Onkyo does it again!
Written: Jul 20 '01
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Pros: 75Wx5ch, great remote, numerous inputs/outputs, excellent menus, good price
Cons: I live in an apartment complex and this badboy shakes the walls like crazy!
The Bottom Line: The best receiver under $500. Great build, great sound, great buy.
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| utbigrod's Full Review: Onkyo TX-DS595 5.1 Channels Receiver |
Well it seems like Onkyo has done it again with a great bargain hunter deal on the TX-DS595. The previous version, the TX-DS575x was acclaimed by many as the best receiver under $500 (for details of this claim check it out at www.cheaphometheater.com). I am proud to say that the new 595 is all what the 575x was and more. To preface my review here I will just say that my father has the 575 and I have just recently purchased the 595 so I have a good knowledge of both of them now.
The basics of the 595 are as follows: 75W x 5 channels, subwoofer output, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II, digital inputs/outputs, learning remote w/macros, and great button layout on receiver face. This is everything that you will need if you are building your 5.1 channel surround sound home theater...of course you do need speakers too:)
Now lets get into the goods... I picked up my 595 for a GREAT price at J&R. They have a great price matching policy and if you talk to the guys at Uncle's Stereo you can usually get a really cheap price from them and then get J&R to match it. I ended up getting the 595 delivered...yes, I said delivered...for $379.25!! So the review talking about how expensive this is assumes you go to your local retailer and pay out your nose for it. Save yourself $100+ and use J&R and price match.
When I first got the 595 I noticed one thing about it, it seemed lighter than my dad's 575x. This seemed odd since it has more wattage, I would think that it would be heavier. It is indeed lighter and still has more wattage...I guess Onkyo figured out how to streamline some of the circuitry. Despite being lighter the 595 puts out serious wattage. I hooked it up to my Infinity Reference Series bookshelfs and center channel and it pushed out a clear and crisp sound. I cranked it up and got absolutely no distortion out of it at extreme listening levels. I then added my new Velodyne CT100 10" subwoofer to my system to make things interesting. The CT100 is an active sub and draws no power from the Onkyo, but I just have to say that this sub is a beast. If you can get your hands on one then grab it!
Useability of the 595 is very good. I like the new look of the front face of the receiver. There are no clumsy knobs to turn to select the input. There are buttons labeled for each input and with the quick hit you are into your desired input. One thing I really enjoy about the 595 is that it remembers the processing mode you last used for each input. If I was watching something in Prologic II on my VCR and then switched the input to DVD the 595 would automatically switch the processing to DTS. This is a nice feature and makes things easier to setup and have optimal listening. The 595 also has great menus and I really like the speaker setup menu. Instead of asking you to adjust the delay in milliseconds, it just asks you how far you are sitting from your speakers in feet. This is much easier for amateur home theater enthusiasts.
The last thing I will talk about is the remote. This remote is wonderful. Yes, the remote is HUGE, but that just means you have that much more functionality on it. The top of the remote is backlit but the numbers at the bottom and input buttons are not. If I could change one thing, it would be to backlight the whole thing. The macro options are great for setting up the system for inexperienced roomies/girlfriends/wifes/etc. They just have to hit one button to watch the TV or a DVD. The learning feature is also great because my VCR was not one of the preprogrammed ones that comes stored in the remote.
Overall I am very pleased with my Onkyo TX-DS595. If you do not have a 5.1 channel digital system...RUN, don't walk to the phone or store and pick up a 595 now!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 379.25
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Epinions.com ID:
utbigrod
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Location: Killington, VT
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Fresh college grad in tune with Electronics.
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