Onkyo's newest receiver is a radio smorgasboard

Remember when radio was a simple question of AM or FM? Now there's satellite in a variety of flavors, streaming Internet radio, and even good old-fashioned terrestrial radio... in HD Radio format. Onkyo's new TX-NR807 receiver supports all of those types of radio, whether they come from over the air, down from a satellite, or through a series of tubes.

The server is DLNA 1.5 compatible and ready to handle a whole slew of streaming media services, including Rhapsody, Pandora, Sirius Internet Radio, and vTuner. It's also XM and Sirius Satellite Radio ready, and can support HD radio with Onkyo's optional UPHD-1 accessory. If you want to go old-school, the SR807 also has a conventional AM/FM tuner, for terrestrial radio.

Its receiver properties aren't too shabby, either; it can kick out 135 watts across each of its 7 channels, and 6 HDMI 1.3a inputs for plenty of connectability. It boasts THX Select2Plus Certification, and incorporates Dolby Pro Logic IIz. With a price tag of $1,099, it's a pretty feature-rich receiver. The TX-NR807 is now shipping to Onkyo resellers.

— Will Greenwald

Onkyo announces two new PLIIz receivers

A few months ago, Onkyo broke into the realm of height channels with the TX-SR607, the world's first Dolby Pro Logic IIz-equipped A/V receiver (reviewed in the latest issue of Sound & Vision). The 7.2-channel receiver could use Dolby PLIIz to turn its rear surround channels into height channels, mixing audio for speakers mounted above the L/R channel speakers to add a sense of height to the home theater experience.

Onkyo is expanding its PLIIz selection with two new A/V receivers, the HT-RC160 and HT-RC180. They're the debut models in Onkyo's new "HT Series" of receivers, using similar features and aesthetics as the receivers found in Onkyo's all-in-one home theater kits. The RC160 is eerily similar to the SR607, sharing nearly identical specs. Both receivers have Dolby PLIIz, analog-to-HDMI Faroudja upconversion, TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding, and Onkyo's "U-Port" upgrade slot for optional iPod dock or HD Radio accessories. It only has 5 HDMI outputs compared to the SR607's 6, but it also has a slightly lower price of $549.

Onkyo announces new budget-priced HTiBs

Onkyo has introduced two new home-theaters-in-a-box, budget-priced for consumers looking to get a full-featured surround sound system for less than $600.

The HT-S5200 features a 1200-watt 7.1-channel receiver (at 130 watts per channel) with Onkyo Micro Fiber satellite speakers and a 10-inch, 290-watt subwoofer to give it plenty of thumb for its $599 MSRP. It offers Audyssey 2EQ room correction, Audyssey Dynamic Volume and EQ for keeping music even and balanced, and Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES Discrete/Matrix processing for handling surround sound. It also sports a built-in iPod dock and charging station, always a nice touch.

For less than two-thirds the suggested price of the HT-S5200, the 5.1-channel HT-S3200 offers a more modest feature set at a much more modest price tag. It puts out 110 watts per channel and its 8-inch subwoofer is powered by the receiver, which uses DTS and Dolby Digital surround processing. It will retail for about $379.

They're not high-tech room-shakers, but at those price points they're certainly tempting for anyone looking to dip their toe into a surround sound home theater system.

— Will Greenwald

Liquidation madness: Did Circuit City sell off its ability to use math?

It's now been over a month since Circuit City began its liquidation. We've covered the liquidation to death; you probably won't get any real deal at these stores unless you're both canny and lucky. They jack up prices to MSRP, then start shaving off the percents, all in the name of the liquidation. That isn't news.

However, when they're failing to even deliver the on the 30%-off-MSRP price they promise, because they assume people can't use math? That's a bit of news.

I stopped by a nearby Circuit City last week to see how the sale was going. The 15%-to-30% signs have long since been upgraded to 30%-to-60%-off signs, but good luck finding anything useful for more than 40% off in the store. The front of the store had several stacks of brown boxes full of Onky, Pioneer, and other home theater equipment, all claiming to be 30% off. The actual prices they quoted told a different story.

This Onkyo TX-8555 stereo receiver was priced at $229.99. That's about the MSRP for it, but you can get it for $210 or lower if you shop around. After the "30% discount," the final price was $209.99. For those of you who aren't math-savvy, that's completely wrong. 30% off of the $230 receiver should be a little over $160. That $210 price tag is less than 10% off.

Onkyo's New HDMI HTiB's with 1080i Upscaling

Onkyo has just introduced two new home theater systems with HDMI connectivity up the wazoo, plus 1080i video upscaling.

Both systems have 7.1-channel speakers, complete with a powered subwoofer. Both systems have 130-watt-per-channel A/V receivers, and both have four — yup —four HDMI inputs. In addition to these inputs for high-resolution audio, they have a low-resolution input too — they both have an iPod dock.

More features shared by the HTIB's include the Audyssey automatic calibration system and support for 1080p video and DeepColor capability on the video side. Audio processing supports Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio, and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio for full support of Blu-ray sources.

Alas, these systems do not include a source unit. No Blu-ray player, DVD, or CD.  However, with the HDMI inputs, just pick your own favorite and you're good to go.

What's the difference between the two new systems?

Champagne Dreams — Onyko TX-SA706X

Champagne dreams and caviar receivers . . . you know what I'm talking about. The new Onkyo TX-SA706X is a "champagne"-colored A/V receiver. They can call it what they want — I think it's a gilded gold receiver with plenty of processing power, if only for the Japanese market. The TX-SA706X is a 7.1 channel beauty that pumps out 200-watts per channel. What lies beyond Goldilock's facade?

Onkyo's Hard Disc Hit

Ho-hum. Another pretty executive bookshelf system. But look closer. This one is different. Very different. Onkyo's new X-NX10A is a new bookshelf system with a built-in 80GB HDD. It also has an Ethernet port, so you can get information about your music tracks from the Internet. What else is exciting about it?