There is some scratching on the receiver by Crutchfield’s Barry Montgomery Looking for state-of-the-art home theater sound and a wealth of convenenience features? You've come to the right place! Onkyo's TX-SR501 delivers all the high-impact excitement and three-dimensional sonic realism that 6.1-channel Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES have to offer. 65 full-bandwidth-rated watts x 6 channels of home theater power team up with advanced 24-bit surround decoding to create incredibly lifelike, 360° soundscapes in your living room. DTS Neo:6 modes let you transform stereo music and older surround sources into convincing 6.1 audio. Onkyo's CinemaFILTER adjusts the tonal balance of soundtracks mixed for movie theaters for optimal playback in home theater settings. {url removed} Onkyo's affordable and remarkably versatile TX-SR501 6.1-channel surround receiver is ideal for home theater novices as well as budget-conscious veterans looking for an upgrade from 5.1 to 6.1. Those new to home theater will sigh in relief at the receiver's user-friendly design, which uses color-coded inputs and outputs, a logically laid-out front panel, and an easy-to-use, preprogrammed remote control. Those looking to upgrade their current home theater receiver will be impressed with the receiver's six, high-current channels (65 watts per channel) and processing for all major surround formats, and then some, including Dolby Digital EX (6.1) and DTS-ES. Further, Onkyo includes a number of exclusive audio-enhancing features and technologies, like discrete output stages, high-bandwidth WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), a reduced-NFB (negative feedback) design, and CinemaFILTER (to yield the smoothest sound at any volume). The TX-SR501 handles a range of audio and video components, from front-panel audio/video/S-video jacks for simple hookups with camcorders, game consoles, and VCRs, to multiple rear-panel inputs including two high-resolution component-video inputs, a set of multichannel RCA...