No one Buying Onkyo Receivers Anymore? (1 Viewer)

[Chuck C]

Three years ago, the only two suggested receivers you'd see on the forum were Denon and Onkyo. Denon is still alive and well but what happened to Onkyo? Is it b/c they changed the amp around/reduced total power output? If so, that's a shame....they are/were so easy to operate. My 575x is still tearing the house up! Someone ought to write Onkyo a letter!

 

[DanaA]

Onkyo still has its fans and people still buy them, but a lot of people are questioning the quality of their product and their service now. Not only has their amp power disappointed, but they've had problems with things such as audio dropouts and clicks. Some feel that it has been hard to get them to address these problems after the sale has been made. I used to love Onkyo myself, but was not exactly over elated with my last Onkyo receiver. I still have an older Onkyo receiver and CD player, both of which I consider superb pieces of equipment at their price point, but I'd probably look elsewhere if I was in the market for a product right now.

 

[Mark LP]

If you are interested in quality Onkyo products, I would like to suggest you look a little further up their product line to the Integra series. They are not as well known on these boards because they are not sold at online e-tailers. Local dealers will generally discount around 20%, again not popular for the high discount crowd. The posts that you see about Integra are generally very good. If you must have the best from Onkyo consider Integra Research.

BTW, audio dropouts are explained on their web-site. I wouldn't overly concern myself with this. FWIW, I have not heard people complain about clipping with the Onkyo products.

Mark

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I've been an Onkyo die-hard fan, but every minute I spend on the phone with them lately is making me less of one. At least they're trying to address the problem I'm having, but there's still that strong temptation to ditch my SR600 for a H/K.

 

[Bill Griffith]

I guess ignorance is bliss.

I own a SR600, I love it. Never had any problems with it so far. I have a large HT room. and the sound is perfect as far as I can tell. Movie decoding sounds great with DD or DTS and music is, as far as I can tell, completely clear and well balanced.

If there something wrong with it, I guess I can live with it because I don't notice it.

 

[Robert McDonald]

I have a 797 and am very pleased with it. It did have the dolby audio dropout (explained on their website as noted above) but they repaired it with the new chipset and it sounds as sweet as ever.

 

[ChristopherBer]

I have a Onkyo TX-SR500 and I love it. It's my second Onkyo. I previously had a Onkyo 494 and I loved it too. I thought they provided a cleaner sound then my Pioneer.

 

[Tyler DJW]

I also have the 797 receiver and LOVE it. Functionally, I find that it's still really hard to top. I find it odd to read about higher priced pre-amp where they boast about their new features that are already on my Onkyo... it makes me weary of changing. I'm planning a move to separates in the near future but given the low noise levels of the Onkyo and it's great features and ease of use I'll be using it as my Preamp for some time to come, and just investing in a new amp (the weakest link in the Onkyo chain).

Oh yeah, I have yet to find a remote that I like better too.

 

[Vishwa Somayaji]

You cannot gauge the quality of a company by the number of posts on a bulletin board. There are many reasons, both good and bad, for particular product/company to be talked about. There was quite a bit of coverage on Onkyo x9x series because of two movies in particular. Those were not entirely Onkyo's fault.

Anyway, I have a TX-SR800 and I am very happy with it. It is quite powerful( I never tested its limits yet, but it is more powerful than the Marantz model I had which had higher power rating), THX select certified, true multi room multi source compatible and in my 5,1 configuration, it powers the second room with the built in amps and has all the decoding currently available.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

We're a fickle bunch and then to have "current flavour of the month" brands that get talked up a lot...i'm sure sometime in the not so distant future Onyko will release a receiver and we'll all start talking about that as being the best there is again...if you hang around here long enough you'll see all sorts of interested trends repeating themselves over and over again.

 

[Mike Trueblood]

I have to agree that the quality of the latest onkyo models could use some improvement. I returned my SR500 and got the Denon 1803. I am very glad that I switched. If you know of anyone considering this receiver please rever them to this post.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=116955

You will see why I'm unhappy with Onkyo after reading a few posts.

 

[mike_frontier]

I owned 2 different ONKYO A/V receivers and were nice,,, but was not really impressed at higer level sounds its pushed. I finally setteled with H/K.. now those are sweet receivers.

 

[Chris Sherman]

I agree with Mike . I have two older Onkyo's, a 656 in my office and a 676 in my living room system , both perform flawlessly and I love the sound and build quality. I bought one of the new SR500's and was shocked at the poor sound and build of that unit. For a few bucks more I purchased an HK 225 and love it . HK has had some performance issues with some of their receivers , but I think just about every receiver manufacturer is guilty of the occasional glitch. What I like about HK is even their entry level receivers sound excellent. I think Onkyo has slipped from it's previous stature , trading features for build quality . They are cramming extra amplifier channels and component switching into their receivers, yet they weigh substantially less than their previous, equivalent price point models. I believe they are skimping on parts like power supplies and heat sinks ,which is why they test so poorly with all channels driven. They are cutting corners and it shows . I'm not trying to stir up trouble here. I'm merely stating my experiece with Onkyo. I've owned seven Onkyo's , starting with a pro logic 414pro . My sister still has that one and it still sounds great. I hope Onkyo returns to it's previous glory days, in the meantime I'm a Hardon Kardon convert.

 

[Rich Wenzel]

for me, i have two friends who have onkyos and had problems with them. i can understand that problems happen, but the lengths they had to go through and the BS they had to put up with to get service on fairly brand new stuff has put a very strong distate for their products in my mind. I would not buy them just based on my opinion (though limited) of their customer service. I was offered a sweet deal on the new onkyo universal, but passed because of it. Was offered a good one on the integra one, and passed as well. Just was not interested in that company.

There is also that they, compared to some of the other brands, seem to really overrate the power of their amps. I find that disturbing.

But then again, I tend to stay away from the Japanese brands, they, imo, tend to concentrate on features more than amps/sound quality (not saying they don't pay attention to it and it isn't good) then US and European brands.

Rich

 

[Mark LP]

Again, I reiterate, If you like older Onkyo products, look to the Integra line to replace them. The quality is on a much better level.
I think all manufacturers have kept original names that they ride on, then develop new higher quality lines as "flagship" products that actually represent what they were origanally known for. Look at old Sony products to the current line as an example. I wouldn't even consider a sony product unless it was from the ES line. The same is true of all manufacturers of all products from cars to furniture.

Mark

 

[StephenL]

I haven't seen any evidence of differences in quality between Onkyo and Integra. Comparable models have identical specs and have had the same problems. Some unscrupulous dealers selling a "high-end" product line make claims such as "it has a better power supply." Don't believe it unless you get it in writing from the manufacturer. Some Integra models do have additional features such as RS-232 control, detachable power cords, or A-Bus.

 

[Mark LP]

Stephen,

What models have you physically compared?

Mark

 

[StephenL]

I haven't had the opportunity to open comparable models and examine them, but I have compared the specs of several models on the Onkyo and Integra web pages. Sound & Vision magazine test reports of recent Onkyo and Integra receivers indicate significantly lower power output for all-channels driven compared with previous models. This may not matter unless you have a large room or inefficient speakers.

Integra DTR-7.2 review:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...&page_number=1

 

[DarrylM]

Again, I reiterate, If you like older Onkyo products, look to the Integra line to replace them.

I do not believe that there are any differences in quality or performance between these two lines, and they are virtually identical in terms of build quality, internal components, DSP processing, and performance.

The biggest difference is that Integra is geared towards custom installers, and includes features like A-BUS audio distribution capability, 12 volt triggers, removable power cords, RS-232 ports, gold-plated connectors, and a longer warranty (3 years). They also look nicer. These features would make an Integra product worth the extra money to me, but I would still buy it knowing that I was getting the same quality and peformance that I would be getting from a comparable Onkyo product (good or bad).

Many of the Integra products, have little more than an "Integra" placard where the "Onkyo" logo once was, and perhaps a detachable power cord.

 

[Mark LP]

The Integra line uses higher quality resistors and caps. Ask a service tech. The detachable power cord is of higher quality than any attached power cord. Ask the people who spend the money on custom cords. Same reason why you dont use 16 gauge wire to run to speakers. You use a higher gauge. All these things make sonic differences.

In the bigger picture, people still buy Onkyo for many reasons. Price and performance are a couple of them. Count me in.


Stephen,

It's unfair to expect a $1200.oo Integra receiver to perform as well as a Denon $4300.00 or Yamaha $2800.00 receiver. It's a compliment to Integra that it even performs near their levels with similar features and even lower noise level in reproduction. The Onkyo would not be far behind.
In my personal experience, my 8.2 receiver powers two Kef reference speakers for fronts, RDM2's for rears, 100c for center and a 12" velodyne sub. It shows no lack of power at all levels.