i haven't made any thread related to audio for while now but i wanted to share something. over the past couple months my yamaha m-45 blew and my main harman kardon 770 dual-mono power amp came with issues as well and need repair. they were my main amps and really liked them, especially due to how the harman sounded so clean.

i recently past month had experience with an Onkyo tx-sr602 7.1 surround sound receiver i own now that i picked up at local trading post for about same price as my yamaha last year(125) to hold me till my main amps get repaired.

i also wanted to try out digital ouputs and subwoofer out since i do have a slightly modded polk psw10 subwoofer i only use for movies and games most of the time but sometimes i use it for music if i feel like going nuts.i read internal receiver crossovers over are much better so i wanted to experiment.

why i chose the onkyo over other amps and receivers?  well the power amps they had were messed up and expensive and the stereo receiver and amps were pricey as well or just crap. i was not spending 225 for a beat up marantz 2230 and especially from what i heard on how they sound i might not like it. they had my m-45 but was in worst condition and wanted more then double then price i paid for one last time.

the other reason i went with the onkyo cause on how heavy and well built it was. specs indicated one of my favorite features what i loved about my harman...low negative feedback design! or what they call it ''Wide Range Amplifier Technology''. it was also all discrete with massive high current power transformer with the unit weighing over 30lbs. but it was the ''low negative feedback'' design got me the most.

it also has a 192khz/24-bit cirrcus logic dac but i read the 192khz thing is just for upsampling and not native because when i tested it on my computer it only reads as 24-bit/96khz. the dac wasn't big deal to me since i planned on using my echo audiofire 2 interface so that did not affect my purchase as a temp stereo receiver use.

Testing/listening:

analog - echo audiofire 2

digital - internal receivers circcus logic dac via RG6 trishield 75ohm coax/GE Optical fiber

Source - Computer/laptop via foobar 2000 ASIO drivers installed

ONKYO TX-SR602 settings: all inputs set to direct. Intellivolume set to max of +12db for all inputs to ensure maximum voltage input. HP level set at +12db to ensure max voltage output. speakers level set at 0db now but was tested at +12db for speaker level output as well.



How it sounds overall:

first thing is i tested it hooked up to my laptop via echo, listening to some cds using the analog connectors of course. well....i was actually surprised by the sound, it was crystal clear  and seem very clean i can say. i was not suspected this since i actually had low expectations and was using it as a temp so all i cared is if it sounded decent enough but it sounds better then decent. it sounds darn good! i play it all in direct mode for testing of course since most time i just use my pioneer sp-fs51lr towers  and headphones for stereo music.

Next i tested it on computer since the laptop was just see if it worked. i hooked it up via RG6 Tri-shield 75ohm Coaxial cable with screw on gold plated rca/phono connectors from radioshack for digital testing/listening hooked straight to back of motherboard coax for strictly testing internal receiver dac. also have the echo audiofire 2 hooked up via firewire and cable run is 3ft monster 1/4'' trs to rca(got them for like few bucks and i like purple) hooked to dvd front analog connectors of receiver.

DIGITAL Performance/Internal dac:

i was just curious for this but actually was surprised how nice it performed for a receiver dac. it uses as mention before a cirrcus logic dac which i do not know much about or about any dacs for that matter since i just listen to music and occasional recording and just like good clean sound. overall music sounded clear,no glaring,no distortion,clicking,crackling,ect. was just clear and all details came in fluidly. it's especially useful for console gaming or bypassing onboard audio cause it sounds cleaner than my onboard motherboard analog and than my ps2/360 but that wasn't no shock really.

i tested it both via coaxial and optical in parallel hooked from receiver to motherboard and found really barely difference switching inputs on receiver. i think coax sounded bit cleaner but maybe it was in my head or something but i stuck with coaxial cause the cable was much more durable and connections were super tight for computer use. i use the optical for xbox 360  and ps2 use.

Overall the performance of the interal dac is not that bad really. i remember hearing they were the worst thing on the planet and needed to be avoided  but it sounds clear and all detail comes in no issue really.

Echo Vs. Internal DAC:

this was actually hard for me to determine really. i love my echo audiofire and it works wonders for recording and music playback and of course first choice as transport for the price.

But, to be honest i couldn't tell much difference too much via music playback on foobar 2000. both sounded crystal clear. clean high and low frequency extension. seem to place source as is and let me know if recorded of the cd was bad and if there is unknown sampling taking place within the software. i still think the echo might sound tad more clear maybe but overall on all music playback could not tell really at all. i use the echo mainly though since i record. i never tried recording with internal receiver dac so can't say.


Subwoofer use:
while this is small and not much meaning to me since i don't use subwoofers much i do find the internal crossover good and more useful than than the polk's internal crossover due to the fact that i can tune the sub lower. tuning the subwoofer to 60hz using the receiver allows my subwoofer to blend in with my main speakers much better for an all around use cause while 80hz is recommended by thx i think it's better in my opinion to set it 60hz especially if your towers can reach down pretty decently and works better for less then optimal rooms.

i tried the high level inputs on the sub with 16 gauge lamp cord and compared to internal crossover at 80hz though for the heck of it. not much difference comparing crossover performance at same given crossover at 80hz. sub performed well either way. i just like using the recievers built in crossover due to fact i can set the sub crossover point lower.


HEADPHONES:

now everyone knows how people feel bout receivers and headphones, right?

well this receiver performs super! i personally think. i tested all my headphones via it's headphone output. now first i like to mention i believe this receiver uses traditional dropping resistors via power amp section cause opening this receiver up i found no chips except for the dac and adc dsp in the receiver.for digital processing. the power amp section and preamp board looks all discrete with basic transistors and so forth.


first i tested my 600ohm AKG 240 sextetts and 240DF's. sound was clear with more then enough gain. the DF's of course sounded bit more clear to the sextetts due to more high frequency extension  cause my df's always sounded brighter than my sextetts. the sextetts sounded clear and what i like the most is the highs sound clear to me with no roughness like my harman kardon w hich leads me to believe that the sextetts responds better to low negative feedback amps.

my modded fostex sounded clean with enough gain as well but of course needed tad bit more compared to the sextetts. my fostex need roughly same gain level as my 240DF's. really liked how these performed with the headphone output.

Receiver headphone out vs. others:

even though both my power amps are kinda out i still have the preamps. my matching harman kardon hk725 and a kenwood c2 which is well known. Yamaha R-9 receiver.

Yamaha R-9:
comparing to the r-9 receiver i liked the onkyo more. more clear and neutral and my sextetts lp sounded more smooth on the onkyo. the yamaha r-9 receiver makes everything like bass monsters with edgy treble/top.

Harman Kardon hk725:
compared to the harman preamp they sounded bout the same with all headphones but might say the harman sounded bit more ''clear'' overall in the presentation probably due to no extra stuff and the preamp is more closer to the source compared to the receiver having much more stuff. but overall i liked how the onkyo performed cause like the harman it makes my sextetts sound so magical so to say cause the treble is clear and not edgy compared to other things i tried in the past which makes me believe more that the amount of negative feedback presented in the amp can have some negative effect on high frequency performance.

Kenwood C2:
compared to the kenwood c2, while the c2 have much more gain compared to both the harman and onkyo thanks to it separate headphone amp volume control set to max while using main volume knob for the source i still lean bit more towards the onkyo cause while the kenwood gain was more and sounded bit more clear it sounded tad but more edgy up top on all my headphones. like tad bit more rough on top but of course lot better performer than the yamaha receiver. the complaint with the kenwood is very small and love using it as dedicated headamp but just wanted to point out the small comparison.


NEGATIVES?Complaints:

now the negatives of course of the receiver. while the receiver is rated at 85w/channel@8ohms i was not use to seeing myself turn the volume knob up so much to get decent volume for some sources like for analog connections via xbox or so.  but finding the solution to the issue in finding out that onkyo while makes great products, they are not known for quailty control i was told so they limited the amount voltage can be put out the inputs but reading up someone told me to set the feature ''intellivolume'' in the receiver menu at max(12+db) to ensure you're allowing your source to deliver maximum voltage to the inputs when i did that it fixed all volume issues speaker wise. but of course you get less headroom cap for max volume of only like 79 compared to 90 but doesn't matter since i will never go that hi since i get more then enough volume at 35-40 on the digital readings for my roughly estimate 20x20 room.

that's really the only issue really actually i didn't like but i also wish it had an extra subwoofer out but that's just being picky and might never add a second subwoofer anyways maybe.

ohhh yea, i wish it had a section for use with different preamps cause while i think the receiver sounds great i still like to experiment with things and see how they sound when combined.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

i'm actually pretty impress with this receiver. i use it for stereo only use even though it is design for 7.1 surround sound but needed something for now while other amps are getting fixed. first surround sound receiver and might actually build a surround sound system around it in the ne ar future for just game and movie use but it defiantly replaces the spare yamaha r-9 receiver as a back-up receiver. while i do not know how it compares to my power amps since they are out of commission for now i think this receiver is good addon to my collection. it sounds clean and detailed. sounds good with my headphones if i need to use the headphone out of the receiver with more then enough gain to blow out your eardrums and is very quiet. only way you hear any hissing if your reaching close to maximum volume so the s/n ration is very good.

while this is a very crappy kindergarten writing cause i haven't bothered writing for a very long time and never bothered keeping up with the audiophile lingo, i felt i should share this impression of my little experience since this is my first experience with a ht receiver and feel it is not bad at all. who knows, maybe i got lucky once again and intuition picked something special or my ears are just getting worst and worst and im becoming to simplistic since i just listen to music. ohh well...