ONKYO HT-RC160 7.2-Channel Home Theater Receiver

Pros: Very nice receiver. Automated setup takes care of all the tweaking all you do is put in the distance from the main listening point to the speaker. Couldn't be happier it sounds great.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: Wanting the iPod dock but not sure about cost vs. ease of use.

Pros: Rich sound right out of the box. 5 HDMI In and lots of other inputs. Great support for modern audio formats like DTS Master and TrueHD. Audyssey speaker tuning seems to work pretty well. Remote is remarkably uncluttered for a receiver with so many features. Menus and choices are easy to navigate. Onkyo Customer Service was top notch: easy to get to, and knowledgeable reps on the other end of the line.

Cons: These are tiny nitpicking things: Audyssey Dynamic Volume is a mixed bag -- good at suppressing loud commercials, but also tones down sounds that should be loud relative to baseline. From across the room its a little hard to read the display, but its rare that I need to. Takes a full second and sometimes as long as two to sync audio with video over HDMI, though perhaps this related to HDMI and not the receiver?

Other Thoughts: A fantastic value for all of the features and works great with my Harmony One remote. Beats the pants off of my Denon AVR-1709 which was troubled from day one.

Pros: Excellent receiver for the price. Many inputs, upconverting with the ability to input component and output one cable to TV. The 5 HDMIs are perfect. The sound is truly amazing, my speakers sound awesome. The audessy EQ setup was perfect, took 10 minutes and worked great. You can also name each source, so it will say XBOX 360, PS3, DVR...etc. or whatever you program it to show. The display is simple, which is exactly what I want, who wants a big screen display on your receiver. And has the needed buttons. The remote is fine, but I have a harmony, so I don't use the remote it came with.

Cons: Network connectivity would have been great, the main difference between this model and the HT-RC180 is the network port. But its not worth a $300+ upgrade.

Other Thoughts: I had a high end Harmon Kardon before this, but it was 4 years old and was lacking HDMI inputs. I didn't need to upgrade as the HK was awesome, but didn't want the TV to do the input switching and audio pass-through.

Pros: Clean Design, simple interface, lots of connections. Great sound! Cheap!

I replaced my trusty Denon 3801 with this in my basement HT. Connected to some 20 year old Dalquist DQM7 speakers, a DQ sub and 2 Boston Acoustics for the surrounds. Projector is a BenQ PE7700 driven by a UVERSE tv box and an Nvidia based HTPC machine.

First thing I noticed is volume! While my Denon struggled to rattle things (it did and sounded good) the Onkyo has brought it to a new level. Very clear imaging..its like now my front speakers have vanished. Vocals seem to come from the middle of the screen. Surround sounds are ambient and well focused to the action.

5 HDMI inputs is all you can ask for I think at this price range especially. 2 optical inputs could be 3 but hey.

Assigning which input goes to which output is brain dead easy.

Cons: Can't think of any at this price.

Other Thoughts: A great upgrade for a small HT room where anything more is overkill.

Pros: First impression - looks incredibly sharp. Mixed black brushed/gloss, LCD read out not overwhelming (but not a computer screen interface), simple front with the buttons you need, nothing extra.

Plenty of inputs (read the description), Bi-Amp capable (highly recommended - who needs a sub?), and everything can be routed to your interface (monitor/TV) via one HDMI cable... nice touch.

Can use the auto calibration microphone to set up complex speaker arrangements. On TV setup simple/ugly.

Cons: If you're looking for a GUI, look elsewhere. As others have noted, this thing runs HOT. Make sure you give it plenty of room to breathe. Upscaling is non existent, so get your HD sources ready (Wii looks kinda, not great, but it's hard to switch from the PS3).

Other Thoughts: This is my first real receiver (I upgraded from a HTIB Sony receiver, which wasn't too bad) -- I'm blown away by the difference. I don't have a multispeaker setup, just two floorstanding towers from Fluance (great speakers!) set up Bi-Amped... I thought I'd need to find a good sub, but I was wrong. The sound clarity from low to high is phenomenal. I listen to everything from Classical to Hip-Hop, and I'm amazed at both ends of the spectrum.

If you are looking for a no frills but super high quality receiver with plenty of inputs, look no further. You don't have to spend thousand$.

Very heavy, but it's a receiver, not an ipod. Shows it's quality, I guess.

Pros: This is an excellent buy. The number of component, hdmi, and digital inputs and outputs is great and has let us plug in a PS2, Wii, DVD player, and Satellite receiver, plus the occasional network media device. While the number may not be different than other receivers, it's the upstreaming that is great - each of those devices works on a different output (digital, HD, component, etc.) and each one looks great on the system. In addition, we have a ceiling speaker system, and the sound is really fine tuned and delivers excellent sound quality for each of the foregoing devices. We are happy with this buy.

Cons: Ok, this device is great, was a breeze to set up. The two faults that I see: (1) the remote does not have a "record" button for the DVR (although it otherwise controls that device just wine); and (2) (and this is just my own annoyance), I dislike that you can't rename the inputs (although they are eminently assignable).

Pros: -Multiple HDMI inputs
-Fantastic sound quality
-Has loads of features that are normally only found on much more expensive receivers
-Audessey 2EQ auto calibration is a godsend. Your speakers will sound perfect for the room you are in.

Setup: Polk Monitor 70s (front), Polk Monitor 50s (rear), Polk CS2 (center), Premier Acoustic PA-120 Subwoofer. The sound quality is amazing. I used to use an old 5.1 Sony receiver. Going from that to this was a bigger upgrade in sound quality than going from tiny satellite speakers to the Polk floorstanders.

Cons: -Needs ventilation (at least 3-4" clear above it)

Other Thoughts: The first one I ordered ran a bit hot (61-65C) and would "click" every 10 to 15 minutes. I RMA'd and got a new one that doesn't get above 54C and the clicking is gone. If yours is running too hot, it is NOT NORMAL.

You can check the tempereature by holding DISPLAY, and while still holding it pressing STANDYBY. Then let go, and press TONE. It will be the two digit number in the middle.

Pros: Am using my Onkyo RC 160 in a spanking new 7.1 setup with a Roku box, Blue-Ray, and cable. Might add a game machine later. Paid $299 for this (free shipping too!) from the Egg.

1. I have had no heat issues with this unit. Have left it on overnight after falling asleep and checked it the morning after. Lukewarm is how I would describe it. I think the key is keep it in a well ventilated area.

2. Set up was guided and well done in both the printed guidelines and the on screen displays.

3. Speaker set up was quick and accurate using the included microphone. Sounds great! I have a Polk 12" sub, CS10 center, two Monitor 60 fronts, and four Monitor 30 surrounds. The RC 160 drives this set up comfortably at between 40 - 60% volume level. Crystal clear sound.

4. Lots of HDMI connections.

Cons: 1. No satellite radio option, but I'm not a subscriber. No network option, but I figured out that was a $400 option in the Onkyo lineup.

2. (Personal gripe) There has got to be an easier way to connect speakers than thumb screws and bare wire ends.

Other Thoughts: Onkyo quality can't be beat! This is my second Onkyo A/V receiver. My old 502 still works fine, but since I was redoing the entire room, I wanted the simplicity of HDMI connections. Death to the old component A/V cabling system!!!

Pros: Great sound quality with nice up-conversion to 7.1, good price, tons of settings that that the system will automatically set using the easy auto calibration, nice array of processing presets.

Cons: Runs hot but this has no real effect on my setup since the unit sits on a wide-open shelf, the up-conversion from 2 channel to surround leaves something to be desired, I never tried the video up-conversion or Dolby PLz but I heard that this unit doesn't do either particularly well.

Other Thoughts: For my purposes I LOVE this unit. The sound is really, really good. Video games sound the best of all. Play a war-type game, like Ghost Recon, and you will be amazed at how realistic everything sounds.

Next-best is the music processing. Wow, it's like you're in a concert (that was my wife's quote and she knows nothing about sound). Note however that I am bumping stereo sound to 5.1 using my HT Omega Claro sound card and then to 7.1 using the receiver (I HIGHLY recommend this combo). Still sounds pretty good going from stereo to 7.1 using just the receiver, but not nearly as good.

It handles well with TV and Movies (no Bluray player so haven't tested Dolby TrueHD). Doesn't shine as much as with the games and music, though.

The unit is noticeably better with the Dolby vs. DTS. Setup was a snap with the setup mic and automated calibration. Lots to play with if you are so inclined. Plenty of inputs. I love all of the preset processing options. In sum, I give it a 9/10

Pros: Works for everything that I want. The Audyssey function works very well and balances the sound as it should.

Cons: None