Presenting Onkyo’s range of AV receivers

The trend in home audio is to make gear smaller and cooler, but Onkyo receivers are unapologetically clunky, measuring in at 17.13 inches wide by 6.94 inches high by 12.94 inches deep. You’ll plan to leave plenty of space in your home theater rack to fit the receiver, especially since it tends to run hot. The Onkyo HT RC-160 sports Audyssey’s 2EQ automatic calibration system. The included remote control is similar to last year’s and we usually like its simple design. Rather than offering all the functions directly on the remote, the HT-RC160′s clicker uses a simpler design that relies more on navigating onscreen menus. While some old-school home theater fans may prefer having all the buttons at their fingertips, we felt like this design was much less intimidating for the average user. While more AV receivers are starting to function true graphical user interfaces, the HT-RC160 features a text-based onscreen interface, which easily beats competition from so many other AV receivers of the same price range and level.

As with all Onkyo AV receivers, this one is expectedly chunky and bulky. Onkyo is reputed for building A/V receivers with fabulous price/performance ratios, and at first glance, the feature-laden Onkyo HT-RC180 looks to be no exception. However, this 7.2-channel  receiver should not be suggested to anyone who owns a home theater PC or an older DVD-Audio player because the HT-RC180 is deficient in the multi-channel analog inputs needed to set up a proper audio connection with those devices. While we applaud the fact that each of its inputs has a dedicated button on its front panel, and you can access controls for just about any other highlight by dropping its front flap), none of the buttons are backlit and are extremely hard to see in a dimly lit room. Another blemish in this model.

The Onkyo TX-SR307 is supplied in two colors to match the majority of home theater setups. As an AV receiver, it functions as a sound amplifier from various audio sources to tie in the several components of the home theater system. It is also capable of routing the video signals coming from different sources to the television display. When it comes to audio, a suite of Audyssey technologies work to match the sound output to your listening space. The TX-SR307 even makes friendly with your iPod or other MP3 player, via a frontpanel input. All those compressed audio files will sound far better due to onboard Music Optimizer technology. Rounding out this versatile system are four new gaming modes that make it easy for you to customize the audio to your chosen game type.