Onkyo

Best Buy isn't the only retailer with last minute deals on TVs for the Big Game. Sears is offering huge savings on big screen HDTVs from brands such as Sony, Samsung, Sharp, LG, Panasonic (and more) and also offering deep discounts on home audio systems.

Here are a few examples of Big Game TV and Home Audio Specials at Sears:

• Save $900 on a Sharp 70" class 1080p Smart LED TV – only $1899.88. While quantities last. In store only (057-71310/LC70LE632U).
• Save $1400 on a Sony 55" class 1080p 3D Smart LED TV – only $1499.88. Comes with a 3D Starter kit that includes 2 pairs of 3D glasses and a 3D Blu-ray movie ($149.99 value) While quantities last. (057-71693/KDL55NX720).
• Add a Sony Wi-Fi Ready Blu-ray Player for only $79.99 (057-57251/BDPS380)
• Save $150 on a Zenith 50" class 1080p Plasma TV for only $549.88 – (057-75861/Z50PV220)
• Save $50 on a Samsung 32" class LCD TV – only $299.99. (057-71072/LN32D403)
• Save 10% on a Bose CineMate Series II System when purchased with any HDTV. Add theatre-quality sound to your home, effortlessly. Reg $599.99. (057-90919). Available in select Sears stores and on sears.com
• Save $50 on a Sharp 2.1 Channel Soundbar – Only $249.99 (057-98311/HT-SL70)
• $499.99 Onkyo 800 watt Home Theatre System delivers high quality surround sound with speakers, receiver, active powered subwoofer, 4 HDMI inputs. (057-80611/HT-S5400)

Onkyo and Silicon Image on Wednesday unveiled a new line of A/V Receivers featuring Silicon Image's InstaPrevue technology and MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) technology. The new A/V receivers will be the world's first to include these technologies.

InstaPrevue provides live picture-in-picture preview of HDMI and MHL inputs connected to the AV receiver, allowing you to view and select a live preview window to switch between your Blu-ray player, DVD player, game console, or other HDMI or MHL-enabled connected devices. What does that mean? No more cycling through inputs or navigating text-based menus (i.e., HDMI1, HDMI2, HDMI3, etc.) to switch between source devices.

MHL technology is an HD audio/video connectivity standard that allows a mobile device to transmit 1080p uncompressed video with up to eight channels of digital audio over five pins, while also supporting HDCP content protection. MHL-enabled AV receivers, such as those from Onkyo, provide power to the mobile device when connected via MHL, keeping the device charged and ready to use even after viewing a full-length movie. You are also able to control MHL-enabled mobile devices using the existing AVR remote.Read more

Onkyo has a new compact home music system for iPod and iPhone users – the CS-345 CD Mini System. Perfect for a bedroom, office, dorm room or anywhere else you want crisp, room-filling sound, the system is packed with everything you need - two loudspeakers, a CD player, FM/AM radio, and a built-in dock for your iPod or iPhone.

The CS-345's digital power amplifier drives not one, but a pair of two-way loudspeakers, with each speaker boasting a separate dome tweeter. The 4-inch woofer is housed in a bass-reflex enclosure, delivering impressive bass for a system this size. But it doesn't stop there. The system's power amplifier also features ActiveBass Control, which automatically adjusts bass depending on the volume, while Super Bass adds gravity to the music.

As far as compatibility is concerned, the CS-345's built-in dock supports iPod classic, iPod touch (Gen1-4), iPod nano (Gen2-6), and iPhone, iPhone 3G/3GS/4. A video output jack is also included, so you can connect your iPod/iPhone to your TV and view videos located on your iPod on your big screen TV. The CD player supports CD, MP3 CD, CD-R, and CD-RW, and the system's stereo input jacks allow for playback from Android devices and other electronics. A subwoofer output and a front-panel headphone jack are also included.Read more

Onkyo on Friday unveiled a new iPod touch/iPhone App, providing full wireless remote control over the company's 2010 and 2011 networked A/V receivers. The new Onkyo Remote 2 App adds expanded multi-room control and also sports a completely new graphical look.

The Onkyo Remote 2 app is compatible with Onkyo's existing RI (Remote Interactive) system, allowing owners of network-capable Onkyo home theater and hi-fi systems to use their iPod touch or iPhone as an all-in-one remote controller for multiple components. In addition, iPod touch/iPhone users are now able to control output in individual zones in a multi-room distributed audio set-up.

Available as a free download, the application gives Onkyo home theater and hi-fi owners access to controls such as play, stop, skip, and pause; volume, bass, and treble adjustment; listening mode and input source selection; network source selection; and radio station. Read more

Some companies are leaders, some are followers. Earning their "leader" status is Onkyo. Earlier this year they became the world's first consumer electronics brand to offer the Spotify digital music service through home cinema receivers. On Monday Onkyo announced yet another first…

Owners of selected Onkyo network A/V receivers and home theater systems can now download a firmware update that enables direct support for Spotify Premium via Onkyo's Remote App for Android. The Android App itself also has been updated to support this new feature.

Compatible Onkyo products:

• Receivers: TX-NR609/709/809/1009/3009/5009 and HT-RC360/370
• Home Theater Systems: HT-S7400/7409/8400/8409 and 9400THX

In addition, Onkyo announced that in late November 2011 they will also extend direct support for Spotify Premium via Onkyo's Remote App for Android to the TX-NR509 network A/V receiver as well as the TX-8050 network stereo receiver. At this time Onkyo will also issue a firmware upgrade that allows owners of all its network products with Spotify support to access the service using Facebook account details. Read more

On display at CEDIA this week are two of Onkyo's newest hi-fi components - the A-9070 Integrated Stereo Amplifier and C-7070 CD player. In typical Onkyo fashion, both offer state-of-the-art design, rugged engineering, a variety of connectivity options, and sound pure enough to please discerning audiophiles.

Onkyo's A-9070 Integrated Stereo Amplifier has four discrete modes—integrated amp, poweramp, pre-amp, and split power/pre-amp—offering flexibility when incorporating other components into your hi-fi system. Alone, it provides ample power with a parallel push-pull amplification design, three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry, dedicated Wolfson 192 kHz/24-bit DACs for symmetrically designed L/R channels, and four large 15,000 µF capacitors.

In addition, the unit features DIDRC (Dynamic Intermodulation Distortion Reduction Circuitry), along with closed ground-loop circuits and vibration-damping construction combine for clear sound across a wide dynamic range. The A-9070 also has an independent headphone amplifier, a phonograph equalizer, and gold-plated audio terminals/speaker posts.Read more

Digital music has become a huge part of everyday life, and Onkyo's new iOnly line is the perfect gear to let you listen to it the way it should be heard - in high-quality, stereo sound. The iOnly line consists of the iOnly Play (ABX-100), iOnly Stream (ABX-N300), and iOnly Bass (SBX-300) docking stations/compact music systems.

Designed specifically for iPod and iPhone devices, the iOnly Play is the first model in the series. It features a flat-back exterior, brushed-aluminum base and cover, and dimmable foot lighting. Its sliding cover also hides an LCD display and touch-screen control buttons.

The second model will be the iOnly Bass, which adds in iPad support. On the iOnly Bass, the docking port is located on the lower front edge, providing support for an iPad. It also includes pair of full-range speakers, tuned subwoofer port and has an aluminum handle, making it easy to transport. Read more

Onkyo on Monday unveiled two new high-end network 9.2-channel THX Ultra2 Plus-certified A/V receivers—the TX-NR5009 and the TX-NR3009. Both top-of-the-line receivers include major upgrades from last year, including the use of the latest HQV-Vida and Marvel Qdeo video processors and new DTS Neo:X dimensional surround processing.

Both receivers can connect to Internet radio and streaming music services such as Spotify, AUPEO!, Pandora, Last.fm, Rhapsody, Napster, Mediafly, Slacker, Sirius XM, and vTuner. They are DLNA 1.5 certified; can interface with USB- portable music devices, such as iPods, and play music off a USB thumb drive. The receivers can handle just about any audio format you can imagine, including FLAC, WMA Lossless, WAV, AAC, Ogg, MP3 - even Super Audio CD.

On the technical side, both receivers use Onkyo's WRAT (wide range amplifier technology) power stages and three-stage inverted Darlington topology to deliver high power with low distortion. Audio signals on are refined by PLL jitter-cleaning technology and Onkyo's VLSC contributes to crisp digital-to-analog signal conversion. Read more