Onkyo 696

Wesmo · April 2002

What is everyone's opinon on the onkyo 696 receiver. I'm thinking of picking one up tomorrow to upgrade my sony str475, and i was wondering if i was making a worthwhile purchase.

mantis · April 2002

If you have your heart set on it, you don't want my opinoin.If your open minded I will post.
You can also check out the Integra line(upper class Onkyo)the dtr6.2 or 5.2 is close to the 696.
What speaker's do you use?
What sources do you have?
What do you expect it to do?
What do you do more, music or movies??

Wesmo · April 2002

I have (2) polk 600i towers, a cs245 center channel, (2) pioneer floorstanding speaker for surrounds, and a dcd 10 in powered sub. I want it to not only play dvds from my panasonic dvd player, but also play cds since i listen to tons of music. I'm basically wondering if it's worth the 700 bucks cc has it for (although i'm sure i can get them to cut me some sort of deal).

scottvamp · April 2002

IMO
You can't go wrong with this reciever. You are looking for a HT reciever in this price range. If you have come to this reciever you have done some research. This Onkyo is the way to go. Really!!!Just Do It! Ha! A little peer pressure.:rolleyes:

mantis · April 2002

Well,
I don't think it's a good deal, but thats just me.You see Onkyo and me ...we don't get along.I heard there amp's on many different kind's of speaker's, none of them sound good, I haven't found a speaker yeat that matches.You can go to CC and listen to it.Then stop by your local Tweeter store ,bring your main speaker's(call ahead and get a salesman to work with you),and hook them up to a Denon avr2802.
As I hear it without hearing it, you might notice the Denon will be warmer, cleaner, more dynamic.Check out all the feature's after you deside what receiver sound's that best.

fireshoes · April 2002

I would look at the Denon 2802 or Yamaha rxv1200. They are both selling for around $799 in stores right now. They both sound great. The 696 doesn't sound quite as nice but is still a good receiver. One thing to be aware of also is that there are a few dvds that will have the sound cut sometimes with the 696. Any of the receivers would be an enormous upgrade from the Sony 475 though.

Wesmo · April 2002

OK...i've read about the cut-off on the 696 when the bitrate changes during dvds, but i was wondering if there's a way around it or how noticeable it is. Also do you know of certain dvds on which it happens?

scottvamp · April 2002

Holy Cow!!!!!! I thought it was just mine. My 787 custs out also on DVD's. Just real quick. A second. Just some dvd's. Two or three times a movie at the most. Not that distracting. I could not figure out why. It would cut audio in the same spots on the same DVD's. I would like to know more about this. I may talk to Onkyo about it. Maybe a software upgrade or something. What a freaking trip.

mantis · April 2002

I can talk about the cutting in and out on Onkyo/Integra receiver's.It's there processor.It will cut in and out all thew the movie. Some movies more then other's.Peal Harbor is a good disc to see this happen.We called them and let them be aware of this matter.They allready know about it.
It's just all the more reason to avoid there product's.Who want's to sit there watching a movis and have the sound cut in and out.
They are comming out with a new line any day now.It will hit the market very soon.I will test the new line as soon as we get it in.
If it still cut's in and out, I would avoid them like the plague.

mantis · April 2002

I failed to mention that the Denon line DOES NOT DO THAT.
You will not have any funky problem's like that...just ONKYO/INTEGRA.

Wesmo · April 2002

Well, if I'm not mistaken, the 600 is part of the new line (replacement for the 595), so hopefully it will have the processor problem taken care of. I'm wondering if it will be enough power though. I't s 80 wpc the 696's 100wpc. Is 80 wpc sufficent for driving my 600i's? (i know that's enough to run them, but my sony is 80wpc and it struggles when the volume gets to any moderate volume.) I know that obkyo's 80wpc is going to be different from sony's, but am I going to be satisfied with that output.
wes

dscj99 · April 2002

I have the 797 and I have had no problems with it. It has been great. I would say that you can't buy a better reciever for the price. My dad bought the 695 because he is a cheap ****. I like the remote and display so much more on the 797. It has more power and better options. I currently have 400i center, 500i rears, advent floors (soon rt800i) and a boston sub. The reciever pushes all of them great. Shakes the whole house. No problems hear with any cutting out. 10 out of 10

seaslug · April 2002

I have an Onkyo TX-DS797, and I have had no problems so far (although it did come with a warning stating that it might have trouble playing the Dolby Digital soundtracks of recent DVD's produced by Universal; DTS is fine, though). If you are interested in the 696, or any of the other receivers that have been recommended, do a search on Yahoo! shopping. There are plenty of reputable retailers, and you will probably save a couple hundred bucks. Happy hunting!

woodyjacobs · April 2002

Regarding Onkyo's new line.
I recently purchased the new Onkyo 600 (about two weeks ago)...I listened to it in CC's sound room (I think they were running Polk 1000i's as mains) and thougt it sounded great. When I got it home I found it easy to set up and use...really nice remote too. Buuuut, it seemed like the sound was a little off....very clean, but kinda cold, if you know what I mean. It was actually very good on DVDs (I didn't notice any sound cuts, including on Pearl Harbor...but I only re-watched bits and pieces), but sounded a bit too harsh on about every kind of music. I know the 700 model is coming out next month (to replace the 696), so I thought maybe I would upgrade to that when it came out, hoping it might sound better (although I'm sure it will have the same chips, so it will probably sound about the same).

So, I walk into Sears the other day and they are practically giving away a Yamaha HTR5460...normally runs 450-500 and they have one as an open box return with no manual (free download on the Yamaha website) for 199. I've never owned Yamaha but have read good reviews here and elsewhere, so I figured I would take it home and see what it sounds like...I can always bring it back. That thing has just about every feature the Onkyo has (excluding DTS-ES's 6th channel, and it only has Prologic, no Prologic 2) and you know what...it sounds better. Much warmer, more power...plus you can run all 5 main speakers (5 ch stereo mode) plus an extra set of mains...at the same time! The Onkyo couldn't do that, so it's going back. I will probably keep this Yamaha for a second room and get the new 5560 (which just came out) for the HT...6 channels instead of 5, Prologic 2, plus preouts for all channels. Or I might just go cheap and stick with this one. It just sounds so much better (and is much more powerful) than my old Sony 475.

So I would definitely listen to the Yamahas if I were you. I think they just flat sound better, at least on my system (rt800is front, cs400i center, R10 surrounds, EOS One 912 sub).

Good luck!

Onkyo 696

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