ONKYO TX-DS 595 & 494

New Babies in the Onkyo Family

Again yesterday we announced the arrival onto the market of a new version of the now famous Onkyo TX-DS989. But did you know that the manufacturer has just announced the upcoming launch of two new integrated units?


The TX-DS595

In order to respect the new aesthetic lines of the brand, the lads at the style research centre at Onkyo have come up with a product that’s very elegant, whose inflected lines remind one somewhat of the shape of the TX-DS989 (with the only difference being that there isn’t the electrically operated trap door sliding towards the front, you’ll note nevertheless that the spirit is there!)

Performance Levels

Considered and presented in the manufacturer’s catalogue as a mid-range model, the little marvel has all the traits of a bigger model, despite the absence of the Lucas Films label, (which is tending to be a bit trendy), the manufacturer has included part of the electronics used on the models currently on the front page of the catalogue. To this end, the TX-DS595 uses, for the stage set-aside for the conversion of analogue and digital audio signals, the WRAT converters already used on the TX-DS989, which allows it to be compatible with 24 bit/96 kHz signals.

In addition, it’s compatible with SACD and DVD audio formats, if you have a player with the right kind of converters.

Furthermore, the decoding section includes two new audio formats. As well as Dolby Digital and DTS, Onkyo thus launch their first midrange audio-video amplifier including Prologic II and Mpeg 2 AAC (a subject we’ll soon be dealing with on this site).

In any case, while we could have hoped to find these extensions available on competitor’s machines, don’t try to look too hard on the photo of this one for vague traces of an ES or EX insignia, because there are none there!

In terms of amplification, this machine develops a power level of 100 watts per channel under 6 ohms, and has a THD of 0.1%. Furthermore, it includes NFB and HICC processing, already found on a few earlier models, allowing for a more adequate management of the amplifying stage.

The TX-DS595 will be welcome for those with not-so-deep pockets, being placed on sale in Japan for 68,000 yen. This price leads one to imagine that an imminent arrival may be around the corner of another machine to be placed somewhere between this model and the “giant”.


The TX-DS494… the Lil’ Brother

While the TX-DS494 places the bar a little lower, it still retains the major attributes of its bigger brother, in terms of conversion as well as the inclusion of Dolby Digital and DTS decoders, added to the Prologic II andMpeg AAC audio processing section.

A few elements separate the two machines, because while possessing very efficient conversion and decoding sections, the TX-DS494only disposes of limited power in the amplifying department (as opposed to 80 or 90 Watts for certain competitors, the TX-DS494 only dishes-up 70 Watts under 6 ohms per channel).

Sold at a price of 39 000 yen, this base-line model is a typical example of the kind of products that will shortly be marketed on the Continent (across the board). In any case, in this period of constant evolution of formats and audio standards, it seems opportune that the TX-DS595 should at least be equipped with an ES extension (like on the new Denon range...).


As soon as new information comes to hand, you’ll be the first to know. The same goes for full spec. sheets (interfacing etc.), and the announcement of a launch date for Europe.