If you will soon be shopping for your first AV receiver, but would rather not clean out your savings until you determine what you genuinely want, the Onkyo TX-SR308 Receiver can be a sensible purchase for you. If you own an outdated Onkyo receiver and should like to sample several of the recent products without putting your kidney on ebay, this receiver may be exactly what you’re hunting for.

If you would like a top quality gizmo with all the fun stuff, and you’re in a position to settle for the expense, then Onkyo may offer a receiver for you, however this is not it.

When Onkyo designed the TS-SR308, they imagined a very sturdy entry-level receiver which may be affordable and include sufficient features to enjoy, and yet not so many as to make the unit cost-prohibitive. Characteristically, Onkyo got the initial part perfectly. The connectivity is the reason for purchasing this product; 3 HDMI inputs which deliver full 3D interface, and this receiver will decode virtually anything.

The integrated Universal port permits you to connect peripherals with just one cable, and there is also a front-panel audio input which enables you to connect iPods. The Onkyo TX-SR308 Receiver moreover fulfills Onkyo’s reputation for sound quality, since it quickly decodes high-definition lossless audio codecs from Dolby and DTS.

We must not, however, forget the fact that this model is an entry level receiver. The alternate listening modes show few improvements over products from a few years ago. That remote wasn’t upgraded lately, either, which is good as well as bad. The simplicity of the remote renders it very accessible, yet it is not universal, consequently you’ll need separate remotes for your extra devices unless they are also Onkyo products. This unit won’t deliver video upscaling, which is actually fine. Most receivers at this price level which deliver that technology would be fine without it, given that the picture improvements are negligible but the additional cost is not.

Although a number of of the aforementioned shortcomings may be enough to drive a passionate technophile out the window, for the remainder of us they simply work to make a case for the $250 cost. The Onkyo TX-SR308 Receiver offers quality sound in addition to good connectivity. Taking advantage of the 3D capability at this price is additionally very nice, and the weak points are pretty easy to live with, particularly for a newbie who can’t tell the difference.