction spell less vibration and noise.
Inputs and outputs are no problem with this receiver. It has both optical and coax digital inputs, so hooking up your DVD player is no sweat. It also has 3 A/V ins, and an input that will allow you to hook up an external decoder later, so if you ever decide to upgrade to DTS (or a later standard), you can keep this receiver (and you will want to!).
This unit supports Dolby Digital, of course, and using it with a 5.1 speaker system (including a powered sub) is going to take full advantage of what it has to offer, if you will be watching DVDs.
The remote is functional and stylish, but the buttons are all the same size, and until you have used it for awhile, it might be a little confusing to use in the dark.
It's easy to perform functions like adjusting speaker levels right from the remote, which is handy if you are using test tones and a sound level meter to fine-tune the levels...you don't have to run back and forth from the couch to the receiver, or have a friend help you out. Midnight Theater mode boosts certain frequencies to make a movie more enjoyable to watch at lower volumes, which is nice if you often watch movies when others are sleeping.
A full 2-year warranty proves that Onkyo stands behind their products, and for good reason. Unfortunately, the manual sent with my receiver was only in French, so I have yet to understand a few of the more obscure features. However, this unit is intuitive enough that you can basically wing it. I would rate the negative aspects of this unit openly if I could come up with any more, but to be truthful I can't. I would recommend this receiver to anyone who is setting up a home theater system, or upgrading from a Pro-Logic model.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
LiTeSp3eD
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Member: Ryan Long
Location: Muncie, IN
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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