In a bid to resuscitate the receivers section, I'm opening my first ever (that I recall) thread!
The news is - the Onkyo TX-SR605 is dead. It has been replaced by the inspiringly titled TX-SR606. We have one in the shop but I haven't had the chance to play with it yet.
According to the specs there isn't much to be all that excited about. The onboard software seems the same, although you can now biamp 4 channels into the front speakers and the unit consumes a little less power (550w vs 630w), but not much else.
Anyone looking at buying a new unit should consider buying the 605 for reduced prices, but if they want new and un-obsolete until next month, then look at the 606...I guess...(shrug)
Any word if they are going to bring out all new models? If not, I wonder if they thought there was some sort of issue with the 605 or something. Either way, cool beans. I will have to check out the 606.
There is a 506 and 576, but neither have the DTS/HD-MA or TrueHD codecs. I imagine there will be other replacement models out but no word as yet. First we knew of the new 606 was when it turned up so advance notice is not exactly forthcoming!
Remind me again of your opinion of the 605 and it's high points? I have a friend who is in the market and asked me, but I have been out of receivers so long. 3 months seems long in this product dept.
Stealth marketing? Unlikely I suspect, more incompetence than anything probably.
My opinion of the 605 (and the 606) is simple. It's Hobson's choice for Blu-ray on the cheap. It's the only AV receiver at the price to provide decoding for TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. So given current formats (Blu-ray and DVD), it is the most future-proofed product available today. Of course, this doesn't mean it'll remain future-proofed since somebody may come out with a new format, but I've not heard anything about any new formats for video or audio in the last 12 months...
Sonically, if I compare the 605 (or any Onkyo for that matter) to similarly priced competition on music, it compares favourably. It's not high end, and a good stereo amplifier at the same money will knock it into a cocked had, provided the source is good too, but for an all-in-one AV receiver that does all current formats at a reasonably sensible price, it's the only one available and does the job rather well - well enough that I recommended it to my sister!
(Simple Rule: Never recommend anything to family if possible. Caveat: If there's no way out, then recommend only stuff that's too expensive or covers so many bases that they'll be covered...)