# What's so special about Onkyo?



## Bags1103 (May 23, 2012)

I have been on here only for about 2 weeks now, but it seems like Onkyo is very heavily liked.
What is so special about Onkyo?
I am curious because I want to make sure I just spent a bunch of money and want to make sure that maybe I bought the wrong stuff?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The biggest selling point to Onkyo that cant be disputed is they pack alot of features into a receiver for less money. They always do very well in bench tests for all channels driven power output mostly because they put a much larger transformer in them to power the internal amps something that it seems every other receiver manufacturer misses.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Bags1103 said:


> I have been on here only for about 2 weeks now, but it seems like Onkyo is very heavily liked.
> What is so special about Onkyo?
> I am curious because I want to make sure I just spent a bunch of money and want to make sure that maybe I bought the wrong stuff?


Youd think the most bells and whistles would always be right, but for me Onkyo was the wrong stuff. On paper they look good but in practice I found them to have a sound I didnt like when compared to either Emotiva or Marantz. Sound aside, there were also some quirks that just didnt work for me no matter how many features they crammed into the box, Im still pretty sure Onkyo cannot _consistently_ make a stable HDMI AVR like other manufactures Ive experienced. Granted, they continue to offer bleeding-edge features but I personally wasnt impressed with their implementation in the year I owned their 3007. Lots of people are happy with Onkyos, and Ive personally not ruled-out future ownership, but my direct comparisons in the past have given me pause in believing them to be the last word in audio quality and their execution of a plan for a reliable HDMI AVR. In my experience its near impossible to beat an Onkyo in features but fairly easy to beat them in sound quality and implementation.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

You might talk to some dealers that sell, install, and service Onkyo and other brands and get their views on comparisons. Just remember that dealers will make preference decisions on many factors, including the margin that they can make on a brand. If you find someone who does their own installations and service, however, you might get a better idea of the whole story.


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## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

Bags1103 said:


> Onkyo is very heavily liked.
> What is so special about Onkyo?
> I am curious because I want to make sure I just spent a bunch of money and want to make sure that maybe I bought the wrong stuff?


Hello

In most cases, you'll definitely get much more bang for the buck with Onkyo, so it's a hard deal to beat as long as build quality remains sufficiently high and return rate or support needs remain sufficiently low.


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## megageek (Oct 27, 2011)

I find onkyo's deliver the power they promise. Mine is rated at 130wrms per chanel and its been very reliable for the years ive had it. 
They seem to sound better with surround stuff than they do with stereo stuff tho. Could be me tho?...


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## doublejroc (Feb 5, 2011)

THX certification attracted me to their receivers. it's like a subconscious piece of mind that they will perform with quality and long duration.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

THX for me is not so much the certification but the processing modes you get with it. Very useful.


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

TypeA said:


> Youd think the most bells and whistles would always be right, but for me Onkyo was the wrong stuff. On paper they look good but in practice I found them to have a sound I didnt like when compared to either Emotiva or Marantz. Sound aside, there were also some quirks that just didnt work for me no matter how many features they crammed into the box, Im still pretty sure Onkyo cannot _consistently_ make a stable HDMI AVR like other manufactures Ive experienced. Granted, they continue to offer bleeding-edge features but I personally wasnt impressed with their implementation in the year I owned their 3007. Lots of people are happy with Onkyos, and Ive personally not ruled-out future ownership, but my direct comparisons in the past have given me pause in believing them to be the last word in audio quality and their execution of a plan for a reliable HDMI AVR. In my experience its near impossible to beat an Onkyo in features but fairly easy to beat them in sound quality and implementation.


Different strokes for different folks I guess. I had a Onkyo 886 pre-pro which I directly compared to a Marantz AV7005 in my system. The Marantz was better for music as it had a warmer character to the sound but for movies the Onkyo blew it away IMO. When was the last time you heard anyone say that they preferred the warm laid back sound of a pre-pro for movies over the more dynamic, detailed pre-pro? The Marantz sounded dull in comparison for movies. I know have a Onkyo 5508 which is much better musically than the 886 but still retains the detailed, dynamic character of the 886 that the Marantz lacked.

I guess if you have a system that is bright to begin with than the Marantz would calm that brightness. if you have a neutral system then the Marantz would dull the sound as it did in mine.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

sub_crazy said:


> Different strokes for different folks I guess. I had a Onkyo 886 pre-pro which I directly compared to a Marantz AV7005 in my system. The Marantz was better for music as it had a warmer character to the sound but for movies the Onkyo blew it away IMO. When was the last time you heard anyone say that they preferred the warm laid back sound of a pre-pro for movies over the more dynamic, detailed pre-pro? The Marantz sounded dull in comparison for movies. I know have a Onkyo 5508 which is much better musically than the 886 but still retains the detailed, dynamic character of the 886 that the Marantz lacked.
> 
> I guess if you have a system that is bright to begin with than the Marantz would calm that brightness. if you have a neutral system then the Marantz would dull the sound as it did in mine.


Different strokes for different folks is definitely right as my experiences were the exact opposite from yours. Onkyo was either more veiled, dull, or lacking in mid range detail compared to either my Marantz 7002 or 8002, the simple Emotiva UMC-1 took out the sizzle of the highs produced by the 3007 during music playback, something that took me by surprise in my review last year. Whats most interesting is the 3007 was only one model below flagship for that year, yet was bested with everything I listened to and suffered from HDMI handshake issues neither Marantz has ever had. The only advantage the 3007 seem to have was in bass management of the twin subs I had in zone 1 at the time, the Marantz always seemed more reserved in bass.

But then, as I mentioned, I will still consider Onkyo for future AVRs when the time comes. TBH the 3007 was my first impression and only impression of Onkyo and it would be completely unfair to make it my _last_ impression


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## sub_crazy (Nov 17, 2007)

We were also comparing different models, you the 3007 vs 7002 and 8002 and me the 886 and 5508 vs 7005. Both are comparisons could be right on for the different models.

Stay thirsty my friend


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## informel (Jun 21, 2011)

I had a Yamaha before and changed to an Onkyo (TX/NR709) while reading on this forum (and because I wanted HDMI in/ou). The only issue I have with HDMI comes from the scientific Atlanta cable box, it is the old model and is HDMI 1.0, so I beleive in my case the problem is not thw receuver but the cable box.

When I bought it, my sub was defective, but Odyssey does such a good job that while listening to music, I was not missing my sub (not so with movies).

My sub is now fixed and I recalibrate the whole thing, but I had to turn off dinamic eq because the base was simply too present, I did not like it at all, but it was ok without the sub.

I guess you have to play with the setup until you are satisfied with the result


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
For me, where Onkyo truly shines is with their Amplifier Stages. Mind you, many AVR's do not come remotely close to meeting their rated output power. Especially into 5/7 Channels. Yet, even with Onkyo $599 TX-NR609, it Bench Tests so well that it shames some $1000 AVR's.

Here os the Bench Test of the TX-NR609:
"HT Labs Measures
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 81.0 watts 
1% distortion at 95.1 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 77.7 watts 
1% distortion at 88.9 watts
This graph shows that the TX-NR609’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 105.6 watts and 1 percent distortion at 124.3 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 146.8 watts and 1 percent distortion at 188.6 watts.

Here is the Bench Test of the $1100 Yamaha Aventage RX-A1000:
"Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 53.9 watts 
1% distortion at 63.8 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 53.0 watts 
1% distortion at 63.6 watts
This graph shows that the RX- A1000’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 121.0 watts and 1 per- cent distortion at 135.3 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 per- cent distortion at 177.8 watts and 1 percent distortion at 213.9 watts.

And here is the Bench Test of the $1200 Marantz SR6006:
"Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 127.9 watts 
1% distortion at 153.2 watts

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 75.9 watts 
1% distortion at 92.0 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 71.3 watts 
1% distortion at 83.4 watts
This graph shows that the SR6006’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 127.9 watts and 1 percent distortion at 153.2 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 156.8 watts and 1 percent distortion at 195.8 watts.

And for an Onkyo priced about the same as the Yamaha and Marantz:
"HT Labs Measures
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 116.5 watts 
1% distortion at 131.2 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 
0.1% distortion at 86.1 watts 
1% distortion at 100.6 watts
This graph shows that the TX-NR1009’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 145.7 watts and 1 percent distortion at 179.5 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 218.1 watts and 1 percent distortion at 250.4 watts.

And if that was not enough, the current Onkyo's offer excellent Video Processing in the guise of Marvell Qdeo and in more expensive Models the tandem of Qdeo and HQV Vida. Moreover, Onkyo offers Audyssey which is my personal favorite of the commonly available Room EQ's. While like Type A I had issues with my TX-NR3007, but my TX-SR805 and 875 are 5 years old plus and my TX-NR3008 has been a joy to use.
In addition, it is hard not to feel like on some other Forums that there are many there who seem to get their rocks off by bashing Onkyo while very few Members here have had many issues and just today Onkyo offered a $1000 plus Warranty Repair on an Out of Warranty AVR as their Customer Service is so often trashed. To me, the numbers and features speak for themselves.
Cheers,
JJ


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