04-21-09: Vivaslb
Forgot to say that I was a little disappointed that the Onkyo doesn't have any inputs besides plastic RCA binding posts, so no digital inputs at all.
What, you were expecting it to have a DAC inside as well? The Cambridge 340A doesn't have that either.
If that's what you are looking for, you should get the
Peachtree Audio Decco. Not only does it have a built-in DAC, it's superb.
BTW, you'll never hear what the Onkyo can do if you feed it low-rez mp3s. I used mine with LP, SACD, and upsampled CD. Also, the Onkyo takes 100 hours to break in and should never be turned off. Use the standby switch instead. In standby the Onkyo only draws 1/4 watt.
Out of the box, the Onkyo sounds brittle and edgy until it has been on and playing music for at least 100 hours. But if you turn it off between playings even after break-in, it will sound flat and ordinary until it has warmed up again for four to ten hours. I doubt you heard it at its best, and it was definitely defective.