Onkyo TX-DS595 - Excellent value for the money
Written: Jan 09 '02
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Pros: Sound quality, affordable price, Prologic II, remote
Cons: With levels properly adjusted and a powered subwoofer I have not found any cons.
The Bottom Line: For the money I don't think you can find a better receiver. The sound quality and ease of use are much better than other receivers in this price range.
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| ahmik's Full Review: Onkyo TX-DS595 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I replaced my Sony 5.1 ready receiver and separate Onkyo Dolby Digital decoder, a setup that cost twice as much as this receiver 4 years ago.
The biggest difference I noticed when I turned it on was the clarity of the sound. Going from 0.8% THD (total harmonic distortion) to 0.08% THD really made a difference. I am using the same speakers I was using with the Sony, Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble IV HT which includes a passive subwoofer and I added the matching Basscube 8 powered subwoofer to make it like the Movieworks 408. With these speakers the receiver really fills my 15 x 20 living room with full sound.
Features
It has 4 AV inputs 1 called DVD and 3 assigned to Video 1, 2 and 3 including a recording loop on Video 1. The AV inputs include S-video inputs. It also has 3 audio only inputs tape, With a recording loop, CD and Phono. Any S-video input is sent out as S-video and and any coaxial signal is sent out as coaxial so if you have components with both types you will need two connections to your TV. This is OK because you can program macros that will set up everything with one button. I am not using the S-video inputs, because the only component that I have that uses them, my DVD player, also has component video outputs which I connect directly to the TV.
It has 4 digital audio inputs including 2 optical and 2 coaxial which can be assigned to any input. This was nice for me since I have an older CD player which only has a coaxial digital output and many models only include one coaxial input so I would be unable to expand with other components unless they had optical outputs. It also includes a 5.1 analog input, for use with DVD audio.
It has S-video and coaxial monitor outputs. Binding/banana plug posts for all channels. It can play A and B speakers simultaneously, but it runs them off of the surround amplifiers so you cannot use a surround mode when using the B speakers. It has a preamp level output for a powered subwoofer.
It has Dolby Digital and DTS Decoding as well as Dolby Prologic II. It also has Lucasfilm's Cinema Re-EQ for use with Dolby Digital recordings that are processed for movie theaters. It brings the high frequencies down to their original level. It also includes late night mode which compresses the sound bringing down the loud volumes and boosting the lower volumes for watching movies at night without bothering everyone else in the house.
It also has 5 DSP modes. Orchestra, TV logic, Unplugged, Studio-Mix, and All Channel Stereo.
Two features that are very nice are setting up the volume it starts at when it turns on so you never get blasted with unexpected high volume sound and intellivolume, which allows you to customize the input volume for all of your components so there is little volume change when switching inputs.
It is also very nice that it remembers which listening mode you want when you switch to an input. For example if you like all channel stereo for your CDs and prologic II for your VCR when you switch to the input, the receiver automatically switches to your listening mode.
The tuner was also very good and easy to use once you have set your presets.
Setup
The setup was much easier than I expected and pretty intuitive. Setting up the distance from the speakers was very easy since the setting are in feet. Setting speaker levels was also very easy with the use of a test noise that it generates. With the help of a pretty decent manual, I got out of the box, hooked up, all the levels calibrated, and the remote programmed including macros in a couple of hours. I did already have the speakers set up so I did not have to do that part.
Sound Quality
The Sony was rated at 100 watts per channel, but if feels like at 75 watts the Onkyo has more power. I guess this makes sense since the Sony is only rated at 100 watts at 1 frequency and the Onkyo is rated over the entire frequency range.
Prologic II sounds excellent with stereo TV programs. It really adds to the surround channels, which are not nearly as promenent in regular prologic. It is reminiscent of Dolby Digital although not quite as clear. Dolby Digital sounded awesome with Star Wars, Episode I. DTS also performed as expected with fantastic sound quality. The DSPs were good as well, much more transparent than the ones on the Sony. The D/A converter works great with my CD player improving the sound tremendously.
Remote
Almost as good as the incredible sound is the remote. It is preprogrammed for most components except for non Onkyo CD players, and it can learn those commands as well. It can control, DVD players, satellite systems, cable boxes, VCRs and TVs as well as anything else you want it to learn, for a total 7 components and the receiver. It can also be programed for 9 macros one for each of the 8 modes of the remote and 1 direct macro. Each macro can contain up to 16 commands.
The learning function was very easy and the commands worked perfectly. The macros are also excellent and easy to program, you just go through the sequence of events that you want it to perform and it is programmed. This function was a selling point for me as my wife would not let me purchase anything that was difficult to operate. I have a macro that turns everything on, one that turns everything off, one that turns the DVD player on and switches to the DVD input on the receiver and to the progressive scan component input on the TV. I then made one that switched back to normal VCR operation which included changing back to the normal input on the TV. This is a complicated command since you have to navigate a menu on the TV. The remote performs it perfectly. I do wish however that the remote was backlit.
Summary and Purchasing Information
I highly recommend this receiver as you could easily spend $299 on a budget receiver with sound quality that does not compare with this, and a vastly inferior remote. Learning remotes are rare in $300 receivers. Go to a store and compare this to a $300 Sony and you will see what I mean, even if the Sony is rated at 100 watts per channel.
You can even get this new from an authorized dealer on the net from $400-450 and even if I paid this price I would still give it a perfect rating for value.
A word of warning. There are several internet retailers that will offer attractive prices around $350-360 plus $40-50 shipping. However, if you buy from an unauthorized dealer, you have absolutely no warranty. To find authorized internet dealers go to www.onkyousa.com. There are only about 7 authorized internet dealers. J&R and bestpriceaudiovideo.com can get it to you for around $430 delivered with the full warranty (2 years) or refurbished from bestpriceaudiovideo.com for $324 delivered with a 1 year warranty. So you only end up spending another $30 to get it from a authorized dealer and you don't void your warranty.
On www.onkyousa.com you can download the manual in pdf (adobe acrobat) format so you can look over the features and setup for yourself.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
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Epinions.com ID:
ahmik
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Reviews written: 3
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