Onkyo TX-SR605 or Pioneer VSX-1017AV?

rnem170

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Hi folks,

I'm looking at replacing an Onkyo TX-DS939 amp with something a little newer. I've been looking at the TX-SR605 or Pioneer VSX-1017. Does anyone have any views over which is better? So far, I can see these things:

feature............. Onkyo................Pioneer
HDMI i/o.............2/1....................2/1............=
Component i/o......3/1 ..................3/1..........=
Optical i/o...........2/0....................3/1...........P+
Coax...................2........................2..............=
SVideo i/o............4/2...................4/3..............P+
Other in (phono)........5.................6................P+
THX Select............N...................Y.................P+
USB in .................N ....................Y.................P+
IPOD in/ctrl...........N ....................Y.................P+
Speaker ...............7+2..................7..................O+
DTSHD/DolbyHD.......Y....................N.................O+


thanks for any advice...
 
If it matters to you, I don't think that the Pioneer does multichannel over HDMI which the Onkyo does.
 
The Onkyo doesn't have an optical out.
 
If it matters to you, I don't think that the Pioneer does multichannel over HDMI which the Onkyo does.
My SkyHD box doesn't output that over HDMI anyway - and with 3 inputs + 2 coax, I think that won't matter too much

The Onkyo doesn't have an optical out.
Thanks, specs corrected. I probably won't be outputting to anything so I don't think this will be critical either way.

Pioneer also has pre-outputs, Onkyo doesn't. If I wanted to be picky, the remote looks better on the Pioneer.
 
I found this review on the web from someone who's bought the Pioneer...

First impression was great, this is just the job, 3 hdmi cables, hook up my HD Set Top Box and PS3 to my Samsung LCD and Bose Surround system and bingo, full 7.1 sound, no messy cables and top notch audio and video, simple right....wrong.

Here are my gripes....

1) The amp does not process the HDMI audio as 7.1 and simply passes it to the display - so you have to hook up SPDIF cables to get the digital sound and then obviously you dont get the full uncompressed digital audio, just the standard 5.1, 6.1 DTS and Dolby etc. Not to mention that this means 2 otherwise unnecessary cables as well.

2) Despite the fact this is an AV receiver that supports AV switching and can effectively be used as a HDMI hub, to get the on screen display you have to connect an S-Video or RCA style Video Lead to your monitor. The amp will NOT pass the on screen display through the HDMI out cable connected to your monitor. So another pain in the backside quirk and one more extra cable.

3) On the Pioneer Website it states the amp is built for Ipod and using the cable provided you can simply hook it up and play using the on screen display to control the ipod.....If only! There's no cable in the box - apparently you only get it if you live on mainland Europe. it IS NOT provided with the UK model (depsite the fact there are umpteen instruction books in the box in every European language you can think of-and a few you probably can't) and the cable is not cheap to buy either coming in at around £99.

4) Multi function remote control can be used to control yout TV/Monitor - so you can dispense with the TV remote - The samsung TV I have was manufatured in Feb 2007 its a 40" LCD 1080p top notch jobby, and is backwards compatible with older samsung remotes - I know because when I bought I got a few bob off the list price because Currys couldnt find the remote. Anyhow, using the codes pre-programmed in the Pioneer remote it was NOT possible to control the Samsung TV. So 4 Extra cables and One extra remote so far.

5)Assigning Names to the Sources is not possible....why? My old Sony had this function and it was 5 years older, it just makes life easier, so hence this is probably why it was left off the software for the Pioneer.

6) The instructions are terrible. I pride myself on being a sad chuffer who reads all instructions before battle commences with setting up items such as this. I am not an expert, but then I am no novice either. That said, the layout of the instruction book is terrible, the instructions often refer to front panel buttons without making it clear, so you are left gawping at the remote trying to find them, but never will. The sections refering to assigning sources etc send you off all over the booklet (see page ... refer to page .... see footnote....) rather than in a chronological order, and every single page has at least 2 footnotes in type that you need a microscope to read.

That lot said, it is a great amp, its powerful, very stylish, has a multitude of connectors and a very handy array of front panel connectors - including USB - too. However its let down by some glaring ommissions and diabolical instructions.

Verdict, dont buy this amp if you are expecting to just hook up your PS3 / Blu Ray player with HDMI, it wont do the job. However, if you are looking for a reasonable price AV amp with good sound output, then its up there with the best of them.


Based on this review - I'm not going to touch it with a bargepole. I can't believe we in the UK have been scre*ed again by an AV company. :eek: Panasonic can't give us DivX support, now Pioneer treat us like 2nd class citizens and won't give us a cable they give everyone else in Europe for free!!

Lets hope the Onkyo doesn't have some of these problems...
 
I found this review on the web from someone who's bought the Pioneer...

First impression was great, this is just the job, 3 hdmi cables, hook up my HD Set Top Box and PS3 to my Samsung LCD and Bose Surround system and bingo, full 7.1 sound, no messy cables and top notch audio and video, simple right....wrong.

Here are my gripes....

1) The amp does not process the HDMI audio as 7.1 and simply passes it to the display - so you have to hook up SPDIF cables to get the digital sound and then obviously you dont get the full uncompressed digital audio, just the standard 5.1, 6.1 DTS and Dolby etc. Not to mention that this means 2 otherwise unnecessary cables as well.

2) Despite the fact this is an AV receiver that supports AV switching and can effectively be used as a HDMI hub, to get the on screen display you have to connect an S-Video or RCA style Video Lead to your monitor. The amp will NOT pass the on screen display through the HDMI out cable connected to your monitor. So another pain in the backside quirk and one more extra cable.

3) On the Pioneer Website it states the amp is built for Ipod and using the cable provided you can simply hook it up and play using the on screen display to control the ipod.....If only! There's no cable in the box - apparently you only get it if you live on mainland Europe. it IS NOT provided with the UK model (depsite the fact there are umpteen instruction books in the box in every European language you can think of-and a few you probably can't) and the cable is not cheap to buy either coming in at around £99.

4) Multi function remote control can be used to control yout TV/Monitor - so you can dispense with the TV remote - The samsung TV I have was manufatured in Feb 2007 its a 40" LCD 1080p top notch jobby, and is backwards compatible with older samsung remotes - I know because when I bought I got a few bob off the list price because Currys couldnt find the remote. Anyhow, using the codes pre-programmed in the Pioneer remote it was NOT possible to control the Samsung TV. So 4 Extra cables and One extra remote so far.

5)Assigning Names to the Sources is not possible....why? My old Sony had this function and it was 5 years older, it just makes life easier, so hence this is probably why it was left off the software for the Pioneer.

6) The instructions are terrible. I pride myself on being a sad chuffer who reads all instructions before battle commences with setting up items such as this. I am not an expert, but then I am no novice either. That said, the layout of the instruction book is terrible, the instructions often refer to front panel buttons without making it clear, so you are left gawping at the remote trying to find them, but never will. The sections refering to assigning sources etc send you off all over the booklet (see page ... refer to page .... see footnote....) rather than in a chronological order, and every single page has at least 2 footnotes in type that you need a microscope to read.

That lot said, it is a great amp, its powerful, very stylish, has a multitude of connectors and a very handy array of front panel connectors - including USB - too. However its let down by some glaring ommissions and diabolical instructions.

Verdict, dont buy this amp if you are expecting to just hook up your PS3 / Blu Ray player with HDMI, it wont do the job. However, if you are looking for a reasonable price AV amp with good sound output, then its up there with the best of them.


Based on this review - I'm not going to touch it with a bargepole. I can't believe we in the UK have been scre*ed again by an AV company. :eek: Panasonic can't give us DivX support, now Pioneer treat us like 2nd class citizens and won't give us a cable they give everyone else in Europe for free!!

Lets hope the Onkyo doesn't have some of these problems...

It just goes to prove you really need to do your research throroughly before buying anything these days to check that it will do what you need it to. A load of people bought the sony 1200ES thinking it would do audio over HDMI only to find out you needed the 3200ES upwards. Probably part of the reason the onkyo is doing so much business, it seems to do what people are expecting it to i.e. Audio over HDMI
 
I can't believe you can't use the OSD over HDMI... that's just plain dumb.
 
Does make you wonder who designs this stuff :suicide:
 
No audio from the HDMI? Isn't that the whole point of HDMI, to include audio and video together? Seems really stupid to me.. how else do you get the sound? :mad:
 

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