Solid Build Quality, Clean sound, simple to use..

No S-Video on US Model, weak surround speaker bindings, 1 optical and 2 coax digital inputs.. Could use more... Would have liked to see the remote preprogramed with other devices instead of "learn" only...

Picked this to upgrade my home theater system. I'm pleased. Absolutely no sign of any hiss. Dead silent operation with no sound being played, and crips noise free music and dvd. Not sure about peoples hiss problems, but I haven't heard it.

Setup:

Onkyo 575
Toshiba 3109 DVD
Boston Acoustics THX Home theater speakers.. Older, 555x, 575x, 595x sub..
Carver PM-200 amp for the sub...
Mitsubishi 45" TV...

Who needs a movie theater these days?

Strong DD and DTS. Clear sound. Very clear and wide soundstage.

no s video, but I don't use them.

I am not sure what everyone is talking about with the hissing. I haven't heard it. I play it very loud too. But, anyhow this reciever really opens my Paradigm Mini's right up. Clear....and wide soundstage. Almsot 3-d. But I know that there is better out there. for the 400 USD I have spent on it, its worth it.

Value priced.

Lack of s-video.

I've only had this receiver for a few weeks and to date have not experienced any problems with the noted hiss problem (hopefully, I won't). The remote control is a great improvement over the Onyko 555 model. Dollar for dollar, this is the most value packed receiver with good build quality that I think I could have found, nevertheless, it would have been nice to see the s-video included. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a lot of bang for the buck!

Good Remote/Good Features/Solid Build

Hiss/effects speakers are kinda cheaply made/BASS is a bit sloppy.

Yes folks there is a hiss. But it's not there until you CRANK it past 65. And it's a small hiss at 65 but it does get worse when it goes past 70. I think maybe if your electrical wire is not up to par your going to hear more hiss then normal. IT does not bother me since I hardly EVER watch movies over 60. Got this hooked up to 4 Infinity Reference 2000 speakers. Using Monster cable. Using an ACI Quake Sub for rear effects and a 15" Advent for the front effects. This a very good Amp for the bucks. You can't go wrong with the quality of the build. And if your not the one to run your amp at extreme levels you shouldn't be able to hear any HISS. Granted there shouldn't be any HISS at all. My JVC is a high end AMP and there is NO HISS at MAX Level. But, for the features and Cost I think this is awsome for movies and music. BTW. Most people that say "WHAT HISS???" You have to turn up the amp with nothing playing. Turn it on to like CD with No CD playing crank it up and you will probably hear it. But, like most others you probably have no need to listen to music/movies at that level. I don't know but. I had to turn my system down due to the fact that my ears were hurting might have had to do with the 500 watt sub. But, 50-55 is about the right loudness for me Maybe 60 if there are a lot of people in the room. And my theater room is 20X20'. I guess I'd never thought that I'd have to say "that's too loud" but maybe in my old age it's getting too loud these days. And, in the middle of a movie the last thing you want to think about is a cop comming to the door to tell you to turn it down... 5 For Value and 4 for Overall. Good AMPS should not hiss no matter what the volume. Makes me really wonder what it is that is making it HISS and all I can say is they made it cheaply or forgot to add some sort of Insulation. This does Bother me. But, when you think that I only listen to this amp 95% of the time at moderate levels I can live with it.

Similar Products Used:

JVC

Great Remote, Clean sound

No S-Video switching , No onscreen display

I bought this to replace my aging Onkyo TX-DS717PRO Pro-logic Reciever. It's sound quality surpassed that of the
717PRO ( I paid $799 for it in 1994 ). For the price I paid for the TX-DS575 ( $369 ), I have no complaints .

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS717pro

Remote has a lot of capability for those willing to learn it;

No OSD; No S-Video; Only 1 Optical/Coaxial Input; Not quite enough power

This unit is a solid receiver for someone on a budget. I have sinced returned the unit to purchase the Onkyo 777 as the 575 lacked S-Video and did not quite have enough power to drive dual CSW Bass Cube 12s.

Similar Products Used:

AVR-65; Onkyo DS-777

Crisp Sound at all volume levels, Remote, 5 Channel Stero, Price.

S-Video, only one optical input.

This is my first receiver. I have wanted to own a quality reveiver for many years. I finally got the o.k. from the wife (after I made the purchase) and let me tell you that I am a very happy customer. I have been reading about all this hiss sound and I had never heard it. So, I wanted to see for myself if I could make it hiss. I tuned on the receiver and put it to V1 without turning on the TV. The volume was at 20 and I started to turn it up. Went past 30, clear as a bell, 40 still nothing, 50,60 finally at about 67 I started to hear a faint hiss. When I finally maxed out the volume the hiss was audible from about 3 to 4 feet in front of the speakers. Now, I am not sure if this is the hiss that you guys are talknig about, but if it is, then yes there is a hiss. What I think it is, is the fact that there is so much dynamic power coming through this ONKYO receiver that it is making the speakers vibrate ever so slightly and making it hiss. I don't think this should be a concern. Most people a know play music or DVD so the hissing will not be present.

I do not have a DVD player hooked up to it yet (trying to decide which one to get that will not skip). All I have hooked up to the receiver is cable TV. Like I said, I am in the beginning stage of getting going. I have POLK RM5400's hooked up to the ONKYO and let me tell you, my townhouse thumps. This receiver is more than I ever expected. I have purchased a DSS with the Dolby Pro Logic receiver so after I get that installed, I will find out what this receiver can really do.

As far as the remote, it is one of the better that I have seen. The nicest feature is the one touch macro which allows you to turn on all your equipment with the push of one button (no joke). To learn other remotes, all you have to do is point your old remote at the ONKYO remote, push a botton, then push the corresponding button on the ONKYO and it learns it. It is beautiful !!!! It is about time they came out with this. The only problem with the remote, is that numbers to change channels are at the bottom of the remote and kind of hard to change one handed. Other than that it is great.

So, the bottom line is...for under $500, you can have a top notch receiver that puts out plenty of power and superb sound. If you want to read about watts per channel and find out what it all really means, visit the onkyousa.com web site and see what they have to say about it. Just because it puts out 70 watts per channel does not mean that there is not enough power to push those speakers. There is plenty.

I hightly recommend this receiver and promise you that you will be as please as I am.

Similar Products Used:

None

Does it matter?

Hiss / distortion

You can listen to the people who say there aren't issues with this receiver, but I have talked with Onkyo tech support and have read numerous newsgroup posting which verify that there is a design flaw in this line of receivers. The distortion (hiss and hum) issues are real. Feel free to buy one if you like, but my $200 JVC didn't have these problems. Consider yourself warned.

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TX-DS676

DTS/DD for a low price. Very clean output. Terrific DSP options.

no s-video (but i don't use that anyhow)

Okay, I feel the need to straighten out some things about the receiver, because I am just incredulous at the ridiculous rating of this solid receiver. I agree with the previous poster that there is someone posting 1 star over and over. If you'll notice, he always posts with very common first names: Jim, George, Paul, Bill, Peter, etc., etc. Not only is he an a$$hole, but he's a very unimaginative one. Ask yourself why the two models below the 575 (474 and 555) have a 4.64 and 4.81 respectively and are in the Hall of Fame. So onkyo decided to make a higher model and make it noisy? Does that make ANY sense?

Seriously, whoever reads this review, ignore the posts about the hiss. I'm sure there are a few people here who have actually heard it at the store, but keep in mind that stores often times hook up things improperly. I have heard the Yamaha DSP-A1 receiver with hiss you wouldn't believe. You need to hook it up at your place, and hook it up properly. I just bought it last week and hooked it up via TOSlink (optical digital) to my computer. At first, I DID have some audible hiss and I thought, uh oh. But then more investigating revealed that I needed to turn off the Analog EQ in the control panel which was passing an analog line-in channel which IS noisy. Once I did that, dead silence. I had to turn the volume all the way to maximum and put my ear right up against the speaker to hear any kind of noise. The ticking second hand on my watch is louder. New audio hobbyists take note: ALL amplifiers have hiss if you turn it up loud enough. You wanna hear hiss? Have a listen to my old receiver, the Sony STR-DE425. Even then, it wasn't all that loud; just in comparison to this receiver.

And I called Onkyo also to ask them about the reports of above normal hiss. I said that some reviews said that onkyo claimed it was supposed to be a feature. The guy just laughed, and said, "WHAT?" He said that they'd be out of business long ago if it was a feature in ANY of their audio equipment.

Unfortunately, I think that these numerous hiss posts have already done their damage. I say unfortunate because many people who believe it will be missing out on a GREAT receiver. This receiver belongs in the audioreview Hall of Fame. Sure, you can get better receivers with more features, but not at this price. Got it for $369 at www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com. Shipping was $17.
BTW, to be fair, I was also considering the Sony DB930 which I hear is also a great product. Mainly I chose this because I don't need a million DSP options, the learning remote, Onkyo's reputation, some design to keep the receiver cool (i forget what it's called). I'm sure the sony db-930 is great. BUT that does not mean that this one is NOT.
My final message: don't believe the hype: this is an all-round SOLID receiver.

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Sony DB930

Great value

Hiss interference with hologen lamp light

For the money, the 575 is simply unbeatable. It did produced the hiss when I connect the 575 and a hologen lamp to the same electrical outlet. However, once I moved the lamp to a different outlet the hiss reduced to almost nothing. BTW, I paid $380 for this unit.