Which receiver should I buy?

Question

Which Onkyo receiver should I buy and why?

Onkyo 606

Onkyo 705

Onkyo 805

Answer 1

If you've already narrowed it down to those three, you should be able to answer that question yourself.  All three of the receivers offer HDMI 1.3 inputs and decode both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.  The question becomes "How much money do you want to spend?" and "How much power do you really need?"  

Honestly, at $599, the SR606 is a great looking product.  It has upscaling by Faroudja and 90Wx7 which is more than enough power for most listeners.  It may not sound like much when you compare it to cheap competing products, but Onkyo rates their power conservatively and realistically.  I know you won't be disappointed with their product.  BTW, the other two models you mentioned are THX certified, but that doesn't really mean much by today's standards.  

Also, if you aren't totally comitted to Onkyo, I highly reccommend that you check out Yamaha's line, specifically the RX-V663.  At $549, it has just about all the options/features that the Onkyo SR606 has, but with 95Wx7.  Yamaha's Cinema DSP is highly regarded as the best in the industry.  It might be worth taking a peek at.  

Good luck to you and have fun with it!

Answer 2

I agree with Tom P, the Yamaha 663 is a great unit.

Answer 3

There is only one real answer to this question:  buy the one that fits your budget and does what you need it to do.  But, do make sure it is compatible with the speakers you have or will buy and the inputs are suitable for your equipment.