i have had no problems what-so-ever from my onkyo 701. my first question would be what was his source material when he heard the static? TV, radio, cd, dvd, etc? try and isolate the problem that way to determine if its an 'across the board' problem, or if it is specific to a certein input. also, try and verify if the static is coming from ALL speakers, or just one, or a few. i think that would be the first stage in trying to isolate what might be causing it.
and if all else fails.. just as a general idea, i would pull the unit out and check that all connections are solid and clean in the back. even use some of that 'can-air' to knock the dirt and dust-bunnies from all the cords and connections. it never hurts. let us know if you can get it isolated, and hopefully we can figure it out.
bigjohn
