If you wanted to purchase a budget AV receiver before the Onkyo TX-SR606 was introduced in the market, you would have gone for the Onkyo TX-SR605, which has un-matched features for the price that it sells for. The Onkyo TX-606 came into the market as an updated version of its previous model, with extensive features, which include 4 HDMI inputs, offering analog signals to be up-converted to 1080i resolution. The best thing about this receiver is that, even with these extra features the price remains the same as the previous model, selling at around $400.
TX-SR606 is a definite improvement over the TX-SR605. However, in the mean time the other manufacturers have caught up with the market having all the advantages that this receiver has. Take for example the Sony STR-DG920, which offers almost all the functions that TX-SR606 has. The video processing in TX-SR606 has not been found up to mark, and as such, the up-conversion to 1080i is not much appreciable. Even with TX-SR606 being an excellent receiver, with mentionable improvements on TX-SR605, the competitions coming in from Sony and others make TX-SR606 not as much of a choice as it was before.
The Good and the Bad
Onkyo TX-SR606 has been reviewed by many, and some have tested out the unit under different conditions. Ratings for the receiver have been provided by the observations made, and it is worthwhile to note that the CNET editor puts the rating at 3.5, and the average user rating puts the AV receiver at the same mark. However, every such equipment has good and the bad, and as for TX-SR606, the good and the bad are as follows:
Pros:
- The player has 4 HDMI inputs, which is considered to be sufficient for mormal use. More-over, you can always add an HDMI switcher.
- On-board Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding are both available.
- The receiver has the capability to up-convert to 1080i resolution over the HDMI outputs available.
- The player is Sirus ready.
- The speakers in the receiver system get calibrated automatically.
- The player is capable of switching six HD video sources.
- The unit has an improved remote control unit.
Cons:
- The receiver has poor video up-conversion for analog sources.
- It has no phono input.
Design
The TX-SR606 has a “big boxy look” and measures 6.88 inches high by 17.13 inches wide by 15.06 inches deep. It has a similar look as its previous model, the TX-SR605. The volume knob, which is quite big, is situated on the upper right hand section of the receiver. The LCD panel is placed at the centre of a glossy black plastic strip, which is placed at the middle of the unit at its front side. The LCD screen has enough luminance to be seen from about 7 feet away.
You will find a “directional pad” situated at the right of the LCD panel, and is easy to maneuver for all functions, and comes handy if you have misplaced your remote control unit. There are more control buttons to be found under the glossy black plastic strip. At the bottom of the unit front panel there is your headphone jack along with more control buttons, plus a standard AV input. The unit as such is not very stylishly designed, but then again most of the AV receivers are designed the same way.
The remote controller that comes along with TX-SR606 has been re-designed from the one with TX-SR605. The new remote unit has been designed for easier operation, and the controls are built around the concept of navigating via the on-screen menus, which means that there are fewer buttons on the remote unit, making it less confusing. The design provides easier way to search and navigate through the menus on a DVR. The only confusing matter could be the main volume rocker which could have had a prominent positioning on the remote unit.
There lots of such AV receivers in the market with better graphical interface than what we find in Onkyo TX-SR606. Onkyo continues to adhere to the blocky white text in their plain looking menus. The TX-SR606 has “Audyssey 2EQ automatic calibration system”, which enables auto-calibration after analyzing the speakers and the woofers from all the three directions in your room. Within seconds after you plug in the mic, which is included with the receiver, you may receive a message on the receivers display panel which may be of the type, “Please place microphone at center of listening area at ear height.” This is to emphasise the point that the mic should be placed at the right place.
The calibration process, which done by the Audyssey 2EQ process, takes about 10 minutes to complete, during which the receiver sends out test tones to the speakers, after which the volume level and time delay settings are set for each speaker system. As for the “equalization corrections” the Audyssey 2EQ also provides this automatically to the speakers. This provides a significant improvement on audio signals, and hence better sound quality.
Features
The TX-SR606 is rated at 90 watts per channel, and is a 7.1-channel receiver. Like the others, this receiver also offers “a full selection of standard Dolby” and “DTS surround processing modes”. The last model, the TX-SR605, was the only receiver having both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in the price range that it was selling for. The latest model, TX-SR606 includes onboard decoding, but this feature in the receiver is not of importance any longer, since other manufacturers have already included such features at a much lower price. The Blu-ray players, including the Playstation 3, have all incorporated onboard decoding, which does take away the importance of the players having this feature.
The AV receiver has 4 HDMI inputs, and these inputs are capable of handling both “high-resolution audio and HD video signals up to 1080p”. At this price range, 4 HDMI inputs are quite generous, and are sufficient to handle most of the tasks. But if more is needed, one can always add HDMI switcher. Though “component video” connections are getting obsolete, we usually find three such connections available in most of the receivers. However, the TX-SR606 has only two. As for “standard-definition video”, the TX-SR606 has four S-Video/AV inputs, and includes an extra AV input on the front. This is an advantage of this receiver over the ones made by