Product Description: Onkyo TX-SR504 will delight you with its versatility. This home theater control center is ready to accommodate all your existing components, as well as any new high-definition additions to your system, like DVD recorders, universal players, set-top/cable boxes and gaming consoles. You'll even be ready for the upcoming high-definition discs, with their next-generation Dolby Digital and DTS audio technologies, by simply connecting any compatible player through the 7.1 multichannel inputs on the rear. Not that you're short of contemporary surround sound formats: you've got a full range of Dolby Digital and DTS decoders that'll take your movie experience to truly cinematic standards. As with audio, so with video. The TX-SR504 delivers the sharpest of images to today's displays - including the latest HDTVs - through its component video output. Such versatility even extends to speakers. With a crossover adjustment that extends from 40 Hz to 200 Hz, you'll get greater scope to match and tune your home theater to the speaker system of your choice. And just like its predecessor, the TX-SR504 has been designed for simplified connection to multiple components, with color-coded inputs, outputs, speaker posts and pre out. Whatever way you look at it, the TX-SR504 removes a lot of uncertainties and sets you up for the best home theater entertainment yet.
From the Manufacturer: Want more than a superb balance of precise surround sound processing, powerful amplification and signal-enhancing technologies to bring out the very best in your home theater? The TX-SR504 goes above and beyond by giving you the capability to switch up to three high-definition components for simple connection to HDTVs. So, on top of sensational DVD movies and your own music catalog, the TX-SR504 easily integrates recorded video content, live high-definition broadcasts and the most gripping console games. While this receiver's sophistication can't be denied, it's also designed to make operating your home entertainment a stress-free, simple exercise. A perfectly laid out rear panel features color-coded ports, while the preprogrammed RI (Remote Interactive) remote control and accessible front panel controls do all the work for you. In more ways than one, the TX-SR504 will set you up for the best home theater entertainment yet.
XM® Satellite Radio* (through XM Passport™) with XM HD Surround With the next-generation XM Connect and Play port on the TX-SR504's rear, it is possible to access 160 digital channels of radio programming including 100% commercial-free music; over 30 channels of news, sports, talk and entertainment; and over 20 dedicated channels of XM Instant Traffic & Weather. Now with XM Passport, a mini satellite tuner can be easily connected to other XM Ready devices (like car audio and portable device players) using only one subscription. And in a landmark breakthrough for radio, XM is able to offer XM HD Surround: radio content with six discrete channels of digital audio, enabling 24-hour, 5.1-channel surround sound radio for the very first time. Using the TX-SR504's onboard Neural Audio decoder, XM HD Surround is possible with the free-form music channel Fine Tuning (XM Channel 76) and XM Pops (XM Channel 113), as well as with a variety of special shows and live music performances. *Requires XM Passport/Connect and Play Kit
Key technology Features: 192 kHz/24bit AD Converters: Costly, extremely powerful digital-to-analog converters , that not only boast a dynamic range of 120 dB, they process information faster and are virtually resistant to clock jitter, to ensure the best possible performance from DVD-Audio, DVD-Video and audio CD.
CinemaFILTER: The tonal balance of a film soundtrack can be edgy and bright when played back over audio equipment in your home—this is because film soundtracks are designed to be played back in large theaters, using commercial equipment. Onkyo has developed its own solution that restores the correct tonal balance of a movie soundtrack in the smaller environs of your home theater.
Dolby Digital EX / Pro-Logic II: Home theater realism reaches new heights with the creation of Dolby Digital EX. By adding a matrix-encoded surround back channel derived from the existing discrete left and right surround channels, the lack of rear surround in 5.1 channel is eliminated. The result - a fuller 360º experience is created…even from 5.1-channel DVD releases. Best results are obtained when Dolby Digital EX is used with movie soundtracks recorded with Dolby Digital Surround EX. Pro-Logic II is the latest improvement on the original Pro-Logic standard. Pro-Logic II provides a full-range signal to the five main channels, in addition to a subwoofer channel. This creates a realistic surround environment from a two-channel source, such as CD, Tape, FM Radio, etc.
RI (Remote Interactive): With Onkyo's exclusive RI (Remote Interactive) system capability, you can integrate and operate all compatible components through a single remote control. What's more, RI capability enables you to simply connect the iPod® to your receiver through Onkyo's RI Dock for the iPod (DS-A1). Your iPod effectively becomes another Onkyo component from which you can relish a fuller sound that just can't be experienced through headphones. RI capability will also give you remote operability of your iPod for hands-off control over your digital music.
WRAT (Wide Range Amp Technology): Imagine turning up the volume and filling your entertainment room with noise-free, impressively powerful, true-to-life sound. That's the benefit of Wide Range Amplifier Technology. Originally developed for our most expensive high-end amplifiers to handle the sonic demands of today's digital age, you'll now find WRAT even in our lowest-priced A/V receivers. The WRAT family of technologies includes a broader frequency range with lower noise entering the signal path - perfectly suited for new high resolution DVD-Audio and SACD formats.
7.1 Multichannel Inputs: The emergence of HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs promises to bring unparalleled realism to home theater. Dolby and DTS have each developed improved audio formats to be encoded on these new DVD discs that will superbly complement the latest in highdefinition video. By connecting a player compatible with these new audio codecs to an Onkyo A/V receiver equipped with 7.1 multichannel inputs, you will be able to experience extreme sonic clarity from these new discs, while retaining the full use of the receiver's other onboard codecs.
DTS-ES 96/24 Neo6: There are two DTS®-ES™ (Extended Surround) formats: DTS®-ES™ Discrete 6.1 and DTS®-ES™ Matrix 6.1. The DTS®-ES™ Discrete 6.1 format is, as the name implies, a 6.1-channel system with a discrete back surround channel, while DTS®-ES™ Matrix 6.1, like Dolby® Digital Surround EX™, provides a matrix-encoded back surround channel. There's also DTS® Neo:6, which derives a 6-channel surround output from a stereo soundtrack, and regular DTS®, which, like Dolby® Digital, is a discrete 5.1-channel system, but which uses less compression than Dolby® Digital. Receivers carrying the "96/24" designation are able to decode a new high-resolution audio format, DTS-96/24. This breakthrough allows for high quality, 5.1 channel audio encoded at 96kHz/24-bit resolution to be stored on a DVD-Video disc (or the DVD-Video portion of a DVD-Audio disc). This format is compatible with all DVD players, with those able to pass a 96kHz signal providing the highest quality output (DTS-96/24 is also backwards compatible with older 48kHz DVD player models).
NeuralSurround: Neural Surround™ represents the latest advancement in surround technology developed for music and is adopted by XM Satellite Radio for digital radio broadcast of surround recordings and live events in surround sound. Neural Surround™ employs psychoacoustic frequency domain processing which allows delivery of a more detailed sound stage with superior channel separation and localization of audio elements. System playback is scalable from 5.1 to 7.1 multi channel surround playback.
You can't go wrong with an Onkyo ^ I use Onkyo Receivers in all our Home Theaters. I've tried other brands before, and I'm happier using Onkyos.
Good machine for the money. ^ As all Onkyos, this is a good amp/receiver, and should give you good service until the"next" thing comes on the market. It does a lot. Two minor negatives though (or perhaps not so minor): it does not have HDMI input, and the speaker terminals in the back are so cramped, it will drive you bonkers, trying to connect all those wires. If you have a pianist in the famly, try and get him to do it for you.
Terrible-impossible to set up ^ I bought this receiver together with the ipod dock, thinking this would be easy and the two would work well in sync. I am not a geek, but can use basic computer, blackberry, etc and make simple fixes. But this manual is the most obtuse thing I have ever tried to delve into. It's horrible, and written for the kind of people who don't need it. The word "ipod" or "dock" never makes an appearance. Instead, it's fleetingly alluded to as "hdd" but not in any meaningful way. I think it's presumed that all your connections will be video. I just want to play my ipod through the stereo but the assumption is that this is so easy it doesn't bear talking about. It's seriously frustrating. My friend had to come and hook it up before and now that I've moved it it just isn't working after three days (seriously) of trying. It looks very easy. Would not recommend this to anyone not well versed in "AV receiver speak."
cool receiver for the money ^ works great, good value, wish it had HDMI inputs but for the money it rocks
Excellent Buy ^ I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. Great price, easy set up, fully functional remote that lets me control my TV, cable box, and DVD player (as well as receiver,) sleek design, silver color fits in with all other devices, and delivers the sound as promised. Replace a Sony receiver with this one, and while it does not have all the bells and whistles that the Sony did, I'm pleased with its performance. Wish it had that HDMI interface, though...
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