ONKYO
Along with baseball and root beer, receivers are something we Americans seem to love, even if people in other countries just don’t seem to get it. Back in the old days, when a receiver was just a two-channel analog device used to play that worn out LP of
Wish You Were Here, cramming a stereo tuner, preamplifier and power amp into one box didn’t seem too hard. Now consider that today’s receiver incorporates those basics along with a plethora of digital circuitry, video circuitry, and at least five channels of amplification, and it’s really amazing that it doesn’t end up the size of one of those dorm-sized fridges that people used to sit those old stereos on.
Onkyo’s TX-SR701 is
typical of the latest generation of surround receivers. With
six channels pumping out
100 W each, the 701 has enough power to drive most speaker packages, while its up-to-date feature set should keep all but the most persnickety surround freaks happy. In addition to the expected Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 modes, there is a sixth channel for rear surround modes like Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES. More importantly for those of us who watch regular TV programming, the 701 also includes the latest modes for extracting surround from two channel sources: Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6. This is a THX Select–certified product, so you can be sure that a basic benchmark level of compatibility and performance has been met, and that you’re unlikely to run into any funky interfacing issues.
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Onkyo’s TX-SR701 receiver includes everything you need in one tidy box to decode and amplify surround-sound
signals. With a list price of $800, this is a great way to get surround sound on a
modest budget. |
