The Onkyo TX-8255 Stereo Receiver is a bit of an odd little beast, Im not really sure what section of the market its aimed at. At the bottom end are those who dont really see the need for or the reason to have any kind of separates system and they are perfectly happy with radio built into their stereo system. On the other end are the power users who want a well specifed separate tuner for their system. So where then does a mid spec stereo receiver like the Onkyo TX-8255 stand? Who will buy it? What kind of home will it be used in? Well after playing with it for a little while it becomes obvious that it may not have an obvious market amongst those who are interested in “Hi Spec HiFi” but it certainly should find a home amongst those who appreciate quality stereo sound at a very moderate price.

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Removing the Onkyo TX-8255 from its box one could be mistaken for thinking one had just received a simple hifi amplifier rather than a fully speced receiver, the unit has a very “no frills” look with the very solid casing mounting bass, treble and volume controls on the right hand side. The tuner controls are mounted in a very unassuming manner on the right of the units display in a very simple and I have slightly delicate looking way. The keys are not very solid feeling and I thought that after extended use might be come a bit dodgy. Having said that most of the channel hopping is likely to be done via the simple and easy to use remote supplied.

Initial setup and tuning was pretty easy, no convoluted menus or anything obtuse to deal with plug in the unit, connect the antenna, hit the auto tune option button and away it goes finding all available channels. The Onkyo TX-8255 can store up to 40 of your favourite channels in its memory for easy access. The system is also RDS enabled so you can read off any information (station name, song name, etc) the station might be transmitting along with the AM/FM audio signal. As well as the amplifier the TX-8255 also has stereo inputs for CD, Tape (in and Out), Phono turntable, DVD, and a second spare input for any other analog unit you might want to use. The back also has two sets of outputs for connecting 2 sets of stereo speakers with appropriate control buttons for each speaker set on the front left of the unit and on the remote of course. This nice little added extra makes it easy to wire up 2 separate rooms with ease. Finally the back panel includes a Remote Interactive port which allows you to connect your iPod using the optional Onkyo DS-A2 iPod dock.

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Now though the TX-8255 is actually very good in terms of features I have to say that sonically is where the unit really shines. I really was not expecting such quality from such a budget unit. The TX-8255 manages to be both natural sounding and polished at the same time, bass is well handled up to quite loud levels of amplification. The units 50W per channel at 8 Ohms drove the Mission MV-8s we were testing with easily and with excellent results. Clarity was maintained throughout and I never had a sense that bass or treble was getting out of control or rough. Stereo placement was well handled and gave several CDs I tried the system with appropriate breadth. Kaki Kings excellent “Until we saw red” proved the TX-8255 to be a great performer with acoustic music. The only minor niggle was a slight bit of a peak that can be noticed on some more modern heavily compressed recordings at about the 1-1.5 khz range, weather this will be an issue for you depends entirely on the type of music you will be playing and your room acoustics. Overall though a very polished sound with a surprising amount of presence and finesse for such a meagre price. All in all if you are in the market for an integrated receiver/amplifier I’d highly recommend you check out the Onkyo TX-8255.

Manufacturers Specifications

• Stereo RMS Power: 50W per channel x 2, into 8 ohms
• Dynamic Range: 135W per channel x 2, into 2 ohms, 105W per channel x 2, into 4 ohms, 70W per channel x 2, into 8 ohms
• No. of Channels: 2
• Speaker Selector: Yes
• AM/FM Tuner: Yes, with 40 presets
• Input Analog Audio: – x5 Sets (RCA)
• Input Phono: – x1 Set (RCA)
• Input FM Antenna: – x1
• Input AM Antenna: – x1
• Output Analog Audio: – x2 Sets (RCA)
• Output Headphone: – x1 (1/4″ Phone)
• Output Speakers: – x4 Sets (Binding Post)
• IR Input/Output Port x1 (Mini)
• RI Port x1 (Mini)
• RRP: $249.00 (Check Amazon For Current Pricing)

The Harman Kardon HK 3390 sits in a much overlooked niche, the 2 channel stereo (non AV) receiver. It seems more and more that the needs of the stereo oriented end user are being ignored in favour of the 5.1 and 7.1 av consumer. I guess the manufacturers make more money on speakers that way.

While the name Harman Kardon may not be a household name to your average consumer they have had a good reputation for making solid no nonsense hi fi components to those in the know. The Harman Kardon HK 3390 Stereo Receiver is a very good example of this, the HK 3390 is aimed squarely at the informed home user who needs a no nonsense stereo amplifier/receiver and doesn’t need a “brand name” badge to go with it.

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So after that little screed lets move on to the actual product itself. The HK 3390 has a minimalist black and grey frontage with small and almost too well hidden series of front panel controls for tuning, source selection, station changing etc. I quite look the look of the unit, its not too fussy but by the same token makes all the commonly used functions easy to access with a minimum of fuss. The frontage also sports headphone out, a single video input and a matching stereo input. The back panel is as you would expect a lot busier, as I said earlier this unit is not really oriented towards being an AV hub but is far more suitable as an integrated stereo amplifier/receiver solution for your home. Back panel I/O includes AM and FM Antenna Terminals, 3 sets of 3 Audio/Video Inputs, 1 set of Audio/Video Outputs, a single Video Monitor Output a Remote Infrared (IR) Input and Output, 2 Switched AC Accessory Outlets for control of power to other separates in your system (max 100w power per outlet), 2 sets of standard speaker outputs (banana plug jacks, A/B selectable from the front panel) and a subwoofer output (with associated SW trigger outs) and finally CD, Phono and Tape Inputs.

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Now on to where this receiver shines, sonically its actually a very impressive piece of kit that punches well above its weight. The tuner is extremely good and we found it provided solid reception even without an attached ariel. Setup is easy and didn’t provide us with any surprises or gotchas once we had it connected it performed extremely well though not massively powerful (2 x 80w @8 Ohms) it sounded full, clear and with a mid range  that is smooth and reliable, Stereo Imaging was very good and the bass response was decent and became extremely nice with a couple of different mid range subs we tried the HK 3390 Receiver with.

So with all this on offer waht are the units shortcomings? We as previously stated its not really geared up for AV or surround, this unit is pure analog I/O (no digital ins), stereo with no HDMI, S-Video or surround of any kind, the unit also lacks any EQ with only a simple pair of bass trebble knobs fon the front panel, having said that there is room to connect an external graphic eq on the back. With these minor niggles out in the open how do we feel about the HK 3390? Well if you are in the market for a very decent mid range audio reciever with some extra video capabilities the n this unit is a very solid buy, but if you are in the market for a full on AV receiver look elsewhere as this unit doesn’t have what you’re after.

Manufacturers Specifications

Type: Stereo receiver
Power (FTC): 120 x 2
Bandwidth : 20Hz – 20kHz
Impedance: 8 ohms
Dolby Virtual Speaker: Yes
Audio inputs : 7 (1 on front panel)
Video inputs: 4 (1 on front panel)
Video outputs: 2
Subwoofer output : Yes, 2
Preamp outputs/main amp inputs: Yes
Accessory outlets: 2 Switched
Shipping weight: 21 lbs.
Dimensions: 17W x 15D x 6.4H inches
List Price: $399.00 (Check Amazon For Current Pricing)