Opinions of the ONKYO TX-NR515 or ONKYO TX-NR414? (1 Viewer)

How are ONKYO receivers? I've read good things but this portion of electronics is beyond my knowledge. I would love some input on these or something similar if it is better.

Well, my 4 year old Onkyo that I spent $750 on just crapped a channel on me so my suggestion would be to get a Denon.

Onkyo's are thought to be a great bang for the buck receiver but their QC has been suspect lately. Very strong amp sections though. One of the things missing from the lower priced models is Audyssey MultEQ. They have 2EQ instead. Also consider the Denon 1613, 1713 and 1913.

Which I will add is quite irritating considering the prior two that I owned that are 10 and 18 years old (Kenwood and Pioneer) that are allegedly inferior that I have given to other people are still kicking flawlessly.

I just bought the 818 and absolutely love it. The reputation for Onkyos running hot isn't apparent with this new 818. Most of my prior receivers were Denon's as this 818 replaces a Denon 4308 in my bedroom HT and it's about the same size as the Denon being over 40 lbs in weight.







Crawdaddy

JeremyR said:

Which I will add is quite irritating considering the prior two that I owned that are 10 and 18 years old (Kenwood and Pioneer) that are allegedly inferior that I have given to other people are still kicking flawlessly.

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Receivers are much more complicated these days and in general they're not as well built as they used to be. My brother is still using an old Fisher stereo in his garage that I bought new 30 years ago. Full of dust and who knows what else but he uses it all the time.
And remember, Onkyo has like 30%-35% of the receiver market so they will have more freported ailiers than the others. I think the best piece of equipment I've had was an Integre 9.8 pre-pro (right up there with a Pioneer Elite 59txi and a little H/K 520). Bought it for a song and quickly sold it for a nice profit but maybe I should have just kept it. Come to think about it, it got a little warm too. But not that bad.

Originally Posted by gene c /t/321199/opinions-of-the-onkyo-tx-nr515-or-onkyo-tx-nr414#post_3934002
Receivers are much more complicated these days and in general they're not as well built as they used to be. My brother is still using an old Fisher stereo in his garage that I bought new 30 years ago. Full of dust and who knows what else but he uses it all the time.
And remember, Onkyo has like 30%-35% of the receiver market so they will have more freported ailiers than the others. I think the best piece of equipment I've had was an Integre 9.8 pre-pro (right up there with a Pioneer Elite 59txi and a little H/K 520). Bought it for a song and quickly sold it for a nice profit but maybe I should have just kept it. Come to think about it, it got a little warm too. But not that bad.

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They're basically computers now.

Which other brand models would you recommend? Which Denons are comparable?
This isn't a huge deal breaker but I really liked the feature on the 515 that shows a smaller screen when you are deciding on which input to select. I thought that was really cool and useful since so many things will hooked up to it.

That's sounds like a new feature. One I'm not familiar with. Onkyo's do tend to offer more for the same money than other brands. I usually recommend receivers with Audyssey MultEQ rather than 2EQ but you have to decide what's important to you. Onkyo sells a ton of receivers and I'm sure they all don't break.
It looks like the Denon 1913 is the closest to the 515 but last years 2312 is a real good value. But it won't have some of the latest features (whatever they are). Here's a comparison chart of Denon and Onkyo receivers.
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/CompareTo.aspx?compareItems=01|580TXN414&compareItems=01|580TXN515&compareItems=01|033AV1713&compareItems=01|580TXN616&compareItems=01|033AV1913&compareItems=01|033AV2312C&g=10420

Looks like I can get the Onkyo TX-NR616 for the same price as the 515... for 399.95?

Denon's new range is now hitting the streets, the replacement for the AVR2112 is , unsurprisingly the Denon AVR-2113 Airplay and 4K pass through seem to be the new features.

The only thing I've noticed is it seems like Denon is trying(and it isn't like Yamaha and Pioneer aren't) to catch Onkyo at all costs. Even at the cost of shortchanging features to hit a price point...which ironically, gives Onkyo the benefit of the doubt...
I've never owned a receiver(starting back in the days BEFORE center speaker) that had a retail price under $1000*...regardless of whether I bought it new(not often), refurb(a few times) or used(the bulk of my buying).
I must be a golden child cause I've never had a receiver die**. I've had a few CD players and tape decks chuck themselves. And those of us old enough, have sent enough turntables to the repair shop to write a blues song about their absence.
In the new modern "mode of HiFi"...the life expectancy of your new receiver should be 4-5 years. And I don't mean it will die in 4-5...I mean there will be "enough advancement in the species" to make buying another receiver worthwhile. It used to be the receiver you bought today would outlast everything else you bought...except for the speakers. Not anymore, except for maybe the speakers.
And that, I think, is the problem with Onkyo...a victim of their own sales success plus their willingness to cram "every latest feature" into each price point.
* $1000(msrp) is considered the "best price point" between current feature and longevity.
** I did have a Technics SU-G90(one of my first surround amps) crap out...only to discover a short in the front panel. I use it as a dedicated 2 channel amp now, as it works that way(thank goodness for pre-in/out).