Bought it last time, I think it may have been $15 more. Works well, but I have yet to add the 2 additional atmos/ceiling speakers. I like that I've been able to consolidate my 3 old controllers to just one.
Presently listening to this... only problem is occasionally the sound goes out- specifically when I'm fast forwarding on my DVR... just changed out all my wires- so hopefully that fixes it- otherwise I like it.
@JollyGator like mine quite a bit. Sometimes the sound stops working and I have to factory reset it, haven't spent the time to figure out what's potentially wrong with it. Happens maybe once a month. (It takes about 30 seconds to factory reset it and I'm too lazy to troubleshoot now)
@f00l I'm giving you a star just because you were nice enough to give one to absolutely every single post in the entire thread, and no one returned the favor...
It's kinda funny that now that you can get good deals on these receivers, nobody really wants it or needs it and get by with just BT speakers. could have bought 10 of them about 10 years ago.
Bought this last time at $280. Super easy to set up, I use the optical in for my cable sound and HDMI for everything else. Bluetooth and Zone 2 are awesome (can listen to music from my phone in hot tub on the patio while kids watch tv inside) sound is fantastic and really notice the Atmos!! Went from a Marantz 5005 7.1 to this and am very happy, well worth the 280 (or 265 now, I feel hu meh liated;)
This is the one with Atmos they said to wait for! And it look like it has the HDMI2 they said to wait for. Looking over at Amazon, it's got the 7.2 I need, (up from the 7.1 Onkyo I have). Yeah, this is the one I want I'm pretty sure. (I have this fear I'm going to wait too long before I start upgrading, and then when one component finally does break down, I'm going to have to buy all new components as nothing will be running the old technology). This is the one i want. Now we just have to decide on who's going to buy it for me.
Why is it in 2016 when I have a super computer in my pocket that's 1/8" thick, laptops are thinner than actual paper notebooks, TV's are 80" across and so thin they are flush with the wall........yet audio receivers are still the exact same size and form factor as 1966 vintage vacuum tube models.
I could grab a pillow and blanket and bed down on that thing for a nap.
@Ebrake Couple of reasons… first of all, the size is already essentially standardized (width/sort of depth, at least), so that components fit (relatively) nicely together. More importantly, not everything fits Moore's law. Power delivered to an amplifier still requires a pretty hefty transformer. A lot of amplification has moved to Class D chip devices, but for higher-end sound, folks still want more discrete components, laid out internally such that there isn't interference. Now, this unit is Class D, but the only reason even that's possible in this space is that your tube amplifier would have been two channel (quad was introduced '69, I believe), vs. 7 channels of amplification here (plus two for the 2nd zone, assuming everything can run at once). And while Class D is efficient, there's still a lot of heat to deal with. All things considered, this is the hi-fi miniaturization analogue you speak of.
Because it handles a lot of power it needs a large transformer, and storing energy to replicate the sound also creates heat. Consumer amplifiers are passively cooled (no fans) and that also takes up space. It's like speakers (among other things), sometimes there's no replacement for displacement.
Couple of points to note on this unit, for better or for worse: - Dolby Atmos and DTS:X would be nice, but I don't have the speakers yet. Who does? And how many movies support it? Even while people say 3D is dying, there are almost as many new releases on blu-ray in 3D as there are that have Atmos audio tracks. Maybe someday it will mean something, but for now 5.1 is still the basic standard. I'll hit 7.2 before I hit 5.1.2 - 4K/UHD would be nice, but don't have that TV yet (waiting for OLED to come down in price :P), not to mention the limit on how many of the HDMI ports are HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2 compatible. That kind of puts a damper on how many 4K devices you can have in use. And there's the fact that Blu-ray 2.0 players are still like $500+ (as of this writing, and since their release a few months back). Amazon FireTV has some of the best 4K, but could I plug that in, and my gaming PC, and a new blu-ray player? Not here. - Network/Bluetooth options are cool, but haven't changed much in the last few years. Network functions work better via AppleTV (not to mention having AirPlay, which Onkyo has neglected), Roku, Amazon FireTV, or Chromecast anyway. And if you want good audio, Bluetooth isn't the way to go without aptX to boost your audio resolution to something beyond ultra-compressed mp3 sound through your home theatre. May sound lame and old-fashioned, but just wire your device in, or stream it from your PC in full-res. - Audio quality for Onkyo has been one of their proud points, and this unit is no exception. The THD is pretty impressive, considering the extraneous gadgetry, and the price point. Just starting a real home theatre? Looking to upgrade from a soundbar, or the TV speakers (perish the thought that anyone uses those!)? Well, here's a great chance. Decent power for many speakers, good quality amps, and surprisingly good DACs make this a solid (albeit heavy) choice. - Quality control has been an Onkyo issue in the past, particularly with HDMI sisterboards. This seems to have cleared up, leaving you with the options of either allowing direct video passthrough, upscaling, and/or a few different picture modes. Personally, I would only ever use passthrough since my TV does scaling better, and is calibrated. But you've got options, and they shouldn't have the same failure rate as many of the older models, or competitors' models within similar competition.
My take, for now: Meh! Not quite enough power, or enough HDMI inputs for me. I'll stick with my "old" TX-NR809 for a while yet... THX certification, Audyssey calibration (abandoned by Onkyo a couple years back), twice the power, and a few more HDMI ports (two more in, and one more out), as well as a phono input - Pretty good reasons for me to pass. Although I would love to have something like this for a more mobile solution, like to power loudspeakers when doing a projector screen movie in the park, or to have for a spare 'oom or separate portion of the house (again, my old unit has multi-zone capability anyway).
@arosiriak That TX-NR809 is one sharp looking unit! Beautiful design. The Onkyo on sale today isn't too too, skimpy on power-but I know what you mean about getting used to a more robust amp and then sliding down to something with less watts.
This is awesome! I have an Onkyo TX-SR605 which I absolutely love. Except, not enough HDMI in (only 2), zone 2 is only for analog inputs. This fixes both those problems, and adds AirPlay! And could plug my already set up speaker. Onkyo technical support has been amazing over the years (my 2 year old pushed every button and changed every setting, and they were very patient trying to figure out how to get it working again.) I think I'll ship it to the office, and set it up when my wife away, she'll never know I spent $265 replacing working electronics with cooler new electronics!
ok, TX does not stand for Transmitter. It stands for Texas (i.e. the Texas province in China). It's next to the Ohio province. NR stands for North Region because everyone knows Texas, China is north of Beijing. And the 545 is the local area code in Texas (and other parts of the North Region of China). duh.
Bought it last time and it was an impressive sound upgrade from my Denon. I don't think you can beat this price point for what you get even with 5.1 speakers...
So, if this thing is so great, then why does it keep showing up here? Why is it even here in the first place? If it's so great, then why is it so mehdiocre?
I just got this for my birthday yesterday. So far, it's excellent! My wife bought it off of www.accessories4less.com. Yes it is refurbished, but in the case of receivers, that means the buggy parts are now fixed. it was 249.99 there.
@RedOak meh, it still comes with a 1 year warranty from Onkyo, and as i said, with receivers, I'd generally rather have a factory refurb, lots of things that were wrong in initial production get fixed.
@RedOak So fucking what? If everyone wanted the same thing, at the same price, in the same condition, we'd only have one of everything. Cut him some slack and welcome to a free market economy.
@RedOak Exactly my point. Everyone's entitled to their opinion as to whether buying the device new or as a refurb is what they want to do. Stop berating @ishmael5 for his choices.
I bought this on the last sale, upgrade from an old Onkyo. Love the HDMI switching, love the Airplay which you can configure to wake the receiver. So you can connect to it while it's off (in standby) and start it going from Airplay. I was hoping that Pandora and Spotify would be easier then my Apple TV but you need to go through the menu on the TV to get it playing. I used the calibration function with the included microphone and it sounds a lot better then my old Onkyo that I 'calibrated' by ear. I also like the Onkyo Remote IOS app, better layout then the Logitech Harmony IOS app (I'm using the Logitech Smart Hub with IR repeaters). I have not yet configured Atmos, but I picked up a couple movies with the Atmos sound track, 5th Element and Fury Road. I am probably going to use the configuration where you just mount small speakers up high pointing at the user, or pointing at the ceiling to reflect the sound down. Just haven't put together the speaker mount and found the small speaker that has spouse approval for appearance and cost. I was going to use Orbs but I can't find any deals anymore on the previous model. Any suggestions on a cheap, small, decent quality speaker ideally in white?
Kudos to Meh for getting on the official Onkyo Dealer list since that seems to be a common objection to online buying - whether the warranty will be honored.
I couldn't figure out why Onkyo would be so accommodating when their product is being sold by Meh for $50-100 less than the going rate... ($35 less than Groupon if you have VMP... and they've sold 'over a thousand' of them at that price). This model has been replaced. The discount makes perfect sense for a still very nicely featured receiver.
Oddly, Onkyo seems to take a "if you're on our shit list (Un -authorized list) then we won't honor the warranty" stance. Rather than "You must be on our Authorized Dealer List".
I may buy one of these just to get all the neat stuff on the back of the receiver. I'll position it so the back is facing out and the front is against the wall.
I have this and it is great! Got it the last time Meh offered it a few weeks ago.... wish I coulda waited and saved a few more $$$. The HDMI set up is nice.. I have my Blue-ray player, Chromecast and Amazon Fire Stick all attached and I have had no issues. I really use it a lot to stream Spotify from my phone via BT or the Spotify App on my Fire Stick. It made my existing speakers sound 10x better!
@Skotyman Since it requires a dedicated equalization circuit as well as a considerable amount of preamplification (and therefore isolation from digital and mains noise), no… you don't just 'throw in' a phono input.
I usually buy from newegg, which features good service and usually good prices, but they are selling this same Onkyo receiver for $499.00, so I'm trying out meh. Fingers crossed.
Specs
Highlights:
Audio:
Power output (All Channels):
Dynamic Power:
160 W (3 Ohms, Front)
125 W (4 Ohms, Front)
85 W (8 Ohms, Front)
THD+N: 0.08% (20 Hz–20 kHz, Half Power)
Damping Factor: 60 (Front, 1 kHz, 8 Ohms)
Input Sensitivity and Impedance: 200 mV/47 k-ohms (Line)
Rated RCA Output Level and Impedance:
Maximum RCA Output Level and Impedance:
1.0 V/2.2 k-ohms (Zone 2 Line Out)
2.0 V/470 ohms (Subwoofer Pre Out)
Frequency Response: 10 Hz–100 kHz/+1 dB, -3 dB (Direct Mode)
Tone Control:
±10 dB, 20 Hz (Bass)
±10 dB, 20 kHz (Treble)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 100 dB (Line, IHF-A)
Speaker Impedance: 6 ohms–16 ohms
FM range: 87.5 MHz–107.9 MHz
AM range: 530 kHz–1,710 kHz
FM/AM Preset Memory: 40 stations
Video:
Everything Else:
Condition: New
Warranty: 2 year Onkyo
Estimated Delivery: 5/23 - 5/25
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Onkyo Receiver
1x Remote controller
1x AM loop antenna
1x Indoor FM antenna
1x Speaker setup microphone
Pictures
1/4 view
Back
Front
Remote
Price Comparison
$599 List, $369.80 at Amazon (30 reviews, sold by Amazon)
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
It has Bluetooth!
@mehhead I think that's BT in, not out. I was hoping that it would pair with my Marley BT headphones.
If it plays in full dubly, I'm in.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=spinal+tap+dubly&t=iphone&iax=1&ia=videos&iai=P6Fc_5slG_Q
@KenC
You can buy a Bluetooth transmitter on Amazon for less than $20. It will Bluetooth your headphones for you.
@aschiaroli Thanks, I was obviously too lazy to look!
Oh cool, the meh button has evolved beyond a circle!
Dynamite
Buying it. I was actually looking into this exact model to buy at Fry's this weekend! Thx Meh!!
$100 and I'll bite.
Well received - well "meh" be
Nr means network ready
Seems like a lot of repeats recently. Warehouse must have run out of space or something. Somebody buy this crap.
Thanks. You're a saint. Or something.
meh I'd buy it but I don't wanna
Dayton 12 chnl plz.
Or Denon.
Or.....get crazy......McIntosh.......
I was mentioned on the product page of the one true daily deal site, I'm famous! Thanks @dave I won't let it go to my head!
Bought it last time, I think it may have been $15 more. Works well, but I have yet to add the 2 additional atmos/ceiling speakers. I like that I've been able to consolidate my 3 old controllers to just one.
@KenC, wouldn't a Harmony Remote been a LOT cheaper
?
@haydesigner Ha, those Harmonies are quite pricey!
Presently listening to this... only problem is occasionally the sound goes out- specifically when I'm fast forwarding on my DVR... just changed out all my wires- so hopefully that fixes it- otherwise I like it.
@gozags9 I have the same problem with mine. Typically a factory reset solves it.
@gozags9 me too. are you with Dish? I'm not optimistic about a factory reset but will give it a try.
I'd say that somebody had just a little bit too much fun making that animation last photo gif
pff. no tape 2 monitor. meh.
Can anyone speak for this product? Is it actually a good product or not?
@JollyGator like mine quite a bit. Sometimes the sound stops working and I have to factory reset it, haven't spent the time to figure out what's potentially wrong with it. Happens maybe once a month. (It takes about 30 seconds to factory reset it and I'm too lazy to troubleshoot now)
@will that isn't good. Receivers are supposed to sit on the shelf and just plain work for 20+ years without complaint.
Mediocrebot put this up for sale 22 minutes ago and 3wks ago and stay tuned for the next installment.
Clean up on aisle...
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's......nothing! Wait, I don't see anything up in the sky.
Oh, not spoze to look, spozed to listen! It's sound, up in the sky.
I don't hear anything.
Oops, forgot to install the Atmos speakers.
Well, I'm not rich, can't pay to have experts do it for me. And I'm clueless about all the handiwork.
OK, time for a few beers to drown my sorrows over lack of 3D sound.
Think I'll stay meh.
@f00l I'm giving you a star just because you were nice enough to give one to absolutely every single post in the entire thread, and no one returned the favor...
It's kinda funny that now that you can get good deals on these receivers, nobody really wants it or needs it and get by with just BT speakers.
could have bought 10 of them about 10 years ago.
Bought this last time at $280. Super easy to set up, I use the optical in for my cable sound and HDMI for everything else. Bluetooth and Zone 2 are awesome (can listen to music from my phone in hot tub on the patio while kids watch tv inside) sound is fantastic and really notice the Atmos!! Went from a Marantz 5005 7.1 to this and am very happy, well worth the 280 (or 265 now, I feel hu meh liated;)
This is the one with Atmos they said to wait for! And it look like it has the HDMI2 they said to wait for. Looking over at Amazon, it's got the 7.2 I need, (up from the 7.1 Onkyo I have).
Yeah, this is the one I want I'm pretty sure. (I have this fear I'm going to wait too long before I start upgrading, and then when one component finally does break down, I'm going to have to buy all new components as nothing will be running the old technology).
This is the one i want. Now we just have to decide on who's going to buy it for me.
Why is it in 2016 when I have a super computer in my pocket that's 1/8" thick, laptops are thinner than actual paper notebooks, TV's are 80" across and so thin they are flush with the wall........yet audio receivers are still the exact same size and form factor as 1966 vintage vacuum tube models.
I could grab a pillow and blanket and bed down on that thing for a nap.
@Ebrake too hot for a human to bed down on, but my cats love it.
@Ebrake If you look inside, that cabinet is a lot more empty than it was in the tube days.
How would all those connectors on the back fit on a slim, inch and a half tall receiver?
Once everyone has settled on HDMI or its replacement, I'd guess we'll commonly see slim receivers.
@Ebrake Couple of reasons… first of all, the size is already essentially standardized (width/sort of depth, at least), so that components fit (relatively) nicely together. More importantly, not everything fits Moore's law. Power delivered to an amplifier still requires a pretty hefty transformer. A lot of amplification has moved to Class D chip devices, but for higher-end sound, folks still want more discrete components, laid out internally such that there isn't interference. Now, this unit is Class D, but the only reason even that's possible in this space is that your tube amplifier would have been two channel (quad was introduced '69, I believe), vs. 7 channels of amplification here (plus two for the 2nd zone, assuming everything can run at once). And while Class D is efficient, there's still a lot of heat to deal with. All things considered, this is the hi-fi miniaturization analogue you speak of.
@ellett ha, our cat spends half the day on our Onyko (also from Meh) too! I'm afraid to peek inside the vents...
Because it handles a lot of power it needs a large transformer, and storing energy to replicate the sound also creates heat. Consumer amplifiers are passively cooled (no fans) and that also takes up space. It's like speakers (among other things), sometimes there's no replacement for displacement.
@demonseed Beat me to the punch. Amen to the lot of it!
Couple of points to note on this unit, for better or for worse:
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X would be nice, but I don't have the speakers yet. Who does? And how many movies support it? Even while people say 3D is dying, there are almost as many new releases on blu-ray in 3D as there are that have Atmos audio tracks. Maybe someday it will mean something, but for now 5.1 is still the basic standard. I'll hit 7.2 before I hit 5.1.2
- 4K/UHD would be nice, but don't have that TV yet (waiting for OLED to come down in price :P), not to mention the limit on how many of the HDMI ports are HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2 compatible. That kind of puts a damper on how many 4K devices you can have in use. And there's the fact that Blu-ray 2.0 players are still like $500+ (as of this writing, and since their release a few months back). Amazon FireTV has some of the best 4K, but could I plug that in, and my gaming PC, and a new blu-ray player? Not here.
- Network/Bluetooth options are cool, but haven't changed much in the last few years. Network functions work better via AppleTV (not to mention having AirPlay, which Onkyo has neglected), Roku, Amazon FireTV, or Chromecast anyway. And if you want good audio, Bluetooth isn't the way to go without aptX to boost your audio resolution to something beyond ultra-compressed mp3 sound through your home theatre. May sound lame and old-fashioned, but just wire your device in, or stream it from your PC in full-res.
- Audio quality for Onkyo has been one of their proud points, and this unit is no exception. The THD is pretty impressive, considering the extraneous gadgetry, and the price point. Just starting a real home theatre? Looking to upgrade from a soundbar, or the TV speakers (perish the thought that anyone uses those!)? Well, here's a great chance. Decent power for many speakers, good quality amps, and surprisingly good DACs make this a solid (albeit heavy) choice.
- Quality control has been an Onkyo issue in the past, particularly with HDMI sisterboards. This seems to have cleared up, leaving you with the options of either allowing direct video passthrough, upscaling, and/or a few different picture modes. Personally, I would only ever use passthrough since my TV does scaling better, and is calibrated. But you've got options, and they shouldn't have the same failure rate as many of the older models, or competitors' models within similar competition.
My take, for now:
Meh!
Not quite enough power, or enough HDMI inputs for me. I'll stick with my "old" TX-NR809 for a while yet... THX certification, Audyssey calibration (abandoned by Onkyo a couple years back), twice the power, and a few more HDMI ports (two more in, and one more out), as well as a phono input - Pretty good reasons for me to pass. Although I would love to have something like this for a more mobile solution, like to power loudspeakers when doing a projector screen movie in the park, or to have for a spare 'oom or separate portion of the house (again, my old unit has multi-zone capability anyway).
@arosiriak That TX-NR809 is one sharp looking unit! Beautiful design. The Onkyo on sale today isn't too too, skimpy on power-but I know what you mean about getting used to a more robust amp and then sliding down to something with less watts.
I DO like the lines on your old Onkyo!
This is awesome! I have an Onkyo TX-SR605 which I absolutely love. Except, not enough HDMI in (only 2), zone 2 is only for analog inputs. This fixes both those problems, and adds AirPlay! And could plug my already set up speaker. Onkyo technical support has been amazing over the years (my 2 year old pushed every button and changed every setting, and they were very patient trying to figure out how to get it working again.) I think I'll ship it to the office, and set it up when my wife away, she'll never know I spent $265 replacing working electronics with cooler new electronics!
ok, TX does not stand for Transmitter. It stands for Texas (i.e. the Texas province in China). It's next to the Ohio province. NR stands for North Region because everyone knows Texas, China is north of Beijing. And the 545 is the local area code in Texas (and other parts of the North Region of China). duh.
"The thing's hollow! It goes on forever, and... oh My God, it's full of stars!" - Bowman
... oh and I got VMP... it's such a value.
@cshillaber
I hear you.
meh, my roku stick has pandora... works for the once a month that I use it. when I remodel the house I'll add this
Bought it last time and it was an impressive sound upgrade from my Denon. I don't think you can beat this price point for what you get even with 5.1 speakers...
So, if this thing is so great, then why does it keep showing up here? Why is it even here in the first place? If it's so great, then why is it so mehdiocre?
@Marion14505 Maybe because it's a good product at a good price and it sells?
I just got this for my birthday yesterday. So far, it's excellent! My wife bought it off of www.accessories4less.com. Yes it is refurbished, but in the case of receivers, that means the buggy parts are now fixed. it was 249.99 there.
@ishmael5 I'd gladly pay a premium of a lot more than 15 bucks to get new. Sorry for your loss.
@RedOak meh, it still comes with a 1 year warranty from Onkyo, and as i said, with receivers, I'd generally rather have a factory refurb, lots of things that were wrong in initial production get fixed.
@ishmael5 vs a two year warranty if new. Your buying preference is eccentric.
@RedOak So fucking what? If everyone wanted the same thing, at the same price, in the same condition, we'd only have one of everything. Cut him some slack and welcome to a free market economy.
@Marion14505 bad day huh? Have a beer. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
@RedOak Exactly my point. Everyone's entitled to their opinion as to whether buying the device new or as a refurb is what they want to do. Stop berating @ishmael5 for his choices.
I bought this on the last sale, upgrade from an old Onkyo. Love the HDMI switching, love the Airplay which you can configure to wake the receiver. So you can connect to it while it's off (in standby) and start it going from Airplay. I was hoping that Pandora and Spotify would be easier then my Apple TV but you need to go through the menu on the TV to get it playing. I used the calibration function with the included microphone and it sounds a lot better then my old Onkyo that I 'calibrated' by ear. I also like the Onkyo Remote IOS app, better layout then the Logitech Harmony IOS app (I'm using the Logitech Smart Hub with IR repeaters).
I have not yet configured Atmos, but I picked up a couple movies with the Atmos sound track, 5th Element and Fury Road. I am probably going to use the configuration where you just mount small speakers up high pointing at the user, or pointing at the ceiling to reflect the sound down. Just haven't put together the speaker mount and found the small speaker that has spouse approval for appearance and cost. I was going to use Orbs but I can't find any deals anymore on the previous model.
Any suggestions on a cheap, small, decent quality speaker ideally in white?
I own the TX-NR509.
It wasn't my first Onkyo receiver.
It WILL be my last.
Kudos to Meh for getting on the official Onkyo Dealer list since that seems to be a common objection to online buying - whether the warranty will be honored.
I couldn't figure out why Onkyo would be so accommodating when their product is being sold by Meh for $50-100 less than the going rate... ($35 less than Groupon if you have VMP... and they've sold 'over a thousand' of them at that price). This model has been replaced. The discount makes perfect sense for a still very nicely featured receiver.
Oddly, Onkyo seems to take a "if you're on our shit list (Un -authorized list) then we won't honor the warranty" stance. Rather than "You must be on our Authorized Dealer List".
I may buy one of these just to get all the neat stuff on the back of the receiver. I'll position it so the back is facing out and the front is against the wall.
I have this and it is great! Got it the last time Meh offered it a few weeks ago.... wish I coulda waited and saved a few more $$$. The HDMI set up is nice.. I have my Blue-ray player, Chromecast and Amazon Fire Stick all attached and I have had no issues. I really use it a lot to stream Spotify from my phone via BT or the Spotify App on my Fire Stick. It made my existing speakers sound 10x better!
They couldn't just throw in a phono in and button in front. That's just rude. Pass.
@Skotyman Since it requires a dedicated equalization circuit as well as a considerable amount of preamplification (and therefore isolation from digital and mains noise), no… you don't just 'throw in' a phono input.
@brhfl And yet, all these years....a phono in.
@Skotyman i hate that i cant get a phono in on tgeae things. I had to buy a preamp for my turntable
I usually buy from newegg, which features good service and usually good prices, but they are selling this same Onkyo receiver for $499.00, so I'm trying out meh. Fingers crossed.
I have no idea what Atmos is but I really want to see that Krypto the Super-Dog movie!
This is a work horse of a receiver and the best price I've ever seen!