Onkyo 2012 Midline Receivers Preview

[admin]

Onkyo has long been known for having the most features for the money in their receiver offerings and the TX-NR717 and TX-NR818 receivers are no different. It is easy to get excited about the $1000 TX-NR717 until you see what the extra $200 for the TX-NR818 gets you. Audyssey XT32, 13.5 extra pounds and 25 extra watts per channel, full 9.2 outputs, DTS Neo:X, and a host of installer features including ISF calibration controls? It's hard to see why you wouldn't spend the extra cash. With both having THX Select2+ certificaiton, 9.2 channels, 8/2 HDMI 1.4a connections, full featured networking, and loads more, consumers have a lot to drool over.

Discuss "Onkyo 2012 Midline Receivers Preview" here. Read the article.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) for smart phone content on HDTVs,

As far as I know MHL is method of sending HDMI traffic using micro-usb port - I know several Samsung mobile devices support this.

To use this you'd normally need to shop for Micro USB MHL-HDMI adapter to connect the device to TV/AVR etc...

What I wonder if Onkyo's MHL support means I could skip buying the extra adapter and use very common micro-usb to usb cable or is it just stupid and pointless marketing word thrown in so say the AVR supports HDMI input ?? me

 

[bootman]

Maybe the TX-NR818 will do more than 40W all channels driven with this new PS.

 

[alphaiii]

I'm still amazed Onkyo has the stones to release the NR717 with Audyssey 2EQ.... especially when previous 7xx AVR's had Audyssey XT. That's just a joke for a $1000 AVR.

 

[Sugarbear]

I'm still amazed Onkyo has the stones to release the NR717 with Audyssey 2EQ.... especially when previous 7xx AVR's had Audyssey XT. That's just a joke for a $1000 AVR.

It's even more bazaar since the 818 jumps all the way up to Audyssey MultEQ XT32. Last year's 709 was a beast. I can't recommend the 717 with 2EQ to anybody.

 

[rnatalli]

It's even more bazaar since the 818 jumps all the way up to Audyssey MultEQ XT32. Last year's 709 was a beast. I can't recommend the 717 with 2EQ to anybody.

Same here. The 709 is a better choice.

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

Is there anyway 2EQ is a misprint? It's not "aging", just low-end. 2EQ, MultEQ, MultEQ XT, MultEQ XT32 is the hierarchy. I'm going to ping Chris Kyriakakis and see if he can shed some light.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Is there anyway 2EQ is a misprint? It's not "aging", just low-end. 2EQ, MultEQ, MultEQ XT, MultEQ XT32 is the hierarchy. I'm going to pink Chris Kyriakakis and see if he can shed some light.

I had same doubt too, but I verified to onkyo's 717 spec sheet pdf says 2EQ

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

Chris Kyriakakis: Not a misprint... but I don't have any light to shed on their reasons. Seems strange.

 

[Downtowner]

No AC switched outlet

I know most people don't use them, but recently receivers have been omitting the AC switched outlet(s). I use an AC switched outlet to control the amp to my passive subwoofer via an AC relay, so it kills me to see this feature fall by the wayside.

 

[the_phew]

The 818 at a likely <$1k street price will be a huge hit. XT32 was previously reserved for $1.5k+ hardware, with the Denon 4311 being the cheapest option. I'm looking for the cheapest point of entry for XT32, with most other specs/features being irrelevant (I use outboard amps, let my displays/sources do the video scaling, use standalone devices for streaming, etc).

If there was a standalone Audyssey XT32 box for cheap, I'd buy that. The 818 seems like the next best thing though.

 

[Sugarbear]

Can someone help me understand why neither the 717 nor the 818 includes trigger outs for zone one?

It's so frustrating that'd I'd have to jerry-rig some kinda alternative for automatically switching on my (eventually-coming) amps when there are trigger outs right on the unit.

 

[M Code]

Can someone help me understand why neither the 717 nor the 818 includes trigger outs for zone one?

It's so frustrating that'd I'd have to jerry-rig some kinda alternative for automatically switching on my (eventually-coming) amps when there are trigger outs right on the unit.

Trigger Outs are more often found on the Integra AVRs as they are targeted to the A/V install market segment..
The Onkyo AVRs are pushed primarily through the mass distribution, big-box sellers....

Just my $0.02...

 

[fuzz092888]

It is a huge pain, but workarounds don't have to be a huge deal. If you have a universal remote, especially a logitech harmony, programming zone 2/3 turn on when you turn anything else on will hit those triggers and get everything going.

I agree it's stupid, but with harmony remotes (or other programmable universals) a workaround can be simple and take about 2 minutes.

 

[3db]

Maybe Onkyo is working towards making a more reliable product with less bells & whistles.

 

[fuzz092888]

A la Marantz? doubtful.....onkyos bread and butter has always been stuffing in more and more and more for less less less. Making them more reliable would be a plus, but I don't see it happening on anything but their top of the line models.

Then again now we're scratching our heads over some of the features decisions. Who knows what goes on at corporate board meetings.

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

Unfortunately, Marantz also leaves out important features, like MultEQ XT32. I can certainly do without S-video inputs and the "Hall" surround-reverb setting, but having a top of the line auto EQ somewhere in your lineup is critical. I am hopeful Marantz corrects this in their next product revision.

 

[fuzz092888]

I understand that, as I stated Marantz sometimes leaves out certain features (brand name video processing etc), but to say they leave out important features like MultiEQ XT32 is silly. They have MultiEQ XT which isn't that far behind the 32. The newer Marantz receivers don't have any s-video inputs.

Again, most would agree that some features are left out because Marantz products have a higher starting build quality and reliability. As audioholics have stated in some of their articles (Gene himself I believe) receivers are all about tradeoffs and which tradeoffs are acceptable to the buyer. Marantz tries to balance the loss of a few features by building a rock solid product. That being said it would be nice to see a little bit more feature wise

 

[Marshall_Guthrie]

I wouldn't say that 4x the filter resolution for the sub and 32x for the satellites is nothing. Even if the audible difference is subtle, having a flagship product without the best available EQ when your competition is offering it in their $1k product needs to be addressed.

 

[Sugarbear]

It is a huge pain, but workarounds don't have to be a huge deal. If you have a universal remote, especially a logitech harmony, programming zone 2/3 turn on when you turn anything else on will hit those triggers and get everything going.

I agree it's stupid, but with harmony remotes (or other programmable universals) a workaround can be simple and take about 2 minutes.

Very true...