Onkyo TX SR805 7.1 channel Receiver

Featuring a true 130 watts per channel with all 7 channels driven you can't buy a better receiver. With a $30 discount I got my first 805 brand new for $639 & change. I researched the Onkyo 875 & couldn't justify spending another $360 for a USB port & 10 more watts per channel. Likewise I couldn't justify spending $760 more for HD radio & the 140 watts in the Onkyo 905. But that 905 is a steal at $1,000+ with the toraoidal transformer. & I was tempted. Basically I looked at Yamahas, Marantz, Dennons & Onkyo. Came down to Dennon's 2808, 3808 or their 4808 against Onkyo's 705, 805, 875 or 905! The Dennon 2808 & Onkyo 705 just didn't have quite enough power. I decided to try the Onkyo 805 because in several different surveys the 805s were rated # One in the high end, 7 channel, plus 100 watt per channel category. Those surveys included all the receivers I've mentioned & more costing up to 5+ grand. After I made that decision I bought a very sturdy stand for TV, cable box, DVD Recorder (which has a USB port) & above all this receiver. I made sure there was a lot of headroom for the "heat factor" which has not been a problem. If the 805 didn't meet my needs I was going to return it & up-grade to the 905 because bottom line, cost was not my primary goal. The 805 was up to task!

My AV room is aprox. 18 feet by 14 feet. With out a separate amp, I have this thing pushing Polk RTi12s up front, a CSi5 center, two RTi6s rear-surround & two FXi A6s for surround channels. A Polk DSW Pro 600 provides base for everything under 80 htz. At -10 db it has my speakers smoking. At -5 db it's live. If I push it to +10 db there's no distortion what-so-ever & much more sound than I will need. All this while sending crystal clear signal to a 1080p Panasonic 50" Plasma. This thing allows me to equalize all channels individually as well as set the volume for each channel individually. I was willing to spend upwards 10 times for speakers & receiver but I didn't want to buy products just to brag that I owned them. I wanted quality products that would exceed meeting my needs. I could write volumes on the 805 but when all's said & done what was most important to me is that when I was finished buying speakers & receiver to compliment the TV, I would have an audio video arrangement that would "never" leave me wishing I had more!

The longer I worked with this 805 the more I learned how to use it & the more I loved it. Value wise Onkyo's own 875 & 905 can't touch this. Yamaha, Denon & Marantz are not even close with bang for the buck. I set up another full system in a differnt room & was unwilling to settle for Zone 2 limitations. I wanted the full 7.1 in the second system as well. This arangement is a full complement of Infinty speakers & a little 37" Samsung 1080p LCD. When people write that they like it so much they would buy it again, believe them! I did exactly that. My second 805 ran me $506 total. I've hooked up a Panasonic BD30 to each system. All I need these 805s to do is to channel the clearest possible signal from both audio & video sources & drive speakers which I set up individually. Hardly anyone is producing genuine 7-1 surround feed yet but when it takes off & Bluray becomes the standard, if you own this future proof classic, you're ready.

Right now Onkyo is introducing the slightly up graded 806 which is virtually the same in all the most important features. This means you have a chance to get an 805 for a much better price than I paid.