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Onkyo TX-DS989 AV Receiver
THX Ultra DTYS Dolby Digital surround sound receiver
Recommended retail price: $6999
(inc. GST)
REFERENCE PRODUCT
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Reviewer: Richard Morgan
Simply put, the TX-DS989 has been designed by Onkyo to be the ultimate audio-visual receiver where owners will want for virtually nothing either now or in the future.
It features in-built THX Surround EX, DTS Surround, DTS ES matrix 6.1 Dolby Digital and MPEG decoders; it's THX Ultra Certified; has 192kHz/24-bit all-channel AKM digital-to-analogue converters (DACs); there's built-in flash Memory; an RS232 control port is included; the unit complies with IEEE-1394 upgrade capability protocols; there are 7.1-channel multi-channel inputs and Onkyo's multi-source, multi-zone capability makes welcome return appearance. But even this synopsis is just scratching the surface of the receiver's capabilities.
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The amplifier section is a work of art. It produces seven discrete channels of audio, with equal power to each, rated at a rather respectable rating of 200 watts per channel into 6 ohms (EIAJ standard). You'll likely get at least 130 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms and while that may be comparable to some competitive receivers, they only generate the power into five channels, the 989 pushes it out into seven channels and with discrete design on each channel. Wow! And if you want dynamic power for music reproduction, the unit will put our 300 watts per channel ion stereo mode. Wow again!
The power supply section is ultra heavy-duty and about as robist as you can get. On top of the power potential this unit features Onkyo's WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology) to achieve a frequency response rating of up 100kHz frequency response. This basically this means the unit is ready willing and able for DVD-Audio and SACD when they are a force in the future.
A high efficiency fan system is used to keep the amplifier cool and while fan noise is not apparent during movie play a minor amount of intermittent fan whir is generated after a heavy session as the unit returns to temperature stasis. Not a problem.
The performance of the 989 is very impressive. There's plenty of superbly clean power, which manifests itself during play as more sound with better impact lower noise, indeed everything you will need for top flight reformance.
The receiver was outstanding in all areas and is in an enviable position to cope with even more exacting speaker systems. Despite oodles of power the 989 is the epitome of refinement and I guess its performance can be described by the effortless way with which it relays audio information and the apparent silence where there should be silence.
To get the full value from 'shock moments' that pepper suspense movies an A-V receiver needs to generate huge amounts of power to meet the needs of the crescendos, but then needs to recover quickly for the ubiquitous quiet. It's called 'impact' and he 989 generates plenty of it. In a word, performance is simply 'awesome'.
Onkyo has made the 989 future-proof by including a 4MB flash memory capacity, an RS-232 port and an IEEE-1394 board slot. This means that new firmware or software that enhances the operation of on-board systems can be easily upgraded in the future and effectively top-up the specification of the receiver.
The tally of features is simply too long to list hear as are the co bination of inoput and output facilities. There's a large 35-segment dot-matrix fluorescent display, simple and easy operation, onscreen display, parameter selector and lock function, a motorised front control door, a backlit learning remote controller with macro function and LCD display, a headphone ouput jack, display dimmer and sleep timer. Believe it or not, the list can go on!
The unit is a delight to use - once it's prodigious capabilities are understood a squillion buttons have been pressed (or maybe I just get off on such things). Actually, set-up is as simple as many entry-level receivers, just much more comprehensive. The remote control handles a lot of the operative tasks, but the 989 also features a healthy number of front panel control. Yep, I actually like the remote too.
Is this the best audio-video receiver on the market? Yes, by a wide margin too. In fact it's the finest current technology can provide in a stand-alone receiver!
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