Onkyo TX-SR702 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver Black TXSR702
Superb performance for a very reasonable price
This is my first serious A/V receiver. I own a Bose Lifestyle 12 (Series 1) since 97 and then upgraded to Lifestyle 12 Series 2 two and half years ago by paying a $500 upgrade fee in order to hook up with HDTV and Dolby 5.1. I didn't do enough research at that time. Now, I really regret that upgrade. <br /> <br />This time, I did a rather careful research since the summer and finally decided to buy this one before the holidays. I was very very impressed with the range of functionalities this A/V receiver provide. To name a few, the following are the features that are very impressive. <br />1. A very complete collection of decoders (such as) Dolby 5.1 ETX and a very thorought collection of \\"presentation mode\\" of differnet kind of music formats. The user's manual (downloadable from Onkyo's website) has some good explanations and a detailed table of these functions. It is fun to use these and try all the options. Awesome! <br />2. The A/V input/output are probably the most comprehensive among all the models that I have considered. In particular, this SR702 is probably the only one (among the models that I hace considered of course) that has a digital coaxial output.  <br />3. The automatic speaker setup is easy and actually pretty accurate. I did very minimal adjustment just to prove that I am better LOL. <br />4. The user interfance of the control, on screen display (big screen) are very clear and intuitive and fun to watch. It feels like high tech. <br />5. The sound is great. It has a very fine equalizer that you can use to boost some particular frequency response range according to your own listening habit. <br />6. Engineering is great. The hardware looks solid and sturdy.