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

[gene]

It is a characteristic of all current Onkyo models and my 6050 does it as well.

Onkyo TX-RZ70:
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I will inquire with Onkyo. If this happens on the RZ70, perhaps they can do a FW fix or App note to let users know how 5.1 is handled with surround speakers.

 

[bigjohns97]

It is a characteristic of all current Onkyo models and my 6050 does it as well.

Onkyo TX-RZ70:
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OK I see what you are saying, you can still run the Atmos / DSur modes and it will fill in the missing channels but when compared to the Denon the native 5 channel mixes would favor the surround channels whereas Onkyo favors the surround back's.

I always end up using the up mixed modes to make sure all channels are always used so that was my original concern.

I will be comparing the RZ-70 to my existing 3800h which I did purchase the full multiEQ add-on for.

 

[Trebdp83]

Some do not like up mixing DD 5.1 signals and want them played from the corresponding speakers. Onkyos here will reassign the surround channel info to the surround back speakers when playing DD 5.1 signals. A work around is to decode the DD 5.1 signal at the source, if possible, and send a multichannel PCM signal to the receiver. It will play the multichannel PCM signal accordingly in MULTI CH PCM mode.

This behavior also applies to IMAX DTS 5.1, though it will be a rare occurrence for sure.

 

[Chasqui]

I just got the RZ70 about a week ago. I am using it with energy C-6 speakers and the ac300 center channel. I am a bit disappointed with the sound. The highs are not crispy or sound distorted, trumpets sound dull, is this the signature of the amplifier section? My system was using an old onkyo receiver
a -sv620. is my receiver defective? I noticed that by moving the 4 and 6 ohms speakers option doesn't make any difference. I tried bi-amping and sounded worse. all the testing was done in pure audio mode. Any help will be appreciated.
Thank You

 

[Tankini]

I just got the RZ70 about a week ago. I am using it with energy C-6 speakers and the ac300 center channel. I am a bit disappointed with the sound. The highs are not crispy or sound distorted, trumpets sound dull, is this the signature of the amplifier section? My system was using an old onkyo receiver
a -sv620. is my receiver defective? I noticed that by moving the 4 and 6 ohms speakers option doesn't make any difference. I tried bi-amping and sounded worse. all the testing was done in pure audio mode. Any help will be appreciated.
Thank You

1st, Do Not move your switch to 4 Ohms leave it at 6 Ohms. Disable any (ECO) settings turn them off. 2nd, Any AVR, AV Processor set in (Direct mold) runs at flat. Think of Direct mode as No tone control adjustments, EQ, setting to flat or Neutral. All DSP is by-passed. I don't have any Experience with that model, but have owned Onkyo AVR's before, go into your OSD play around with some settings adjust to your liking. I'd bet after a few Adjustments the sound will definitely improve.

 

[isolar8001]

1st, Do Not move your switch to 4 Ohms leave it at 6 Ohms. Disable any (ECO) settings turn them off. 2nd, Any AVR, AV Processor set in (Direct mold) runs at flat. Think of Direct mode as No tone control adjustments, EQ, setting to flat or Neutral. All DSP is by-passed. I don't have any Experience with that model, but have owned Onkyo AVR's before, go into your OSD play around with some settings adjust to your liking. I'd bet after a few Adjustments the sound will definitely improve.

Yep.
They should call pure audio mode "hear what things sound like without all the shiny things you just paid for".

 

[Tankini]

Yep.
They should call pure audio mode "hear what things sound like without all the shiny things you just paid for".

True audio enthusiasts will have very high end gear. So them dudes don't needed adjustments at all. 10-20k or more pair of speakers with 12" driver's in them and Pass Lab or Krell gear. Yeah who needs Control adjustments or DSP.

 

[Pace]

While I have loved my TX-RZ70 for over a year now, really happy to see from the measurements that my personal experience wasn't just placebo.

 

[NeutralTuba8432]

Just got this based on Gene's rave reviews! Coming from a Yammy RX-A3080. Struggling with poor vocals and over-emphasized bass. Any suggestions?

1) The “vocal” tone controls do not seem to be active for any inputs. I get a “not available” message when I try to use it. I am however, able to edit tone control for "Bass" and "Treble".

2) I’ve found Auro 3d to be the most intelligible surround sound format, but am unable to use it for Atmos inputs.

3) How do I tweak the speaker distances using distance measures rather than time measures? I only see “Time” (msec delays) rather than “Distance” (feet).

 

[Trebdp83]

Using Dirac will disable some functions. Distance adjustments in FT can be used when Dirac has NOT been used and changed measurements to msec.

The VOCAL feature is NOT available for every source signal and input source. It is most effective when up mixing two channel signals when listening to music as it is adjustable and works with more than one up mixer. It spreads the vocals across the front stage and the level can be adjusted.

Dolby Center Spread is no longer in the Quick Menu and works only with Dolby Surround. It is either ON or OFF with no level adjustement. It can be found in the Audio Adjust section of the settings.

Dolby Atmos signals cannot be used with any other decoder but Dolby. Depending on the source device in use, Dolby Atmos metadata can be turned OFF and multichannel PCM can be sent without metadata. The signal can then be up mixed by the preferred up mixer. Certain disc players can also be set to output multichannel PCM and Dolby Atmos tracks there will also then be able to be up mixed by the preferred up mixer.
The Manual EQ settings are ineffective when using Dirac Live. Use the unit without Dirac Live, set distances manually and adjust the Manual EQ and you may find sound more to your liking. Use 0 as the ceiling in the EQ and try adjusting frequencies down between the crossover point and up to about 1k. This may help to clear up dialogue. Results will vary of course.

I found the sound settings from my little Yamaha more pleasant “out of the box” than my Onkyos and they needed to be tweaked a bit. I do not care for room correction and am not interested in upgrading to get Dirac Live.

 

[dlaloum]

I do not care for room correction and am not interested in upgrading to get Dirac Live.

Dirac Live (full frequency) is provided as standard with the Onkyo's (and pioneer / integra), no upgrade needed.

Upgrades are required only if you want/need Bass Control... (Dirac Live Bass Control - DLBC).

Standard DL, as included, does cover the sub and includes sub EQ.

DLBC provides additional capabilities in a multi-sub environment, and in efforts to overcome room nodes/nulls.

 

[Trebdp83]

I meant I’m not interested in upgrading by going up to another model. Not all new Onkyos include Dirac. Models that include Dirac and IMAX Enhanced exclude Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and DTS Virtual:X. I use the latter two in my 5.1 setup. AccuEQ is not great and I do not use it. I do not use YPAO in my Yamaha and did not like using Audyssey with my Denons. I tweak manually to my liking and leave it.

Let me correct myself a bit. The Dirac/IMAX Enhanced models do support Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and DTS Neural:X but do NOT support DTS Virtual:X. These models are the TX-NR7100, the TX-RZ50 and the TX-RZ70.

 

[dlaloum]

I meant I’m not interested in upgrading by going up to another model. Not all new Onkyos include Dirac. Models that include Dirac and IMAX Enhanced exclude Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and DTS Virtual:X. I use the latter two in my 5.1 setup. AccuEQ is not great and I do not use it. I do not use YPAO in my Yamaha and did not like using Audyssey with my Denons. I tweak manually to my liking and leave it.

Let me correct myself a bit. The Dirac/IMAX Enhanced models do support Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and DTS Neural:X but do NOT support DTS Virtual:X. These models are the TX-NR7100, the TX-RZ50 and the TX-RZ70.

And also the near identical Integra and Pioneer models... - I have the Integra DRX 3.4

So most of the mid to upper market models have the same processing capabilities and features

The NR6100 (and siblings) drops off Dirac (the built in AccuEQ / MCACC is not half bad by the way)

And of course lower end models with no height processing have lower feature sets etc...

Many of us have also been looking forward to an RZ90 high end competitor, which we know exists in prototype form, and has been tested/certified ready for production, but continues to be AWOL....

Perhaps they will release the true flagship at the same time as Dirac ART support.... late 2025

 

[Trebdp83]

We’ll see if the surround channel info of DD 5.1 tracks is rerouted to the surround back channels in the RZ90 like it is in ALL of the other Integra, Onkyo and Pioneer 7.1 or more channel models using a straight decode.

It is silly that the flagships do not offer DTS Virtual:X when it is available even on the little five channel Onkyo TX-SR3100. The Denon/Marantz flagships have it all over other makes concerning features. But, they do come at considerable cost.

Oh, I have actually used AccuEQ in my Onkyos and YPAO in my Yamaha and that is why I currently do not use them.

 

[chrisyou13]

The TX-RZ70 is currently at $2k. That seems like a really good value. I need to replace an old Arcam AVR 400 (starting to run really hot and doing weird things) and have been looking at Anthem, Denon and Marantz in the $3-4k range. The RZ70 seems like a lot of receiver for $2k, is it worth taking the plunge or spending a little more? Obviously looking for something that sounds good, but will also last a long time. Thanks!

 

[dlaloum]

The TX-RZ70 is currently at $2k. That seems like a really good value. I need to replace an old Arcam AVR 400 (starting to run really hot and doing weird things) and have been looking at Anthem, Denon and Marantz in the $3-4k range. The RZ70 seems like a lot of receiver for $2k, is it worth taking the plunge or spending a little more? Obviously looking for something that sounds good, but will also last a long time. Thanks!

Seems like fantastic value to me...

 

[oniiz86]

We’ll see if the surround channel info of DD 5.1 tracks is rerouted to the surround back channels in the RZ90 like it is in ALL of the other Integra, Onkyo and Pioneer 7.1 or more channel models using a straight decode.

It is silly that the flagships do not offer DTS Virtual:X when it is available even on the little five channel Onkyo TX-SR3100. The Denon/Marantz flagships have it all over other makes concerning features. But, they do come at considerable cost.

Oh, I have actually used AccuEQ in my Onkyos and YPAO in my Yamaha and that is why I currently do not use them.

@Trebdp83 what I find amusing is that the latest entry-level Pioneer & Onkyo AVRs that support DTS Virtual:X can be utilised with Dolby signals whilst D+M models still prohibit this behaviour, when they first implemented DTS Virtual:X back in 2017 along with being the first to do so, they made sure to be one step ahead & enforce the forthcoming Dolby upmixing codec restrictions with DTS signals & it has been like this ever since despite the Dolby restrictions being rescinded, it's pretty laughable that the Pioneer/Onkyo models allow this just fine but 7 years later D+M engineers refuse to remove this restriction

 

[Trebdp83]

The Denon/Marantz Dolby cross up mixing restriction is annoying for sure, but so is the Integra/Onkyo/Pioneer DD 5.1 surround channel info reroute to surround back speakers.

It is as though there are different Dolby license packages out there and each one of them comes with its own peculiar behavior.

Denon/Marantz at least include DTS Virtual:X all the way up the line but Dolby signals will need to be decoded and output as multichannel PCM at the source if at all possible to do so. Yet, it works with DSD signals.

The Onkyo web setup should really be considered by those mixing older devices with new HDMI 2.1 devices. Each HDMI port can be configured just so.

I’ve come across threads in various forums concerning Dolby Vision and those that want to turn it OFF but cannot do so in their TV or connected device to compare it to HDR10+ or HDR10.

The Onkyo web setup allows one to turn ON or OFF various features in the “Limit Mode” section of the web setup. Turn OFF Dolby Vision in a given HDMI port, and it will no longer be available for output to a connected TV using a device connected to the selected port.

Anybody still using an older HDMI/HDCP specced Oppo player or an even older Toshiba HD DVD player may have had issues with picture and/or sound output when upgrading to a newer AVP/AVR. The Onkyo web setup is a marvel here and I was able to properly configure ports for both my old Oppo and Toshiba players. I couldn’t do it using certain newer Denon or Yamaha receivers.

 

[oniiz86]

The Denon/Marantz Dolby cross up mixing restriction is annoying for sure, but so is the Integra/Onkyo/Pioneer DD 5.1 surround channel info reroute to surround back speakers.

It is as though there are different Dolby license packages out there and each one of them comes with its own peculiar behavior.

Denon/Marantz at least include DTS Virtual:X all the way up the line but Dolby signals will need to be decoded and output as multichannel PCM at the source if at all possible to do so. Yet, it works with DSD signals.

Yes you are correct, that DD 5.1 bug is absolutely egregious, the Pioneer/Onkyo/Integra AVRs shouldn't be exhibiting such behaviour, I wonder what their reasoning is for this, has it been a long standing issue with Pioneer/Onkyo/Integra AVRs?

In regards to D+M AVR's DTS Virtual:X implementation, yes they allow PCM signals too, so simply transcoding the Dolby signal to PCM will allow DTS Virtual:X to be engaged but the virtualizer restriction really ought to be removed by now, I brought it to D+M's attention a while back & they said it was simply too much effort for very little gain for the consumer

 

[Trebdp83]

The Dolby 5.1 surround back reroute was not present in models just a few years old but they did not allow for ANY Dolby and DTS cross up mixing at all.