Onkyo TX-NR809 vs TX-NR717

NR809 is better than the NR707 or NR717. You're title says 717 but first paragraph says 707.

Pretty much any AV receiver would work fine with the Take Classics. The NR809 is way better than the speakers you purchased. Typically you should spend 2-1 or 3-1 ratio speakers vs receiver. You went the other way.

Sounds good. Eventually you'll get better speakers and take advantage off the capabilities of your receiver.

Well, if you replace the 2 front Takes you also have to replace the center speaker too. The little Take center cant keep up with larger bookshelf speakers nor will it be a tonal match.

You want your front 3 speakers to be identical or at least from the same mfr and product line.

Hello,
Amazon's current price for the 809 is simply amazing. Accessories4less is selling B-Stock 809;s for $130 more. I would jump on the 809 before they are sold out. Not only do you get MultEQ XT, but you also get the stellar HQV Vida Video Processing. Truly is a no brainer to me.
Cheers,
AD

I have the TX-NR717 (got it recently on sale for $499) paired with the Energy Take classic 5.1. All I can say is that its the best $499 I have ever spent. The Audyssey calibration has done such wonders to my energy speaker setup that it is difficult for me to imagine how MutliEQ XT would be any better. The sound is incredible. I got the 717 mainly because it has Bluetooth compatability (I know may sound trivial for many ppl but its huge for me) , Dolby pro logic IIz for front heights and widths which I plan on upgrading to later, MHL front port to connect my android phone and lastly video upscaling from anything to 1080p.So far it has exceeded my expectations on all levels. Watching standard SD DirecTV channels in 1080p brings a smile to my face.
Edited by mihirs2 - 12/29/12 at 3:07am

I would get the 809, Mazon has them on clearance for under 500 dollars.
i have mine powering a pair of polks rtia7's and they sound maazing. the picture is also amazing. you will love it.

Good thread, this is helping me too and I think I would rather have the 809 myself, but it is up around $650 as you say and being discontinued and all, I am sort of afraid to wait. Not sure what to do.

I made my decision and ordered a 717 from NE for $550. It is 100 times better than my current receiver and while it is not the best, I am confident it will more than meet my needs.

Well my 717 is up and running and impressive to me. I was using an old Yamaha receiver that didn't have HDMI inputs on it, so I took quite a step up. The music sounds very clear and the newer surround formats are so much better than the old Pro Logic I had been using. I am quite impressed. It has a lot of features and with any receiver, it takes a while to figure everything out! It has so many listening modes I am trying to see which I like and don't.

Just to jump in....
I just ordered a HSU package (with VTF-15 subwoofer) and currently use a
Onkyo TX 706 AVR..

How far behind the techno/performance curve am i right now?

thanks

I have Klipsch speakers. My fronts are KF-28 towers, center is an older C-2, and rears are older B-2 bookshelves on some stands. My subwoofer is an HSU VTF-15. I have to say my surround system sounds incredible right now. Hopefully this black friday or sooner, Best Buy will put the KF-28s half off again and I will pick up some more because they sound incredible. I like to listen to music a lot and having some more towers around the room will really help out there even though they don't help movies much. I have a very wide room and intend to add the pair of towers as front wides.

I just purchased the 717 on Monday. HOLY COW!, best AVR I've ever had or listened to. Easy setup, audessy did its thing and it never sounded better. I have a 7.1 system, atlantic technology speakers. Very expensive speakers, actually fits right into the 3.1 or 2.1 speaker to receiver cost ratio. The only complaint I've heard about the 717 is users wish they had the upgraded version of audessy. The thing is like I mentioned, it did the job for me, I don't have to mess with the EQ or settings, it automatically did it for me.

The 616 did have some firmware issues, I have yet to update my firmware, but haven't read anything about issues with firmware with the 717.

With receivers, you really just have to decide what is best for your room. My theater room is 20x12, so I did my home work and set a price range. Funny thing, last week the price of the 717 was $589, when I purchased it, I got it for $632, it's now up to $700 and up, maybe the 818 isn't what buyers thought it was.

The only issue I've noticed with the 717 is it does get a little warm, but almost all AVRs do.

The video processing is awesome, the days of analog and cables running through the walls and ceiling are over, Easy hook up with HDMI and your off to the races.

Bottom line, set a price and do your research and your needs for your room and then make a list and start researching them. You can't go wrong with the 717. Me personally, the difference between the 717 and the 818 wasnt worth paying $300 more and I'd be willing to bet I wouldnt have noticed much difference between the two.

If you get 809 -- and run Audyssey, go back in and reset speakers back to 80Hz . Bug in the software sets them to 40Hz and that will sound really bad.