Price Paid:  $200.00 from Cora, Torokbalint, Hungary

Summary:
The sound is very clear and nice, the reason I brought it back to the store and changed it for the Kenwood KRF-V5050DE is:
- Kenwood and Onkyo similarly priced ($30 price difference)
- Kenwood higher output (5x100W) than ONKYO (3x70W + 2x30W), on my speakers the Kenwood sounds much(!) better
- Kenwood has dts, Dolby Digital decoders built-in
- Onkyo has more input for devices, but no SVHS input, which Kenwood has
- remote control of Kenwood provides many more functions than Onkyo's

Pros for Onkyo:
- remote looks better than Kenwood
- remote sharing with other Onkyo components (but only basic functionality, e.g. tape deck only deck B can be controlled on TWR244)
- "they" say Onkyo makes better quality amplifiers, but on my speakers (one pair of 200W, 3-way, Jamo; and: one pair of 100W, 2-way, Bose for surround) I did not notice that

Recommended for people who have other ONKYO components and don't want extra remotes, or want the same style for all components; others should probably look at Sony, Kenwood, Philips, Technics for same price, more functionality...

Strengths:
Good sound quality, share remote with other ONKYO products

Weaknesses:
Weak output, only dolby surround prologic, not able to listen to speaker A+B together

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood KRF-V5050DE

Price Paid:  $139.00 from hifi.com

Summary:
I recommended this unit for my parents who needed to replace an aging Sony rack system. They have a cheap little single disc Sony CD which they can't kill, and needed something to drive it.

Terrific little receiver. Anchors a very basic little system for two people who have fairly narrow tastes in music (classical and Christmas :-) ) who live in a mobile home.

They now have:
Onkyo 373 receiver
Onkyo Integra C3 6 disc carousel
Sony entry level tape deck
Sony entry level turntable (they're my parents, they still have vinyl)
Polk RT25's (great little gems)

For very basic, solid performance for under $150 delivered, can't be beat.

Strengths:
Solid peformance, VALUE

Weaknesses:
none that can't be attributed to being what it is, a basic AV Receiver with Dolby Pro Logic Capabilities

Similar Products Used:
Technics A/V, Pioneer A/V, Onkyo 747, Onkyo 454

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
I owned this receiver for a year, living in a small apartment. The stero sounded good, but it wasn't until I hooked it up in my new home (with the complete home theater setup-Klipsch SC.5 center, JBL PSW-D110 sub-woofer, Klipsch SB-1 for rear surrounds, KLH fronts) and put in my Gladiator DVD that I knew I had a winner. For my budget, my home size and my ear, this system KICKs! It is rated at only 50w in the front and center and 20 in the surrounds, but it plays not just loud, but clean and loud. I have a whole new appreaction for DVD movies. The music is lovely, too. I like jazz, R&B and classic rock, and the system has not let me down. Maybe I will feel the need for more power in the future, but I really enjoy it now. I want to get the Video Essentials so that I can tweak the system, and after I do I will report back.
I also have a Harmon-Kardon system and I like the Onkyo much better. For those new to home theater, or those on a budget, this is hard to beat. I only wish I could control my Onkyo DVD player with this remote, that is the reason I purchased the Onkyo DVD player (which I love, too!)
Nice system, might upgrade to a higer power Onkyo one day, don't need to now, I'm in love with this one!

Strengths:
Great value in a AV Receiver, sounds great

Weaknesses:
Remote control will not control my Onkyo DVD player

Similar Products Used:
Harmon-Kardon

Price Paid:  $229.00 from CIRCUITCITY

Summary:
I BOUGHT IT BECAUSE I WANTED GOOD SOUND FOR A NICE PRICE AND I GOT IT BUT KNOW I GOT TO MOVE UP TO THE 575X AND I DON'T THINK IT CAN GET ANY BETTER AND I'M WAITING FOR FED-X TO GET HERE WITH IT ANY DAY BOTH ARE VERY GOOD SO IT JUST DEPEND ON HOW MUCH U WANT TO SPEND I WILL LET U READ MY REVIEW ON THE 575X SOON

Strengths:
SOUND,BASS,JUST EVERYTHING

Weaknesses:
5 CHANNEL STEREO

Similar Products Used:
SONY,TECHNICS,HK,KENWOOD

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I have this set up working as a stereo, home theatre and for computer games...It works great as all of these!!! It powers my polk audio speakers like crazy. It is so loud and i haven't pushed it to the point to where the sound quality is lacking because around 5 decibals it starts to hurt my ears during music...Im planning on buying a polk subwoofer next week and it will really complete this setup...If it's your first system as it is mine or just want something sweet for a good price get this! The other's at the same price range don't compare..Go for sound quality not all the fancy buttons!

Strengths:
Sound Quality, output. simplicity

Weaknesses:
No dolby digital, but it is capable

Similar Products Used:
NAD Amp+Tuner