Onkyo TX-SR502
By HT Staff April 20, 2004 — It's safe to say home theater fans have never gotten more for their money than what Onkyo offers with the upgraded TX-SR502. Priced at only $300, the TX-SR502 features 6.1-channel surround performance, respectable 75 watts per channel output power, surround processing that includes Dolby ProLogic IIx and DTS-96/24, and a choice of two finishes - black or silver.

That's not all. Amazingly, the TX-SR502 also offers component video switching, with 50MHZ bandwidth, broad enough to allow switching of high definition sources without any signal degradation. Audio performance is equally high-tech, based on linear PCM 96 kHz/24-bit D/A converters and a sophisticated 32-bit DSP processor.

Connectivity array includes two component video inputs and one output, four A/V composite inputs and two outputs with alternate S-Video connections, plus front panel A/V composite and S-video inputs for convenient connection of portable devices, such as camcorders.

The TX-SR502 has four assignable digital audio inputs with one coaxial and three optical connectors, RCA line-level connections for a CD player and audio recorder, and a subwoofer preamplifier output. The new adjustable crossover on the subwoofer pre-out allows the LFE signal to cutoff at 60, 80, 100, 120 or 150 Hz, for seamless integration of any satellite and subwoofer combination. Speaker hookup is via dual banana-plug-compatible multi-way speaker binding posts, with all main channels color-coding for simplified wiring. The front left/right channels have "B" terminals for a second set of stereo speakers, as in a different room.

The TX-SR502 has six internal power amplifier channels with high-current, low-impedance discrete output devices delivering continuous power output of 75 watts per channel into 8-Ohm loads. High-resolution sources should come through clearly thanks to Onkyo's WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), said to give the power output stage a linear frequency response from 10 Hz to 100 kHz.

The TX-SR502 also has a high quality AM/FM tuner section with 30 random presets, and FM automatic scan tuning. Setup and operation of the receiver is easy and fast using the included preprogrammed remote control and dot-matrix fluorescent front panel display.