Best 5 home audio products

Onkyo TX-SR606 (black):

Best AV receiver for under $500
Last year, if someone wanted to buy an AV receiver and wasn't flush with cash, our recommendation was easy--the Onkyo TX-SR605 offered an unparalleled feature set for the price and sounded great to boot. This year, Onkyo has released an updated model, the TX-SR606, and has made a great product even better, as it now sports four HDMI inputs and offers upconversion up to 1080i for analog signals.
Price: $334.96 - $499.99 


Filed in: Best 5 home audio products, Best AV receivers
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Logitech Squeezebox Duet:

Best digital audio system
From one perspective, it's hard to call the Logitech Squeezebox Duet a groundbreaking product because it follows in the footsteps of the Sonos Digital Music System, which first appeared in 2005. But the fact is that the Squeezebox Duet delivers much of the same functionality of the Sonos at a far lower pricepoint--and without many compromises. (That said, stick with the Sonos if you want the best multi-room option.) Prefer a version with built-in speakers? Go for the equally excellent Logitech Squeezebox Boom.


Price: $319.00 - $429.70 


Filed in: Best 5 home audio products, Best network music players



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Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD:

Best mid-size speakers for the money
If you're serious about surround sound, you need to invest in a speaker system with some real gravitas--but most people just don't want the living room overrun with giant tower speakers. But the Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD package manages to downsize the towers without sacrificing the sound. At just 34 inches tall and only 5 wide, these mini-towers gorgeous minitowers will fit into smaller rooms with no problems. And you can choose an 8-inch (shown), 10-inch, or 12-inch subwoofer, depending on your bass (and size) requirements. But if they're still too big, there are some worthwhile alternatives: KEF KHT-3005, KEF KHT5005.2 and the Mirage Nanosat Home Theater System all offer great sound from even smaller speakers, and they're all available for under $2,000.


Price: $1,569.00 - $1,569.00 
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Sony HT-CT100:

Best single-speaker home audio unit for under $300
Surround sound is a hot commodity, but many just can't handle the aesthetic compromises that come from a full 5.1-channel speaker system in the living room--and the speaker cables that go along with it. That's prompted an expanded "single speaker" home audio category. The best budget one we've seen is the Sony HT-CT100. With its included subwoofer, the system packs quite a sonic wallop without taking up a lot of space--and its built-in amplification and support for up to 3 HDMI sources means you can get away without using an AV receiver.


Price: $239.99 - $329.99 


Filed in: Best 5 home audio products, Best virtual surround speakers


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Panasonic SC-PT760:

Best home-theater-in-a-box system for under $400
As with most budget home-theaters-in-a-box, the SC-PT760 will do its best work with DVDs, and sound less accomplished with music. But it's still going to sound perfectly fine to most listeners--especially those who don't want to invest upwards of a grand or two in their audio system. That, paired with its generally impressive feature set, makes the SC-PT760 a good choice for those on a budget who need an all-in-one home theater system--so long as they don't need a lot of extra inputs.


Price: $266.95 - $399.99 (check prices)


Filed in: Best 5 home audio products, Best home theater systems (HTIB)


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Panasonic SC-PT760

The good:5.1-channel home theater in a box with wireless surround speakers; HDMI upscaling to 1080p; stand-mounted front left/right speakers; integrated iPod dock; full iPod menu displayed on TV for easy remote navigation.

The bad:Utilitarian look and feel; paltry connectivity; no iPod video playback via HDMI or component output; sounds better with movies than with music.

The bottom line:With a five-disc changer, wireless rear speakers, and an integrated iPod dock, the Panasonic SC-PT760 offers a solid value for anyone looking for an affordable all-in-one home theater solution.

CNET editors' review:

Panasonic's 2008 home-theater-in-a-box line has three contenders in the sub-$500 range, and we think the midline SC-PT760 will be the most popular model of the group. It comes with a smooth-running five-disc DVD changer, wireless surround speakers, an integrated, flip-down iPod dock, and upscales video over HDMI up to 1080p. The step-down model, the SC-PT660 ($300), is pretty much the same thing, just missing the wireless speakers and front speaker stands, and the step-up model SC-PT960 ($500) duplicates the SC-PT760's features, but adds tallboy tower speakers up front. The SC-PT760's sound quality on DVDs was clean, powerful, and dynamic (considering the bargain price tag). Stereo sound from CDs and the iPod was less impressive, and the unit offers skimpy connectivity for other sources--just one stereo and one surround audio line-in jack. But if you're looking for an affordable all-in-one home theater solution that offers surround sound, a CD/DVD changer, wireless rear speakers, and built-in iPod compatibility, the Panasonic SC-PT760 should be on your short list.

Design

True to its "home-theater-in-a-box" name, the Panasonic SC-PT760 crams quite a few components into the package: the head unit (which includes the 5-disc changer and amplifier), the rear speaker amplifier (to power and wirelessly transmit audio to the two rear speakers), and the surround speakers (five relatively small speakers and a subwoofer). The head unit's slimline receiver/five-disc DVD changer is less than 3 inches high, a wee bit under 17 inches wide, and 13 inches deep. The front panel has the five-disc tray loader on the left side; a concealed, flip-down iPod dock in the middle; and the readout display and volume control over to the right. Panasonic spreads the controls to access each of the five disc-loading trays, transport controls, input selector, and subwoofer boost button across the top-front ledge. We really liked the convenience of the flip-down iPod dock--much better than the "tethered" iPod docks found on most other such systems--and the head unit is certainly compact enough, considering all that it does. However, the big buttons and brash white labels give the thing a much more utilitarian look than similar products you'll find from the likes of Samsung Electronics, Philips, and Sony.

The flip-down iPod dock is a highlight of the SC-PT760.

The no-frills look extends to the remote. It won't win any beauty contests, but it's more straightforward and intuitive than many models. We particularly liked the large buttons, though we kept accidentally hitting the input selector buttons when trying to raise or lower the volume.

The SC-PT760's setup menus and speaker calibration was easy enough to implement. Fresh out of the box and before we did any tweaking, the sound was actually pretty good, so you won't be missing much if you just concentrate on getting the SC-PT760's video to work with your TV's resolution and aspect ratio.

The remote lets you adjust the relative volume level of each speaker, and the subwoofer's volume level in three steps (and there's the sub boost control on the receiver). We would have liked to have bass and treble controls, but Panasonic instead included an EQ control with "Flat," "Heavy," "Clear," and "Soft" options. There was also something called "Whisper-mode Surround" that's supposed to enhance surround effects for late night listening, but we didn't notice much of a difference with it turned on. We did hear some small amount of noise from the rear-mounted cooling fan.

The front left and right speakers can be wall-mounted or attached to the included floor stands. The skinny tube stands come with square bases and are stable enough, but could easily be knocked over by small children or large pets. The speaker on its stand measures 44 inches tall.

The matching center speaker is 10.5 inches wide and the surround speakers are about 5.5 inches tall. All of the speakers are fitted with nonremovable black cloth grilles, and the speakers can be shelf-mounted or wall-mounted with their keyhole slots. The black plastic cabinets look fairly basic, nothing fancy, just plain and simple designs. The satellites all feature one 2.5-inch "woofer" and no tweeters, but at least the center speaker doubles up on the woofers.

The Kelton designed subwoofer has a side-mounted 6.5-inch woofer. The medium-density fiberboard subwoofer has a molded black plastic front baffle. It's just 7.1 inches tall by 14.25 inches wide by 12.5 inches deep and weighs 10.4 pounds. It's also a tad more stylish than the plain-Jane satellite speakers are.

The wireless transmitter (bottom left) pops into the main head unit and sends the surround channels to the wireless receiver.

The two "wireless" surround speakers have wires that get connected to the SC-PT760's separate wireless receiver/amplifier (a relatively compact 6.5 inches by 3.5 inches by 6.5 inches cube), which must be plugged into an AC power outlet. (The wireless signal comes from a module that's built into the rear of the main head unit.) The supplied wires for the surround speakers are only 9.5 feet long, which might not be long enough for some installations, but you can substitute hardware store speaker wire of any length. The subwoofer's 13 foot-long cable is permanently attached to the sub, and the wire's other end has a proprietary connector that plugs into the receiver/DVD changer. The front-left speaker and right speaker comes with 13-foot long wires; and the center speaker uses a 10-foot long wire; these wires also have proprietary connectors that plug into the receiver, but they use bare wire to connect to the spring clips built into the speakers. Therefore, if you need longer wires, you can easily splice longer lengths onto Panasonic's wires.

It's also worth noting that the wireless system needs to be enabled--there's no way to connect the rear speakers to the front head unit. Therefore, if the wireless doesn't interest you--in other words, you don't mind the long speaker cables running from the front to the back of the room--save yourself $100 and go for the aforementioned SC-PT660.

Panasonic SC-PT760 Deluxe 5 DVD Home Theater System

Sony HT-CT100

The good:

Superslender soundbar home-theater system eliminates the need for an AV receiver; comes with a potent subwoofer; three HDMI inputs; supereasy setup.

The bad:Subwoofer-based connection jacks may require creative placement or cable runs; only supports four AV sources (plus Sony's proprietary DM Port accessories).

The bottom line:Sony's HT-CT100 soundbar/subwoofer audio system is a phenomenal value that sounds great with movies and music.

CNET editors' review:
it's a familiar story in consumer electronics: Start with a luxurious, expensive, and exclusive product category, and within just a few years, you'll see a sea of imitators delivering the same basic item with more features, less money, and--ideally--better performance. Take single-speaker audio. Once the exclusive domain of Yamaha Digital Sound Projectors, the category is exploding, with boutique brands (Zvox, Soundmatters), home-audio stalwarts (Polk Audio, Definitive Technology), and major manufacturers (Samsung, Sony) all throwing their respective hat into the ring. But even in this hotly contested category, the Sony HT-CT100 home-theater system is a standout design. The two-part (speaker plus subwoofer) 3.1-channel system is one of the smallest soundbar speakers we've tested to date, and it boasts better-than-average connectivity highlighted by three HDMI inputs. Best of all, it costs just $300, and--considering that modest price tag--it sounds great. And because the HT-CT100 handles power and surround processing, you don't need to buy an AV receiver--just plug in your components and enjoy some powerful audio with more than a hint of faux surround.


To reiterate, the Sony HT-CT100 is a two-part system: a small soundbar designed to sit under the TV, and a modest-size subwoofer that also houses all of the electronics and connections. The skinny speaker is a mere 2.75 inches high and 2.6 deep. Its 31.5-inch width is also smaller than most soundbars and will make a nice match with TVs with 32-inch screens or larger. The speaker sports a satin-finished black plastic cabinet and perforated (nonremovable) metal grille; it's a no-frills look that won't win any beauty contests, but it's unobtrusive enough. The soundbar has three oval-shaped 1.6- by 2.8-inch drivers (left/center/right). You can wall mount the 4.4-pound speaker with its keyhole slots, so long as you account for the permanently attached 10-foot umbilical cable that connects it to the subwoofer. The cable terminates with a 9-pin serial connector that plugs into the subwoofer--if you need to run it a longer distance, check out our related tip.


The medium-density fiberboard sub feels more substantial than the speaker and its black-matte vinyl finish looks a bit more upscale. It's 19.75 inches high and 14.25 deep, and weighs 22 pounds. A black cloth (nonremovable) grille covers the 6.5-inch woofer mounted on the sub's right side. The front edge of the top panel has power, input, and volume controls; the display on the front baffle offers info about volume level, the selected source, and surround processing. There's a bass port smack dab in the middle of the 6.4-inch-wide front baffle. The subwoofer's built-in power amplifiers deliver 50 watts to each of the speakers' three drivers, and 100 watts to the sub's woofer.


All of the system's connections are found on the subwoofer's back panel. There you'll find three HDMI inputs; four digital-audio-only inputs (three optical, one coaxial); one analog stereo input (red/white RCA jacks); and one Digital Media Port connector. However, not counting the DM Port (it's a proprietary connector that works with only a quartet of proprietary Sony accessories), those inputs are really limited to just four AV sources--three audio or HDMI, and one audio only. In other words, you'd use the optical audio inputs (for instance) in lieu of, not in addition to, the HDMI inputs. Obviously, HDMI is the preferred connection, since it allows you to toggle audio and video at the click of a button on the HT-CT100's remote. (And, with the addition of a sub-$50 HDMI switcher, you could more than double the unit's HDMI capacity.) For non-HDMI sources (anything from a Nintendo Wii to a VCR to a non-high-def cable box), you'll use the TV for video switching, and the HT-CT100 for audio.

The HT-CT100 can toggle among three AV sources (with video, if they're HDMI-enabled), plus any Sony Digital Media Port product you choose to connect.
The unit includes standard Dolby and DTS surround processing modes. For Blu-ray, it can accept uncompressed PCM soundtracks, but it won't decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, nor any DTS HD flavors. (The better Blu-ray players, such as Sony's own PS3, decode those soundtracks internally and output PCM anyway, so that's not going to be a big deal for most folks.)

Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Sub-Woofer - Black

Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD (cherry)

The good:

Six-piece home theater speaker package with slender towers; compact center and surround speakers; remote controlled subwoofer with adjustable equalization; gorgeous furniture grade real cherry wood or black gloss finishes; 10 year warranty; 30 day in-home trial; free shipping.

The bad:Subwoofer equalization may require an expert touch for best sound.

The bottom line:Anchored by its minitower speakers, the Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD is an exceptional surround speaker system that ably combines good looks and superior sound.

CNET editors' review:

The speakers

All of the Intimus 4T Hybrid SD's speakers share the same 4-inch woven fiberglass woofer and 1-inch silk dome tweeter. The 4T tower and 4C center speaker feature a pair of the 4-inch woofers while the 4B satellite has just one. We noted that when setting up the entire Intimus 4T Hybrid SD system the five speakers' tonal matching was exceptionally good. That manifests itself with superior surround imaging. Likewise, the advantage of the towers' dual woofer design was far from subtle. The speakers' all-metal binding posts provide a secure connection with bare wire, spades, or banana plugs.

The 4C center speaker is just 5.33 inches tall by 12.8 inches wide by 5.5 inches deep, and the 4B is even more compact--it's 8.75 inches tall by 5.33 inches wide by 5.5 inches deep. The solid feel and build quality of the cabinets is extremely impressive. Aperion's real cherry wood veneers and high gloss black finishes are on par with high-end speakers costing more than double than Aperion's prices. All of the speakers have removable black cloth grilles. Floor stands as well as wall and ceiling mounts are available for all Aperion satellite and center speakers.

The Bravus 8D subwoofer

The Bravus 8D subwoofer has an 8-inch aluminum woofer on each side of its cabinet (both covered with removable black grilles) and a built-in 150-watt amplifier. The 33-pound sub comes with four metal "spike" feet and a set of pointy rubber cones. The subwoofer is 13 inches tall by 12 inches wide by 12 inches deep.

The cabinet is constructed of 0.75-inch thick high density fiberboard, cross-braced for additional rigidity. Connectivity options include stereo and LFE line-level inputs, plus speaker-level inputs. The sophisticated subwoofer has Music, Movie, and Game modes, each of which can be customized beyond the factory defaults via a small LCD screen built into its front panel. Adjustments can be made via a directional pad next to the screen or the included credit card-size remote control. Having a remote control for your subwoofer is a great convenience because we often like to adjust the sub's volume for different sources, but it's a pain getting off the couch to do so.

The Bravus 8D subwoofer has a couple of design improvements since the last time we saw it.

The menu lets you tweak parametric equalization to help deal with difficult room acoustic problems. That's nice, but unlike other subs with auto EQ, the Bravus' EQ is completely manual. You really have to know what you're doing and use a SPL meter (such as Radio Shack's 33-4050) and a CD or DVD with test tones to get anywhere with the sub's room tuning potential. On the bright side, Aperion fixed two annoyances we saw in an earlier version of the Bravus 8D: the LCD screen is now far more legible, and the built-in directional pad is far more responsive.

Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System (Set of Six, Black)

Logitech Squeezebox Duet

The good:

Network digital audio system includes excellent wireless remote with color screen and scroll wheel control; supports Wi-Fi and Ethernet home networks; compatible with virtually all non-DRM audio file formats, provides access to PC-based music files (on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines) as well as PC-free Internet radio, podcasts, and premium online music services including Rhapsody, Sirius, and Pandora; excellent online account integration; expandable to multiple rooms.

The bad:Minor improvements could make the already good interface even better; scroll wheel isn't quite as responsive as the iPod's; no compatibility with DRM music files such as those purchased from iTunes or Zune online stores; setup process could frustrate those who aren't tech-savvy.

The bottom line:With its excellent iPod-like remote, the Logitech Squeezebox Duet is an ideal way to stream the full range of digital music--including files on your computer's hard drive, premium subscription music services, and free Internet radio--to your living room stereo system.

CNET editors' review:

Digital audio is great--especially if you've got a multigigabyte music collection sitting on your computer, or you subscribe to an "all you can eat" music service like Rhapsody. The problem, for a lot of people, is that they're stuck listening to all that great music on the tinny speakers of their computer--or perhaps patching the laptop into their living room stereo system. Dedicated audio streamers have helped somewhat, but they have tiny little screens, which--like docked iPods--aren't very useful if you're sitting on a sofa across the room. And the best solution to date--the excellent Sonos Digital Music System--costs a pricey $1,000 for a two-room bundle. Enter Logitech's Squeezebox Duet: the $400 network digital audio streamer employs a winning handheld remote with a brilliant color screen (not unlike an iPod) that lets you navigate your entire music collection--including several online services and the majority of free Internet radio stations--from the palm of your hand, while you hear the music from the big speakers of your home stereo.

The hardware

The Duet is so named because it's a two-part system: the Squeezebox Receiver base station and the Squeezebox Controller remote. The base station is a nondescript black brick that pulls audio from a networked PC (Windows, Mac, or Linux) or the Internet via your Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet home network. The single button on the front of the base station is used to manually sync it to the network during setup. In addition to the Ethernet jack, the rear panel boasts both analog stereo (red and white RCA jacks) and digital (coaxial or optical) jacks. That means you can output your music to pretty much anything you want--be it a high-end AV receiver, a lowly boombox, or a pair of PC speakers--so long as it has an auxiliary input jack. There's no power button, but you can shut it off via your computer (more on that later) or the remote.

The Squeezebox Receiver pulls music over your home network and outputs it to any home stereo via analog or digital connections.

Speaking of the remote--the "Squeezebox Controller," that is--it's the real innovation here. Beyond the 10 buttons controlling standard functions (volume, play/pause, track forward/reverse), it features an iPod-like scroll wheel and a brilliant 2.4-inch color LCD screen (240x320 resolution, 256,000 colors). That puts the song navigation where it belongs: in your hand, instead of a small LCD readout halfway across the room. In addition to the wheel, the menu navigation is also largely iPod-like, so anybody who's familiar with Apple's ubiquitous music player should be able to pick up and use the Squeezebox Duet with no trouble. That said, the Controller's scroll wheel isn't quite as good as the Apple version: it's an actual wheel, not the solid-state touch-sensitive version on the iPod, and it lacks the iPod's speed-sensitive ability to quickly jump up and down through long lists.

The Controller includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (it's removable, too, so you can replace it a few years down the line when it eventually expires). The included charging station is heavy and metallic, so the remote won't be tipping over when docked. Interestingly, the Controller also includes an SD slot behind the battery compartment, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR transmitter, a small speaker (for menu clicks and other feedback), and a three-axis accelerometer (a la the Wii controllers). Few of those features have even been tapped yet, but they show how much room the controller has to grow with future firmware upgrades, both from Logitech and the avid developer community that's been active in developing past Squeezebox products. (Both the Receiver and Controller are firmware upgradable--just choose the "update" option on the controller menu for an automatic download.)

The Squeezebox Controller includes a color screen and iPod-like controls, so you can dial up any song in your library--as well as myriad online music resources as well.

Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System

The Squeezebox Duet is an expandable system, so the two components are also available separately: add additional Receivers for $150 each and additional Controller remotes for $300 (thus, you're saving $50 by buying the Duet bundle). Moreover, the Duet system has been designed to be backward compatible with earlier Squeezebox models. That means that the Squeezebox "Classic" and the high-end Transporter can double as receivers within a home network, and the Controller remote can interact with those models as well. Logitech recommends not exceeding six to eight Squeezebox nodes (Controllers and Receivers total), after which the bandwidth constraints are likely to overwhelm most home networks. But if you're going for a home music system larger than that, you probably should already be considering stepping up to the Sonos Digital Music System anyway.

Features

The Squeezebox Duet can draw audio from two main sources: the Internet or a networked PC--Windows, Mac, or Linux. The breadth of the online sources is impressive and varied:

Online music services: If you like online music services, chances are you'll love the Squeezebox Duet. Thus far, supported services include Rhapsody, Sirius, Last.fm, Slacker, MP3tunes, Pandora, Live365, RadioIO, and RadioTime. (These are mostly premium services, but all of them offer a free trial period.) Also available is the complete catalog of the Live Music Archive, a free resource that includes thousands of live concert recordings.

Internet radio: Prefer free online music? The full panoply of online radio is available. Either access Shoutcast servers (divided by region or genre), or add your own bookmarked favorites through the SqueezeNetwork interface (see below).

Podcasts: As with the Internet radio bookmarks, you can add the feeds for your favorite podcasts on the SqueezeNetwork home page.

You'd think that controlling access to that wide range of online music sources would be a challenge, but Logitech and Slim Devices couldn't have made things simpler. All of the online music sources are aggregated under a single online location called SqueezeNetwork. Set up a free account (it takes about 30 seconds, and you don't need to give more than your e-mail address), and the SqueezeNetwork service provides a single location to coordinate everything: all of your account information for any of the premium online services to which you're subscribed. (The Squeezebox generates a unique PIN code during setup that you input to the SqueezeNetwork page, linking the two together.) The SqueezeNetwork home page is also where you add your Internet radio favorites and podcast RSS feeds (just cut and paste the appropriate URLs). You can even add text RSS feeds, for viewing Web clips on the Squeezebox Controller's screen.

Onkyo TX-SR606 (black)

The good:
Four HDMI inputs; onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding; upconverts analog signals to 1080i over HDMI output; Sirius-ready; excellent automatic speaker calibration; switches as many as six high-definition video sources; improved remote.


The bad:
Poor video processing limits utility of HDMI upconversion for analog sources; sounds better on movies than with music; no phono input.



The bottom line:
The Onkyo TX-SR606 offers tons of functionality for the price, but subpar video processing and improved competition means it's less of a standout receiver than last year's version.
CNET editors' review:


Last year, if someone wanted to buy an AV receiver and wasn't flush with cash, our recommendation was easy--the Onkyo TX-SR605 offered an unparalleled feature set for the price and sounded great to boot. This year, Onkyo has released an updated model, the TX-SR606, and has made a great product even better, as it now sports four HDMI inputs and offers upconversion up to 1080i for analog signals. Even more enticing, these extra features come without any effective price premium: despite its $580 list price, the street price of the TX-SR606 is already $400, equaling the bargain price of the TX-SR605.

While the TX-SR606 is an improvement over the TX-SR605, perhaps the bigger story is that the rest of the field has caught up. The Sony STR-DG920 offers most of the same functionality. Furthermore, in our experience, the capability to upconvert to 1080i just isn't worthwhile, as the TX-SR606's video processing is so poor that even average users will be disappointed. So while the TX-SR606 is an excellent receiver that improves on its predecessor, competition from Sony (and others) and some underperforming features means it's not as much of a no-brainer choice as it was last year. Those with non-HDMI video sources will want to look at alternatives, or consider bypassing the Onkyo and using their TVs to switch analog videos sources instead.

Design
The TX-SR606 looks essentially the same as the TX-SR605. It's big and boxy, with its dimensions coming in at 6.88 inches high by 17.13 inches wide by 15.06 inches deep. From the front, there's a big volume knob in the upper right-hand section. The middle of the receiver is dominated by a strip of glossy black plastic, and in the center is an LCD screen, which is easy enough to see from about 7 feet away. To the right of the display is a front-panel directional pad, which is nice for navigating menus in case the remote is lost, and underneath the glossy black strip are several additional front panel buttons. Along the bottom is a headphone jack, along with more front panel buttons plus a standard AV input. Overall, it's not exactly stylish, but that's pretty typical for an AV receiver.

The included remote is nicely redesigned from previous Onkyo remotes. The new remote is much simpler, obviously built around the concept of navigating via onscreen menus. That means there are significantly fewer buttons that directly access features, which may frustrate some power users who hate digging through menus. However, overall we like the new design, as it should be less intimidating for receiver amateurs, and those of us accustomed to navigating menus on a DVR won't mind searching through the menus to make adjustments. Still, we had some quibbles. We would have liked it if the main volume rocker was more prominently positioned, instead of lumped together with other rockers. We were also frustrated how input buttons such as DVD also force the remote to start controlling the DVD player--which means, for instance, that the "setup" button tries to load the DVD player's setup menu rather than that of the receivers. But these are mostly nitpicks on an otherwise solid redesign.

While manufacturers such as Denon and Sony have put a lot of work into prettying graphical user interfaces, Onkyo continues to stick with plain menus featuring blocky white text. As much as we like the pretty GUIs, we appreciate Onkyo's philosophy of ignoring the eye candy and keeping the price low instead. For example, Sony's STR-DG920 is very close to the TX-SR606 in terms of features, but the STR-DG920 includes Sony's xross media bar (XMB) GUI and costs $100 more. That said, we'd love for Onkyo to offer some high-definition menus at the same price point.

The TX-SR606's Audyssey 2EQ automatic calibration system uses a microphone to analyze the speakers' and subwoofers' sound from three positions in your room. Seconds after you plug in the included mic, the receiver's onscreen display supplies the following very important message, "Please place microphone at center of listening area at ear height." That's essential advice that most calibration systems may supply in the user manual, but owners who don't read the manual may inadvertently place the mic in less than ideal locations that throw off the accuracy of the results. Kudos to Onkyo for emphasizing that point.

Just connect the included mic to utilize the excellent Audyssey 2EQ automatic calibration.

The Audyssey 2EQ process takes about 10 minutes, during which time the receiver sends test tones to all of the speakers and sub. The Onkyo TX-SR606 then adjusts the channel volume level and time delay settings for each speaker, the speaker "sizes," and subwoofer crossover settings. The Audyssey 2EQ also provides equalization corrections to the speakers and sub, which we felt significantly improved the sound of our Aperion Intimus 5B Harmony SD satellite/subwoofer system. The auto setup was just as accurate as our manual setup.

Frankly, we were surprised by the improvements the Audyssey 2EQ provided, the Aperion system is quite nice au natural, yet the Audyssey 2EQ sweetened the treble and smoothed the transition between sub and satellites. That made for improved midbass fullness, apparent dynamic range and impact.

Features:
Connectivity Audio soundtrack capabilities
HDMI inputs 4 Passes Dolby Digital and DTS via HDMI Yes
Component video inputs 2 Passes LPCM via HDMI Yes
AV inputs with S-Video 4 (4 rear, 1 front without S-Video) Decodes Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Yes
Optical inputs 2 Video capabilities
Coaxial inputs 2 HDMI version 1.3
Selectable HD sources 6 1080p via HDMI Yes
Satellite radio Sirius ready 1080p via component Yes
Network audio No Upconverts analog sources Yes
Phono input No Deinterlaces 480i via HDMI Yes
Analog multichannel input Yes Selectable output resolution Yes
The TX-SR606 is a 7.1-channel AV receiver, and Onkyo rates its output at 90 watts per channel. Like essentially every other receiver available, it offers a full selection of standard Dolby and DTS surround processing modes.

Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding means you don't have to worry whether your devices have onboard decoding.

Last year's TX-SR605 was essentially the only AV receiver in its price range to include decoding for the two, new high-resolution soundtrack formats, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The TX-SR606 includes onboard decoding for both of those soundtrack formats, but it's somewhat less of an important feature as more manufacturers have begun to include this feature at lower price points. Additionally, more and more Blu-ray players (including the PS3) are including onboard decoding, which lessens the importance of having the decoders in the player. That being said, having onboard decoding is a nice way to future-proof your receiver in case other devices come out that output the soundtracks in bit stream (undecoded) format.
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Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)

Samsung HL61A750

The good:
Excellent screen size-to-price ratio compared to big-screen flat-panels; solid black-level performance; very accurate color, with minor tweaking; plenty of connectivity options.


The bad:
Somewhat expensive for a rear-projection set; as with all rear-projection sets, off-angle performance is poor.


The bottom line:
Samsung's HL61A750 61-inch rear-projection HDTV delivers excellent overall picture quality, and, compared to flat-panel options, it's a real bargain.


CNET editors' review:



Rear-projection HDTVs, as a category, are on their way out, and DLP-based sets are the only microdisplay choice available, now that all manufacturers of LCD- and LCoS-based rear-projection displays have basically ceased production. Samsung and Mitsubishi are pretty much the only players left in this category--they're the only two manufacturers listed on the Best Buy and Circuit City Web sites under "rear-projection." The way things are going, 2008 or 2009 may be the last year for rear-projection, lasers notwithstanding. As with any technology nearing the end of its lifespan, RPTV is becoming an even better bargain than before, as long as you're aware of its limitations, such as poor off-angle performance compared to plasmas.


Samsung's HL61A750 is the company's top-of-the-line 61-inch model. It has a really solid feature package, with lots of options focused on optimizing the picture, and generous connectivity to accommodate all your video sources without any issues. Most importantly--at least to this reviewer--it is an excellent performer, with deep blacks and accurate color temperature after just a few tweaks in the user menu. Rear-pros may be a dying breed, but if you're looking to get 61 inches for less than $2,000 (street price), the Samsung HL61A750 is an excellent performer and handily beats the comparable Mitsubishi WD-65735.


Design
If you've seen one big-box microdisplay, you've just about seen them all. This is especially true now that Sony's interestingly styled SXRD rear-projection sets are no longer produced. The Samsung HL61A750 sports a glossy black finish with a very thin bezel surrounding the left, right, and top edges of the screen. Samsung's signature round blue circle still sits directly below the middle of the screen.


While the TV's cabinet is unchanged, the remote has undergone a complete makeover. It has a glossy black finish, and I wasn't a fan of the multicolored buttons. I was disappointed that it is not backlit at all, and the round dial around the Enter button intended to help you navigate the menu is awkward to use; I found myself going to places in the menu I didn't intend to visit. The internal menu system has not changed since last year's DLP models, and is quite intuitive and easy to use.


Features


Like most modern big-screen LCDs, the HL61A750 has a native resolution of 1080p, which works out to 1,920x1,080 pixels. While we often downplay the importance of 1080p resolution at smaller screen sizes, with a 61-inch screen you should be able to see the benefits of 1080p over 720p, albeit at a very close seating distance of 7 feet.

You'll want to select Warm 2, as it's the most accurate color temperature.

Three picture modes are available, including Dynamic, Standard, and Movie. I chose Movie, as it produced the best results at the factory presets. The selectable color temperatures are Cool 1, Cool 2, Normal, Warm 1, and Warm 2; we selected Warm 2, as its by far the closest to the broadcast standard color temperature.

Dynamic may be the brightest, but Movie mode is the best for an accurate picture in a dark room environment.

The Detailed Settings menu includes several additional adjustments and almost all of them, including Black Adjust, Dynamic Contrast, Edge Enhancement, and xvYCC Color, are best shut off. The LED control adjusts the backlight for the LEDs, and is very useful in optimizing the black level of the set. The lower you set it the better the blacks, but you also decrease light output, so there is a tradeoff.


When in the Movie mode, you will find that many of the settings in the Picture Options menu are grayed out, indicating they are set correctly and should not be changed. I was very pleased to see that Samsung has added a Blue Only mode, which is helpful in getting color and tint set correctly, as a blue filter really isn't accurate enough with these types of displays (check this tip for details). Color Gamut comes set to sRGB, and that is the most accurate setting. This feature changes the primary colors, and sRGB is very close to the HDTV specifications for red, green, and blue. The Normal and Wide modes bring the primaries way beyond where they are meant to be.


(Updated July, 31, 2008) The Samsung's selection of aspect ratio modes is solid, and includes a Just Scan option that displays 1080i and 1080p without scaling. Since this is a rear-projection set it still overscans about 2.5 percent, which obscures the extreme edges of the image--whereas flat-panel sets can typically show the entire image with zero overscan.

With three HDMI inputs and two component video inputs, you should be covered for high-def video.

There are ample AV connections located in the rear right side of the HL61A750. The most important connections are the three HDMI inputs. Plus, there are two component video inputs for any analog HD devices you have. For standard-definition analog video, there is a single S-Video input and two composite video inputs. A PC-style VGA input is also included, as well as a digital optical audio output, too.