pjten101

I am thinking about getting either the Onkyo 605 or 705 receiver as a replacement for my HD home theater system. Other then the extra HDMI input on the 705 and a bit more power, what other reasons would one pick the 705 over the 605? I think I would be happy with the 605 but sure if I would be missing much by not stepping up to the 705.

SoSpacey

supposedly the 705 and 805 suffers from lip syncing issues not present on the 605.

try and stick with the 605 and if you need an additional input (hdmi) buy a switcher from monoprice.

Drexl

The only real knock on the 605 is that it can't matrix 5.1 lossless or new codecs (such as PCM, TrueHD, DD+, & DTS-HD on HD discs) into 7.1 using Pro-Logic IIx. It will apply such processing to "regular" DD/DTS, however, and if the source is 7.1 it will play it as 7.1.

If you have a 5.1 system, the 605 should be fine.

pjten101

I have 5.1 now with a HD-DVD player (A2) and may end up with an A3 at some point. Also have HD cable. I may consider going up to 7.1 in the next year or so. So I cant get Doly true/plus or DTSHD sound out of the 605 if I add the 2 additional speakers for a 7.1 system but can if I leave it at 5.1?
I was thinking the DVD player did the decoding and sent it to the receiver and I would have the correct sound that was encoded in the disc regardless if I had the 605 or 705?

mzupeman2

Any additional info would help here as I'm looking at onkyo recievers right now as well.

mzupeman2

Also wondering, will any of the onkyo home theaters in a box decode truehd audio?

Bill Geiger

I just purchased the Onkyo 505 (refurb) from shoponkyo.com and paid 124.10 shipped. I figure, it is a very nice receiver and will do what I need it to do.

Ordered that along with the Denon 7.1 speaker system from TheNerds.net for 84.xx. Not bad and better than a Htib.

Edit: Bad news, the Denon speaker was not in stock, even though it showed it was on thenerds.net site. So, I had to order it from elsewhere, for $50.00 more! I know I could have had it weeks ago for $65.xx shipped. I am still happy with the deal. This is really a great deal regardless. Now, I just hope the place I ordered it from will actually ship it.

pjten101

Im still a bit lost on what I am loosing sound wise if I go with the 605 vs the 705 or vise versa based on having a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup and running a HD or BR player. Hopefully someone out there can get my brain on track!

Drexl

No, you would have the correct sound that was encoded in the disc. It's just that some are getting 7.1 systems, and they want to use those extra two speakers to spread the rear sound field across all four speakers, even if it is a 5.1 track. Dolby has a Pro-Logic IIx Movie mode that does this (and that's what the 605 can't do with certain sources). Otherwise, getting a 7.1 system wouldn't really be worth it, because not many titles support more than 5.1 channels.

Now, if the source is 7.1, or if the player could do the decoding and remixing to 7.1 for output, yes you would hear that through the 605. Again though, most sources are 5.1, so that is what is sent and that's what you'll hear.

cgray

I feel betrayed: the 605 was apparently on sale at amazon over the last couple of days for $370, but I never saw (and now can't find) any mention of the sale on this board. I've waited for a sale on it... argh! Now back up to $430. Drop me a line if you see a great price, as I've heard the 605 is a great receiver.

Drexl

It fluctuates. I got mine when it was $407 and it went up later in the day to $430.

mzupeman2

I'm going to get the 605. Apparantly no HDMI sync issues compared to the 705 or 805, it CAN do HDMI audio, it will upconvert instead of just doing pass-through only, I'm there.

pjten101

As it sounds like I will not loose any of the emeded audio track options from my HD DVDs if I go with the 605 and run it in 5.1 with an A2 or A3 player I will likely choose that unit too. I was planning on jumping up to 7.1 but it seems I may not be able to enjoy the true audio track embeded in the HD DVDs that way, unless I am misunderstanding.

mzupeman2

I just bought the 605 last night, but I ordered some speakers online so I'll wait for them to come before I give it a whirl

Spiky

I'm not sure if you are understanding or not, but I'll try to explain.

Most discs are 5.1. A few DVDs are 6.1, a very few HD discs are 7.1. Although more 7.1 discs should be coming if the studios ever bother.

Any modern receiver can handle 5.1, you won't lose anything when compared with DVD/BD/HDDVD since most discs are 5.1.

Some people are starting to upgrade to 7.1 speakers. I've had this for a few years, but frankly, it isn't all that much of an upgrade. Recent receivers have a mode called Dolby Pro Logic IIx, that takes any stereo or Dolby Digital (the old DD) signal and turns it into a 7.1 signal. This may or may not be an accurate signal in those last 2 speakers since the original signal did not have those 2 channels. I'm sure many like this mode, but it certainly isn't necessary to good sound.

So, if these receivers cannot do that processing on the new Dolby Digital Plus or better codecs, then those people with 7.1 systems are not getting the extra processing from their receiver. They are still getting the original 5.1, which is probably very, very good.

pjten101

Thanks for the futher info and I now feel more comfortable with purchasing a 605. I do plan to stick with 5.1 for a while longer so I should be happy with the 605 and find myself enjoying the new Dobly/DTS options on the HD DVDs.

Drexl

Oh, is upconverting important to you? I forgot to mention that the upconversion is to 720p only. If you input a 480i/p signal, it will get upconverted to 720p for output over HDMI. However, if you were to input a 1080i component signal, it would also get converted to 720p over HDMI. Component pass-through is not affected though. The 705 is the same way.

Plus, I believe the upscaling has to be activated by accessing a hidden menu by pressing AUX + Standby.

mzupeman2

My TV's native is 720p. So I'm all good I don't think I'll even use the feature, I think SD looks decent enough from my DVR right now at 480p.

tlwizard

Just wanted to say that the Onkyo 705 is available refurbished on shoponkyo.com. I just purchased it for a total of $439.90. Free ship, no tax out of Jersey. Apparently, the refurbished units are coming with an updated firmware and possibly an upgraded DSP hardware chip. This is the speculation over on AVS.

They're currently offering 10% off. You also get $10 off just for signing up with their Club Onkyo. Through the same promotion, you can get the 605 silver for right at $300. ($349-10%-$10).

edit: the 705s are gone for the moment, but the 605 is still there.

Deftones

605 isn't listed.

tlwizard

that was fast.

i've had the shop onkyo page up for the past few days and simply refresh every time i sit down to my computer. they do seem to go quick apparently.

Deftones

Yeah, I've been looking frequently, too. Have yet to see either the 605 or the 705 listed.

pjten101

I took the plunge and bought a 605 this evening from shoponkyo! I plan on having a Pioneer HD Cable Box (1080i) and an A2 dvd player running into the receiver. May also have a Wii from time to time plugged in.
Items will run to the receiver: A2 via HDMI, Cable box via Component or DVI to HDMI cable and Wii via Component. They will in turn all run via a single HDMI to DVI cable to my Mitshuibi WS55315 TV (1080i).
Will I end up with a 720p signal going into the TV if I run everything via the single HDMI out on the 605 to the TV? If so, will I notice a difference in picture vs running 1080i direct to the tv from the cable/dvd player like I am now? Any other suggestions on adjustments I should make to wiring or anything else?

68ShelbyGT500KR

Slightly OT, But where do you see the 605? Is yours new or refurb?

pjten101

They had the refurb 605's listed again today around dinner time. $349 for club onkyo members and an additional 10% off for club members thru tomorrow.