Does anyone know how to connect a laserdisk or even just a microphone to this
receiver. If you do I would love detailed instructions because I can not figure it
out for the life of me... and I want to bless everyone with my kerry-kroaky skills.

thanks.

Great reliable strong DD amp. Stereo sound is better than most of the AV receivers around. Even better than the later Onkyo receivers.

No DTS, toucy volume, ugly and big remote(but I use a universal so I dont see it around) In stereo bass is a bit strong and boomy with my speakers(Mirage 490)

I moved to a bigger place and I needed a stronger amp. Therefore I sold my TX-DS474 and bought the 555. I think itis better than the 474. It is especislly a good amp for dolby digital movies. Do not expect to hear high quality stereo music though. This is a DD amp not a high end stereo amp. However you can get better results by increasing the levels of front speakers to +10.(as in many onkyo AV receivers) Not only the volume gets higher but also the sound quality. Still better stereo sound than many of the digital amps in the same price range. The fan noise is only audible in the sudden silences. The tuner reception is pretty good. And yes the volume is touchy. No DTS or 6.1 but I dont care, DD is good and popular enough.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS 474

Great sound and surround imaging!

Remote is a little difficult to get used to and not enough Digital inputs!

I am using Polk speakers and sub all the way around and it almost sounds as good as my car! (Dont get me wrong my '84 Camaro has a $2000 video head unit with a 6.1 DTS DD decoder 3 amps and 9 speakers: PPI 4x6 in front, 5 1/4 center, 6x9 rear surround, and 4 Audiobahn 12's in the hatch. All the speakers except subs have carbon fiber cones and titanium tweeters. So I do know what good audio sounds like) This unit sounds extremely good for the price I paid. Very clear sound through all ranges. I agree with previous reviews about the remote. I never hear the fan because we use it mostly for watching DVD movies. The surround is excellent if you get it set up just right. Does need S-Video and more Digital Audio inputs both composite and Toslink. I do like the Phono input allowing me to listen to Led Zeppelin Vinyl style!

Similar Products Used:

H/K, Sony, and Pioneer

INCREDIBLE CLARITY AND POWER!!!

Volume nobb slightly touchy.

Astounding!!!! I have never heard any Home Theater Reciever sound better than this one (with the exeption of the Onkyo TX-DS777 I heard in Circuit City). I havn't had one single problem with it! The sound is so rich and vivid! I have yet to activate the Dolby-Digital circuit yet, but we're working on getting an Onkyo DVD player to test it out! I have my DBS system hooked up to it through the Optical input and it sounds awsome!!! I have allways liked how Onkyo has kept every one of their components running perfectly so you can hear every spec of detail from your audio source. As you can see, I have allways trusted Onkyo in the past. There is absolutly nothing not to like on this reciever. The amount of power (70w-RMS per channel) will blow you away!!! And it has a peak level of about 160!!! The bass is so rich, espetially with a sub-woofer. The ease of use is very nice. The display is dimmable, so you can tone down the brightness when whatching a movie. I was curious if Onkyo was rite about about putting oversized power tranfomers and huge capacitors in this thing so I poped the top off and sure enough, there they were!!! There's really no use in buying anything more, or less! I got mine for about $320.00 with everything! I have tested out such name brands as Sony, Panasonic, Marantz, etc... for the same price, but they didn't even skim the surface of what this thing can do!! Even the REALLY expensive stuff ($500-$800) didn't come close! All-in-all, You can't lose when buying this thing!!!!! I urge anyone who's starting a Home Theater to not even waste their time with anything else but Onkyo.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-890 stereo reciever, Onkyo DX-90 Single tray cd player, Onkyo TA-2800 3head 3moter tape deck, Onkyo CP-1057F Turntable.

Good Dolby Digital,Midnight Theater actually works!

The Poor Man's THX is called Re-EQ and it is supposed to take the brightness out of certain soundtracks like VHS tapes. OK, let's just say George Lucas should stick with the guys with the big wallets and stop teasing all the rest of us. THX, RE-EQ, whatever, it's not the same leave it alone.

On 3/14/99 I wrote about how much I made the right choice with the TXD-555 and how the Denon AVR-1700 wasn't for me. Well, that's because the TXD-555 was the first Dolby Digital receiver that I have owned. Since we last spoke the Denon AVR-2800 was born. Don't get me wrong the 555 has great DD but I missed pure clean and crisp 2-channel stereo which the 555 does not have!! Onkyo is a good buy for the money but I guess the difference is an audio enthusiast and an audio file. I'm not saying I'm an audio file but Denon has given me a good ear to listen with... I have to change my Overall Rating. Let's do the right thing and stop buying into that high-amp thing that Circuit City keeps trying to push with HK. I learned,you should. Let's do our homework people? My local dealer in Chico,Ca. really taught me what great sound should sound like! I won't mention any names? Anyway, thanks Dave and Bruce...... The small guys are the real Good Guys!!

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon,Kenwood,Yamaha, and thank God for opening my ears Denon!!!!!!

Build quality, looks, sound, and price. High output even for 70W RMS...it cranks

Fan can be annoying on high output, low volume stuff, but it is rare to hear it ever. Volume is touchy. THe remote is ok, not great

For the price you really cannot beat this receiver. Of course, now for the price I woudl go with the 575 Onkyo, but this being last year's model, and at the time of purchase..I couldn't go wrong. Although this doesn't have DTS(there aren't too many title with it), it still sounds quite well. PLenty of power and many features. I think the only thing I didn't like about it was the surrounds didn't sound as powerful as I had hoped. I could only ehar them if turned really loud and I stood closer to them. The setup options are nice, but it isn't as selectable in dB how you want to arrange the sound to each channel.

Overall, a really good receiver that has done me well, and for the price and options, still a good receiver used. I am upgrading to either the Sony 777ES or the Denon 3300, either way I expect a difference b/c of the price differences.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi, sony

Decent, mid-level surround receiver. Power is good for all but the loudest of music. For the time in which it was designed, it was up to date with Digital inputs.

Barely any imaging from the rear channels even in DD 5.1. The volume lacks any semblance of linearity--VERY touchy. Begins to distort at about half power. For today's market, you need more digital inputs and an S-video Monitor Out.

Overall a decent package until you start listening to other peoples' higher end receivers. I really have been most disappointed by the lack of imaging in the rear channels and the sensitivity of the volume control. A rheostat volume knob is definitely in order. It was certainly a step up from my Kenwood, but now that I am out of college, I decided I need a Marantz SR-8000 (got one ordered). For those of you just starting to get into A/V, this is a good starter.

Well after living with my ds555 for a month now....I'm in love! I have five speakers, all JBL's; 2 main:J830M(6" mid, 8" woofer, 14mm Ti composite tweeter)a pair of course with the JBL Flix2 surround package from Circuit City. Let me tell you, PLENTY of sound in all modes. The fan comes on during diffent times. I have never heard it come on while watching a movie. When pumping bass heavy rap music, by the time the fan comes on , the windows and wall fixtures are vibrating and the police are in route:}! The only way I noticed the fan was on was that my vertical blinds were moving! Basically the fan is not a problem. I called Onkyo about way the cabinet feels a little warm. They said that Onkyos run warmer than most but I hade nothing to worry about. I have an Onkyo CD player and tape deck which works fine with the reciever of course, but when activating each component the reciever doesn't automatically switch to that component like it did the first time out of the box. That used to happen in my tx-8110 and all I had to do was reset the power for a minute but it's no biggy. Finally the remote does not control both sides of my tape deck, which sucks since I have no seperate remote for my deck, but I did'nt buy the unit for tape listening. But you can tell I'm happy right?! OH' I check out the Onkyo DVD player....$1020.00! Wonder when that price is going to drop?

Awesome power. Great, crisp sound. I thought the multisource was a frill, untill I used this feature.

Fan is anoying. Comes on with multisource enabled and/ or remote speakers on. High fidelity should not be comprimised by a fan for crying out loud! No SVHS inputs for switching. (RCA Video switching only) Remote Speakers hard to get going. Lousy remote, yet you have to depend on it for many features. Clip connections for rear/center speakers.

I actually am upgrading to another Receiver. At this point Yamaha 995 (no fan!!)

Similar Products Used:

HK 500. Onkyo 777. Yamaha 1105, 995.

Extremely Clean Power and sound, easy to use interface, natural vocals, Fan

Remote. Argh. That's about it. Oh, and no DTS..

This unit is a marvel. For the price I paid, I don't think I could've got a better unit. Turn it up to half way on the dial, and you have just immersed yourself in some of the clearest, most distinguished natural sound. Use Monster Cable for the best results.

Speakers: Infinity IL-10 x 4
Infinity EntraCenter
Infinity EntraSub

Similar Products Used:

Harmon/Kardon