When you began watching movies in 5.1-channel surround sound that was pretty sweet. When you boosted it to 7.1-channel uncompressed soundtracks on Blu-ray that was even sweeter.

So how about going up to 9.2 channels?

That’s what Onkyo is offering on its three latest A/V receivers—the TX-NR1007, TX-NR3007 and TX-NR5007—which are all THX Ultra2 Plus certified, to boot.

If you don’t want all 9.2, including independent left and right subwoofer zones, you can chunk it up into a five-channel theater with a couple of extra stereo zones. Or you can bi-amp your larger speaker pair. With the full 9.2, not only do you get the added subs, but you can test out the Dolby ProLogic IIz “height” speakers up front, if you’ve got the resources and room.

Along with the rockin’ speaker settings, you can pluck more content to play through them. The receivers are all networked, Windows 7 compatible and carrying DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) 1.5 certification. They can handle Pandora, Rhapsody, vTuner and Sirius Internet Radio services out of the gate.

Video’s no slouch on Onkyo’s new receivers, either, with processing of all video inputs to 1080p/24 with an HQV Reon-VX chipset on the 5007 and 3007 models, and Faroudja DCDi Cinema on the 1007. They include eight, seven and six HDMI inputs, respectively.

The Onkyo receivers will be available in September at suggested retail prices of $2,699 for the TX-NR5007, $2,099 for the TX-NR3007, and $1,599 for the TX-NR1007.

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.