Onkyo’s HT-RC260: For The Frugal Audiophile
Right after Faroujda DCDi Cinema launched its 1080p up-scaling chip-set, Onkyo set about designing a range of AV receivers to take advantage of that technology. One of that set of receivers is the Onkyo HT-RC260 Receiver, which strangely enough is dubbed an entry level receiver by its company. You could discover a great many entry level receivers for sale which cost a great deal less than $640, and a majority of these lower priced receivers obviously have fewer features installed.
Apart from Faroujda’s up-scaling methods, the other aspect that lifts this home theater receiver’s gee-whiz factor is the loudness correction provided by Audyssey’s Dynamic EQ, which may thankfully prohibit the Laundry Detergent commercials from being louder than the battle scene from Brave Heart.
Onkyo’s new model is even THX Select 2 certified, a characteristic which is no longer only found on top of the line models but is nevertheless good to have. The certification effectively ensures you that any Onkyo HT-RC260 Receiver is able to produce THX-level sound quality inside a reasonable sized home theater.
This receiver shows a good level of adaptability with respect to input formats along with output options. Onkyo’s AV receiver supports all regular HD audio technologies including TrueHD and Audyssey DSX, and has been engineered to receive all of these codecs through one of its six HDMI ports or the integrated Ethernet port. Onkyo’s AV receiver then presents high definition audio signals by means of 7.2 channels which are engineered to support one large speaker system or a couple of compact stereo zones within the house.
This receiver hasn’t been intended to be a work of art, but it’s boxy, upright design and plain button configuration are very accessible, which for quite a few of us is a fair trade off. The receiver’s onscreen remote configuration menu is going to make it a whole lot easier to keep track of this product’s abundance of common configuration options. The remote provides an LED back-light, so adjustments are simple to complete in nearly any lighting situations.
If your idea of an entry level AV receiver is one that offers essential and understandable arrangements and the least number of input and output codecs, Onkyo’s HT-RC260 will not be an entry level receiver. If you visualize an affordable receiver which might generally make some noise until the user learns enough to know what his choices are, this will not be that receiver. If you possess the technical know-how and refinement to be able to discern a great AV receiver from a decent one, but you still have car payments to make, the Onkyo HT-RC260 will likely be the receiver for you.
