Sound Easy of use Price

Remote control

Dynamic receiver that can cope with almost anything. It can cope with all different surround modes and its technology promises excellent performances. A real treat thanks to its clarity and transparency. The TX-SR500E has one of the smoothest sounds around, whether in two channels or five. In multichannel, sounds are both solid and lithe, a rare partnership in AV receivers. It may not be the last word in detail, but the sound is warm and rich. Onkyo has put a lot of effort into making this amp user-friendly. And in the complex and often cumbersome world of A/V amps, that alone makes it worthy of praise.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon

Bass , well build

Not MOSFET Remote control

I got this from Ebay with $180, I have to puchase abroad because it is hard to get in Vietnam and the price always 2 times ( ~ $400 if I buy in Viet Nam ). It looks well and heavy, I hook to a pair JBL G800 front and a pair Tech german for surround, the JBL had 4 woofers then I do not need a Sub, but I going to puchase a centre speaker. This piece of electric used a pair D1047 - B817 for each chanel amplifier, it is normal not JFET transistor, in addtional this whole system use only a pair 10000 Mf capacity, that reason why sound it no so clear and a bit distortion on high level Good in high tones and full of bass

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 595

-Great stereo sound -Looks/Feels (it's heavy) amazing -Plenty of connections for a substantial home theater -WRAT (wide range amp tech) = owns -DSP = more than sufficient for most applications -Consumer Reports measured the (average, not peak)output per channel at 92W, not the advertised 65W -Remote is programmable to control all/most of your components, although it does lack macros -Despite the volume issue(see weaknesses), it's ill-advised to crank this receiver up (it can get LOUD)

-Remote could stand some improvement (read: needs the SR600 Remote) -Volume needs to be at at least 50% to have sufficient output

I recently decided to build my first A/V system, and I think i'm off to a great start with this receiver. Mine's currently hooked up to a spare set of B&W's we had around the house (nice, clean speakers, but not nearly as warm as the RTi38s that i'm ordering) and sounding more than decent. I'm transitioning from a computer-music listener to an A/V system, and with my Creative SB Audigy sound card and Klipsch 2.1 speakers, in addition to my being accustomed to listening to my Grado SR60's with my portable players, I didn't initially think i'd get much of an increase in performance. Man, was I wrong. Even with my system only 33% complete, i'm very impressed. Breifly, this is what I plan to purchase in the near future: -Onkyo DXC380 CD Changer -Polk Audio RTi38 (x2) I just cashed a paycheck and will pick up the changer along with an optical monster cable this evening, but i'm ordering the speakers, so they'll take a couple of weeks to arrive. About the receiver: Wonderfully crisp, powerful sound. If you've owned a Klipsch computer system, you know the feeling of full sound compared to your average computer speaker. Now think of upgrading from your Klipsch speakers to an Onkyo receiver as the same jump, this time from a higher platform. I didn't expect much for sound quality with the spare speakers, but when i popped in Dave Matthews Live at Luther College, i was blown away. I had heard the speakers before (we've got another pair of the same B&W's hokked up to our tv through a dvd player), but each sound was independently present with the Onkyo. If you've got a job that lets you buy product at cost (as my job at Circuit City does) I can think of no better base for a home theater / audio system for the money. Not to brag, but with my discount i'm paying 190 for the receiver, 110 for the cd changer, and 72 a speaker for the RTi's (retailing at 225 each). Not to mention the discounted high quality monster cabling. I think I lucked out with this receiver. If you've any question as to whether it's a solid purchase, buy it. If you honestly don't like it for the money, then go right ahead and return it, however, something tells me that you won't. One technical bit: Onkyo's WRAT (Wide Range Amplification Technology is found on it's higher-end home theater receivers. The SR500 being no exception, one is presented with the processing and output of sound from a range of 10Hz-100KHz (20Hz-20KHz = Audible to human ear). These extra waves are not wasted, but let themselves shape the audible portion of the sound into a more natural, not to mention clear, resulting effect. Along with Onkyo's higher-end capacitors (used to store energy for low->high volume transitions),this receiver offers one great sound at an even better price

Similar Products Used:

-Only ever had experience with our family's old Sony receiver; this blows it away

Good overall sound. Strong bass. Easy to use controls. Well layed out back panel.

None at this price range

I had intended to buy a pair of speakers but chose to upgrade my receiver instead. With the Onkyo receiver, the speakers I was going to replace sound pretty good. I tried a Yamaha for a few days but I took it back. The Onkyo is much better at playing my type of music (John Denver, James Taylor, Jim Croce, etc.) I love the power of a high current receiver. I checked out the other quality receivers readily available for around $300, and I think the Onkyou has the best sound and features.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Yamaha

Good sound Low price Lots of options Reliable Good sub out

Headphone out is not the greatest, but not bad Volume has to be a bit higher than other products, but it sounds good A bit of a hiss at higher levels (shouldn't be that high anyway)

I originally purchased the Onkyo TX-8211 stereo receiver which I used with my four Klipsch KG-2.5's. This sounded quite good to my ears. However, I acquired a center and sub by chance (thanks to the person who gave them up- if you are reading ;) ) and I needed to upgrade to a surround receiver. So, I went back to CC and auditioned some. Heard a Sherwood, Sony, and the like. The Onkyo sounded much better. I also wanted to stay with the same brand since the stereo receiver was soo good. The SR500 has a lot of nice features. I use the DSP/PLII for games and some music. The headphone out is not quite as good as I like- it sounds too distant to me. With an amp, though, it improves. The only thing I have against it is that I have to turn the volume up quite a bit before it is to a good volume level. It seems to be up higher than average, but I guess that is the way it was made. All in all, a very good performer for music and movies. Highly recommended for someone on a budget.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-8200

Features.

Too bright sounding. Couldn't get mode 3 to work on either receiver. Onkyo "support" was absolutely no help.

I went through two of these. Not enough bass management for my system and mode 3 didn't work on my system on either receiver. I had been used to Yamaha receivers and integrated amps all of my life. This Onkyo had good features for the price. The sound was much too bright for my JBL S38 and S Center. I took this second one back to Circuit City and got a new Yamaha receiver from Sears. It was amazing how much more neutral sounding the Yamaha was as it took the overly bright sound out of the JBL's. I really wasn't expecting the sound diferrence to be THAT much.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

great sound in music and movies, high current, easy setup

not much, just that dsp not too much of a use, i only use all channel stereo (this receiver sounds so good u dont have to use any other dsp), and of course the dolby digital and dts for movies.

this receiver is awesome, easy to setup, great sound both in movies and music. was planning to buy a yamaha but when i heard the onkyo tsx500 i was blown away. this is my first receiver and guess i got the right entry level amp. Given a choice of upgrade still will get an onkyo.

Similar Products Used:

harman kardon avr15, sony mini compo

Cost Sound Quality Inputs Ease of Use

Gets pretty hot Could have a couple more DSP modes

I am only in high school and I was looking for a simple stereo to replace my whole sharp 6 speaker component system. I wanted to go with Infinity Book Shelfs and a decent reciever. Well i went in the store and they said this was the best reciever in the 300-400 price range. I took it home, hooked it up and i am very pleased! The sound is crystal clear, and its very tough and rugged. Easy to set up and easy to use! The remote works with all my components also! I seriously reccomend this system for anyone who can only afford 300-400.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Sharp

Power is decent as far as I can tell, clarity of sound is vastly superior to any crap brand receiver, all the modern features(pro logic II, and so on).

Learning remote would be nice.

This receiver is replacing an older Teac model rated at 100 watts per chan. As far as power goes I cant really tell that much of a difference since I cant turn it up that loud or certain people will be upset with me. What I can say is how incredibly clear the sound is on this reciever. Compared with the in-laws JBL JSR635 this thing is a dream. It has plenty of surround options, inputs, etc. The remote isnt horrible but it could be better.

Similar Products Used:

Teac Agv8060

Price I paid.

Lacks a composit to S-video converter so it wont do vidoe switching if one video input is composit and another is S-video.

Nice receiver, especially for the price I paid for a refurbished unit through ubid. I have found that it has plenty of power but I have Klipsch speakers. I havent noticed much impact from changing the subwoofer crossover frequency. The different DSP choices dont seem to make much of a difference ( to me ).