Entered CNET Catalog: 04/19/2002
SKU: 0072874306861
Manufacturer: Onkyo USA
Manufacturer description
The TX-SR500 home theater receiver features a full suite of surround sound processing and inputs at an extremely affordable price. The unit is fully compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS encoding, and even includes Dolby Pro-Logic II circuitry, which provides virtual surround sound from two-channel audio sources, such as CD, videotape, cable TV and FM radio signals. With 9 DSP modes, a wide range of digital and analog inputs and outputs, and A-Form auto format detection, the TX-SR500 is easy to set up and use, and versatile enough to integrate the newest technologies with existing equipment in any home theater. With five channels each capable of continuously delivering 80 watts RMS into 6 ohms, and Onkyo's Wide Range Amplifier Technology (WRAT), the TX-SR500 delivers clean, high-current power from 10Hz all the way out to 100 kHz, supporting even the most demanding formats such as DVD Audio and SACD. The power stage uses discrete output devices for all channels and extruded aluminum heat sinks for high current capability. The TX-SR500 is versatile enough to handle nearly any of the combination of full-range and 'mini' speakers found in today's home theater systems. The receiver's easy-to-use setup menus allow the user to specify what type of speakers are used, and the onboard digital processing circuitry directs bass signals from digital sources only to the speakers designed for low-frequency reproduction. In addition, the receiver's subwoofer channel processing includes a variable crossover circuit which can be set to optimize for individual subwoofers. Because so many homes employ a wide range of video and audio equipment, the TX-SR500 has a versatile array of connection input and output types. The receiver includes S-Video switching, and has both coaxial and optical digital inputs for digital audio signals. Composite video and analog audio inputs and outputs ensure that older equipment is easily integrated with newer devices. There are even 6-channel analog inputs for SACD and DVD-Audio. The front panel has both composite and S-Video plus audio inputs for easy connection of equipment such as a camcorders or portable MP3 players. CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/04/2002
Budget receivers that exceed mere functionality are pretty rare, and truly outstanding budget models such as Onkyo's latest, the TX-SR500, are something else again. The design engineers not only wrung out every last bit of sonic performance from this one, but it's also a joy to use,
and it looks nice. Budget receivers that exceed mere functionality are pretty rare, and truly outstanding budget models such as Onkyo's latest, the TX-SR500, are something else again. The design engineers not only wrung out every last bit of sonic performance from this one, but it's also a joy to use,
and it looks nice.
The essential receiver
Onkyo didn't load up a pile of engineering breakthroughs, but all home-theater essentials are present and accounted for; you get Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, and DTS 5.1-surround decoding. The receiver delivers 65 watts to each of its five channels, and the power stage uses all-discrete output devices with extruded aluminum heat sinks for high-current capability. This is one budget receiver that can handle low-impedance (less than 8 ohms) speakers without distress.
The 5.1-speaker setup doesn't use the standard naming conventions of Large and Small, so we were a bit puzzled at first. The lack of onscreen menus didn't help the situation either. However, once we read the manual, we had the TX-SR500 up and running in less than 30 minutes.
Connectivity choices are ample for basic home-theater fun. Onkyo managed to sneak in 5.1 DVD-Audio/SACD inputs, as well as front-panel-mounted A/V and digital inputs for easy connection of camcorders or game consoles. Absent are component/HDTV-video switching, preamplifier outputs, and a phono input, so vinyl fans are out of luck. Onkyo makes up for that loss by throwing in a set of color-coded speaker cable labels that match the receiver's color-coded speaker connectors. You can hook up a second set of remote B speakers, but they're relegated to spring-clip fasteners rather than the more secure binding-post-style connectors used for the rest of the speakers.
The smallish, silver-faced preprogrammed remote is far from the best we've seen, but it is fairly easy to read and use.
Sounding out the TX-SR500
We mated the TX-SR500 with our Energy Take 5.2 satellite/subwoofer system and cranked up the Fight Club DVD. This disc has it all--fearsome dynamics, very natural-sounding dialogue, and lots of low-level detail--and the TX-SR500 took the sonic assault in stride. Its easygoing acoustics also brought out the best in less than pristine-sounding DVDs such as Jaws and Vertigo.
As we were dialing in the sound, we noted one rather unusual feature in the TX-SR500's setup menu. You can select one of three sat-to-sub crossover frequencies: 80Hz, 100Hz, or 120Hz. Whereas most receivers are fixed at either 80Hz or 100Hz, the Onkyo's flexibility offers the potential to enhance the performance of sub/sat systems. Our little Take 5 sats, for example, played a bit louder and with more energy when we employed the 120Hz setting.
A brief shoot-out with the next model up in the line, the , proved the superiority of the more expensive receiver. The difference in rated power is a mere 15 watts per channel, but the TX-SR600 put more low-end oomph through our Dynaudio Contour speakers. Relative to the TX-SR600, the TX-SR500 definitely scaled back the action on The Thin Red Line DVD. If your room is large and/or you like to play your CDs and DVDs at fairly high levels, spend the extra money and buy the $500 (list price) TX-SR600. That said, the TX-SR500 carries a suggested retail price of just $320, so we consider it an absolute deal. It's perfectly suited to compact systems in small to midsized rooms.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 User Rating: 
9/10
Great upgrade from ProLogicby - August 6, 2003
Pros: Dolby Digital and DTS are excellent. Fills a large room with only 65 watts per channel. Add decent speakers and a powered sub and your in your own theater.
Cons: No pre amp outputs and component inputs (if that matters to you)
Review:
User Rating: 9/10
Great receiver - Better priceby - March 9, 2003
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Cons:
Review: Awesome.. The amp has some serious balls even though its rated at 65watts per channel.. Sound is clear and accurate, impressive.. Features are just enough to "get by" but at least there aren't any USELESS ones as is the problem with some other receivers.. Connectivity couild be better, so could it's lack of DSP modes.. This receiver does its job, does it well, and not much more.. but at this price, it's impossible to beat.
User Rating: 
8/10
Solid receiver.by - January 15, 2003
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Review: Was about to get the sony or kenwood $200 receiver, but found a tx-sr500 refurb on ebay for US$190 +shipping. Glad i went for it, sound is very clean at high volume. Despite the 65W rating, the music fills our 15'x22' living room just fine.
User Rating: 9/10
The best low cost receiver I can imagineby - January 14, 2003
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Cons:
Review: Take it from a guy who's, shall we say, careful with money - You won't do better than this. I've owned mostly low cost RCA, Kenwood etc. equipment and I can't possibly describe the sonic difference you'll get w/ this "budget" model from Onkyo. I did own a Sony DE-835 (I think that was the product number). It cost around $500 and doesn't compare to the clean sound of this receiver. Literally every time I turn on the TV the difference amazes me. Users complain about the 65 watts per channel... they must have REALLY big rooms.
User Rating: 8/10
cant get any better for the priceby - January 9, 2003
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Review: I had a 5 year old Aiwa system with a dolby pro logic receiver and I wanted to upgrade my receiver. I first bought a sony receiver and sony surrounds, the surrounds for 50$ and the receiver for 200$. I lost alot of my bass that i had before. I didnt even need a sub with the mains i had from my Aiwa system. 3-way speakers with 8" inch drivers. I returned the sony receiver and I bought a Onkyo receiver, wow what a difference, the sound quality is amazing, I thought about my new front speakers because I thought they were old, but they still sound great, and I added a Polk psw250 sub with the monster cable in a mid-sized room, and it sounds great.
User Rating: 8/10
Great product but why only 65 wattsby - December 19, 2002
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Cons:
Review: This was my first home reciever and it did great. I bought this due to several recomendations and reviews. The only thing I did not like is the watt rating. The ht-s650 comes with the samer reciever. The only difference is it has 100watts per channel and this one has only 65. I was wondering if it was just the way they rated them so to check I called Onkyo and they said that the recievers are the same excpet for the watts. So I sent mine back with the polk speakers I bought and got the HT-S650. I found a smoken deal for the whole system for 329 with free shipping but I won't tell you where since they are hard to come by and my friends are still buying them up. Take care.
User Rating: 9/10
The price great, the sound quality magicby - December 7, 2002
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Review: For the price of it this reiever has tremendous sound quality.Full rich and clear.It also looks great with my entertainment system.I am more than satisfied,what a deal!
User Rating: 9/10
Flagship Performance in Entry Level Componentby - November 11, 2002
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Review: The Onkyo TX-SR500 is one the rare examples where an "Entry Level" component outperforms the "Flagships" of other manufacturers. Tested with brand new Cerwin Vega RL series speakers and a Toshiba SD1300 DVD.
User Rating: 
4/10
does it really give what it counts ?by - October 29, 2002
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Cons:
Review: Why have a Prologic II that can't allow to adjust the center width, surround depth, and panaromic effect ? These are all the exciting feature offered in the new Porlogic II format and how much it costs to enable this ? Nothing ! These are just software setting. Why Onkyo cutting out this feature in this entry model is a real puzzle.
User Rating: 8/10
Bargain shoppers look no further!by - October 29, 2002
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Review: This is one incredible receiver for under $300 ($267 at http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com). Sure, it doesn't have all the gee-whiz items it's bigger brothers have, but the sound from this unit in our 300sqf living room is outstanding! From a video or audio source, this unit can pump out the sound very cleanly. No problem in the number of connection options either. Pair this with some JBL Studio Series speakers and you're set! I actually found myself ducking a bit during the shootout on Swordfish, it was that immersive for me!
User Rating: 8/10
Excellent sound, easy set-upby - September 24, 2002
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Review: The sound is nothing less than one would expect from Onkyo, not tinny or brassy, simply solid and full. Setup was a no brainer, and the supplied documentation was clear and not overly wordy. DTS direct made me realize "clearly" what I was missing with my previous Onkyo TX-SV515PRO Prologic reciver (which I really hate to give up!)
User Rating: 
10/10
Awsome clean powerby - September 17, 2002
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Review: I just recently purchased this receiver online and I must say after reading all the reviews on this receiver from this site and others, everyone was dead on. This receiver is packed with clean power and features. I recently upgraded from a sony receiver that I purchased in 1996 and my new onkyo stands head and shoulders over that model. As far as DVD sound quality goes, I put in Blade II and man it blew me out the water literally. I have a digital coax cable/digital s-video and digital audio left and right cables going out from my dvd to my reciever and the sound is awesome to say the least. Blade is encoded in DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 and both sound amazing on my onkyo. I have KLH fronts/center/surround speakers attached and a JBL PB10 Sub. I'm the envy of all my friends. For an audiophile on a budget, like myself, this is certainly a receiver you simply must have. Oh, by the way, this receiver has WRAT (wide range amplified technology) which is a proprietary feature from onkyo that gives you 65watts full bandwith on each channel. This may not sound like much but this is were the real clean power comes from. Note to the wise, most receivers in this price range offer 100watts on 5 channels but the power is share from an integrated amp. Plus the continuous watt power will be significantly lower than the 100watts advertised and the sound will be distorted. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN WITH THE THIS ONKYO RECEIVER!!!!!!
User Rating: 8/10
Has it where it counts.by - June 8, 2002
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Cons:
Review: It is not packed with features, but it has what counts and does it well. Output is very clean. Even though it is only 65 watts per channel, it reaches volumes that are more than sufficient for a medium sized room, and sounds better at its volume range than other comparably priced receivers.
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Onkyo TX-SR500 (black) specifications
- General
- Product Type AV receiver
- Width 17.1 in
- Depth 14.8 in
- Height 5.9 in
- Weight 19.4 lbs
- Enclosure Color Black
- Enclosure Material Metal
- Localization English
- Audio System
- Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
- Built-in Decoders Dolby Digital , DTS decoder , Dolby Pro Logic II
- Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 96kHz
- Digital Sound Processor (DSP) Yes
- DSP Presets Studio-Mix , Orchestra , TV Logic , All Ch Stereo , Unplugged
- Surround System Class 5.1 channel
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio 100.0 dB
- Input Impedance 50.0 KOhm
- Input Sensitivity 200.0 mV
- Total Harmonic Distortion 0.08 %
- Amplifier Output Details 85.0 Watt - 6.0 Ohm - THD 0.08 % - 2.0 channel(s) ( Surround ) , 85.0 Watt - 6.0 Ohm - THD 0.08 % - 1.0 channel(s) ( Front ) , 85.0 Watt - 6.0 Ohm - THD 0.08 % - 2.0 channel(s) ( Center )
- Timer Sleep
- Bass Control Yes
- Treble Control Yes
- Built-in Display Fluorescent
- Display Dimmer Yes
- Additional Features Mute button , Digital signal format auto detection / auto switching , Midnight Mode , A/B/A+B speaker switch , On-screen display
- Digital Storage Media None
- Connectors
- Headphone Jack Yes
- Coaxial Digital Input Yes
- Optical Digital Input Yes
- Radio
- Type Radio tuner - AM/FM - Digital
- Tuning Display Fluorescent display
- Preset Station Qty 30.0
- Antenna Form Factor Loop AM / wire FM
- Response Bandwidth -14970.0 Hz
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio 70.0 dB
- Total Harmonic Distortion Mono: 0.2%, stereo: 0.3%
- Additional Features Worldwide tuning (9kHz/10kHz step selection)
- Turntable
- Type None
- CD System
- CD system type None
- DVD
- Type None
- Cassette System
- Cassette system type None
- Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
- MD System
- MD system type None
- Headphones
- Headphones Type None
- Microphone
- Type None
- Remote Control
- Remote Control Universal remote control - Infrared
- Supported Devices VCR , AV receiver , Cassette deck , CD player , TV , DVD player
- Features Programmable , Multi-brand compatibility
- Connections
- Connector Type 2.0 x Audio line-out ( F connector ) - Rear , 1.0 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x Headphones ( RCA phono ) - Front , 1.0 x SPDIF input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear , 1.0 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 6 ) - Rear , 3.0 x AM antenna ( Mini-phone 3.5 mm ) - Rear , 1.0 x SPDIF input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear , 1.0 x Monitor output ( Click-fit x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x S-Video input ( Banana/spade x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x Front speakers output ( Phone stereo 6.25 mm ) - Rear , 1.0 x Composite video/audio output ( Banana/spade x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x Center speaker output ( Banana/spade x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x FM antenna ( Click-fit x 2 ) - Rear , 2.0 x Monitor output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Front , 2.0 x Rear speakers output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Front , 1.0 x Remote control ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Front , 2.0 x Subwoofer output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear , 1.0 x S-Video input ( RCA phono ) - Rear , 1.0 x S-Video output ( RCA phono ) - Rear , 2.0 x Front speakers output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear , 1.0 x Composite video input ( RCA phono ) - Rear , 2.0 x SPDIF input ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear , 1.0 x Composite video/audio input - Rear , 1.0 x 5.1 channel audio line-in - Rear
- Power
- Power Device Power supply - Integrated
- Power Consumption Operational 320.0 Watt
- Power Outlets 1 AC outlet
- Miscellaneous
- AV Furniture None
- Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 2 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 2 years
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