Onkyo Announces Its First THX ULTRA2PLUS Certified A/V Receiver

Onkyo has introduced the new TX-SR806, the company's first A/V receiver to carry THX's new Ultra2Plus certification. The 130 watt-per-channel TX-SR806 features five HDMI 1.3a inputs, 1080p video upscaling capability, and new THX Loudness Plus technology. Like the acclaimed TX-SR805 that it replaces, the new model features Onkyo's Push-Pull amplification design, internal high resolution audio decoding, Audyssey MultEQ automatic calibration, and compatibility with both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.

The TX-SR806 is Onkyo's first A/V receiver to include the new THX Ultra2Plus Certification, ensuring the highest performance standards are met in rooms of 3,000 cubic feet and larger, and at a screen distance of 12 feet or more. The receiver also includes the recently announced THX Loudness Plus technology, which improves audio reproduction at reduced volume levels by adjusting front-to-back speaker levels and frequency balance to ensure the highest possible level of detail and fidelity to the original soundtrack at listening volumes below the THX reference level.

The Onkyo TX-SR806 features HDMI inputs for up to five sources, and is fully compatible with HDMI v. 1.3a, including 1080p and Deep Color™ 36-bit video signals. It includes a high-quality Faroudja DCDi Cinema video processor that provides upscaling of all video signals to 1080p for output over HDMI, regardless of input, greatly simplifying connectivity for modern video displays. The video upconversion technology also delivers 1080i resolution through the component video outputs.

The Onkyo TX-SR806 features dual Texas Instruments Aureus™ DSP chips for digital audio processing, including onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital HD, and DTS-HD Master Audio, making it fully capable of exploiting the high definition audio capabilities of the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disc formats. It also includes top-quality Cirrus Logic 192kHz/24-bit DACs on all channels. The receiver features seven amplification modules, each capable of delivering 130 watts into an 8-ohm load and each module features the company's dual push-pull configuration, coupled with a three-stage inverted Darlington circuit for outstanding efficiency and high current with very low distortion.

For optimum setup, the Onkyo TX-SR806 includes Audyssey's acclaimed MultEQ room acoustics correction for countering room distortion in dedicated home theaters. This technology uses an included microphone to detect and configure speakers in the room, and then adjusts each channel's level, delay, and crossover settings to best suit the room's acoustics. By incorporating measurements at up to eight points in the listening room, Audyssey MultEQ provides both frequency response and time domain corrections throughout the entire listening area, rather than just at a single position.

This receiver employs the new Audyssey Dynamic EQ algorithm, which adds moment-by-moment refinement to the receiver's frequency response and surround levels in order to compensate for volume-dependent deteriorations in the listening experience, particularly at low volume levels. When used in combination with the Audyssey MultEQ system, this feature tailors the receiver's output to correct for room acoustics, listening position, and playback-level distortions, delivering an overall experience that is a much closer match to what the audio production engineers originally intended.

The TX-SR806 also includes the company's new Music Optimizer software, which improves the quality of MP3 and AAC encoded audio source material. While these compressed audio formats sound quite acceptable over small headphones or PC speaker systems, when reproduced on a full-scale home theater system the loss of high-frequency information becomes much more apparent. The Music Optimizer employs sophisticated equalization and optimization algorithms to overcome these faults, and enhances the reproduction quality of digitally compressed music.

The TX-SR806 also features Onkyo's Powered Zone 2 capability, which can be used to power stereo speakers in a second room while listening to 5.1-channel sound in the main zone thanks to a dedicated set of zone 2 L/R speaker terminals. There is also a Zone 2 pre-out that can be used in conjunction with a dedicated zone amplifier or receiver. For those with main stereo LR loudspeakers that support bi-amplification, the back surround channels can also be reconfigured for this operating mode.

For integration with whole-house control systems, the TX-SR806's includes a bi-directional RS-232 port. Additionally, RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) capability allows it to seamlessly integrate with other leading brand-name devices, including all Toshiba CE-Link equipment and selected Panasonic VIERA Link, Sharp, and Samsung products. The receiver is also compatible with Onkyo's RI (Remote Interactive) iPod dock/charger models.

The Onkyo TX-SR806 includes a high quality AM/FM radio tuner, and features connections for both XM and Sirius satellite radio. It includes a newly redesigned pre-programmed learning RI (Remote Interactive) remote control unit with macros and mode-key LEDs. Finally, systems setup is even easier simpler to the implementation of a newly designed GUI (Graphical User Interface).

The Onkyo TX-SR806 will be available in August at a suggested retail price of $1,099.