Price Paid:  $750.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I purchased this unit over 4 years ago. It was a replacement for the Onkyo TX525 that was fried by a lightning storm. This unit had the buzzing problem that so many other reviewers had mentioned below. I contacted the Onkyo customer service dept. and they knew about the problem. I sent it in and they fixed the problem. 4 years later, the unit is still going strong with no buzzing problem.

My current system:
Front speakers: RBH signiture 1044SE
Center speakers: RBH signiture 441SE
Rear speakers: RBH signiture 61SE
Subwoofer: RBH signiture 1010SEP
DVD player: Pioner Elite 47AI
TV: RCA F38310 HDTV

Strengths:
Clean and rich sound for 85 watts of power

Weaknesses:
none considering a four year old unit. Time to upgrade to the newer models.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo TX525

Price Paid:  $550.00

Summary:
I have been using the Onkyo TX-DS696 for nearly 2 years and am very satisfied with
its performance . It is a great receiver .Surround sound is good and stero is rich and warm . But I am thinking of changing to Onkyo TX-SX 701 which has more surround modes like THX-select , DTS ES and DTS 24/96 .
Can anyone give me some advices ?
Thanks

Strengths:
Full and rich sound

Weaknesses:
No THX , No DTS ES ,No DTS 24/96

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood KV-7500 ( only dolby pro-logic )

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from j&b sound india

Summary:
i upgraded from a harmon kardon avr 25 mk2 to the onkyo DS676 only a couple of days ago. the difference is startlingy different. both are high current amps but the onkyo seems to be cleaner and has many more user adjustments as well as dolby digital.

the sound is clean and no hiss(atleast so far)the vocals smooth and bass tight. the amp seemed to have a lot of power on the spec sheet and the reviews.

the strange thing is the innitially sounded ok but not great as claimed.much fiddling with the various setings improved the sound but i was not really impressed. the immense power was just not there.

looking through this website is saw a review where it mentioned that another user also had a similar problem and fixed it by turning up the speaker level 10 db. i did this and also turned up the dvd input level 09-10db on the intellisync

the difference was amazing. the amp just opened up and the famous onkyo sound came through.the power was all there as claimed and infact more than i can handle. at the ref level its simply far too loud. the instruction book explains how to set the amp up but does not explain what each function does..something lacking here.i am not sure if its ok to turn both the speaker level and the inout level up 10 db each.. will this overload? anyone with advcie please email me.

i am still tweaking the amp for the best sound. the picture quality and speach from the centre is super and very clear..
i listen to jazz, country, instrumental and some light rock..with all kinds of music the amp performed well.i innitialy planned to add a 5 channel power amp but with the onkyo i dont see the need.

its a great mid level reciever and recomment any one looking for similar products to audition it.

Strengths:
clean sound with great vocals and power.adjustments to suit room and listener. remote is nice and easy to use especially the back light function.

Weaknesses:
instruction book needs improvement..and no diagram of theback of the unit.its shown piece meal for each function.

Similar Products Used:
harmon kardon avr 25 mk2 prologic

Price Paid:  $430.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I currently have the 676 the M 504 by onkyo and the Dv535 dvd player.I can tell you one thing about Onkyo the value is unbelieveable theres nothing in its price point that sounds or even is made better. I used to work for circuit city and other electronic stores. Its has always been a rivalry between onkyo and HK I don t see why though. HK receivers are over priced and underpowred the sound that comes from them is thin and tinny. Its all highs that are colored, the music or stereo is weak unless te VMAX chip is on not need in Onkyo.Has no depth. Onkyo has a more fuller sound and a hell of alot more top end power. It stays cool under loud volumes and at 4 ohm loads, I run a pair of cerwin vega DX-9 that are 400 watts and the 676 makes them sound so sweet and realistic. I didn t mention sony, pio, jvc, tech because they are not really in that class. I ve used yamaha, denon, and Hk that onkyo stays together alot better at higher volumes stays smoooth seems as though the louder the volume the better it sounds. I make sure that I use all 12 gauge speaker wires all over. I even have a set of 15 s on my rear channel that receiver pushes it all without a blink.If you are looking for a great product buy Onkyo.

Strengths:
Plenty of power i think 85 watts is an understatement. Plenty of current. Sound is full and natural. 5 D stereo is just bomb I love it. Its very versatile with basically any kind of music. I recommend this receiver and any other onkyo to anyone that enjoys music and surround sound I dare you to try it.Great remote one of the best in the business.

Weaknesses:
The only thing is the memory settings it doesn t keep the changes made to it. The buzzing im used to you cant hear at my volumes.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo,HK,Sony,Jvc,Pio,Yamaha,Denon just about everything outthere.

Price Paid:  $419.00 from Circut City

Summary:
My first reaction, when I finally got the chance to turn up the volume, was: That's It???. So I called up the HIFI.COM #, and they told me to adjust the speaker settings to +10 db. That worked out OK. When I purchased this reciever, I also bought two Cambridge tower II's & a Cambridge center stage speaker. The reciever has just enought power to take me to the threshold of ear pain tolerance when the volume level was set to 55 of a possible 70. With the towers, the 30hz bass really vibrates your guts.

The remote is really nice, it can replace the tv, vcr, and DVD/CD remotes. The only hassle is that you have to push a few more buttons to get the job done.

I use the reciever primarily as HT, but do turn it up an blast metallica, I'd have to say for 400 bucks I got what I paid for and a little more. If I want more juice, I guess I'll have to fess up the $1500-$2000 and buy a 150-200 watt component system.

The DTS works fine.

Oh by the way no hiss, no Hiss, NO HISS.... ok... so far no hiss

Strengths:
Looks nice, plays DTS, over-all clean sound. Has enough inputs for me, optical, coaxial, s-vidio. Awesome remote, for me. I don't go to the theater anymore.

Weaknesses:
I read about all the power this unit had, well I guess I want more. My wife cannot figure out the remote. The on- screen view is kind of lame.

Similar Products Used:
sony