So, what's wrong with Onkyo? (1 Viewer)

[gene c]

Getting back to this threads origin, after spending a few hours with my 702 last night there are only a couple of things worth mentioning. Although the remote is back-lit I wish it were a little brighter. But not a big deal. Another thing is I wish the bass/treble controls were adjustable from the remote. And the bright blue light around the volume knob is very distracting, but it can be turned off via the dimmer control. Other than those small issues, no complaints. One thing I really do like about Onkyo is the bass/treble controls work (for the front L/R speakers only) thru the analog inputs for SACD/DVD-A playback. Also, the 7 band EQ, plus 3 more for the sub, can be adjusted manually and independently for each speaker. Not all brands (HK for one) allow this. And yes, the SQ is perfectly fine. I just prefer a couple of others a little bit more for critical music listening.

 

[BuckMink]

Onkyo? I'd NEVER own another. I hope none of you ever has a problem with your equipment. Corporate support absolutely sucks and they're unbelievably uncaring. I had to send the SR805 back two times to their local repair store, then to Colorado (their Western Region) repair center. Finally, they admitted something was wrong and they sent me an "upgrade" but it turns out it was not a true 3-Zone receiver as the SR805 was . Onkyo has gone to misrepresenting their "really" 2-Zone receivers as 3-Zone. On the NR807 and the NR1007, Zone 2 is really the back speakers in a 5.1 configuration, which is the bare-bones config for a theater. Realistically, they are 2-Zone receivers. It would have been smarter for them to make Zone 2 an option for a pair needed to go to 9.1 or 11.1.

But what really bothered me was how many times I had to call corporate to find out what was going on. Out of 27 telephone conversations, they initiated two of them. Pathetic.

 

[Ed Moxley]

I like my 805 a lot. I love it for both music and movies. I watch movies more than I listen to music now days. When I listen to music, it's usually sacd, dvd-audio, or a vinyl album. Been listening to my albums more and more lately.

A lot depends on what speakers are connected. My LSi speakers are very musical speakers. That's what most people like about LSi speakers. Go to Polk's forums sometimes and do some reading. They also do very well with movies. The 805 has plenty of power to drive them, and they require it, being 4 ohm speakers. The 805 doesn't even break a sweat...........

What's wrong with Onkyo? Nothing that I've found. You can get a bad one of any brand. But, if you check around at several HT forums, you'll find more people love their Onkyos, than don't. I think the Integra receivers are supposed to be Onkyo's higher end stuff. But I've not seen any Onkyos that were slouches. Especially in the upper model numbers.
I recommend Onkyo all the time, because of my experience with them.

 

[SQMonte]

I bought an Onkyo believing that it was a pretty nice piece of equipment but I was pretty disappointed with the whole setup I got, besides the DVD player. The sub was maxed out on it's amp and sub level output on the receiver and it still had a hard time filling up my living room. I mean, you could tell there was a sub connected but it didn't have much authority. I was so disappointed with the SQ of the speakers that came with the SKS-HT540 that I promptly replaced the mains with some Insignia bookshelf speakers from Best Buy and have been very happy with the change. The only item that has remained from my old Onkyo setup in my new living room HT setup is the center channel, but that's likely to get replaced sometime soon as well.

I don't think i'll every buy any more entry level Onkyo equipment again, very disappointing.

 

[mattCR]

And I'm sure the search function helped dredge up another corpse from a 3 year old grave...

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Originally Posted by SQMonte /forum/thread/256864/so-what-s-wrong-winh-onkyo#post_3670408

 

[SQMonte]

Originally Posted by Jeff Gatie /forum/thread/256864/so-what-s-wrong-winh-onkyo#post_3670645

I bought an entry level Sony receiver and love it. My mains costed me $65 brand new and they spank the Onkyo's which were listed at over $500 for the package. My sub costed me $122 and it absolutely murders the Onkyo sub.

My point is that just because it's low cost or entry level doesn't mean it has to sound like *ss. Even my g/f, who is the furthest from a trained ear, could hear such a difference between the Insignia bookshelf speakers and the Onkyo mains that she wouldn't let me hook the Onkyo's back up in the living room......I had hooked up the Insignia's to see what they sounded like while I was awaiting delivery of my sound card so I could run them on my pc....I ended up buying another set for my pc.

 

[Ed Moxley]

An entry level receiver (Sony), with separate speakers, compared to an entry level HTIB is comparing apples to oranges. Not even close to being the same. If you had read around the forums a little bit, you'd find that most of us tell people that the speakers are the weak link in any HTIB setup, even the Onkyos. A lot of us here, including myself, recommend Onkyo HTIBs on occasion. Reason being, the Onkyos give you a real receiver, with lots of inputs and features. We explain the speakers are the weak link, but the system is very upgradable, as funds allow. Upgrade to separate speakers with the Onkyo receiver, and I believe the Onkyo will sound a lot better than the Sony. Compare apples to apples............

You'll seldom see us recommend Sony receivers, because they don't seem to hold up, they don't have the features, and just aren't a lot of bang for the buck. Sony makes very good tvs and BD players, but their receivers leave a lot to be desired, until you get into the "ES" line, and even those are becoming questionable. An entry level Sony receiver and separate speakers probably is going to sound better than any HTIB, even Onkyo and Denon.

 

[Phil A]

I don't know that it is just Onkyo. I had many moons back an Onkyo 828 in the bedroom system and the person I sold it to is still using it. Digital formats have changed rapidly and it means new models with new features more often. Mass market companies come out with the latest and greatest as soon as possible and probably don't support last years model as well as they could. They probably figure for the bugs they have it is not a big issue if some customers move on. I've been looking at the possibility of a new rec'r in the basement system (which is not my main system) for about a month and many things have bugs and problems reported. I have on computer a copy of a Marantz 5004 owner's manual and was close to pulling the trigger on an authorized factory refurb and a used Rotel amp until I read about the problems with the 5004 and 6004. I have a 6003 in the bedroom system and the first unit I had died in about 3 weeks and the replacement has been fine for well over a year. I was then looking at an Onkyo 807 and contacted someone who was over my place for a listening session who owns one and that has bugs. So I am just going to wait until the next generation. I Marantz 7300 OSE for the amount of time I use the system is good enough. I have a PS3 down there and a Marantz DV9600 universal for SACD and DVD-A. If I want Hi-Rez audio from Blu-Ray (as the current rec'r has not HDMI), I'll consider moving the Samsung 2500 from he bedroom system (which has analog outs) if I upgrade in there.

There seems to be many more problems with units today as more stuff relies on electronics. It's not just audio stuff. I had the fridge repaired the other day (GE Monogram) as the upper part of the freezer and ice maker were not right. There's a little fan the circulates the air (otherwise hot air rises) and the technician plugged a computer in to it and it diagnosed the problem as an electronics board which had access in the back of the unit. The technician noticed my very old gas dryer (a Maytag that is probably about 20 years old and I spend $60 once to repair one part - far cheaper than the $300 board for the fridge) and told me never to replace it as long as it works.

 

[Chuck251]

ONKYO Sucks!


I have always used Pioneer or Denon, but my brother bought onkyo. He had it 3.5 yrs, and used it probably 10 times. I pulled it out to connect an HDMI cable, it wasn't knocked, dropped or damaged in anyway. It was resting on a drawer, fully supported, yet it went into circuit protection mode. It cost me 40 dollars to ship, because as one tech put it, ONKYO doesn’t distribute parts and send info, even to “Authorized Repair Centers.” They are merely to send it to ONKYO. They figured out the problem in a couple of weeks and I authorized 125.00 to fix it. Almost 3 Months have gone by, and they just barely got around to ship it. They would return any emails, I got the run around on the phone, and even Fry’s couldn’t get any info. So 165.00 and 3 months later, I am still waiting and still don’t know why it went into CP mode. I have had a Denon for 10 years and it has been through hell, never having had one single problem. ONKYO Sucks! Their Service Sucks. Their product sucks. Their employees suck.

I have always used Pioneer or Denon, but my brother bought onkyo. He had it 3.5 yrs, and used it probably 10 times. I pulled it out to connect an HDMI cable, it wasn't knocked, dropped or damaged in anyway. It was resting on a drawer, fully supported, yet it went into circuit protection mode. It cost me 40 dollars to ship, because as one tech put it, ONKYO doesn’t distribute parts and send info, even to “Authorized Repair Centers.” They are merely to send it to ONKYO. They figured out the problem in a couple of weeks and I authorized 125.00 to fix it. Almost 3 Months have gone by, and they just barely got around to ship it. They would return any emails, I got the run around on the phone, and even Fry’s couldn’t get any info. So 165.00 and 3 months later, I am still waiting and still don’t know why it went into CP mode. I have had a Denon for 10 years and it has been through hell, never having had one single problem. ONKYO Sucks! Their Service Sucks. Their product sucks. Their employees suck.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Protect mode can happen to any brand receiver. Your brother used it 10 times in 3.5 yrs.? Humidity probably played a big part in his problem, from not being used, and just sitting there. Not good for any electronics to just sit there.


If you do a search, you'll find that most of the threads about protect mode is for Sony receivers. But there's also some for other brands too. Here's one for Denon: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/224581/denon-protection-circuit-question

Here's one for Marantz: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/127194/marantz-sr7300-and-protect-mode

How about one for Harman Kardon: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/204422/amp-going-into-protection-mode-with-rear-channels

Don't forget Yamaha: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/190557/problem-with-new-htr-5760-protection-triggers

Oh yeah, Pioneer has it's problems too: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/280300/pioneer-vsx-1014-shuts-off-intermittently


If you checked the links, you saw that all brands have problems, including your precious Pioneers!

But you choose to join and immediately make your very first post whining and crying about how much Onkyo sucks, because your brother had a problem with his after it sit for 3.5 yrs., and was hardly used! If you don't want problems with electronics, I'd suggest you never buy another piece of electronics, of any brand! Then you'll be assured of not having any problems.............