Interesting price difference Onkyo TX-SR608

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semigeek

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#80018 25-Mar-2011 22:05

Looking at getting one of these receivers, and just comparing prices.
Harvey Norman have it for $1418 while JBHiffi has it for $992

Would HN match the JB price do you think?

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#451911 25-Mar-2011 22:29

Wait a while. The 609 has just been released. Has THX certification and networking. RRP $US500.

You may pick up a 608 for $500 when the 609 reaches NZ.

Or just do a deal now at JB with $992 as a starting point.

Dunnersfella

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#451915 25-Mar-2011 22:39

That's cheap from JB's - doubt they have much room to move?

SepticSceptic

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#452706 28-Mar-2011 12:20

semigeek: Looking at getting one of these receivers, and just comparing prices.
Harvey Norman have it for $1418 while JBHiffi has it for $992

Would HN match the JB price do you think?

Not by much - this is how HN finance their 50month interest-free deals :-) And their excessively loud and annoying TV/Radio Adverts ...

timmmay

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#452715 28-Mar-2011 12:38

The 509 also has networking, and it can be controlled from an iPhone/iPod. The 609 has a bit more functionality and is 7.1 instead of 5.1, but I can't see any big advantages over the 509.

I'd almost upgrade to the 509 or 609 just so I can play music from my PC without having to turn on the PS3 and 55" LCD. That takes time and sucks up power, and is just inelegant, so I don't really bother often. Using an iPod as a remote sounds much better. I wondered if putting a decent screen on the receiver would help, but it'd be more expensive, and you'd have to be on your knees to use it. A fancy remote might work too.

Incidentally I found the setup menu of my Onkyo 508 last night, it took about 30 seconds to turn down the volume of the rear speakers, which was bugging me.

xarqi

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#452719 28-Mar-2011 12:44

Yup - I did a bit more reading and concluded that the 509 would hit most of my requirements too. There is also the 579, which sits between the 509 and 609 in terms of functionality.

I've seen the 509 advertised for $900, so it would be in the same price bracket as the 608 (prior to haggling that is), while the 609 is about $500 more.

SepticSceptic

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#452728 28-Mar-2011 12:59

No video up-conversion on the 509 ?

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semigeek

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#452735 28-Mar-2011 13:06

I ended up getting the 608, and compared to my old 307, the quality of sound along with the speakers of course is a huge difference. Especially as its TrueHD.

Jaxson

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#452745 28-Mar-2011 13:39

timmmay: I'd almost upgrade to the 509 or 609 just so I can play music from my PC without having to turn on the PS3 and 55" LCD. That takes time and sucks up power, and is just inelegant,

I'm the same, I end up turning on the PS3, starting some music and then manually turning off the TV switch. I hate how the PS3 doesn't have folders for music so I end up putting it on shuffle and then copping some kids CD music half way through etc.

timmmay: Incidentally I found the setup menu of my Onkyo 508 last night, it took about 30 seconds to turn down the volume of the rear speakers, which was bugging me.

Good stuff.

xarqi

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#452746 28-Mar-2011 13:44

SepticSceptic: No video up-conversion on the 509 ?

Looks that way - I missed that point. :(

Here's a nifty comparison chart.

http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products_compare_8598435.html?BID_1471896=on&BID_1471894=on&BID_1471892=on&button=Compare

(Sorry if this is a bit off-topic - is there scope for a "Onkyo 2011 AV receiver models" thread?)

timmmay

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#452750 28-Mar-2011 13:53

Jaxson:
timmmay: I'd almost upgrade to the 509 or 609 just so I can play music from my PC without having to turn on the PS3 and 55" LCD. That takes time and sucks up power, and is just inelegant,

I'm the same, I end up turning on the PS3, starting some music and then manually turning off the TV switch. I hate how the PS3 doesn't have folders for music so I end up putting it on shuffle and then copping some kids CD music half way through etc.

I don't really copy music to the PS3, my PC's on almost all the time so I just play directly from there.

SepticSceptic

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#452769 28-Mar-2011 14:13

xarqi:
SepticSceptic: No video up-conversion on the 509 ?

Looks that way - I missed that point. :(

Here's a nifty comparison chart.

http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products_compare_8598435.html?BID_1471896=on&BID_1471894=on&BID_1471892=on&button=Compare

(Sorry if this is a bit off-topic - is there scope for a "Onkyo 2011 AV receiver models" thread?)

Pity these isn't a feature comparison chart for all major AV brands in one place - a few hundred tick boxes should sort out that, and not mention a dozen variant naming conventions for the same thing ;-(

It's the little detail bit's that get over looked - simple stuff like video upscaling. Even though who would want to do composite to 1080 upscaling, it eliminates the need to run additional video cables, depending on what source you are watching from.

For instance, my sister purchased a well known AV receiver brand, and it doesn''t do video upscaling, meaning that there are 2 seperate Video connections from the AV receiver to the TV, one being composite video from the VCR to the AMP then to the TV, as well as the HDMI connections from SKY and the DVD. Then they have to mess around with the TV inputs to select the correct source, instead of the one overall source from the AMP.

Technology to make things easy ? Pah !!

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xarqi

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#452772 28-Mar-2011 14:17

SepticSceptic: Pity these isn't a feature comparison chart for all major AV brands in one place - a few hundred tick boxes should sort out that, and not mention a dozen variant naming conventions for the same thing ;-

pricespy.co.nz is pretty good.

SepticSceptic

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#452799 28-Mar-2011 15:47

Going slighty off-topic, this landed in my email this morning:

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/best-av-receivers.html

Best mid-range AV receivers - not the cheap ones, nor the whizz-bang gazillion feature ones, but just the good ol mid-range geek friendly (affordable ?) ones...

BTW, what is "HDMI standby pass-through" ? Is it when the AMP is off it still feeds HDMI thru to the TV ? Seems like a good feature if you are just wanting background noise / TV without actually ramping up the entire AV system.

That sort of stuff is useful to know about, but you don't know about it until you know about it ...

bazzer

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#452800 28-Mar-2011 15:48

Jaxson:
timmmay: I'd almost upgrade to the 509 or 609 just so I can play music from my PC without having to turn on the PS3 and 55" LCD. That takes time and sucks up power, and is just inelegant,

I'm the same, I end up turning on the PS3, starting some music and then manually turning off the TV switch. I hate how the PS3 doesn't have folders for music so I end up putting it on shuffle and then copping some kids CD music half way through etc.

As PSP as a remote could solve that for you, NGP is coming out "soon"...

Jaxson

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#452807 28-Mar-2011 16:02

bazzer: As PSP as a remote could solve that for you, NGP is coming out "soon"...

Sorry, I know you've mentioned that before but yeah you are right, that would be a classic use for the PSP. I like it. Could then have a harmony activity for PS3 and receiver only for music applications, I like it.

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