$572.98 at 6th Avenue Electronics
Onkyo TX-SR705 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver(ONKTXSR705B) and other affordable Audio Receivers at 6ave.com.
This is getting serious.
705 Owners..here is part of a review.
Weaknesses:
Inability to receive regular surround signals (Dobly Digital, DTS) through HDMI - must ALSO connect fiber optic or digital coax for standard surround.
Summary: 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.
Is that true? Will this receiver NOT process DD or DTS through HDMI without the optic connection?