Sony STR-DA2400 or Onkyo TX-SR607?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys, I was wondering if you could offer some advice to this newbie (both in terms of this forum and the big bad world of home cinema):

I am looking to buy an AV receiver to drive a speaker set that is as yet un-purchased, but I am probably going to invest in a Kef 2005.3 package. Based on reviews and the hype surrounding them, I think I've narrowed down my receiver to either a Sony STR-DA2400 or an Onkyo TX-SR607, but I'm at a loss as to which one I should go for. The Onkyo is a WHF 4-star receiver that's going for £499 (the absolute top of my receiver budget) whereas the Sony has 5 stars (albeit in a review that is over 6 months old) and is available for £449 on amazon. The extra 2 HDMI inputs on the Onkyo wouldn't make any short-term difference to me as, for the time being, I'd only be running Sky HD and a Sony BDP350 Blu-ray player into the receiver via HDMI. I also wouldn't be that bothered about the extra .1 capability of the Onkyo, nor the Pro Logic IIz. However, I am very taken with the idea of the Audyssey system regulating the volume levels irrespective of source (my wife goes mad when the decibels double when switching from an HD channel or blu-ray to standard tv!), and as someone who would be running a PS2 and an Xbox 360 through the receiver, I also like the sound of the Onkyo's dedicated gaming sound settings. Otherwise, it's difficult to tell the two apart, at least in terms of how it would make a difference to me (apart from the £50 saving of the Sony over the Onkyo).

I'm not going to get a chance to demo either of these receivers, nor would I really know what to be checking for, so I am very much putting myself at the mercy of WHF expert reviews and the advice of the good folk on this forum. Any tips you could give me please would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lobby]

I audition the Kefs with the Onkyo and it a great little system, so i imagine the 607 should be better, can't comment on the Sony but it's had great reviews from WHF and forum members. It's also very difficult to get hold of same as all the Yamaha and Sony models. The 607 is the newest range of Onkyo amps and Yamaha and Sony will also follow suit by releasing a new range, also consider the Yamaha ax763, and Denon 1909, but an audition is really required. I have a 606 and can recommend that, as it was only £360,and it's fantastic value for movies i can only assume that the Sony should be better at over £100 more, but Onkyo amps do drive the Kefs and Tannoy packages very well. Good luck im sure a Sony owner will offer their views.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks lobby, I really appreciate your reply. I guess it's going to be very difficult getting a comprehensive response on this, as you suggest, as it's unlikely anyone will have experience of both receivers.

It's difficult to know whether I'm comparing like with like when looking at the reviews done by WHF, particularly given that the Onkyo is getting on for being the newer model by around a year (?) and I realise that in the world of electronics, things can move on at quite a pace. Being a relatively impatient guy, I'm not sure that I fancy hanging on until later in the year when Sony and others release their new models, and I'm not entirely sure what they'd offer me that I can't already get. Given that I've now discovered that play.com has got the 2400 for £429, I think I'm leaning even further in that direction, but I'd be very interested to hear other members' opinions.

 

[lobby]

Well for £429 it seems a good buy and would work very well with the kefs, i think you should go for it knowing it should be easy to return to play if your unhappy. Also Sony is bringing out it's new range of blu-ray players and will be profile 2.0.If you don't have a player maybe this would go perfectly with the 2400.

 

[Anonymous]

Ive just bought the Onkyo TX-SR607 and the Q Acoustic 1010i speakers from Quantum Electronics for £850 and that included speaker cable and wall brackets.

I had the opportunity to go for the Yamaha or Sony, but opted for the Onkyo in the end and im happy with my decision.

So in my opinion at least, go for the Onkyo

 

[Anonymous]

I'm a trifle surprised that the upscaling on the 607 is only to 1080i. I'm still debating which one to get, and the Sony looks a great bet given I only have 4 HDMIs in (HD-DVD, BD, DVD-A/SCAD/MULTI REGION DVD all give out 1080p, but the V-Box is 1080i) and only need to bump up the TV to a progressive picture.

Is that the right choice?

 

[Anonymous]

andyb1984:

Ive just bought the Onkyo TX-SR607 and the Q Acoustic 1010i speakers from Quantum Electronics for £850 and that included speaker cable and wall brackets.

I had the opportunity to go for the Yamaha or Sony, but opted for the Onkyo in the end and im happy with my decision.

So in my opinion at least, go for the Onkyo

Andy, have you heard the 607 in action? I've seen your other post which states that you haven't yet received your 607 and Q Acoustic package but did you get to demo them? Did you also get to compare the Onkyo against the Sony and Yamaha receivers? Very interested to hear the outcome if you did.

 

[Anonymous]

To be honest, I didnt do any comparison tests; I just asked alot of questions and took advice from the experts - this made me choose the Onkyo as I feel it is the perfect choice for me. But everyone is different and people use there receivers for different things; Ive got a decent sized room and watch alot of movies; I therefore wanted something that was going to give me alot of aggression, the most powerful surround sound for my money and fill up the room - This is what the Onkyo does best (apparently).

I suggest you buy the receiver that suits your needs and your budget.

My Onkyo should arrive on Monday so once ive got it set up, I will write my opinion on this site.

Kind Regards

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

There's nothing wrong with your approach Andy; I suspect that most people are like you as it's fairly impractical to test out all the available options so we have to rely on expert opinions. I'm no different.

Today I went into my local Richer Sounds to pick up my kef 2005.3 speaker package (I was afraid that the discount on the silver set might disappear if I didn't get them soon) but was happy to keep them boxed until I got a receiver. I did ask the manager for his view on what receiver to go for and before I even got the word "Onkyo" out of my mouth, he told me that "There's absolutely only one receiver you should go for - Onkyo 607". He then proceeded to tell me how it's the greatest thing ever, and when I asked him about the Sony STR-DA2400, his view is that they are in completely different leagues and that there's no comparison.

Anyway, after he'd offered to knock £50 off my total bill, I could hardly say no......so it now has pride of place in my living room. The only problems I have at the moment are that the Audyssey calibration won't complete the test signals as it keeps stopping (error message) when it comes to the left rear speaker. I've checked the wiring and there's nothing wrong, particularly as sound is coming out of it just as well as the other four speakers, so I'll have to wait until Onkyo customer support opens on Monday morning. The other is that I can't work out how to access the PS2 input (red yellow and white plugs) but I'm sure that this is just a case of my being dense.

Hope you enjoy yours when it arrives and don't have any problems.

Cheers,

Gareth

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Gareth,

There is no obstruction between the left rear speaker and the microphone, by any chance? Either that, or maybe just try the calibration microphone in a different placement and see if you get the same problem.....

Hope that helps....

 

[Sorreltiger]

Sorry if this sounds condescending, but I hope you have Surround Left and Surround Right connected. ÿIt's a very common mistake to connect to the 'Rear' terminals. ÿThese are only for 7.1 set-ups.

 

[Anonymous]

You're not in the least bit condescending - you're a top man! Needless to say, if there's a common mistake to be made, I will make it, and in this instance, you were spot on. Have put the cables into the right outputs and the setup went as far as the left 'rear' surround (well it's behind me and is the opposite to 'front' so that made it 'rear' in my ignorant opinion!). Mr Tiger, I am in your debt, many thanks,

Unfortunately, the speaker setup would not recognise my subwoofer, no matter what I tried. I've been back to RS with the receiver and the sub, and we ascertained that the sub was ok so swapped over the receiver for another one. Number two is now all connected and whilst I can now get a loud bass thump out of the sub when plugging in the lead, I still can't get the speaker setup to find it, or successfully send it the test 'bleeps'. I guess I'll have to wait a fortnight before my av expert mate is due to visit and get him to have a look at it....... at least the speakers sound fantastic even without the sub so I'm not missing out too much for the time being but obviously I'll need it working to make the most of this awesome setup........

 

[Anonymous]

Thats good to know Gareth, its always best to have that extra reassurance that you're making the right decision. I hope your happy with your choice and get it all set up okay anyway?

Mine should arrive tomorrow so know doubt I will be back on here asking for advice on how to set it all up as im pretty clueless to be fair.

Kind Regards

Andy

 

[ear]

The more forum postings I read , more I get the ideia that onkyo has quality isues.Nevertheless I love its sound.

 

[Anonymous]

Check out the Audyssey site. If I read it correctly 2 EQ does not work on the subwoofer only the satellites.