Onkyo TX-SR600 Audio Video Surround Sound Receiver

Nice sounding receiver with a lot of power. Does have blemishes but sounds great. SPECS Onkyo TX-SR600 CNET review Onkyo TX-SR600 Onkyo has snagged the latest blip in the format wars and endowed its new midpriced receiver, the TX-SR600, with Dolby Digital EX. Yes, EX Surround has been on the market for a couple of years, but you could find it on only THX-certified receivers. Now, Onkyo has snagged the latest blip in the format wars and endowed its new midpriced receiver, the TX-SR600, with Dolby Digital EX. Yes, EX Surround has been on the market for a couple of years, but you could find it on only THX-certified receivers. Now, Dolby Digital EX is available on less expensive, non-THX models such as this Onkyo, which also offers a host of useful features and boasts above-average sound quality. It's getting better all the time For the uninitiated, the EX 6.1 format adds a rear-center channel to fill out surround effects in ways that standard 5.1 multichannel sound cannot. Beyond Digital EX, this receiver also supports DTS-ES and Dolby Pro Logic II processing, so it covers all current surround-format possibilities. On top of that, the SR600 is outfitted with six 80-watt, high-current power amplifiers that won't be fazed by tough-to-drive or inefficient speakers. This receiver won't let you down when you're ready to move up to HDTV; its 50MHz component-video-switching capabilities are up to the job. The SR600's solid-aluminum front panel sports a complete set of composite and S-Video inputs, left/right audio inputs, and an optical digital-input jack for convenient connection to a video camera or a game system. Overall, however, the connectivity choices are only average; there's a smattering of A/V inputs, a 5.1 input for DVD-Audio/Super Audio CD, and four digital-audio inputs but no preamp outputs or phono input.