As the first—and most reasonable—of Onkyo’s new-season network-capable A/V receivers, the TX-NR708 provides the audio goldmine of Internet radio to your living room. Now you can kick back on the sofa and surf all your favorite channels in superior fidelity. With seven HDMI® 1.4a inputs, the TX-NR708 offers a galore of connection possibilities, as well as 3D video compatibility. For your convenience, one of the HDMI inputs is positioned on the front panel, as well as a USB input for flash memory devices and iPod® models. If you want to connect a non-HDMI multichannel component—say, a legacy SACD or DVD player—the TX-NR708 sports a full complement of 7.1-channel analog inputs. The Onkyo name connotes major audio quality, so it’s no wonder to find low-jitter Burr-Brown DACs and sophisticated Audyssey MultEQ® room-correction onboard, along with lossless HD audio formats and also the expansive surround dimensions of Audyssey DSX™ and Dolby® Pro Logic® IIz. All of this processing and connectivity power receives the coveted THX® Select2 Plus™ stamp of approval.
The seven HDMI 1.4a inputs on the TX-NR708 let you simultaneously connect high-def sources such as a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, and a cable/satellite tuner. A single output then sends a pristine signal to your connected high-resolution display. As the most recent version of this connector, HDMI 1.4a adds the interesting possibilities of 3D video and an Audio Return Channel. 3D video is the next big thing in home entertainment, with movie, game, and broadcast content on the increase and 3D-compatible TVs entering the market. The TX-NR708 also offers the convenience of an Audio Return Channel via HDMI. Audio content received directly by your HDTV’s tuner can be sent “upstream” to your A/V receiver, with no need for a separate S/PDIF audio cable.
Among Onkyo’s new breed of receivers that can link directly to the Internet or to your home PC via a local network, the TX-NR708 takes streaming audio and Internet radio to a completely new level. MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, and LPCM audio files—no matter whether on your PC or from the Internet—can now be played back through your main system with unprecedented power and fidelity. The TX-NR708 brings to life a large array of Internet radio channels from Pandora®, SIRIUS Internet Radio®, vTuner, and more*. In addition to being compatible with earlier platforms, the receiver is compatible with Microsoft’s new Windows 7 platform, including the DLNA 1.5-specified “Play To” media-streaming feature. Another advantage of having the TX-NR708 hooked up to the Internet is that you could then easily update its firmware.
The TX-NR708 manages two new surround-sound technologies from Audyssey and Dolby that offer interesting new ways to set up the speakers in your home theater system. Audyssey DSX lets you incorporate “front wide” speakers, in place of the usual surround back speakers, to increase the width of the soundstage. Put in place at a recommended 60° off center, these channels help to deliver a more genuine soundstage and a more immersive listening feel. Additionally, Audyssey DSX can reconfigure the TX-NR708’s surround back channels to provide “front height” channels. These channels carry ambient, non-directional audio that adds a new vertical dimension to your movies and games. Dolby Pro Logic IIz provides a similar front height speaker option that likewise works to make a more enveloping home theater experience.
THX Select2 Plus certification is specified for rooms where the screen-to-seat viewing distance is 10 to 12 feet and the room volume is around 2000 cubic feet. To achieve THX Select2 Plus certification, the TX-NR708 had to satisfy the world’s most demanding standards for home theater audio quality as well as performance, and play at reference volume levels with minimal distortion.
When it comes to video processing, Faroudja Dcdi Cinema offers numerous advantages. This processor can accept any video signal, irrespective of the source resolution, and upscale it to 1080p to complement the native resolution of your high-definition display. Moreover, Dcdi Cinema proficiently eliminates video artifacts such as jagged edges during the video signal deinterlacing process. You can enjoy smooth progressive scan video images, even for fast-moving sports and action scenes.
Audyssey MultEQ® calculates and removes distortions due to room acoustics and calibrates speakers for optimal listening within your room.
Audyssey Dynamic Volume™: automatically compensates for volume fluctuations in several audio content-for example, during commercial breaks-while improving the dynamic range.
Audyssey Dynamic EQ® maintains a consistent bass response, tonal balance, and surround-sound effect at different volume levels, so that you can appreciate the natural dynamics of your content, irrespective of the volume.
Jitter is an undesirable side-effect of the digital-to-analog conversion process. Triggered by fluctuations in the time domain of a digital signal, jitter has a adverse impact on perceived audio quality. PLL jitter-cleaning circuit technology reduces jitter by evaluating the input and output phases of the digital signal and creating an accurate clock waveform. This enhances the precision of digital signal processing and significantly improves audio quality. Jitter-cleaning technology works both for digital signals input via HDMI and for digital signals converted from analog signals inside the receiver itself.
The TX-NR708’s remote controller offers the convenience of controlling a wide range of other devices connected to the receiver. You can select your connected devices from the on-screen list and then preprogram your preferred settings for every device. Furthermore, the TX-NR708 allows you to set up macro presets for up to four activity modes, which you can control via mode-key LEDs on the remote controller. A single button-press of “My Movie,” for example, can at the same time turn on the receiver, display, and Blu-ray player to your preprogrammed settings and start playing a disc immediately.
The recommended retail prices of the Onkyo TX-NR708, TX-NR808 and the Onkyo TX-NR1008 are at $899.00, $1099.00 and $1399.00 respectively.
