Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I got this receiver free from my brother and it looks very solid and power yet my 1976 Sansui 7070 60Wx4 RMS Amp dwarfs it literally. When connected to my Pioneer CS-99a (100W) speakers i would go to MAX volume and be near the soft and powerful raw power of Sansui at 1/2 of volume - what a rip off!
Spend less money, forget about all this 5-6 channel nonsense and buy yourself a real amp - Sansui 7070,8080,9090 - it will blow you away! Connect it to your HDTV and you will realize that a pure stereo sound with right, but older equipment is just as good as a 6 channel rip off with curernt expensive eqipment made out of cheap components!
Cheers!

Price Paid:  $470.00 from ebay

Summary:
When I bought this unit, I was looking for something that was THX certified for my home theatre system. I got this at what I think was a great price on Ebay - $470 out the door, for what it does. It is a fantastic looking receiver with a great remote (although a little hard to hold onto and operate with the hand grooves in the back). This unit has adequate power to produce what I wanted from a home theatre system (105 per channel) however, it doesn't produce a deep enough low end for giving my windows an early spring cleaning (not quite anyway). I'm sure this probably would not have been a problem had I bought a subwoofer. I am currently running this unit with Kenwood KL-999S and KL-888X speakers which are fantastic. To solve my bass problem, I ran my pre out to my Yamaha M-65 (170 watts per channel) after routing through a DBX 3BX dynamic range expander. The bass in my house is now at the awesome level. This is a decent receiver for most part, but I must say that it is lacking in the low end for the standard A or B speaker outputs.

Strengths:
Great looking design and heavily constructed. Backlit learning remote is a big plus.

Weaknesses:
Low end kind of weak. Cannot use both A & B speaker outputs when in any surround mode -only A channels. This is one reason I like my old HK.

Similar Products Used:
HK AVR-70, AVR-20II
Sony STR-d615

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Electronic Express

Summary:
After using this unit for two years, I am not ashmaed of what I have done! I started kicking myself when three months later, the NEW TXDS-787 came out, with an additional rear surround channel. The unit also had more digital inputs & outputs.

But you have to look at what you DON'T get, too. You lose Speaker B output. For me, that's huge, because I use my receiver for HT in the den with 5-spkr system, and for music in the living room, with a set of Polk towers. I have a One-for-All RF remote (goes through walls) and I can operate it from anywhere in the house. The 787, and now 797 model, don't let you run a separate room system without an additional amplifier.

Also, the 797 includes component video switching (777 only has S-Video) but if you are that concerned about video preservation, you should be running the shortest possible length of Component cabling directly from your DVD to your TV anyway!

I feel a real need to tinker with my sound system- I have a 14 band-per-channel equilizer (tried AudioSource 10-band 100 series, and hated it) but was mildly upset to find it only tailors the Main Speaker A channels. It doesn't affect center, surrounds, or Speaker B (in the other room). After a while, I learned to use this to my advantage- extra flexability! I am able to tune my fronts differently from my surrounds (volume and frequency change) which is very nice, since I do not have matched speaker components.

If you are the type who changes your car stereo bass & treble for almost every song that comes on, you are really going to want a separate EQ with this unit. The Bass control should be labeled a 'Muddiness' control, and Treble should be called 'Hiss' control.

I don't think I would have opted for another unit under $1000 - the unit is very versitile and allows many components to be hooked up in a number of different ways. I have my DVD player hooked up for full digital only under DVD input, and the same DVD player is hooked up in analog for Karaoke under Video1 input, so I never have to mess with input/ouput adjustments. I even have my Computer audio and video running though this receiver- very nice for MP3 (over 4000 songs on random-play = heaven) and downloaded movies.

HINT: Center channel hiss may be eliminated by turning off the lights- even lights in other parts of the house. Test this if you have the problem.

Strengths:
Versatility and Control, ease of use (once you figure out how the pushbutton/rotary knob works), User can name the inputs (i.e. you can type in 'Pioneer DVD' to show up on the receiver when you are in DVD source mode)

Weaknesses:
bass & treble controls are out of control- poor frequency points or something, center channel hiss in surround mode

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo TX-844, Onkyo A-SV620

Price Paid:  $800.00

Summary:
THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST INVESTMENT IN AUDIO EQUIPMENT I HAVE EVER MADE! I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THIS RECIEVER SINCE I HAVE OWNED IT! IT'S BEEN BACK TO ONKYO TWICE AND HAS NEVER WORKED PROPERLY. I FINALLY JUST THREW IT IN THE TRASH!!! WHERE IT BELONGED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!

Strengths:
NONE!!!!!!
JUNK!!!!!!

Weaknesses:
JUST PLAIN GARBAGE!!!!!
AND THAT'S WHERE IT WENT!!!!!

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Ondört Ticaret Hi-Fi

Summary:

I traded in my Luxman Dolby Prologic AV receiver to
experience Doly Digital phenomenon.I had a real hard time in making the fine tunings and tweaking with TX-DS 777. Hey!that's the way AV gear is installed.There are times I enjoy the timbre and transients with analog and digital recordings.Even some perfectly recorded LPs sounded as if they were digital.I think this is one of the main features of digital equipment.Verdict :It has a peculiar engineering design with respect to sound and facilities.

Strengths:
Robust built.Crisp,clear sound.Full array of features Optical output is handy for future upgrades.

Weaknesses:
Depending on the program material the sound may be harsh.

Similar Products Used:
Technics Dolby Prologic AV Receiver,










Technics SA-GX Series AV -Doly Prologic-,Luxman AVR-371
Dolby Prologic Receiver