new Onkyo receiver with HDMI 1.3a - $699 CAD

This looks like a great deal.

http://www.electronicsforless.ca/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=644&view=tech

That's one of 2 new units Onkyo will be releasing.
Onkyo

Ravi, the 605 is one of the new or upcoming Onkyo models that's been getting a lot of interest. As far as price goes, some U.S. dealers have been taking pre-orders for about $499 and when it's out it seems likely that the street price will be about $400USD or a bit less.

You can actually pre-order that receiver for $399 now.

Hi Ravi,

It indeed looks like a great deal even if you just used it as a preamp-processor, or used the internal amps for the center and surround channels.

Don't you have M80s? If you do, don't count on the Onkyo being able to drive 4-ohm loads in the two front channels without severe current limiting. It's my usual cautionary advice re Onkyo AV receivers driving the 4-ohm M80s.

If you note the specs:

"90 Watts per Channel Minimum into 8 Ohms,20 Hz–20 kHz,0.08%,FTC (2 Channels Driven);105 Watts per Channel Minimum into 8 Ohms,1 kHz,0.7%,FTC (2 Channels Driven);110 Watts per Channel Minimum into 6 Ohms,1 kHz,0.1%,FTC (2 Channels Driven)"

Onkyo measures the amplifiers' lower-impedance output at 6 ohms at only one frequency-- 1 kHz-- and with only two channels driven, which means that it would unlikely drive the 4 ohm M80s with all channels driven and a full-bandwidth music or soundtrack signal.

Of course, if you don't have the M80s, ignore this

.

Regards,

Ravi, have you or anyone else on the forum ordered from EfL before? Just wondering if they are a reliable supplier or not.

I am somewhat dissapointed that the 605 does not have preouts on it. That being said, it is a relief to finally see receivers available with HDMI 1.3...i'm sure there will be many others to follow with varied options and at varied price points. Any word on when Yamaha or Denon might follow suit?

Hi Sid,

The general consensus at the CES show in Las Vegas in January was that the 1.3-capable AV receivers would begin to show up in the "third and 4th quarter", if that's a help.

Regards,

What about HDMI 2.0? Or is 1.3 the end all, be all?

Appreciate that Alan, hopefully the announcement of Onkyo's 1.3 compatible receivers will light a fire under the other manufacturers.

Quote:

Ravi, have you or anyone else on the forum ordered from EfL before? Just wondering if they are a reliable supplier or not.

I am somewhat dissapointed that the 605 does not have preouts on it. That being said, it is a relief to finally see receivers available with HDMI 1.3...i'm sure there will be many others to follow with varied options and at varied price points. Any word on when Yamaha or Denon might follow suit?

I've used EFL twice. Haven't had a bad experience yet. First time I ordered a sub. It came the next day. The last time I went to their shop and picked up my order. The shop owner was very helpful.

Sid,

I ordered an STF-3 sub from them about 3 months ago. No problems with the transaction and pretty quick free shipping. My only beef was the sub listed in C$ on the website, got charged to a C$ credit card, but somehow went through in US$ so I got dinged a couple percent conversion fee by the credit card company.

Short version: EFL - thumbs up. STF-3 - two thumbs up.

Ken,

HDMI 2.0 is very retro, from what I gather. The 1.3A spec is the end all, be all of HDMI, so far. .

because it takes advantage of the 36-bit "deep color" attributes (gazillions of new colors and gradations thereof) with compatible displays as well as passing lossless Dolby TrueHD and dts Master Audio to compatible AV receiver/decoders.

Dolby Labs just sent me the new High Definition Digital Video Essentials test disc, with HD-DVD on one side plus Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, and standard, garden-variety DVD on the flip side. So now I've got to upgrade to a 1080p display--and an HD-DVD player--to take advantage of the test disc's new capabilities.

Who can keep up?

Regards,

The guy whose job it is. I'm so envious.

Quote:

The guy whose job it is. I'm so envious.

...and with a tax write-off on upgrades to boot!

Alan,

Yes, I do have the M80's. I wasn't really thinking of purchasing it for myself, but thought it could be of interest to people here.

I am currently debating what to do for my next upgrade. I keep thinking either Emotiva, then Outlaw, then Sherwood Newcastle, then something else, then nothing... As you said, it's too hard to keep up!

Alan,

Clint DeBoer did a review at www.audioholics.com of the Onkyo TX-SR601. That reviever came one or two models before this new model. It has the same power specs of 90 watts per channel, just a lot less bells and whistles.

Here are a couple exerpts of the review:

"So far the TX-SR601 has proven to be a workhorse in my home theater system. I expected the receiver's amplifier section to balk at the 4-ohm load of the Axiom M80ti(s), but Onkyo makes a decent amplifier section. I noticed no audible distortion in CD music played in excess of 100dB - far above the listening levels I use when watching movies or listening to my CD collection..."

"Its performance for both music and movies is exceptional and it can handle efficient 6-ohm and even 4-ohm speakers with no apparent difficulties at moderate to loud listening levels in reasonably medium sized rooms (under 2500 cubic feet)..."

Clint was driving 2 m80's, 1 vp150 and 2 qs8's with Onkyo TX-SR601.

I bet this new receiver would drive the epic 80 system just fine.

- Nick

I bought the Onkyo TX-SR604B as a placeholder receiver, and I'm running 2 M80s, 1 VP150, and 2 QS8s as well. I haven't had any problems. It's so light compared to the Sony receiver I was using before, which made me wonder, but it seems to be up to the task. But yeah, it's definitely a placeholder, as I'd like to have something that can switch between at least 3 HDMI sources, preferably 4. It looks like one of the new Onkyos will work. I'm still considering a separate amplifier, though, because spending money is fun. Ha ha. I'm sure JohnK is shaking his head now.

I'm still running an Onkyo 797 and its power is ok but there are times when i know it is running out of headroom. I plan on bringing down my Anthem MCA30 amp from the upstairs system (which cannot fully power our Tannoys sadly) and have it run the M60s and VP150. Since i run the M60s full range, it should help smooth out the loud and low bass passages when the system is up higher when i'm out in the pool room or the wine cellar.

Other than its limitations as a 6.1 system and a fixed crossover frequency, that Onkyo has done well and run 4 ohm speakers in the past without any issues.

ravi: not to take issue with Alan, BUT, I do have an Onkyo receiver and M80s, and have never had any problem driving the M80s to any level that I cared to listen to. When I first bought the Onkyo, I was somewhat concerned that I would need to get seperate amps for the M80s, but that was not the case.

Of course, I do not listen to some of the insane levels that are posted on this board. LOL!!!!

One other thing, in my strong opinion, let your video gear do video switching and your audio gear do audio switching. Forget about HDMI in your audio receiver. You're just asking for interface problem!!!!

Hi Nick,

I saw Clint's review and it's encouraging that the SR601 did not shut down. On the other hand, if Clint didn't bench-test the SR601 into 4-ohm loads to determine whether or not it goes into current limiting, then it's anybody's guess as to whether it's driving the M80s with 30 watts per channel or producing its rated output.

A 30-watt-per-channel output (or less) is what would result if the Onkyo used current limiting with 4-ohm loads. That amount of power output would still drive the M80s but leave no headroom for dynamic peaks.

Previous Onkyos reviewed and bench-tested by Sound&Vision magazine would automatically go into current limiting, severely restricting the power output into a 4-ohm load.

I also find Onkyo's quoted amplifier output specs for the new model do not instill confidence that it would drive M80s without restricting its output power. If Onkyo can't quote a specification for driving a 6-ohm load across the musical spectrum from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (a 6-ohm load should NOT be difficult for a decent amplifier section) and must resort to doing the test at a single frequency (1 kHz), which is a much easier test, it suggests that the power supply has significant limitations.

Regards,