Moderator Question - No Review for Onkyo TX-SR706?

[jedinight2002]

Hello

Why have What Hi-Fi not reviewed the Onkyo TX-SR706 or TX-SR806? They have reviewed the other Onkyo receivers from the range that were released around the same time (i.,e they have been available for quite some time).
[*]Is there a date for the reviews? Is so, when will it be available online/in the mag?[*]Do the 'What Hi-Fi' team solely review products given to them by manufacturers, or do they ever actually buy products to review?

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't seen a review on the TX-SR806 either...

I'm still doing feature comparisons and I highly value the opinions and reviews that get here.

I know, I know, I know... you got to get out and listen to the kit and see what you like.... I haven't found any retailers in the Sahara! But in 2 more weeks I'm back to civilization and can start listening & shopping.

Until then, anybody have anything interesting to say about the 706 or the 806?

Thanks

 

[Andy Clough]

No date for reviews of the TX-SR706 and SR806 yet, but I'll check with the team tomorrow to see if either is in the pipeline.

And yes, we do buy kit from time to time if the manufacturers can't supply.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for checking up on that Andy.

Looking forward to the news.

 

[Anonymous]

I actually posed a similar question in a thread a few days ago as I hadn't seen any comments by forum members or WHF reviews regarding these two receivers.

 

[Anonymous]

Moderators,

Your reviews have covered the Onkyo TX-SR606 and the Onkyo TX-SR876 but what about the models in between namely the 706 and the 806, come on guys even if they you feel these products are not value for money we as consumers who value your reviews / opinions, we should know where you stand on these, paticularly as these products have been released over a year now.

Regards,

 

[nads]

well they did not do the range between on the earlier line up.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Ali Nasir:Moderators,

Your reviews have covered the Onkyo TX-SR606 and the Onkyo TX-SR876 but what about the models in between namely the 706 and the 806, come on guys even if they you feel these products are not value for money we as consumers who value your reviews / opinions, we should know where you stand on these, paticularly as these products have been released over a year now.

Surely that's what the OP asked. And they haven't been released over a year - they appeared in the shops at the end of Summer last year, and so far we have reviewed those products Onkyo has chosen to supply to us.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply Andrew, apologize for the wrong information regarding the intro date for the 706, and I don't want to be a pain but as Andy said in December that sometimes that your guys do review kit which manufacturers can't supply, and I understand it's completely up to you guys, I have been lurking on the site reading reviews and forums on this site for about a year now and have decided it's time to move up from the Denon 2307 I've used for last couple of years, the yamaha 863 is out of stock with the supplier here and wanted to know if Onkyo's new mid range still has "bang for the buck" (sorry for lack of a better term) as their 606 does, the complete onkyo range is on special offer here at the moment that is about 2 weeks more to go, even 5 lines from this site do mean a lot to us, just looking for another option instead of waiting for the yammy. I will demo them but don't want to miss out on a flaw my untrained ears won't pick.

Regards,

Ali

Andy Clough:

No date for reviews of the TX-SR706 and SR806 yet, but I'll check with the team tomorrow to see if either is in the pipeline.

And yes, we do buy kit from time to time if the manufacturers can't supply.

 

[Andrew Everard]

As far as I know neither review is in the pipeline at the moment. And the budget we have to buy review equipment is extremely limited.

But having heard the earlier 705 and 805, I think the 706 and 806 are models you can buy with confidence if they offer the features you require at a suitable price, though I'd have to suggest that the benefits of the 706 over the 606 are relatively minor, and as an 875 owner I'd go for the 876 over the 806 if only for the superior video processing.

 

[Anonymous]

Hope we get lucky and Onkyo does provide the above model (706) for review, something to look forward to.

Thanks for the insight, my main concern was the heat dissipation issue of the 606, and up-conversion to Full HD (1080p), would have to be either the 706 or the hk avr-255 as both have full up-conversion are available in black.

Ali

 

[Andrew Everard]

It's becoming less likely as an -07 model was already sneak previewed at the CES2009 on the Dolby stand, so that series must be well underway now.

In simple terms, if you want a 606 with a bit more power, upgraded amplification, THX Select 2 certification and 1080p upscaling in place of the 606's 1080i, the extra cost of the 706 is justified; if not, the 606 is still fine value for money, although it's challenged hard by some rivals, as our reviews section shows.

And if you believe in those reports of heat dissipation issues, be aware that the 706 is of course more powerful. That said, I've never had a problem in well over 18 months with the 875, which is supposed to be notorious in this respect. Mine only ever gets a little warm when working really hard. And if people witter on about the casework getting up to 40C, bear in mind that body temperature is only a few degrees below that.

But some of the deals on the 876 at the moment make it very attractive...

 

[Anonymous]

The 876 is about USD500 more than the 706 here (Dubai), and stock's available only in silver (really wanted black), how would you rate the HK AVR-255, the primary purpose would be for movies rather than music hence my concern for upscaling. when do you think the new line of Onkyos might be out by, the dealer here won't say anything in definitive terms, probably wants to clear out the old stock first.

Had picked up on one thing which seemed odd (I may be wrong) but are the AVR-255 / 355 the first Harman amps to get more than 2 stars in your reviews ?, this was as per the Onkyo / Denon dealer here (there's one company here who holds dealership /supplier rights for Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, Yakamichi, Sansui, Jamo, Klipsch, Wharfedale, Boston Audio, Definitive Technology, Focal, NAD, TEAC and another dozen or so brands, only Yamaha, Bose, Harman Kardon and Pioneer are not under them, so price and supply wise they have almost full control of the audio / visual local market here) and which initially got me around to registering on the site to see if the Onk 706 was as good as he claimed (4 stars!!!) and overall a better product than the HK AVR255 - "Harman only sells because of the JBL speakers", well I have never demoed any HK kit, and do not want to regret a hasty decision made on a biased dealer's comments without a profesional opinion, by the way your 5 star reviews are quoted as scripture by the dealers here, unfortunately availabiity is limited to much fewer brands especially where speakers are concerned, don't really want to order over the net and wait for a month to have the items shipped here.

Regards,

Ali

 

[Anonymous]

Any word if the onkyo's 2009 line up is coming out within the next couple of months or so ?

 

[Clare Newsome]

'First half of the year' is the most detailed we've had yet. But, as Andrew mentioned, we've already seen a sneak preview of the Onkyo TX-SR607 on the Dolby stand at CES. Sure we'll have news followed by reviews as soon as we know more.

Remember, last year we went out and bought the Onkyo TX-SR606 so we could get you the review first....

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Then sold it on amazon (I think)......

Can you see why I get the upgrade inch!!!!