Yamaha recently updated their A/V receiver offerings for 2009. Now it’s Onkyo’s turn to present their 2009 line-up. They will initially be coming out with three models as opposed to Yamaha’s initial four.

The Onkyo TX-SR607 will be the world’s first A/V receiver to feature Dolby ProLogic IIz. This new type of sound processing from Dolby aims to introduce vertical-panning sound effects through additional speakers mounted above the main left/right speakers. Very innovative indeed especially for movies which have aircraft scenes! Top Gun, anyone? The TX-SR607 will also have six HDMI inputs (Hah! Definitely beats Yamaha’s update to four inputs, but I’m still keeping my Yamaha), with one HDMI input being upfront.

Onkyo has made Dolby ProLogic IIz available to their most popular 6-series receiver because they project that demand will be good for the new technology. According to them, it will literally bring the sound experience to new heights.

Receiver manufacturers are currently making lossless audio decoding more affordable, the TX-SR607 and TX-SR507 will be able to decode Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio via HDMI. The TX-SR307 offers HDMI pass-through switching only. But all three models will support 1080p, Deep Color, and x.v.Color. All three receivers will also feature Audyssey 2EQ room correction technology.

The Onkyo TX-SR307 and TX-SR507 will be priced at $299 and $399 respectively and will be available sometime March 2009. The Onkyo TX-SR607 will be priced at $599 and will be available April 2009.

More information elsewhere:

• Onkyo Introduces the World’s 1st AV Receiver with Dolby ProLogic IIz — Adding an “Over-the-top” Vertical Dimension to Surround Sound (Gordon Sell Public Relations)