Is Onkyo a good brand

Welcome to CP! I have a 607, and have loved it. Very user friendly, great clean power for a mid/small room, and will drive most anything out there. Lots of up-to-date options too, I don't think you'll be dissapointed. In fact, mine should be for sale soon, I've got an upgrade arriving Saturday!

I really liked my Onkoy 706. It worked flawlessly, plenty of power, simple setup. Can't ask for much more starting out.

cnh wrote: »

Onkyo and Pioneer are pretty much the best price to feature Big Box store AVRs IMO. The 600 series is probably Onkyo's best selling unit. But you might want to consider stepping up to the 70X for its pre-outs if you want to upgrade and add a power amp for more power in the future.

If not, the 600 series does most of what you could ever ask for of a mid-fi AVR. I've had three Onkyos in my time (two Denons and a Pioneer). My main AVR is a 51lb Onkyo TX-SR805 (perhaps the best pound for pound/dollar for dollar value Onkyo ever put out).

cnh

+1 that, everything I've heard, points to the 805 being perhaps a bit of a fluke, but a very good fluke at that. If only they would have built on that platform!

Onkyo is a well respected brand, but check out Pioneer also, as they make great units in that price range.

I prefer Pioneer, but that's a personal preference.

Yes. My 807 is my 2nd Onkyo.

Looks like I am the lone dissenter here... I have to admit, the Onkyos are excellent units when working, but the last four generations of receivers have been having issues with their HDMI boards... I have an Onkyo TX-NR905 and a TX-NR906 receiver, their top of the line units. I really like the 905 so i bought the 906. Unfortunately, the 905 developed a problem with the HDMI board afterwards which it did not recognize anything plugged in to the receiver. The 906 started having HDMI issues as well, where the display would get a pattern of pink and green vertical stripes running across the screen. Onkyo wants $1000 for each HDMI board for repairs, not including labor since both units are now out of warranty (two years).

If you go to AVSForums, you will find a LOT of people with the same problem on several Onkyo receivers, from the 05/06/07/08 series. Apparently the HDMI board gets so hot, the capacitors all fail rendering the board useless after awhile. You can tell how hot it gets by putting your hand on top of the receiver where the HDMI board is. The case is so hot, you cannot keep your hand on it. Some people have said that placing a fan over the hot area cools the unit down enough so the problem is eliminated. Others are now chiming in that the fan just delays the inevitable failure.

Realizing how hot the boards get, i had a 120mm PC fan over my 906 since I bought it and it still ended up failing so I can attest about the issue. Unless the unit is under warranty, Onkyo will not do anything for this ongoing issue.

This issue is a real pity because in all other aspects, the Onkyo has been a solid performer, with a great amplification and pre-amp sections.

With that in mind, I cannot really recommend the Onkyo as a AVR unless you are willing to chance the inevitable failure down the road... My suggestion would be to look at either a Pioneer Elite or Sony ES receiver. I do not care for Denon ever since they moved production to China as their quality has been suspect (my Denon DVD player died twice under warranty, laser failure which apparently is not uncommon) and since their warranty is only one year. I think the Pioneer Elite is two years and the Sony ES has a five year warranty.

On my 4th Onkyo since I got into HT, and I couldn't be happier with it. I may upgrade whenever they implement Audyssey's LFC, but my 1007 has been outstanding. I've put a ton of hours on it without issue and don't particularly think there is a heat problem.

Love the Onkyo. My first receiver, a TX-NR807, lots of power, lots of features, one minor problem during an audyssey room correction run (after a dozen set ups or so) and it's gone MIA.

Have only owned it for a year, no prob, parts and labor for two years so I'm patiently waiting to get it back.

Would I purchase this unit again? Absolutely!

Oh yeah, heating issue, I use one of these, http://www.buyextras.com/evavcoblfanf.html and it stays cool to the touch.

cnh wrote: »

Gee...that fan system has two 2" fans in a 5.2" X 4" enclosure....that's awfully small for something the size of a monster Onkyo? Does such a small fan work?

cnh

Yeah they work, but due to how fast they run they can be loud. I would suggest thissystem instead. Its got 120mm computer fans that can spin lower meaning less noise, and move more air.

Or hell just buy a 120mm computer fan and the parts to get it to run off wall power rather than molex and call it a day. You could even plug it into to the switched outlet on the Onkyo so it only runs when the receiver is on.

But 120mm is as small as I would go just to be safe IMHO.

I had a 608 for about 7 months and just moved up to an 808.

Was having issues with dropped audio on both AVR's, which I finally nailed down to the HDMI board overheating and likely throwing errors into the bitstream. My theory anyway with my knowledge..

I can attest that the HDMI board gets very, very hot. I put a couple of 90mm fans at an angle blowing into the receiver directly onto the HDMI board. No more audio issues and it stays much cooler now.

Picked up the 808 from accessories4less and purchased the 3 year extended warranty. Other than the audio drop issues, I've been very happy with the performance of both Onkyo AVR's.

If you can afford it, get one with Adyssey MultiEQ (vs 2EQ). Makes a world of difference.

I've had no issues with my Onkyo TX-NR5008 and it's usually one of the brands I recommend the most based on features, reliability and reputation.

I've owned pioneer Elite,sony,and onkyo recievers! Onkyo was my favorite,awesome sound,and easy set-up and features! I now have a TX-SR876,and couldnt be happier! I also have a TX-SR608 and its also a great feature ridden, nice reciever! Im onkyo for life!

My first receiver was an Onkyo 606. I found it lacking, although it was the best I had heard up to the time. If I had to do it over again, i would have gone one model up, to th e700 series because I believe that's where the Onkyo's start having preout outputs so you can add amplification later on. This makes it so you don't have to sell it to upgrade to more difficult to power speakers.

James

As an addendum... the reason why the Onkyo's get so hot is that the video processor (I think it's a Reon or Realta from HQV) on my 905/906 generates the heat. My Denon DVD-3930CI uses the same processor and it too got very hot, which is why the HDMI board failed on it twice.

I understand that Onkyo will be using the Marvell QDeo video processor in their next generation receivers to replace the HQV because of these issues...

In a word, yes. I have a TX-SR500 that is still going strong after several years with hours of use everyday in my HT system. I just purchased a TX-NR609 a month ago for more power and updated features and love it. Both sound great and the 609 is loaded with features for the price.

I read about the HDMI issues some have suffered and initially had some reservations about this recent purchase, however, gained some perspective and am comfortable with my decision.

I've been tracking the temperature on my 609 since I learned how to utilize the "secret menu" and would say it basically runs the same temp as my former DVR, a Motorola DCT6416III with hours of continuous use. The 609 does have a fan that is supposed to kick in at some critical temp, but I don't believe mine ever has yet.

As somebody else noted, good ventilation is key. I don't use an auxiliary fan but have plenty of overhead space in my entertainment center.