By: drkeirnan (16-May-08)      Experience with product: 1 Months

Strengths:	Three HDMI inputs, upconversion to HDMI, easy setup, clear instructions.
Weaknesses:	Text on display looks a bit low tech

Full User Summary
I had to struggle to find something wrong with the receiver. Best bang for the buck receiver in my opinion. Saved a lot ordering online through pricegrabber. I'm using this with my universal remote, and everything works as expected. The PC input is not what I expected, but otherwise perfect.

By: Nate490 (07-Mar-08)      Experience with product: 1 Month

Strengths:	plenty of power, tons of inputs, sounds great. Everything I needed all in one package.
Weaknesses:	I couldn't get it to "down convert" video.

Full User Summary
There was only one "issue" I had with the receiver and it really wasn't any fault to the receiver, just my lack of knowledge on electronics. My 65inch tv is about 4yrs old and does not have HDMI inputs however just about everything I hooked up to the receiver used HDMI. Upon reading reviews and product information I had the understanding that everything I hooked to the reciver via HDMI would be converted to component output to the tv. Unfortunately this was not true. After I spent about an hour trying to figure out why I couldn't get any picture I called Onkyo, waited about 10 minutes on hold and in about 30 seconds he told me I have to hook everything up via component cable because that was what my tv could handle. So I returned the $300 worth of HDMI cables I bought and hooked everything up with component cables and everything has worked like a dream ever since. I absolutely love the receiver and am 100% happy with it. Powering all of my Klipsch speakers is no problem and Rock Band on PS3 sounds like you really are in concert.

By: blackcapten (27-Feb-08)      Experience with product: 2 Months

Strengths:	Next-gen receiver; has a few HDMI; was able to generally learn what I needed to for basic functions
Weaknesses:	Price, although other makes/models are even more expensive

Full User Summary
This is my first "next gen" receiver, I had a lower-end Pioneer before which served me well but I wanted to experience some of the newer audio technology and settled on this Onkyo model. I am by no means a home theater expert or anything like that. So it took me a while to get the hang of it, but so far so good. I read what a previous reviewer wrote about the HDMI not processing the standard DD and DTS -- and I think that's accurate because I tried and couldn't get it to recognize the proper signal from HDMI, which is sort of silly when you think about it. In one case when I tried the HDMI audio, it read the signal as "Multichannel" but there was no clear designation of Dolby Digital (sounded decent though). When I switched to the Toslink, the Dolby notification appeared. Seems like it could be a pain to have to constantly switch between Toslink/Coax and HDMI audio, depending on whether you're watching a disc with "next-gen" audio or not on HD-DVD or BluRay. If I'm wrong on this or someone has advice, please let me know because I'm still learning about this thing whenever I use it. Anyway, the sound is terrific as you can imagine, and the basic functions are easy to use after you skim the manual and play around with it for a while. Switching between inputs is slightly slower than my old Pioneer, but considering the advanced technology in this newer receiver I can understand. I was able to program my universal remote without trouble and it works well with this unit. I'm just scratching the surface on this thing right now. I'll update this if I run into any major issues.

By: annon (24-Feb-08)      Experience with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths:	Fantastic surround, great sound quality
Weaknesses:	Inability to receive regular surround signals (Dobly Digital, DTS) through HDMI - must ALSO connect fiber optic or digital coax for standard surround.

Full User Summary
Frankly there is little practical difference between the 705 and the 605. Anyone looking to get the next-generation High Bitrate surround equipment for relatively low cost would do very well to get the 605. The 705 has a few extra features but overall is so much like the 605 that given the price difference I might actually recommend the 605. The weird connection hobble Onkyo put in here is that when connecting something like a cable box or DVD player through HDMI, in order to get the machine to process regular, current-gen surround formats you have to hook it up with digital coax or fiber optic IN ADDITION TO the HDMI, basically negating the whole "one cable for all purposes" attraction of HDMI. (See page 66 of the manual.) It will still, however, process next-gen formats like DTS-HD, Dolby TruHD, etc. One step down on the model number saves you over $200 and you get practically the same functionality. If you go up one step to the 805 then that DOES process all surround formats through HDMI. It's an odd setup to be sure.

By: sem99 (06-Feb-08)      Experience with product: 2 Months

Strengths:	Sound!!!, HDMI 1.3, THX, build-in fans
Weaknesses:	Doesn't upconvert to 1080p

Full User Summary
I am usually Yamaha man, but, unfortunately, Yamaha with the same features as this Onkyo costs almost twice as much. I still think that Yamaha's custom sound processing is as good or better than this Onkyo's, there is no way I would pay what Yamaha charges for the same setup. Anyway, there is not much to say other than just go ahead and grab this one - you will be very pleased. This is one future-proof receiver that will provide quite a few years of enjoyment for your home theater. Some people prefer 805 model, but given problems with overheating and catching fire by the latter (read the forums!), I would go with this one...