great for the price | Onkyo TX-SR304S 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

Not a Good receiver but useable... | Onkyo TX-SR304S 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

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	• Onkyo TX-SR304S 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver) Onkyo Onkyo average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

great receiver

This receiver is easy to use, sounds great and is reasonably priced. It has lots of inputs and a versatile remote control. Programming stations is very easy. I have no complaints so far. I've had it for almost two months.Onkyo TX-SR304S 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

great for the price

I needed to replace a unit that had died. I decided to stay with 5.1 technology so I bought a fairly low end item. The unit performs well - it sounds big. I find it easier to program and use than the Pioneer unit it replaced. I was surprised to find it does not have a switched outlet so I have to manually turn on the enclosure cooling fan; an irritation. The more expensive Onkyo unit have switched outlets. I never looked into the documentation deeply enuf to note the lack of a switched outlet, I thought all decent receivers had one.

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Not a Good receiver but useable...

I though it produces a good sound with my TSS 1200 but it produces unreal sound.... But it's better when plays Orchestra. However, with 150usd ... that's good deal.... 3.5 stars

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Wrong unit for my needs

I mostly watch cable TV and listen to CD's and occasionally watch a DVD. So my experience with the Onkyo TX-SR304 reflects those listening habits.

When I opened the box and began setting up the receiver the first thing that got my attention was that the remote had access buttons for just about everything but TV. While it didn't take long to figure out that you got your TV signals from one of the video component channels (V1,V2,V3) on the remote, the use of non-TV designators suggested that I was going to be dealing with a "techie" unit. And that proved to be the case. I think that buyers should be aware of this before making a purchase. Because the Onkyo appears to implement the full range of 5.1 options. For people like me, who only want a little boost in sound quality for our day-to-day listening, the TX-SR304 might not be appropriate.

A big problem with the Onkyo has nothing to do with the unit itself: that problem is the lack of 5.1 surround sound formatting in cable programming. A lot of the time there's no surround sound formatting which the Onkyo can exploit. I asked a sound engineer friend of mine from Oregon Public Broadcasting about this, and he said that 5.1 programming is very difficult to format and even more difficult to deliver, and that I shouldn't expect much for years to come. So if you expect great sound from everyday cable TV broadcasting, you're going to be disappointed. I was able to somewhat compensate for this by taking advantage of my cable provider's range of virtual surround music channels, which emulate 5.1 pretty well. If your provider's setup is like mine, you can run an analog cable from your provider's Set Top Box audio outputs to your Onkyo's audio inputs. If you then tune to your provider's music channels, you'll get some pretty fantastic listening without consuming TV watts (you just turn the TV off after using it to tune in a cable music channel).

My biggest disappointment with the TX-SR304 is the CD player hookup. The instruction manual glosses over the fact that your CD player must have a pre-amplifier built in. I was able to finally listen to a CD from my non-amplified unit by cranking up the TX-SR304's volume to the max. But the problem in doing so is that, when you switch over to another input source like the DVD player, the maximum volume will blast you out of your house (quick, where's the remote!).

The TX-SR304 succeeds best in movie modes using the DVD hookup. The sound quality is rich and full, approaching theater quality. Sound gurus will enjoy how the Onkyo is able to not only able to automatically detect the appropriate soundtrack format, but also let the listener dabble with format options. And the ability to select both A and B speaker sets contributes a lot to the surround effect. But because I don't watch a lot of DVD's, I don't enjoy this as much as I should. I just wish I had known beforehand that this is how the TX-SR304 primarily excels. I feel really frustrated that I have to continue to play my CD's on my 15 year old Sherwood analog stereo.

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Just as it should be

Works exactly like I wanted Have really found no problems other than the receiver makes a loud click when turned on and off but just being picky. For a entry level 5.1 this is a good choice but if you have todays newer technologies in your home theater you may want to look higher

Setting up a home-theater sound system? This ONKYO TX-SR304S Home Theater A/V Receiver component is a great way to start! The TX-SR304 5.1-channel home theater receiver doesn't follow that well-trodden path. By giving you the connections to the A/V components on everyone's lips today?HDTVs, digital video recorders, gaming consoles, etc?the TX-SR304 wants to broaden your entertainment possibilities, not limit them to basic DVD and CD playback. Naturally, you'll want the audio quality associated with the Onkyo name. That's why we've included the circuitry and quality parts found in other Onkyo home theater receivers: Optimum Gain Volume Circuitry, 192 kHz/24-bit DACs, a 32-bit DSP chip, and an H.C.P.S. (High Current Power Supply) transformer. CinemaFILTER Double Bass function Tone control (bass/treble) for front L/R channels Late night mode (high/low/off) Original Onkyo DSP listening modes A/B speaker drive Color-coded 5.1-multichannel inputs Subwoofer pre out Color-coded speaker terminals Radio Tuner with outstanding selectivity and sensitivity with RDS (PS/RT/PTY/TP) and 30 FM/AM random presets using FM auto scan tuning (FM indoor antenna supplied, AM loop antenna supplied) 3-Mode display dimmer (bright/normal/low) Headphone jack (standard) - Use of headphone is optional Audio mute (via remote) Sleep timer (via remote) Battery-free memory backup Heavy-duty AC power cord Non-resonant feet / Heavy-gauge, anti-resonant, reinforced steel chassis ?Easy-set? speaker configuration Crossover adjustment (40/50/60/80/100/120/150/200 Hz) for bass management Compatible with RI (Remote Interactive) Dock for the iPod - Optional Onkyo DS-A1 required A/V synchronization function (0/20/40 ms) Full-function RI (Remote Interactive) remote control Unit Dimensions (W x H x D) 17 1/8 x 5 7/8 x 14 1/2 / Weight 18.7 lbs

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