Thread: Onkyo 605 or Sony 910?

I have a 605, 705, 805 and 875. The 605 only gets warm and as you go up the line, each model gets hotter. My 875 is on a top, open shelf and I have never had an issue relating to the heat. If you want a receiver, get an Onkyo. For the money they can't be beat.

Christ man, that's quite a few receivers you have. You seriously have 4 setups?

Originally Posted by ONUOsFan

Believe it or not, she thinks it's a "Hallmark Holiday."

One other question.... there is a difference in "power" between the two as well - 90W for the Onkyo (which is what my current receiver is) vs. 110 (I think) for the Sony. I can't recall ever having any problems or thinking my current setup was too quiet, but anything I should be thinking about there...?

Take those power ratings with a massive grain of salt. Sony tends to indulge in puffery when it comes to their power rating. The 605 has plenty of power.

I have a 605, currently with a ViP622 and HD-A2 using the two HDMI inputs, as well as a Wii connected by component. HDMI out to my Toshiba 62HMX94 DLP (720p) TV. Soon, I'll pick up a Blu-Ray player (wavering between the Panasonic BD30 and PS3) along with an HDMI switch from monoprice.com. These HDMI switches are around $40, and can be controlled by a universal remote.

The 605 can pass audio on to the TV, but only by changing a setting deep in the menu system, then you'd have to change it back for surround sound; definitely not worth the hassle. I've been using the midnight mode when I want to keep the volume down, it is MUCH better than using the TV speakers. Most TV speakers range from sort of crappy to completely crappy. I've always had to turn up the sound on the TV to a certain point in order to hear dialog, only to get blasted by background music, special effects, etc... Running through 605, using midnight mode (which most AVRs have), no problems. Midnight mode compresses the dynamic range of the audio and boosts the center channel speaker and those frequency ranges to enhance dialog. It alters the sound quite a bit, but it makes listening at low volumes a lot easier, especially for dialog.

If you like silver, the 605 is 339 right now on amazon.

Originally Posted by griz_fan

Take those power ratings with a massive grain of salt. Sony tends to indulge in puffery when it comes to their power rating. The 605 has plenty of power.

I have a 605, currently with a ViP622 and HD-A2 using the two HDMI inputs, as well as a Wii connected by component. HDMI out to my Toshiba 62HMX94 DLP (720p) TV. Soon, I'll pick up a Blu-Ray player (wavering between the Panasonic BD30 and PS3) along with an HDMI switch from monoprice.com. These HDMI switches are around $40, and can be controlled by a universal remote.

The 605 can pass audio on to the TV, but only by changing a setting deep in the menu system, then you'd have to change it back for surround sound; definitely not worth the hassle. I've been using the midnight mode when I want to keep the volume down, it is MUCH better than using the TV speakers. Most TV speakers range from sort of crappy to completely crappy. I've always had to turn up the sound on the TV to a certain point in order to hear dialog, only to get blasted by background music, special effects, etc... Running through 605, using midnight mode (which most AVRs have), no problems. Midnight mode compresses the dynamic range of the audio and boosts the center channel speaker and those frequency ranges to enhance dialog. It alters the sound quite a bit, but it makes listening at low volumes a lot easier, especially for dialog.

Thanks. I had thought that I could just use component for my HR20, but then I remembered a story about some restrictions on HD content that might be coming down the lane for Dish - I wonder if D* will do the same? That could cause a problem - I don't really want another thing to switch so I can use all three of my HDMI sources... then again, I may just do HDMI direct to the TV for that with optical audio - no reason for anything better, and I probably won't want to have the receiver on all day long while the kids are watching TV.

I hadn't heard about that "midnight mode," but that definitely sounds like it would do the trick, and be a better option - thanks for the heads up.

Unfortunately, it looks like this purchase may be on hold until the summer, but I think I'll probably end up going with the 605 when the time comes. Thanks again for the input...

Yeah check the specs to see if they support HD Audio but I'm a big Sony Fan myself I'm getting ready to get one of their ES Series the 43000.

If you want to do HD Audio you need to go with the Higher end model STR which is the STR-DG2100... That is if you want Dolby® TrueHD.. Go to Sony site and compare the 3 and you will see..

Poke, the 810 and higher will allow people to reap the benefits of HD Audio just fine. Granted the player will have to do the decoding and then pass the PCM to the 810 and greater. Then agian, not all players can do bitstream of the advanced audio either.

Are you only referring to the Sony models that offer receiver decoding of the HD audio?