The "official" The Onkyo TX-SR706 Owners Thread

Well... I assume this thread might be getting a lot of action soon. The 706 comes with the MultiEQ + DynamicEQ + 1080P + a plethora of HDMI ins + the all important blue back-lit volume knob--that is what sold me. I have one being delivered this week.

I will report back with my initial impressions.

For the first post... I would like to point out that the TX-SR706 DOES NOT come with MultiEQ XT--even though that little graphic on the official Onkyo website says it is XT. According to the manual and other research, it comes with plane jane MultiEQ -- which is still better than 2EQ--but still, this is slightly dissapointing.

For a description of the differences... check here.

Oh yeah... it is being delivered today... I will report back in a couple days with its performance.

Just a quick note... I haven't had a chance to hookup my beast yet (or test the Audessy) -- but I think it is important to report that the TX-SR706 does not have any side ventilation ports. There are vents all across the top and bottom... but nothing on the sides or back--just solid steel. This means I am going to have to get a little creative when placing it in my current entertainment center configuration (which has plenty of side ventilation, but not much vertical headroom).

I am no expert... but if there are multiple listening positions in your room, the technology behind the Audyssey calibration that takes this into account is something that can't be duplicated with a manual process. If, however, you are only concerned about a single listening position... then the SPL meter would probably do the trick.

Have you tried searching for an authorized local service center? I have one just a few miles from my house... which will make things nice if I need any firmware updates. Now that I think about it... I am not sure if local authorized service centers can apply firmware updates or you have to mail it into a regional service center. From what I have read, Onkyo will send you a prepaid shipping label for this kind of free service to send into a "Regional Service Center"... but I would rather not send this thing through the mail.

Ugh... so far, not so good... My toshiba 52HM84 will not display a picture through HDMI unless I enable the HDMI audio out to TV function on the receiver. The problem is... when this option is enabled... the receiver only thinks I have two speakers connected to the system and won't output any true dolby digital formats. It still is outputting sound to my 5.1 speakers... but it will not let me select DD as an output choice (and I know the source is DD).

I am going to do some more research... but, at least for now... I am not impressed. I wanted everything running through HDMI... but I am afraid this is not going to be possible.

I played a little bit with the video up converting but it didn't impress me very much either.

I also haven't had a chance to calibrate anything yet...

Update: Well, well, well -- looks like this guy had the exact same issue (with an 805) -- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1022038 -- seems the HDMI board on my TV is whacked. That sucks.

I had to go ahead and bypass all of the HDMI stuff and hooked up my new 706 regularly with all the component video outs going directly to the TV and the digital outs (2 optical + 1 coax) going into the 706. I ordered a new HDMI module for my Toshiba TV so hopefully that will allow me to take full advantage of the 706.

I have ran the MultiEQ without a problem and checked all of the settings it inserted. They were absolutely 100% spot on. It muted my subs a bit more than I would have liked, but a simple tweak in the speaker eq settings has made them perfect.

I can honestly say this receiver does output a more vibrant and clean sound than my 8 year old HTIB Onkyo. The difference (once you get everything calibrated) is quite dramatic.

I would say my room is approx. 18 feet wide by 45 feet long and my system absolutely punishes the entire listening area with a flood of scintillating 5.1 soundocity. I know soundocity is not a word... but it should be.

I wish I could give a more honest review of the HDMI (up-scaling, switching, etc.) capabilities... but with my TV's out of date HDMI board... I don't think I would provide an accurate review. I will say there is a plethora of video tweaks within the menus that I am sure could accommodate any misgivings of the processing.

I had to mount a couple 12V fans around this thing because the maxmimum head room I could afford the unit was just a little over two inches... without the fans, the top of the unit was almost unbearable to touch.

Here is a little money saving tip for you folks... I just found an old cell phone charger that output 6V -- and hooked two yate loon d1-sl12 120mm fans to it. I put one fan blowing across the receiver from the left side and one fan blowing across the receiver from the back right corner and plugged the thing into my switched cable box AC outlet. Now the top of the 706 is 90% cooler than it was... barely any heat at all to the touch. The fans can not be heard at all unless you are about a foot from them and this total cooling solution cost me less than $15 total.

Funny buffalofloyd... that is the exact same receiver I upgraded from. I am trying to get my HDMI port on my TV working before I give my final review.

I will offer one piece of advice, though--if you got that HT-R500 in a HTIB (home theater in a box) setup like I did... the first thing you need to do is upgrade the speakers. At the very least... get a good center channel and some decent fronts... this takes precedence over the new receiver.