I just picked up this receiver after demo'ing the HK335, Denon 2805, and Yammie 1500. I was going to throw the pio 1014 into the mix but couldn't demo it in the stores I have available.

My impressions were that the onkyo was hands down better than all of the others. If i had to rank them I would put in this order:

1. ONKYO TX-SR702
2. DENON 2805
3. Yammie
4. HK

the denon is a close second but the onk just seemed louder and a bit warmer, which is what i like.

Anyway, i wanted to see if anyone has this running their axioms and please provide your opinion if you do.

vp150, m22ti, qs8, svs 20-39pci, ONKYO TX-SR702

Pete, there's no question that your new 702 will be excellent with your Axioms, just as the 2805, 1500, or 335 would have been. Frankly, in-store demos of receivers are a nearly useless undertaking. Any slight difference in some factor(most likely a difference in loudness, which you yourself mentioned)could lead to the misimpression that one receiver "sounds" better than the others. All of the ones that you tried were transparent amplifiers with audibly flat frequency response and inaudibly low noise and distortion. Designs and internal components differ slightly in each, but the end result is audibly identical. Enjoy the music.

Check out my sig - I can attest that the 702 and my Axioms sound great paired together. Congrats on the purchase!

cool. I loved the features and performance of the onkyo, glad to hear from some folks that have paired with Axiom's.

Now for that 7.1 setup, I'm thinking of going with the qs4's as the back surround speaks.

Pete, have been running Onkyo for years with my Axioms
and am very happy with them.
Audioholics did a review of a 601 driving M80s and it was
very impressive-no problem with 4 ohms.

I reciently bought a new, larger home and am getting new
towers witin the next coupla weeks. I'll be getting a new
rcvr to drive them-another Onkyo!!

Good Stuff.

Rich.

Hi Pete,
I am in the market for a new receiver as well. The Denon AVR-2805/985 have been on my wish list for a while now. I have been following the online prices and it appears that the Denon AVR-2805 is about $170 less than the Onkyo TX-SR702. Did you experience this price differential in your comparisons? Also, did the dealer let you demo the equipment at home?
Cheers,
Shaun

onecall has the 801 for $599 right now. i have the 600 sounds good but underpowered a bit im gonna upgrade to outlaw seperates or their new 1070 later this year.

Pete...welcome aboard.

I do agree with JohnK on store auditioning. I'm not sure what environment you listened to the various receivers in, but I would never consider listening in Retail outlets such as Best Buy, Ultimate, and American Electronics. I had to actually find a high end Audio Video store that dealt in very very high end, expensive stuff. They actually had 10 seperate rooms set up just like a HT room in your home, for a minute I did think I was at home. At the time I was demoing B&W 703's, which are very similar to the M60's with Pioneer Elites, Yammys, Onkyos, and Denon. I ended up with the Denon 2805, as I thought it was more Detailed. Anyway, any of those receivers would have been a great selection...

Randy

ok fellas, i'm sure most of you are tired of reading posts about this receiver vs. that receiver...

i did my comparison of the hk & onkyo at circuit city, powering polks. the denon was actually vs. a nad 752. you probably don't want to hear this but it really comes down to what you like best for you ears. i'm sure there are people who feel the hk is the best or the pio is the best... bottom line, take your time, find shops where you can hear these receivers and then make your choice. for me, the onkyo was simply awesome and i can't believe i got it for 600, when other recievers were twice the price! i'm just glad to hear that some folks here can attest to it being sweet with the axioms also.

i honestly feel that you should research, then make a decision knowing you bought what you want. don't beat around the bush.

i have the Onkyo 701 pushing my system. its basically last years version of the 702. i think it sounds great and it has more features and bells & whistles than i have figured out how to use yet. along with having plenty of power to make my axioms shine, i also appreciate how user friendly it is, and the owners manual is extremely easy to follow and understand.

i never did any sort of side by side testing with my receiver, so i cant honestly say how it compares with others. but, i know i am happy with it, and i have no desire to replace it at this time.

bigjohn

I have the SR-700, 2 years old. was very happy with the sound. i now use it as a pre/pro with my ADCOM amp. you can tell theres a differance when things get loud and power is required for all channels but it's not night and day. I've had two onkyo's and never had a repair issue. you did good.

Thanks for the info re: Onecall. The only problem with Onecall is they don't ship outside the U.S. I am in Canada on the West Coast. Most of the other online suppliers will ship to Canada.

oh that sucks cant they just ship it to customs and leave it at the boarder with your name on it. lol

You are correct, that sucks big time! For $599 you can't beat that deal with net tune etc. All the other online stores sell this for $900+. Guess I will stick with plan 'a' and get a Denon. I sure like the look and specs of the 801 though...

Snakeeyes. Have you heard any news on when the 1070 is coming out? I've tried to keep my eyes open and seen nothing lately.

jr

i think originally it was dec but im not sure last week or so they were asking for beta testers via there news letter. so signed up hope they select me that would be awesome. especially since you get 50% off the product you test.

From the outlaw website
----For those of you who don’t recall, or were not part of the Outlaw Family at the time, the 1070 is a full featured 7 x 65 watt per channel surround receiver with DVI switching that was expected to be released at the very end of this year.

While we’re very excited about the 1070, both in features and in performance we are very disappointed to announce that due to normal production delays, prototypes that went missing for almost two weeks, and a handful of software glitches, the reality is that we will miss our original estimated release date of late December. However, we’ve mobilized Peter and he’ll be in Asia next week to firm things up for late January production.

We do remain committed to a price under $1000, which considering the samples we're working with now, we KNOW we’ve got another winner on our hands!-----


Jake

When I got my M60s I looked at the cheapest receiver I can get that has the features I needed (not a whole lot), and got the Yam 5640 for about $200. I used to wonder if I was to cheap for my M60s, but once I read the debates about (the impossibility of) comparing receivers, I decided my Yam should be good enough. So whenever people talk about $600+ receivers or expensive separates, I just go: lalalalalala, can't hear you . I'd rather spend that money on a vacation.

My Yam has more analog stereo inputs (4) than I need (1). More component inputs (2) than I need (0). More speaker outputs (6.1) than I need (4.1). I never turn the volume past -10db. I am a happy (and cheap) camper.