Onkyo TX-NR809: First Impressions

[CyberAthlete]

Here is my initial review of the Onkyo TX-NR809 in a quick read format:

Built and looks like a tank. Weighs 50 lbs, looks rock solid. Green LCD text (not white). White illumination on the volume dial though.

Audyssey works really nicely. However at lower volumes vocals really get subdued harder than the rest of the speakers and are barely audible (Dynamic EQ is ON, Night mode and the rest are off). I had to adjust this by setting my Center Channel to -3.0 from -11.0 (that's what audyssey had set it too). The rest of the speakers perform and sound great.

I will highlight the weakness first of the Onkyo 809 in comparison to my Harmon Kardan AVR 225. Music. Music from the 809 sounds a bit metallic and doesn't have the soundstage nor separation that I've noticed others produce. My AVR225 was great for music, lush warm sound. The immediate thing I noticed was that I get listening fatigue while listening to music from my Onkyo in an hour where as with the AVR225 that NEVER happened. No pre determined bias here. Lights off environment. Eyes closed. Really disappointed here since I have 1TB external hard drive with 900 CDs all in .wav format. Rear USB works just fine with portable (non-powered) hard drives. It reads them fast and you can navigate through the folders relatively quickly.
Score for music: 6/10

Movies: Sound great, and both 5.1/7.1 work beautifully. My movies have come to life in comparison to the AVR225. However that same metallic presence is felt here as well. I can overlook it, a bit, due to the fact the the receiver maintains and presents all the nuances and details in the audio tracks, and movies look great through its video pass through. I am a little less critical of sound when it comes to movies when compared to music. Dynamic EQ maintains the dynamism of the movie soundtrack at all volumes (at lower volumes the center channel dialogue takes a big hit, but you can adjust that through individual speaker volume settings). I cranked mine up by 8 points after what Audyssey had set it too.

Surround sound: 8/10

Video quality: 10/10 (look even better than when directly connected to the TV).

Still checking this receiver out. I do have a question though, I spray painted my wall black and my receiver caught all the mist that bounces off the wall when you spray it. Will that do anything to the insides? It's just small black sticky particles sitting on the components and boards inside.... I'm such an idiot.

[DaleAV]

Nice review! You saved me the trouble of adding much more as I find most of your observations close to my own.

I am coming from an Arcam AVR350 which tells me the more 'common' brands of AVRs have certainly stepped up. Not to say, Onkyo in general has not had good sound quality, as did my first one 13 years ago.

The jury is still out whether the 809 matches the Arcam in 2 channel performance, but at this point I would say it's very close.
Given that, I think there is a clarity I never got with the Arcam, that is present in the Onkyo. A little stronger upper bass as well. The clarity may be akin to the 'metallic' sound you refer to...it is quite subtle IMO, and I think room conditions have some effect on it. I can't say I notice any listening fatigue at this stage. But I appreciate greater intelligibility when watching TV.
I should mention I am running Dynamic EQ off and have yet to try it.

I like the operation of Audyssey. It seems to be a very competent process. It did set the crossover of my front mains to 40Hz. I set it up to 70Hz, my center at 60 and surrounds at 50. I think I like the balance better. It is more how I had it before, and my original setup was done by an ISF calibrator who sold me my previous system, using a sophisticated audio analyzer. He also miked it in several locations. Even at that, I think the Audyssey may have done some beneficial trims based on the previous recommendations for speaker placement.

This is not the best sounding home electronics I have ever heard, but it is very good. For a receiver, and for the price-point. My ears have aged quite a bit too, but then you would think I would be even more critical of sound in the higher regions. Unless nature endowed me with a very smooth cutoff curve.


I shared the nice surprise with video that you discovered. I get the same picture that if anything looks better than before. And I was running all my sources directly to my HDTV, not going through a receiver for switching. I have the inputs set at 'auto/direct'. I have a calibrated display and did not want to do additional processing.

My only disappointment is a small one. While I like the net tuning capability, I was hoping they would also include movie streaming (Netflix). As it stands it is just as easy for me to use my little Roku box and feed the HDMI output to the Onkyo for both movies and internet radio. But sometimes when I just want music I will still use the Onkyo alone. I am using a Harmony remote, so it is just a matter of pressing one button or the other.

I have a cheapie 7" monitor (Haier portable TV) next to my chair I use for viewing Pandora, etc. titles so I don't have to turn on my display or squint my eyes to see the readout on the Onkyo panel.

[DaleAV]

My bad, following Dynamic EQ should be ON... Dynamic volume is only for low listening levels. Intellivolume can be used to raise and adjust volume for each source to equal levels.

[Natter]

Onkyo presents the TX-NR809 a very powerful 7.2 AV Receiver, which offers for its purchase price is a very laudable connector assembly and a great video section that shows only the last detail minimal weaknesses, the most competitors of the price league is superior

[Raeven]

Nice review! You saved me the trouble of adding much more as I find most of your observations close to my own.

I am coming from an Arcam AVR350 which tells me the more 'common' brands of AVRs have certainly stepped up. Not to say, Onkyo in general has not had good sound quality, as did my first one 13 years ago.

The jury is still out whether the 809 matches the Arcam in 2 channel performance, but at this point I would say it's very close.
Given that, I think there is a clarity I never got with the Arcam, that is present in the Onkyo. A little stronger upper bass as well. The clarity may be akin to the 'metallic' sound you refer to...it is quite subtle IMO, and I think room conditions have some effect on it. I can't say I notice any listening fatigue at this stage. But I appreciate greater intelligibility when watching TV.
I should mention I am running Dynamic EQ off and have yet to try it.

I like the operation of Audyssey. It seems to be a very competent process. It did set the crossover of my front mains to 40Hz. I set it up to 70Hz, my center at 60 and surrounds at 50. I think I like the balance better. It is more how I had it before, and my original setup was done by an ISF calibrator who sold me my previous system, using a sophisticated audio analyzer. He also miked it in several locations. Even at that, I think the Audyssey may have done some beneficial trims based on the previous recommendations for speaker placement.

This is not the best sounding home electronics I have ever heard, but it is very good. For a receiver, and for the price-point. My ears have aged quite a bit too, but then you would think I would be even more critical of sound in the higher regions. Unless nature endowed me with a very smooth cutoff curve.


I shared the nice surprise with video that you discovered. I get the same picture that if anything looks better than before. And I was running all my sources directly to my HDTV, not going through a receiver for switching. I have the inputs set at 'auto/direct'. I have a calibrated display and did not want to do additional processing.

My only disappointment is a small one. While I like the net tuning capability, I was hoping they would also include movie streaming (Netflix). As it stands it is just as easy for me to use my little Roku box and feed the HDMI output to the Onkyo for both movies and internet radio. But sometimes when I just want music I will still use the Onkyo alone. I am using a Harmony remote, so it is just a matter of pressing one button or the other.

I have a cheapie 7" monitor (Haier portable TV) next to my chair I use for viewing Pandora, etc. titles so I don't have to turn on my display or squint my eyes to see the readout on the Onkyo panel.

Hi Dale,

I have my 809 for about three months now. It took me a few days to tweak it, but now it produces sound and image to the level I expected it to. I never experienced any metallic sound, on the contrary: in my setup it rather produces a warm, detailed sound. In stereo I love the delicate way the Onkyo places my music in the room. On the other hand, when I push it to power the 7 Klipsch speakers it's all muscle and I never experienced movies like this before, not even in the cinema. I do know there is better on the marked (isn't there always), but the Onkyo gives me all the pleasure and more that I can expect for the price I payd for it.
Question: you use that cute 7" monitor for the OSD. But how do you switch back and forth to your tv or beamer? Do you use the second HDMI output?
Best regards!

[tcarcio]

I just got a new Onkyo 809 and was wondering, On my Marantz I had a audio choice called "auto" which would just choose what the source was sending automatically but I see no such choice in my Onkyo. Is there such a choice and I am just missing it or do I need to choose something else with the 809? Thanks, TC.

[tcarcio]

Nevermind. I figured it out.....

[u18a12]

Nevermind. I figured it out.....

How did you resolve the issue? I have the same problem. When I play a movie, it defaults to multichannel stereo and I have to go through all the different modes to find the best sounding one. My old receiver would detect and select the highest quality mode automatically.

[tcarcio]

I hit set up on the remote and went into "listening mode preset" then into CBL/SAT and found it was set to stereo which was probably my fault when I was in there the first time. I just set it to last valid and now the reciever just switches on it's own depending on what the source or channel I am watching is transmitting in. It seems to be working fine now.

[sholling]

How did you resolve the issue? I have the same problem. When I play a movie, it defaults to multichannel stereo and I have to go through all the different modes to find the best sounding one. My old receiver would detect and select the highest quality mode automatically.

You just have to go into "listening mode presets" and set the defaults for each source.