Onkyo TX-SR806 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

130 watts per channel into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.08% THD * THX Ultra2 Plus certification * new THX listening modes for optimized surround sound at any listening level * Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, THX Surround EX®, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, Pro Logic® IIx, and DTS Neo:6 decoding * XM Satellite Radio Ready (requires XM subscription and optional XM Mini-Tuner package) * SIRIUS satellite radio capable (requires SIRIUS subscription and optional SiriusConnect home tuner kit) * 1080p-compatible HDMI digital video switching (5 in, 1 out) * 1080p video upconversion with Faroudja DCDi Cinema Enhancement for all non-HD sources (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) * 7.1-channel analog audio preamp output *

I've been an Onkyo fan for years and this receiver replaces an Onkyo that I've been very happy with. I bought this receiver because of the HDMI inputs, the THX certification, to have one cable to the TV, and the good reviews. Let me start off by saying I won't touch on AUDIO at all, there is no question this is an awesome AUDIO device.

With that said, if you plan to hook up a Wii (component in, HDMI out), forget it. The Wii video signals seem to lock up the receivers video processing. Sound still comes though but the screen turns (and stays) blue. Video may work for a while before it blue screens, but it will happen at the worst time.

A successful workout for the Wii is to use a component cable between receiver and the TV and bypass the HDMI. This is a bit of an convenience but it works, you just have to switch the input on your TV to use the Wii. Defeats the one cable goal, but it works.

I have also experienced AT&T U-Verse (Motorola VIP1216) video problems where HDMI is concerned, the THROUGH setting tampers with the video so it doesn't work like you might think, it actually degrades the video quality in this mode. The AUTO setting doesn't seem to be smart enough to know what is best for each source. The 1080p setting has the best results for most sources, and where I leave it most of the time.

With all that said I've been struggling with the thought of keeping or returning this unit. I continued researching it and it seems receivers all the way up to $2000 experience similar problems. The Onkyo 875 which is probably somewhat better at video also has video problems and runs extremely hot which is a new problem I can't trade for.

I know a lot of the video problems are related to the input and upconversion, and that this receiver produces stunning video under the right circumstances. Obviously I'm less than thrilled with the overall video aspects of this receiver, but in the end it is still the best bang for the buck and probably no worse than other receivers at video processing.

This unit EXCELS at standard DVD (480p) upconversion and probably got its THX certification with a 1080p signal coming from a Blu-ray player (playing a blu-ray disc). The problems all have lower than 1080p input signals as a common denominator.

I've already blown two speakers with this here bad mammajamma! The sound quality is great. The usability is great. The display, workmanship, thoughtfulness of the product's design are great. I just can't say enough about this receiver. If I had to offer one negative piece of feedback, it doesn't seem to be easy to access all of the HDMI inputs. Sure they are there, but it doesn't appear as though you can't use them AND the other inputs. All-in-all, though, if this one blew up today, I'd be replacing it with the very same model before the smoke even cleared.

A few have stated this already, but I wanted to reiterate some of the points...

Sound
This receiver generates incredible surround sound and enables you to hear sounds and effects that you may have missed before. Really well done and the reason the received gets three stars.

Video
BIG issues if you use any of the three video game systems.

If you are using a Wii and try to send its component video signal out to the receiver and have it continue to the TV via the HDMI connection (which it is supposed to be able to handle), then your picture will intermittently cut out (you will hear sound but see a blue screen). I was able to "fix" this issue by having the receiver send the video to the TV over a component connection. It works fine, but it means that you paid for capabilities that do not work (and you defeat one of the main benefits of using HDMI... one cable for everything). You now have two wires connected to your TV.

It is also possible that you will see the infamous blue dots (or "jaggies" as I call them) when using an Xbox 360 and it is sending a 1080p signal. You will see them on dark scenes or anywhere with large areas of black color. This issue seems to go away when I set the receiver video setting to "Through" essentially shutting off its ability to do any processing for ANY video signal coming into it (Xbox, Cable TV, etc). Again, I paid for advanced video capabilities that I have to completely turn off or bypass to have everything work properly.

And now we turn to the PS3 which I use as a Blu-ray and normal DVD player, primarily. No issues with Blu-Ray but I do have the receiver set to "Pure Audio" for this input (which means that it turns off all video and audio processing and just outputs the signals it receives from the PS3). I have had issues with playing normal DVDs on the PS3 (those blue dots again) if I had the video processing setting on "Auto" or "1080p." The dots go away if you set it to "1080i" or "Through" (atleast so far), but, again, you are turning off features that supposedly made it worth the price (which may actually explain why this receiver is available for the current levels of price).

Now for return experience... pray you noticed these issues before you got rid of the box. I didn't and asked Amazon for help and their customer service rep, Vignesh Muthiah, responded by saying that they would be happy to take it back if I went out and purchased the box and returned the receiver in that box. Really? Seriously? Exactly how is that possible? The rep did say that they would reimburse me for the cost of the box. Will keep you posted on progress.

Overall, great receiver for sound, amount of connections, on screen menus, etc but terrible for its video processing abilities. Most times you will wind up turning those "features" off. My first experience with Onkyo (I've done Sony or Harman Kardon in the past) and I am not impressed.

I am extremely pleased with my new Onkyo TX-SR806. The Audyssey MultiEQ setup and calibration system was easy to set up my 7.1 environment and worked flawlessly. I am using HDMI to connect Direct TV and Sony Blu-ray disc player. Having only one HDMI cord to the TV is an awesome improvement to clean up the wiring mess and makes set up much easier. I am replacing a 10yr old Yamaha unit, the improvement in technology and sound is significant. I really appreciate having the unit automatically recognize and switch the audio format. Sound quality, power, video upscaling, and oveall quality of the unit is excellent. I have not noticed any significant heat issues. Overall for the price the unit is an excellent value.

This receiver produces great sound, I have watched all my favorite movies again and this receiver produces sounds I didn't even know existed. It must be said that my old receiver was a very average Sony, so some sound quality improvement was to be expected, but it did exceed my expectations. My HD Tivo and my old DVD player were hooked up with ease (HDMI) and when I ran the signal (HDMI) from the receiver to my Panasonic TH 50PZ850U TV the picture was awesome.

Everything would have been fine if I didn't purchase my Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray player (fantastic btw). This is when I discovered that the receiver likes to mess with some 1080P signals, even if you tell it not too (really annoying that pass through doesn't really work). As a previous review has stated there are a lot of people that are experiencing 'blue dot' issues when PS3 and XBox's are hooked up to this receiver. Basically the receiver will introduce artifacts (blue dots on screen in presumably random locations) on some 1080P signals, I don't pretend to understand why but a quick Google search will lead you to a number of forums that discuss possible causes and fixes. The only fix that I have found to work is to tell my Blu Ray player to only send out 1080i signals to the receiver if I see blue dots, which seems to happen on almost every DVD (not Blu ray)I own. Blu Ray disks seem to be unaffected, at least for me. But if I put a DVD in, the player will automatically up convert it to 1080P (which is a good thing) but the receiver is not able to cope without introducing these blue dots (bad thing). If I bypass the receiver and send HDMI straight from the Blu Ray player (still 1080P) to the TV the picture is great, but that is a work around for an issue this receiver should not have.

So if you are planning on only playing Blu Ray's or watching 1080i signals then you might be very happy with this receiver. If however you want an artifact free picture and you own an xbox, ps3 or expect to use your Blu Ray player to up convert DVD's to 1080P then you are probably going to want to look at alternatives like the Onkyo 876 or the Denon AVR-2809CI.