tx-sr607
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CNET shoots down the Dolby ProLogic IIz in Onkyo's TX-SR607 receiver
Onkyo's $599 TX-SR607 receiver made its way through CNET's auditioning room, and it sounds to us like it holds up Onkyo's tradition of delivering solid performance at entry-level prices. Even though the receiver got dinged for its big, boxy design (which we like, by the way), additional complaints about the unit running hot strikes us as a bit unfair. Given some breathing room, the Onkyo's audio performance stacked up favorably against a Denon 3808CI. At $599, we wouldn't come down too hard on the video upscaling performance; your display might do a fine job on that task anyways. Ah, but what about that new Dolby ProLogic IIz that's supposed to raise your roof? Well, it didn't seem to work for CNET at all -- on a variety of source material and even with boosted levels fed to the height speakers, the effect fell, well, flat. We'd suggest trying out DPL IIz before jumping into the multi-channel arms race.
Onkyo debuts Universal Port-loving iPod dock, HD radio tuner
Onkyo only kept early adopters of its recently introduced TX-SR507 and TX-SR607 receivers waiting for a month to put the Universal Port (U-Port) 'round back to good use. The company has introduced an iPod/iPhone dock (is there anything that doesn't have one?) and a HD Radio module as U-Port accessories. The $109 UP-A1 iPod dock will allow remote control of the connected device and will output component video to the connected receiver when it ships in May. The UP-HT1 HD Radio tuner will show up in July and for $159 will unlock HD radio reception to your Onkyo U-Port receiver. Neither peripheral is exactly earth-shaking, but it's a safe bet that one of them will enjoy a lot more uptake than the other.
Onkyo's TX-SR607 receiver stakes out the high ground with Dolby ProLogic IIz
Sure, your 7.1-channel setup does a great job of swarming Maverick, Iceman and Jester's jets all around you, but imagine how much better it would be to get vertical surround effects as well. Pick up an Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver (available next month for $599) and you can find out, thanks to its Dolby ProLogic IIz (DPL IIz) processing. Just put a couple more speakers high and tight above your front channels, hook them up and enjoy. Onkyo is kicking off the DPL IIz craze with the midrange TX-SR607, and will be rolling the feature out across its higher-spec models over the summer. If you're not so interested in more channels, even the more modest TX-SR507 ($399) and TX-SR307 ($299) models have been refreshed with a sprinkling of more HDMI inputs and support for HD audio codecs. Hit that link for the full details.
