Onkyo TX-RZ70 11.2CH AV Receiver - Official Support Thread

[gene]

I'm absolutely blown away by the new Onkyo TX-RZ70 11.2CH AV receiver. As a result, we will be doing a deep dive into it's full capabilities starting with an exhaustive bench test report, followed by an exploration of the web interface and finally real-world use case and listening tests with and without Dirac Live & DLBC.

Here is our unboxing video as a teaser:

Is this the best AV receiver at under $3k? Based on what I'm seeing, I can confidently say YES!

What do you think?

Read our Full Onkyo TX-RZ70 Bench Test Results!

Support Audioholics: If you're planning on buying the Onkyo TX-RZ70, we appreciate you supporting the site by using our affiliate links for our channel partner Audio Advice.

*For your convenience, we've included a link to Audio Advice to buy this product. As an Audio Advice associate, Audioholics.com benefits from qualifying purchases.

 

[ban25]

Thanks for the test results, Gene, especially regarding what impact the pre-amp and filter settings have!

 

[Theetjuh]

Thanks Gene, seems we made a good choice in purchasing this monster!

P.S. You made a typo in the last paragraph in bold ZR70 instead of RZ70

 

[Jim84]

Thank you so VERY MUCH for clarifying that you can use this receiver with 4 ohm speakers by disabling nanny mode. This would be a deal breaker for hi-fi enthusiasts.

And thanks for giving a realistic view of power requirements.

This receiver should likely have a dedicated 20 Amp circuit.

But it sounds like if you disable nanny mode and give it the branch circuit it deserves, you're getting an outstanding AVR at a fraction of the cost of discrete components.

 

[Danzilla31]

@gene what an outstanding review! I used to only buy Onkyo when I was younger due to their outstanding build quality and performance. They were built like tanks and could put out gobs of power in those days and they sounded fantastic.

Unfortunately they took some steps back for awhile their and I was forced to go different directions but it looks like this is a return to their old form!

 

[gene]

 

[gene]

Audio Advice is running a sale for $2299:

Onkyo TX-RZ70 11.2-Channel Home Theater Receiver

Features & Technology Amplifier Knowing high-quality audio, Onkyo wanted to design an integrated component with enough power to drive more speakers that normally would require a separate amplifier to drive. While many of today’s A/V receivers utilize class D amplifier sections, Onkyo wanted...

bit.ly

Insane deal!

 

[gene]

Thanks Gene, seems we made a good choice in purchasing this monster!

P.S. You made a typo in the last paragraph in bold ZR70 instead of RZ70

Damn I flipped that so many times. Thought I got em all. Thanks

 

[ban25]

But it sounds like if you disable nanny mode and give it the branch circuit it deserves, you're getting an outstanding AVR at a fraction of the cost of discrete components.

Also important to note: the nannies are disabled out of the box. You have to go out of your way to cripple this thing...

 

[ban25]

I used to run a full set of KEF R series speakers (5 bed layer, 4 heights) off the Integra sibling of this AVR. It was hard to break ambient temp even when watching a full 2+ hour movie at reference volume. These days I have the main LCR on external amplification running in Front Pre-Amp mode.

The feature set and performance of these AVRs is unmatched in this price class. If you want Roon Ready support, the only other options on the market are Arcam, Storm, and Trinnov. And those options are either dated and almost on life-support (Arcam) or carry an extra decimal place on the price.

 

[EpsilonZer0]

I was ready to give up Onkyo for dead two years ago and then the RZ50 came and now the RZ70.
My Onkyo PR-RZ5100 (the last 11.2ch PreAmp Onkyo made) has been rocking hard since 2017 and this RZ70 gives me hope that Onkyo may release a new dedicated preamp that is competitively priced in the future. It would not take much to rip out the amplifier section of the RZ70, bump up the DAC to support 15.4ch, and put in all XLR outputs like the PR-RZ5100. I can dream..

 

[ban25]

I was ready to give up Onkyo for dead two years ago and then the RZ50 came and now the RZ70.
My Onkyo PR-RZ5100 (the last 11.2ch PreAmp Onkyo made) has been rocking hard since 2017 and this RZ70 gives me hope that Onkyo may release a new dedicated preamp that is competitively priced in the future. It would not take much to rip out the amplifier section of the RZ70, bump up the DAC to support 15.4ch, and put in all XLR outputs like the PR-RZ5100. I can dream..

The RZ90 processor has been long rumored. It's also interesting to note that PAC has recently returned to using AKM DACs (from ESS, as seen in the RZ70) in the newly released TX-8470.

 

[Jim84]

They supposedly said there wasn't a sufficient market for the pre-amp.
Same reason Outlaw claimed for discontinuing their pre-amp/processor.
I agree, I'd love to see the pre-amp/processor version of the RZ70 with XLR outputs for all channels.
Meanwhile there's the Monoprice HTP-1.
These are particularly useful if you want to use active monitors with XLR inputs like Adam Audio or Genelec.

 

[Danzilla31]

They supposedly said there wasn't a sufficient market for the pre-amp.
Same reason Outlaw claimed for discontinuing their pre-amp/processor.
I agree, I'd love to see the pre-amp/processor version of the RZ70 with XLR outputs for all channels.
Meanwhile there's the Monoprice HTP-1.
These are particularly useful if you want to use active monitors with XLR inputs like Adam Audio or Genelec.

The HTP-1 is the processor I went with. I'm glad I did. Amazing processor and the amount of features for the buck is impressive. Anyways I digress gentleman my apologies back to Onkyo!

 

[dlaloum]

Thanks for that review Gene - I have been waiting for a review of that series since it came out!

I suspected that it was a proper descendant of the late great SR876 and DTR70.4 (two previous generations of the Onkyo family that had very "robust" amps, and which I owned).... and so it is.

Definitely on my shortlist pending the release of ART...

 

[Tankini]

That is a very, Stout AVR! Loaded with creature features, love the front display. That TX-RZ70 at that ridiculous low price on sale is a class leading flagship. The worm has turned for Onkyo.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I was ready to give up Onkyo for dead two years ago…

It seems they file for bankruptcy every few years. Plus historically they have had poor reliability and/or customer support. It seems the only reason people are interested in Onkyo is because of the low prices.

I was interested in getting one also because of the low price. I owned an Onkyo for about 15 minutes - bought one, drove home, halfway there I drove back and got a refund.

Have they truly “turned” it around? Will they stop filling for bankruptcy? How can they keep it up financially before filing bankruptcy AGAIN if they sell for much lower than the other brands like Yamaha and Denon/Marantz?

 

[Tankini]

It seems they file for bankruptcy every few years. Plus historically they have had poor reliability and/or customer support. It seems the only reason people are interested in Onkyo is because of the low prices.

I was interested in getting one also because of the low price. I owned an Onkyo for about 15 minutes - bought one, drove home, halfway there I drove back and got a refund.

Have they truly “turned” it around? Will they stop filling for bankruptcy? How can they keep it up financially before filing bankruptcy AGAIN if they sell for much lower than the other brands like Yamaha and Denon/Marantz?

Which one has the better Amp design? Onkyo: Nice aluminum heat sinks, or Yamaha: stamp steel heat sinks? Onkyo: Nice big front display. Or Yamaha Nice big volume Knob with small front display.

Onkyo back side, RZ70, $2299.99

Yamaha back side, A8A $2249.99

 

[gene]

People kept requesting I post 5CH power figures for the TX-RZ70 so I went and set up the entire test again to produce them. Anything for our fans.

5​	1kHz Psweep	160 watts	8-ohms	1%
5​	1KHz Psweep	146 watts	8-ohms	0.1%

 

[stevestrike]

Which one has the better Amp design? Onkyo: Nice aluminum heat sinks, or Yamaha: stamp steel heat sinks? Onkyo: Nice big front display. Or Yamaha Nice big volume Knob with small front display.



Onkyo back side, RZ70, $2299.99

Yamaha back side, A8A $2249.99

Meh, Yamaha looks nicer and has some balanced in/outs but... you're stuck with YPAO.

Onkyo inclues Dirac Full Bandwidth for that price and you can upgrade to DLBC if you want to. No Contest.