Onkyo TX-8522 100 Watt Stereo Receiver

This no-thrills receiver truly delivers on the reliability side. Its sounds greatly (don't buy anything below 100 true watts, even if it's only for a dorm, you'll regret it later if you get floor-standing speakers).

The display doesn't have all the "lights" other brands boast (but that's the way I like it, pure simple sound, without gadgets and "Surrounds" that only add distortion. Its connectivity for newer technologies (ie. digital imputs) could be criticized, but make sure you'll need all the plugs in that Sony ES $1,600 receiver before you buy it :). I just wanted an inexpensive receiver for the present, and only need a 2 way amplifier. Consequently, this machine fulfilled all my dreams. It never broke so far.
Onkyo is not a very well known brand in Latin America, unlike Sony, Pioneer etc, but honestly, I would buy it again!

We purchased this receiver recently and we are very pleased with its performance. The price was great and the receiver met all of our needs, including a phono input/output. Very pleased.

Onkyo receiver has plenty of power to drive my Advent floor standing speaker. I play a lot of LP Disk on a Daul Turntable and the premap on the Onkyo add no coloration or noise. For the average person who does not have golden ears this receiver has plenty of power with no noise or coloration added to the sound processed through it. Money well spent. I recomend this receiver.

I wanted to replace a 35 year old Marantz 1060 amplifier that had started blowing fuses. I got this thing and set it up and played a record and it sounded like Clapton was singing down inside a big can with a clothespin clamped to his nose. I was stunned. I could get Eric to sing really loud, but he couldn't take off the clothespin or get too far up out of the can. I found a local guy who diagnosed and fixed my Marantz for less than $80. I gave it one star because you can plug it in and turn it on.

After reading the reviews, I was looking forward to getting my new receiver (old one, Sony, broke down after 20 years of use, I can't complain!). New receiver broke down after less than 6 weeks! The service center was rude and unhelpful (hung up without telling me where to send it). Now I have to pay for shipping, will be without the receiver for at least a month since the service center in Colorado has a 14 day turnaround just on diagnostics, then 2 weeks to fix, then time to ship back. I am not a happy Onkyo customer and will not buy their product again. Hope this saves someone else my same grief. Buy Sony.