Onkyo TX-SR576 vs Sony STR-DG820

[SafeRat]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new surround sound system in the next week or so, with a maximum budget of around £480. I've yet to decide on whether to go for the Jamo A102HCS5, or the Tannoy SFX 5.1 speakers, though currently I am leaning towards the Jamo set.

Anyway, I've came here to request help on choosing either the Sony DG820, or the Onkyo TX-SR576. I've done a little research and chosen these two as they're around the £250 price point and will both accept a LPCM input from the PS3. I believe the Sony will also internally decode the HD formats, though I'm not 100% sure, and anyway it doesn't really matter to me as I'll only be using the PS3 as my source system.

I'm just after some opinions of which amp I should go for, and if possible, some good places to buy them from. The cheapest I've found the Onkyo is for £259.99 from here: Exceptional-AV.co.uk : : Specialists in Onkyo's award winning Hifi and home theatre systems , and I haven't really looked around much for the Sony yet.

Thanks in advance for any replies,

SafeRat

 

[Mr-Bananas]

I don't think the Onkyo has any on-board decoding for the lovely HD sound formats.

I have the Sony and that can handle True-HD and DTS-HD from my S-350 Blu-ray player. I have had the Sony for a week or so and I can highly recommend it, I honestly could not be any happier with it.

For £250, its an absolute bargain.