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Impressed with the Onkyo TX-NR1008...Even for Music


Youthman

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One of my first receivers in my HT Journey was an Onkyo TX-SR703.  I always felt it was great for HT but lacked in the 2ch dept. 

 

Last week, I purchased a "Lot" of gear which included 3 Onkyo Receivers (TX-NR-808, TX-NR1008 and a TX-NR5008).  The 5008 has issues so I just shipped it off today to Onkyo.  Looks like they are going to fix it for free.

 

Tonight, I was testing the 1008 that I'm giving to Wakejunkie and re-ran Audyssey using mic positions  that Thaddeus posted.  After watching a few HT demos and some 2ch.  I was very pleased with what I heard, both for HT and for 2ch.  Honestly, it surprised me.  No Sherbourn...just the TX-NR1008.  I know Willland has been very pleased with his countless Onkyo and Integra receivers and I can see why.  The 1008 (135 x 7) had NO problems powering my 7.2 setup unlike my previous Yamaha RX-V1800 (130 x 7).  They Yamaha sounded much better with only 5.1.  Adding the extra surrounds for a 7.1 was too much drain on the receiver.  Granted, I did not have the LaScala Trio back then but the RF-83's were extremely efficient as well so I don't think that was the issue.

 

I'll be excited to get the 5008 back and see how it sounds with Multi-XT32 and it's 192K/32bit Burr-Brown DAC.  From what I understand, it's a huge step up from Multi-EQ.

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All of those receivers have lots of features, thanks for sharing your experience.  I purchased a Onkyo TX-nr509 a couple years ago, and must say its been in the system almost longer than any other receiver I have owned.  Just out of curiosity what are your plans for the TX-NR808

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Once the 5008 comes back ok, the plan is to compare it to my HK 3600. My guess is the Onkyo 5008 will likely be a considerable upgrade. If that is the case, I will give the 1008 to Wakejunkie and sell the 808 and my HK.

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I've observed that the high end Onkyo's are generally much heavier than comparable models from other manufactures which makes me believe that they have the power supply more capable of running a multi-channel HT system.  Just as an example...a newer version of Youth's 1008, the 1010 weighs in at 50.7lbs while the comparable Denon X4000 is only 27.1lbs.   

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Tonight, I was testing the 1008 that I'm giving to Wakejunkie and re-ran Audyssey using mic positions  that Thaddeus posted.  After watching a few HT demos and some 2ch.  I was very pleased with what I heard, both for HT and for 2ch.  Honestly, it surprised me.

 

Great to hear this Michael. 

 

 

 

I know Willland has been very pleased with his countless Onkyo and Integra receivers and I can see why. 

 

I have been totally satisfied will all the Onkyo/Integra gear I currently own and have owned in the past.

 

 

 

I'll be excited to get the 5008 back and see how it sounds with Multi-XT32 and it's 192K/32bit Burr-Brown DAC. 

 

Onkyo/Integra flagship AVR's are brutes, tipping the scales at over 55 pounds.

 

My friend Jon has been powering his full RF-7 speaker setup in his 18'w x 25'L x 8"H theater with a 5008 for quite sometime and it totally amazes me every time I take in a movie at his place.  No outboard amp and a single RSW15 but you would think he was pushing at least 200w/ch and had a second RSW15.  Those beast Onkyo/Integras have some serious power.

 

Bill 

Edited by willland
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My friend Jon has been powering his full RF-7 speaker setup in his 18'w x 25'L x 8"H theater with a 5008 for quite sometime and it totally amazes me every time I take in a movie at his place. No outboard amp and a single RSW15 but you would think he was pushing at least 200w/ch and had a second RSW15. Those beast Onkyo/Integras have some serious power.

I may find myself selling the Sherbourn after having it repaired.  Guess we will see how it sounds with and without an amp.

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hi, just wanted to throw my onkyo opinion in here:  i feel onkyo/integra are the best bang for the buck receivers there is for HT & even 2ch music or sacd.  i have owned onkyo for over 25 years & never been unhappy.  especially compared to other brands that cost more, my 1st venture into 5.1 was an onkyo txsr-777 receiver,  at 105wpc it drove my kg 5.5 & cf-4's with ease, high volume or easy listening, all sounded great.  & compared to friends higher prices/powered HK, denon, sony ES, receivers it beat them hands down in every way.  back in the late 90's & early 2000's we used to bring our receivers/amps to eachothers house to swap into each others systems to compare.  

 

fast forward to recent times & i still have the 777 on a 2nd HT system, still going strong & sounds like the day i bought it.  few years ago i upgraded to an txnr-805 receiver & at 130wpc that thing is a beast, close to 50lbs & has incredible power, bass, mids & highs sound great, almos as good as my "mid-fi" adcom or rotell seperates.  with audesey settings the HT is amazing & 2ch music sounds very good too.   havent done any swapping with friends gear with it (too heavy to lug around & most friends arent into audio anymore like i am)  BUT i have heard many modern comparable receivers from the same brands listed above & i still feel the onkyo is by far a better value & holds its own with receivers costiing far more.  on the used market the 801-808 receivers can be had for a few hundred bucks, & if the HDMI section is working now it was most likely not affected like some that were defective.

 

side note,  i also have a m-504 seperate amp & that sounds better than both adcom & rotel comparable power amps, just a warmer more "audiophile" sound, the adcom 555ii has more slam at very high volumes but sacrifices low to meduim quality IMO.  the m-506 & 508 are also amazing seperates if you can find them.  this is using fortes, k-horns & even my HT setup of def tech powered towers. 

Edited by klipschfancf4
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I'm curious to see if the 5008 comes back ok, which I don't see why it wouldn't.

I'm hoping Onkyo are replacing the HDMI boards with higher quality ones. Seems they had a huge batch of them that were failing.

 

 

I'm doing this from memory, I think the exact answer is in an AVS.com thread somewhere.

 

I think there were about 4 capacitors made by Toshiba that were supposed to have spec'd out to something like 110 degrees.  The 33 cent cap that was actually used failed at 85 degrees, and that was on the HDMI board.

 

I thought surely that problem had been resolved with the 2014 Onk's but people are still reporting the problem, so apparently they had a bad part as well.   I hope they have finally dumped that supplier, or at least done some quality control on the new avr's and the replacement parts on the HDMI boards.

 

It seems like you are discovering the Onk has some great tech in it and a lot of features, and at least to my ears, sounds pretty good.

Edited by wvu80
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I may find myself selling the Sherbourn after having it repaired. Guess we will see how it sounds with and without an amp.

 

This is why I say my power amp is  maybe yes, maybe no for a sound improvement in HT, YYMV.  I still think the avr / power amp is a good way to go. :D

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I still think the avr / power amp is a good way to go. :D

There is no doubt that there is a benefit to having a power amp.  I know that I can drive the HT to extreme levels without clipping.  More bottom end, better separation of musical instruments.  I'm just curious to do some A/B comparisons to see if my ears can actually hear the difference, especially for HT since I do not do much 2ch listening.

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Me too David. I Just sent it out and I'm already itching to get it back and try it out

Just keep in mind they won't notify you when they're done and its on its way back to you, I found that out the hard way.  When I finally checked the status on mind, it was due for delivery the next day! 

 

David

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I've been looking for a new AV receiver too. I've had a lot of different ones in system this last week and it looks Onkyo is the only brand that has everything I need and want. It ultimately boiled down to having both built-in WiFi/Bluetooth and being HDCP2.2 compliant.

 

I was going to go with the Onkyo TX-NR636 but after going over the spec's and feature comparison thoroughly I think I'm going to go with the TX-NR838 if for nothing other than the higher power output and better amplifier across all channels (as opposed to just the FL/C/FR as on the 636). It seems a little more robust in the power department.

 

I have to tell you, I'm really surprised by the Onkyo. I'm even thinking of just keeping the 636 for downstairs in the model RR room with the Khorns to replace the HK AVR130 & put the 838 on the HT. I really would have thought Denon, or Yamaha or Pioneer would be my first choice. McIntosh is even farther behind the curve not to mention the absurd price.

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