Upper Saddle River,
N.J. – Onkyo created a new A/V receiver (AVR) series dubbed the HT series, whose receivers
are based on AVRs used in the brand’s home-theater receiver-speaker packages.
Distribution will be broader than distribution of Onkyo’s regular
AVR series, a spokesman said. The
HT series, however, “is not intended
for or limited to any specific channel of distribution,” he added.
The first HT series AVR,
already available, is the $549-suggested HT-RC160, a 7.2-channel receiver with
five 1080p-capable HDMI inputs and Dolby ProLogic IIz. The $1,049-suggested
HT-RC180, due in August, adds THX
Select2Plus certification, networking, Internet radio and Internet music
services, including Pandora and Rhapsody.
No additional HT series AVRs will ship in 2009, the spokesman said.
The company didn’t announce 2010 plans for the series.
The RC160 is already
available in multiple online stores, including Amazon, which priced it at $379.
Amazon also sells select AVRs in Onkyo’s
regular TX series as well as Onkyo home-theater receiver-speaker packages.
In its regular Onkyo series, AVRs are priced from a suggested
$299 to $2,299. The brand’s home-theater packages are priced from a suggested
$379 to $1,099.
Besides Dolby Pro Logic IIz and five HDMI inputs, the HT series
HT-RC160 features analog-video up-conversion to HDMI, analog-video up-scaling
to 1080i, decoding of all authorized Blu-ray surround formats, and HDMI support
for 36-bit Deep Color. A suite of Audyssey technologies include Audyssey room
correction to compensate for the
deleterious sonic effects of a room’s acoustic characteristics. Another is Audyssey Dynamic Volume, which
maintains optimal listening levels and dynamic range when switching between
sources or a program transitions to a softer passage or to a commercial. The
third Audyssey technology, Audyssey Dynamic EQ,automatically adjusts loudness contour when volume is
raised or lowered by the owner.
A proprietary port on back connects to an optional iPod dock or
to an optional HD Radio tuner module. A
de-interlacing chip with Faroudja DCDi Edge technology is said to effectively
eliminate video artifacts. The device also features powered zone 2 with a
zone-2 lineout.
Additional details of
the RC180 were unavailable.
