Crystal clear sound at all volume levels. High build quality, solid construction.

Weak bass without sub. Remote isnt multibrand.

Excellent reciever for the money. Great sound quality at all volume levels. Needs a powered sub if you like bass but other than that i have no complaints. This receiver sounds as if it has more wattage than it really has. This is the best receiver i have ever had.

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Kenwood, Pioneer, Technics, JVC, Sony

good surround sound "dts-dd"

low bass if u're not using a subwoofer

mga kababayan if u're looking for a home theather in your house this is the one ihave to recommend if you have not enough money,and this reciever makes me feel good and relaxing when i'm listening.co'z the sound is clear & etc. etc.the best ito hindi ka mag sisi .pero one thing more mapapalabas mo lang ang magandang tunog kung magandi rin ang speaker mo .atsaka kailangan mo ng subwoofer para lumabas ang bass nya.want to buy my 484,,coz i'm upgrading to tx-sr502 --6.1--

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onkyo pa rin tx-sr502

Attractive, reliable, relatively versatile, sounds good

Wish it had another video input and a real tape monitor loop. Sold it a couple months ago.

The Onkyo TX-DS484 represented my entry into home theater as well as an exceptional value. The receiver was ahead of its time, offering 5-channel stereo alongside Denon, 2 coaxial inputs, a great tuner, and a phono section. Got a great deal after Tweeter bought out a local store, dumping all Onkyo and Polk just to name some brands. I was not initially impressed by its tonal quality, perhaps because I demoed it, albeit unfairly, alongside a more expensive Denon. But eventually the sound grew on me, as a few months later the amp took on my Acoustic Research towers with the authority of one twice its rated output. I see no reason to complain about the bass control and/or slam here. Both my 91db and 89db speakers put out satisfying lows with the Onkyo behind them. Admittedly, at high volumes, any surround receiver is going to run out of gas, and that's where a sub comes in. But for me, the bass was there and it was of good quality, tone controls flat. Speaking of, I only sometimes reached for that treble knob as I found some music muddy. At 55 wpc I wasn't expecting the world, but Onkyo is now my premier budget manufacturer of audio equipment. That is to say, if I had the money, I would certainly be looking at Krell and Mark Levinson. But for all practical purposes, the TX-DS484 is a TX-8211 with a surround decoder and logarithmic volume scale. An overall solid investment; better than I imagined.

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Marantz, Sony, Pioneer

Excellent sound quality One of the best tuners around Easy to set up and use

Fairly low power output Remote in NZ not multi brand - frustrating having to use multiple remotes when watching movies Lack of bass for users without a sub.

This is an excellent Receiver for the money. The sound quality in five channel stereo is excellent with a great tuner. The bass of the unit is somewhat lacking if you don't have a sub but with a dual 12" Sub the sound is fantastic. In Home Theatre mode the sound is good, but not up to the standard set by my previous Sony DB-940 Amplifier (twice the price - crap tuner). Very few different settings to choose from, but the bells and whistles are not needed on a Receiver that sounds this good at this price. After the Sony which was close on twice the price I could not believe how good this Receiver was when I demo'd it in shop. I would recommend this receiver to anyone.

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Pioneer VSX-409 Sony DB-940

High and mid-tones. No distortion from the music at all.

Weak bass, but easely compensated with a sub.

Great sound, nice high and mid-tone. To bad for the bass, but with a reasonably good sub you will have a great sound. I use it for just normal listening aswell as playing music as loud as possible. It has a nice sound and it can go very loud without any big distortion. And for listening to DVD it is great also. Just a good reciever for it''s price. You can''t get something like this at another brand for this price!

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Harman-kardon, JVC

High quality sound, easy to set up

Crap remote

This is a great sounding amp, but to get the best out of it you really need a sub and possibly sentitive speakers, depending on the size of the room.

Compared to the Sony it replaced, the Onkyo sounds much cleaner but lacks much of the low down grunt delivered by the sony hence the need for a sub. however, the amp has more than enough power to reach ear bleeding sound levels in my lounge room which measures about 7 * 3.5 metres, however my three front speakers all have a sensitivity rating of 93db, so you might be found wanting with speakers rated with a low sensitivity.

If I were to purchase another amp in this price range today I would either purchase another onkyo 494 if I had a sub to team it up with, or a Denon 1601 without a sub.

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Sony STR-DE435

I really did not find many strengths.

Sound is fairly crisp in treble and high midrange; very little low midrange and nearly no bass at all.

I am seeking a high sound quality, medium power receiver for my den, to use primarliy with a high end CD player. Because of the Onkyo reputation and because of some of the more positive reviews given in this section I decided to purchase the 484. I was very disappointed. Sound quality is very thin, there is no bass. I returned the receiver to the store the next day. Very overpriced for the quality of the sound.

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Older Pioneer, newer Harman Kardon equipment.

Simple to use front panel, good selection of Modes. Easy lay out for back assess, inputs. Quite background when turned up.

Very Undynamic and dull sound. Poor Timbre on side by side comparison with a Onkyo 2500MX Amp. Poor Soundstaging, poor imaging. Unarticulate and closed, not open at all.

After listening to this amp for nearly a month and doing A/B comparisons with other equipement, I must warn those of you considering this Onkyo to buy something different. I am really burnt on Circuit City, although they are fairly businesslike. This is a mass produced amp, and Onkyo has been severely degraded. I know, dont buy the bottom of the line, but this amp sounds so poor, I would think even a Sony or a Pioneer would be better. It just sounds flat compressed, just very poor with all the speakers I used, and I used some good Heybrookes and KEFS.

I wish I would have read What Hi Fi or Hi Fi Choice they rated the Onkyo very low, and they were right. They rated the NAD the best in the price range, and I heard this recently with Dynaudio speakers (Better than mine by a litte or a lot) For a low end AV AMP, spend $500 or so on the NAD750 or 751. Wow, what a difference in dynamics........

Why did'nt I exchange it? It was for my sister and she said she liked it!!!! Maybee my sis is smarter than me for not being picky about Hi Fi, the expensive rubbish of poorly furnished living rooms..........

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Older Onkyo, Yamaha Pre and PA

Quality construction, price, sound

Awkward speaker binding posts, no loudness control

I previously had an Onkyo 414 ProLogic receiver which I thought was excellent, and that is why I stuck with Onkyo when upgrading to a Dolby Digital/DTS receiver. I was not disappointed! Everything seems to be reproduced very cleanly and the power levels seem adequate to make the dynamics of my dvd's sound very impressive, especially those with DTS like the Gladiator. Fantasia 2000 sounds great in DTS, too. While Twister is not in DTS, the soundtrack is incredible. I have played things at a loud volume (but not enough to hurt my ears) but have not heard any distortion.

My old Onkyo had a loudness control. This one doesn't, and the difference is noticeable (I have a pair of Acoustic Research M1's on the left and right and they aren't big on bass). It provided a great excuse for getting a subwoofer! Adding the subwoofer made a big improvement and I am totally happy with the sound. I think some of the comments on previous reviews about a lack of bass are due to the absence of a loudness control, not anything having to do with the receiver itself.

The remote does seem a little flimsy but it is like my old remote and I guess I am used to it so it isn't a big deal. My only complaint is that if you don't use banana plugs, it is difficult to secure the speaker wire to the binding posts.

Overall, this is an excellent product. By the way, I took the advice of an earlier reviewer and purchased it online at Circuit City, then went and picked it up at the store. It was $50 cheaper that way (although I notice it is now on sale in-store at the same price as it is online).

This is a follow-up to my initial review of 5/31/01. I have noticed subsequent reviewers have said the bass or treble is weak and the amp section is not as powerful as what they had before. My response: take into account this receiver does not have a loudness button/switch so you are not hearing artificially inflated bass or treble volumes.

Also, I find that I have to turn up the volume much higher on this receiver than on my previous Onkyo (a 424) or other amps I have had in the past. This doesn't indicate a lack of power because it has the ability to play very loudly and cleanly when the need arises. Jurassic Park, Titan AE, Gladiator, Twister, Independence Day, etc., all sound incredible through this receiver and I have played them quite loud. Audio CD's the same thing- though I have to turn up the level higher than with previous amps, the sound is clean.

My only complaint: the FM section seems on the weak side, but perhaps that is because I am not using an outdoor or powered antenna.

I have raised my ratings because I think Onkyo's quality is much better than comparably-priced stuff.