# Jump off the Onkyo ship or hang on for the ride?



## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I purchased my Onkyo TX-NR515 early last year for a great deal and haven't used it much since I'm still building my dedicated HT. In the meantime I've hooked it up in my living room to my Tritrix mains and my Sharp LCD TV. (no surrounds) I've had the typical HDMI drop out issues that have plagued many AVR's over the years. My solution is only to do a soft reset of the receiver to get the picture to come back up. Unfortunately this solution also resets all the settings of the AVR. This seems to occur about once or twice a week.

The local, boutique-style A/V store I bought my AVR from has a trade-in allowance for the total original purchase price into an upgraded model. Therefore I can always upgrade and get into the next models in the future for minimal cost. With the release of the 626 which has 15 more WPC and upgrades my processing from 2EQ to MultEQ (subwoofer EQ now available), should I upgrade to the 626 for about $100 out of pocket or should I dump my 515 on craigslist and go to a different brand? My concern is that the 626 will also have the HDMI drop out issues... Thoughts?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I would test drive the upgrade... assuming your local shop will allow it. For only $100, I would think the 626 would be better with the upgraded Audyssey.

I have an 805 and have had an 875, 906 and 5508 with no HDMI issues. 

Are you sure it's not your HDMI cable... and/or issues with your display?


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I think it has to do with the sequencing of turning on the satellite box, the AVR and the TV. Or switching inputs on the AVR. I haven't tried to replicate the issue yet. We've been leaving the AVR on 24/7 and turn off the set top box and tv at night which seems to mitigate the issue. I do like the idea of upgrading the Audyessey and amp output for $100. Maybe I'll just upgrade and hope my new unit doesn't present the same issues.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Have you tried swapping out the HDMI cables with different ones? As Sonnie suggested they can caus issues on their own.


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## selden (Nov 15, 2009)

Press on their connections to make sure that the HDMI cables are fully seated. Since the cable's connector is not a locking design, some tend to come loose after a while, causing intermittent problems.

Another common problem is with the cable decoder box. Often their HDMI problems are eliminated by connecting them directly to the TV instead of going through a receiver. Run an S/PDIF audio cable from the set-top-box to the receiver so you'll still get full multichannel surround sound. Many TVs forward only stereo.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Bypassing the HDMI pretty much defeats the whole purpose of having an AVR.
If it is a turn on sequence issue a Harmony remote can be programmed to turn on the gear in any desired sequence with delays to allow full power up.


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## selden (Nov 15, 2009)

Technically, there's no need for an HDMI connection to an AVR from a cable box, and it's a relatively easy test for the OP to make.

TV and cable stations don't use the lossless surround-sound audio codecs. Channels with surround-sound use lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, which is transported fine by S/PDIF, both optical and coax. It'd be really nice if all cable boxes played nice with the HDMI repeaters used in AVRs, but too many of them do not. Often enough there are set-top-box firmware updates (over which the user has no control) which break working HDMI connections. This has happened several times with DirectTV, for example. Since they do continue to work fine when connected directly to a TV, there's no reason to endure the frustrations caused by their poor interactions with AVRs.

Of course, there are plenty of other HDMI devices which normally do work very well through AVRs. Blu-ray players come to mind 

And you can program a Harmony to do the switch between TV HDMI inputs and AVR inputs when you decide to watch (or listen) to one of your lossless audio or video sources. This can improve the WAF of such a configuration.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

I haven't tested different HDMI cables but I'm attributing this issue to my *cough* better half... I haven't had the issues she's experienced with her use of it. She's regulated to just leaving the AVR on 24/7 which I imagine is costing us additional $ on our energy bill and also potentially lessening the amps lifespan. I'm going to see if my shop will let me demo the new model to see if it has the same issues. I'd like to get this all sorted out before I install it in my dedicated room (in a year...).


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## selden (Nov 15, 2009)

Deciding on a particular receiver model now might be a bit premature if you won't be needing it for another year. Next summer's models are going to be providing HDMI v2.0, which supports 4K/60Hz video and many more audio channels.


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## mpednault (Dec 20, 2012)

Good point! That's also one of the reasons why I'm waiting on buying a PJ...


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## arkiedan (Oct 20, 2013)

I had an Onklyo 805 for around 5 years with no HDMI issues. I agree with others that many (not all) HDMI issues are cable related. My 805 had other problems, most related to the tedious way firmware had to be updated, but it was a beast until a lightning strike torched the HDMI board (along with many other electronics in my home). Good insurance bought me a new AVR and I picked the Denon 3313, which is everything the Onkyo 805 was not. 

Seems to me, if you dealer's upgrade program is not time-limited, that's the way to go. Wow! Get a 100% credit on an upgrade. 

As for wives? Let my wife touch my "stuff?" Hah! Not likely!


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

I have a Onkyo tx-nr809 and have yet to experience any HDMI issues. If it were me I would upgrade to the highest version of Audyssey that you can afford. XT32 being the target as long as you can swing the extra coin.


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