Onkyo 905 Review

[Th8ter Nut]

I have had my 905 for about 1 month now and wanted to post a review. This is one heavy unit at a little over 50 lbs. I replaced a Denon 3803 with the 905. The sound on the 905 is definitly in a different league than the Denon. The Onkyo reproduces much cleaner defined sound in both 2 channel and surround sound. I have a 7.1 system consisting of B&W 7 series speakers and a SVS sub. I hooked my Dish VIP622 via HDMI and without any problems. I tried connecting my Denon 2910 upconverting DVD player via HDMI but got no sound or picture. I have since connected it via HDMI converter to the DVI out on the Denon to HDMI on the receiver and optical for sound.

Pros: 1) As stated above the sound from the Onkyo is fantastic, much cleaner natural sounding. 2) the HDMI upconverstion to my Pany projector is great, it takes some tweaking on the Reon menus, as it tends to be on the soft side right out of the box. I also backed down about 3 notches on the brightness control on the projector. 3) I have enjoyed using the networking ability to play music from my PC to whole house system through the 905. 4) another great feature is you can transfer music to a USB drive and plug it into the front of the 905. 5) One connection to your source via HDMI and all switching is done through the 905. This makes it very simple for those in your household that might not be quite as tech savy to change between sources. 6) THX certification - I have never thought that I would say this in the past I have thought of this as just being something that mfg could boast about but the THX modes on this recevier are wonderful. I have experimented with several surround settings and must say the THX Ultra2 setting has made me a believer. This really brings out the best sound from surround encoded material whether it is from DVD or Sat. 7) Audyssey EQ system - very easy to use I ran the set up in 3 locations in my theater did a few tweeks on the levels with sound meter and was up and running very quickly.

Cons: 1) Only 2 optical inputs (although there are 3 coax) 2) Requires a separate adapter for iPod connection, it would have been great if a built in connection would have been provided. 3) Remote - for a receiver in this price range a better remote should be provided. 4) Internet radio feature is very difficult to set up, I still can't get this to work correctly. 5) Some have complained about how hot the unit gets but it does not seem to be any hotter than my previous Denon.

Aside from the hiccup with the HDMI connection to my 2910 DVD player the set up on this unit was very easy. The GUI is not as sexy as some of the new receivers but it works just fine. If anyone has any questions please let me know.

[Hakka]

I have a 3803 and B&W setup and am currently looking at Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha receivers. Can you elaborate on the differences in sound quality between the 905 and 3803, does one have a different sound (brighter or warmer) or are you just taking better sound quality overall from the 905?

Hakka.

[Th8ter Nut]

Hakka wrote:

I have a 3803 and B&W setup and am currently looking at Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha receivers. Can you elaborate on the differences in sound quality between the 905 and 3803, does one have a different sound (brighter or warmer) or are you just taking better sound quality overall from the 905?

Hakka.

I would say with the B&W the sound is much brighter with more detail in it. On music instruments like guitar strings and symbols come through with more detail. My 3803 seemed to maybe hold back some of this detail with the B&W's after comparing the 2 the Denon seemed a little muddy, not so that you cuold tell it although unless you A/B the 2 back to back. Also the sounds in the surround speakers really come alive with the 905. I am not sure if this is inherent to the 905 or it comes via the Audyssey set up. I don't think you will be disappointed with the 905 at all. Hope this helps.

[Hakka]

Thanks for the feedback mate.

Hakka.

[lienly]

took me months to add more net stations, used to be only built in e-onkyo ottava station. http://www.shoutcast.com tip, you can only connect from 1 AP directly. I try 2 APs, NG.

how hot is Denon? my 905 run 53C! after added fan, much cooler now.
http://photo.pchome.com.tw/lienly/047*30

BTW, have you suffered by HDCP handshake? I still need to use HDCP remover even upgraded to newest v1.08.

Th8ter Nut wrote:

4) Internet radio feature is very difficult to set up, I still can't get this to work correctly. 5) Some have complained about how hot the unit gets but it does not seem to be any hotter than my previous Denon.

[Th8ter Nut]

I can't really tell you how hot the Denon is I sold it several months ago. On the handshake issue I have the occasional lag but nothing I can't live with. Much of what I hear on the handshake is how, the order, in which you power up your equipment.

[tonyvdb]

Hi Tommy, Nice review.
Its good to get another solid review on an higher end Onkyo receiver. Like the 805 that I have the 905 sounds like one that will satisfy you for many years to come.
Enjoy.

[Th8ter Nut]

Thanks Tony. You have some very nice equipment listed in your profile. I notice you also have a Sammy BDP1400 are you experiencing any problems with yours? I have had to send in two units for repairs. I am not having very good luck with the 1400's. One quit playing BD but would play SD the other just would not power on at all.

[lienly]

no matter which device power on first, Onkyo/Tosh just won't handshake!

Th8ter Nut wrote:

On the handshake issue I have the occassional lag but nothing I can live with. Much of what I hear on the handshake is how, the order, in which you power up your equipment.

[tonyvdb]

Th8ter Nut wrote:

Thanks Tony. You have some very nice equipment listed in your profile.

Thanks

I notice you also have a Sammy BDP1400 are you experiencing any problems with yours?

So far so good, I've had mine for about 3 months and its been working fine.

[Blaser]

Th8ter Nut wrote:

I have had my 905 for about 1 month now and wanted to post a review. This is one heavy unit at a little over 50 lbs. I replaced a Denon 3803 with the 905. The sound on the 905 is definitly in a different league than the Denon. The Onkyo reproduces much cleaner defined sound in both 2 channel and surround sound. I have a 7.1 system consisting of B&W 7 series speakers and a SVS sub. I hooked my Dish VIP622 via HDMI and without any problems. I tried connecting my Denon 2910 upconverting DVD player via HDMI but got no sound or picture. I have since connected it via HDMI converter to the DVI out on the Denon to HDMI on the receiver and optical for sound.

Pros: 1) As stated above the sound from the Onkyo is fantastic, much cleaner natural sounding. 2) the HDMI upconverstion to my Pany projector is great, it takes some tweaking on the Reon menus, as it tends to be on the soft side right out of the box. I also backed down about 3 notches on the brightness control on the projector. 3) I have enjoyed using the networking ability to play music from my PC to whole house system through the 905. 4) another great feature is you can transfer music to a USB drive and plug it into the front of the 905. 5) One connection to your source via HDMI and all switching is done through the 905. This makes it very simple for those in your household that might not be quite as tech savy to change between sources. 6) THX certification - I have never thought that I would say this in the past I have thought of this as just being something that mfg could boast about but the THX modes on this recevier are wonderful. I have experimented with several surround settings and must say the THX Ultra2 setting has made me a believer. This really brings out the best sound from surround encoded material whether it is from DVD or Sat. 7) Audyssey EQ system - very easy to use I ran the set up in 3 locations in my theater did a few tweeks on the levels with sound meter and was up and running very quickly.

Cons: 1) Only 2 optical inputs (although there are 3 coax) 2) Requires a separate adapter for iPod connection, it would have been great if a built in connection would have been provided. 3) Remote - for a receiver in this price range a better remote should be provided. 4) Internet radio feature is very difficult to set up, I still can't get this to work correctly. 5) Some have complained about how hot the unit gets but it does not seem to be any hotter than my previous Denon.

Aside from the hiccup with the HDMI connection to my 2910 DVD player the set up on this unit was very easy. The GUI is not as sexy as some of the new receivers but it works just fine. If anyone has any questions please let me know.

Good review !
What is wrong with the picture through HDMI? Is it something specific or generalised?

[steve2529]

HI Tommy,
We bought the 905 amp a few months ago and we are trying to connect to pc to play mp3 and musics files but having great dificulty and as you say that the playback from your pc is good through this I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction? I.E what connections/programs do we need etc....
We have also plugged up an mp3 storage device and a external usb hardrive both with music on and cannot get it to play.
Also we have seen TVertsity recomended on the net and we have downloaded but cannot get it to interface with it!
Any guidance would be appreciated
Steve

[nathan2174]

I hear people who own the 905 or 875 that they had it spark all over the place and then didn't work after that. Is the Heat that much of a problem? I'm a little scared to buy it now. Also does any know if I can hook up my media computer to it with HDMI cables and will I get picture to the monitor? I want to use HDMI to get the digital sound. IT would be better sound then using coax.