Snowmaker

What makes it so much better? What is a HDMI 1.3a repeater?

Sdallnct

I'm not saying it better...it is up to you. I think the H/K are the best sounding receivers in their class. Personally I think you got to go to Outlaw or some of the higher end Denon or Marantz to get better sound.

But typically they don't have the features of Yamaha, Sony or even Onkyo. But I love their sound. Warm...rich...and depending on the quality of speakers...incredible depth.

I just wanted to throw out that if you were looking at $400 receivers, you should put a H/K in the mix.

For features/value I'd probably still go Onkyo. For ultimate sound quality I'd go H/K. Is it night and day difference in sound quality? Of course not. Is it enough to lose a feature or two and pay a little more? That of course is a personal preference and why there are so many receivers out there.

Some want the receiver to be the switcher/brain of their media set up and are not all that concerned with sound quality or think they are close enough to not make a difference (there are even some who think you cannot tell the difference in sound quality of ANY amp even the difference between a $200 Sony or Multi-thousand $$ monoblock Krell). So it is up to you, what you want, etc.

DJ_Longfellow

Glad I have waited this long....the HK seems like a nice choice, although that first review on Amazon is REALLY harsh. Makes me want to look at the Pioneer 1018.

I'm still hesitant about the Onkyo because I feel that the "clicking" would get annoying when watching..we'll see.

Neitzl

I received the Onkyo 606 Friday from amazon (1 day shipping even though I used the free shipping option!). Everything is great so far, and I haven't heard one click yet when the audio format changes. Not from changing channels on the cable box, or when changing devices (from DVD/XBOX360/PS3/Wii/HDDVD/Cable). I really love it and wish I had taken the plunge earlier.

kahuna

The Sony STR-DG820 just dropped to $225.07 at Amazon.com. Think I will jump on it at this price.

Snowmaker

After my last Sony receiver, I will never buy another.

kahuna

I guess I will find out if this was a bad buy when I get it. But the price was to good to pass up. And I needed a receiver to listen to my blu-ray and hd-dvd. I been with out one since I sold my Onkyo a number of months ago. At least I got 30 days to test it out. It won't ship out till next week Mon or Tue so I will have it buy Wed-Fri.

chipmac

Well I got tired of waiting for my magical price point for the Onkyo 606. When it hit $341 I ordered it and it came the other day. Hooked it up ran the speaker calibration and turned on HBO. Right away I noticed a huge difference from my old Kenwood. Next I tried Sweeney Todd and Die Hard 4 Blu-ray and that's when the wife came down to yell at me to turn the damn thing down.

The sound with the Audessy EQ on compared to my old setup is much fuller with deeper bass and increased rear channel activity. I was worried I was wasting my money on an unneeded upgrade but my fears are put to rest. This thing rocks.

DJ_Longfellow

Great, now I'm triple guessing myself....I want a new receiver to get the "new" next gen formats since I have a PS3..however, my wife gets annoyed when it is "too loud" also, so I may stand pat with my Sony ES receiver that I have now. No HDMI, but I have it set up nicely with my Harmony remote.

Sdallnct

Blah...unless you have one hell of a set up, I really question the benefit of upgrading receivers to ONLY get the newest audio formats.

I have old H/K's with no HDMI either. I'm quite happy with the sound. I regularly go into a very hi end home theater store to "calibrate" my eyes and ears. And yes, I know my set up isn't great compared to what is out there. But for the money I paid and the money I would have to pay....I'm pleased.

I have listened to mid and low level systems with and without the newest audio formats. Blah...questionable at best. Now I have heard it on higher end systems where the difference is more noticeable.

As I always mention, you would almost always see a greater improvement in overall sound by upgrading your speakers then by keeping your current speakers (unless they are already pretty high end) and getting some $400 receiver for the newest formats. In fact, I have seen some people "down grade" to a less receiver only because it has the newest format. I really think this is a mistake.

I think my next upgrade will be to a SVS sub. Then speakers. Then maybe, maybe a new receiver. But I plan to stretch that out over 2009.

DthRdrX

That sounds like a good idea Sdallnct.

I decided to upgrade my sub to an SVS and wait on the next round of new receivers. I like the H/K sound but the 256/356 line just has too many glitchy problems to spend the cash on. The only other choices I'd consider are the Pioneer 1018 and Denon 1909, which will probably drop in price like a rock within the next year.

SUPERMANROB

I would have to mostly agree with Sdallnct on this. Your better off upgrading your speakers(depending what you have) rather than the AVR. I will say that I upgraded my AVR from a Denon 3802 to a 3808 but the biggest reason I did it (and I think it's a bigger motivation than for the new HD audio codecs) was because of Audyssey EQ and Volume EQ. I guess you can say I'm lazy but it's so nice with just having to set up a microphone on a tripod than using the SPL meter. Audyssey does a hell of alot better job than I ever did to. To me that makes a bigger difference. I also liked the idea of upgrading the FW over the net.
I will say the 3808 was the last thing I upgraded after our speakers(which are 2 pairs of Monitor Audio GS10's with matching center) and our Sub(which is a Epik Caliber)http://www.flickr.com/photos/26517849@N04/2487083841/

Was a big difference going from Canton Ergo 20's to the the GS10's.
Sound wise there was a difference from the 3802 to the 3808 but not like the speakers. our benefit to graded the AVR was stated above.

Sdallnct

Monitor Audio

Snowmaker

Its at $319.99 right now. Of course I already ordered it two weeks ago when it was $341. Do they offer price adjustments?

chipmac

Not anymore. They make you return it and reorder it which in my mind isn't worth the hassle. I also ordered it at $341 after becoming impatient for a price drop to $325. Oh well it still kicks ass and I'm not sorry about buying it when I did.

Mr. Cinema

I've had mine for a couple of months and have had 0 issues. That's a great price for the features you're getting, decoding of all lossless audio and 4 HDMI.