A/v receiver died & time to replace, need advise..

[Slater]

Its been a while since ive been here but time dish-out more cash...
My refurb'd Onkyo 706 from acc4less started dying after 4 years.
Turning on after sitting off for a while or overnight I have no picture or sound for an extended peroid of time till the Onkyo decides it want to get with the program.
Did all diagnostics & resets, swapped-out hdmi cables, same results.
Onkyo mentioned possiby a bad "video card"
Just running 5 HSU wall mounted speakers & a sub.
Looking new this time around, do I give the Onkyo 626 a shot or steer clear & get The Denon 400?
Been happy with the Onkyo's performance till now...
Not trying to bad mouth the product but any common history of Onkyo's having random frequent failures pre-maturely?

 

[Pyrrho]

If you want a brand with very few online complaints, I recommend Yamaha.

 

[zieglj01]

If it is not written in stone about buying new - then look
at the Yamaha A720 and A820 receivers.

Denon, Pioneer Elite and Marantz are also good brands.

 

[Slater]

If you want a brand with very few online complaints, I recommend Yamaha.

Yes been ready that alot in various posts...
Have the Onkyo in-route from CrutchField but have a really bad taste in my mouth right now & considering sending it back.
Really hurts that that the Onky 706 didnt make it 4 years...

 

[anamorphic96]

Yes been ready that alot in various posts...
Have the Onkyo in-route from CrutchField but have a really bad taste in my mouth right now & considering sending it back.
Really hurts that that the Onky 706 didnt make it 4 years...

Not to rain on your parade with the Onkyo on it's way. But would like to mention that my last Onkyo TX-SR506 developed serious issues after 2.5 years and my current Onkyo TX-8050 is having issues powering up after 2.5 years. As much as I like Onkyo products they seem to have reliability issues more than most of the other majors, and on top of that they don't have good support. I have been taking a close look at Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz for future purchases. Yamaha seems to have the best track record for long term reliability and good support.

 

[3db]

I 2nd and 3rd all recommendations for Yamaha...bullet proof reliability 2nd to none.

 

[PENG]

For perceived reliability I would also go with Yamaha but not the entry level ones. Long term though, i.e. after the 1st 90 days, I believe equivalent Denon models will last trouble free just as good as Yamaha's. Overall, I would say get the Denon 3312 or 3313 (they have Audyssey XT+DEQ) if you can still get one for around $500 to $600. Or pay a little more for the 4311 and be done with it. The 4311 has 95% of the most current features on our planet and 100% if you restrict to what 99.999% of what the population actually use on a regular basis. it is even 4 ohm capable so it could be a long time before you need to add a 2 or 3 channel external power amp.

Lastly, the 4311 has the latest Audyssey XT32, DEQ and subEq, those are must have, just ask ADTG about it and he is one of those (me too) converted from Pure to Processed.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, I would buy NEW and I would AVOID Onkyo.

For reliability I think brand new Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pioneer are good.

But for the best sound possible when you have SUBWOOFERS, I would get something with Audyssey XT32 dual Sub EQ Dynamic EQ, as long as it is NOT Onkyo.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Lastly, the 4311 has the latest Audyssey XT32, DEQ and subEq, those are must have, just ask ADTG about it and he is one of those (me too) converted from Pure to Processed.

Yeah, when I hear people say anything "Night and Day" and "Blows Away", I always roll my eyes and say, "R......... I....... G....... H....... T".

But when I compared Dynamic EQ (DEQ) vs. Pure Direct (I swore by PD all these years), the difference was "Night and Day" and DEQ "Blows Away" PD -- of course this is only with Subwoofers.

See, with Denon & Marantz, you can actually get subwoofer output even in Pure Direct mode. With other brands, you CANNOT do this.

For a while, I was using PD + Subwoofers. I was biased towards PD. Then I put away by bias and compared PD 2.1 vs. DEQ 2.1. It was a profound significant awakening for me.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Not to rain on your parade with the Onkyo on it's way. But would like to mention that my last Onkyo TX-SR506 developed serious issues after 2.5 years and my current Onkyo TX-8050 is having issues powering up after 2.5 years. As much as I like Onkyo products they seem to have reliability issues more than most of the other majors, and on top of that they don't have good support. I have been taking a close look at Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz for future purchases. Yamaha seems to have the best track record for long term reliability and good support.

You will be banned if you buy another Onkyo.

 

[Pyrrho]

You will be banned if you buy another Onkyo.

No, but he may still have reason to regret it.

 

[ReUpRo]

I'm also a huge DEQ fan. I bought the X4000 for XT32 and SubEQ, but DEQ was what made me go .

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm also a huge DEQ fan. I bought the X4000 for XT32 and SubEQ, but DEQ was what made me go .

Yeah, did you ever figure out what exactly DEQ is?

I read the description of DEQ, but I'm still not quite sure.

I can't even tell a difference between Audyssey vs. Audyssey Bypass L/R. But that DEQ is like magic.

It's like audio bass life resurrection.

So I don't know exactly what DEQ does, but man it is some good stuff.

 

[lsiberian]

I've had my Onkyo for a year now had one a long time ago. Never had issues, but my rack is wide open. Even the Xbox didn't ever red ring on me.

 

[Pyrrho]

Yeah, did you ever figure out what exactly DEQ is?

I read the description of DEQ, but I'm still not quite sure.

I can't even tell a difference between Audyssey vs. Audyssey Bypass L/R. But that DEQ is like magic.

It's like audio bass life resurrection.

So I don't know exactly what DEQ does, but man it is some good stuff.

Here is the short explanation:

Dynamic EQ | Audyssey

Here is a discussion about it:

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/entries/20992326-Dynamic-EQ-Questions

Basically, it is altering the sound in a manner analogous to (but not identical to) a typical loudness compensation circuit. But they will not tell you precisely what it does, as it is "proprietary."

The really short (and not exact) answer is, it adds bass to the signal.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Here is the short explanation:

Dynamic EQ | Audyssey

Here is a discussion about it:

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/entries/20992326-Dynamic-EQ-Questions

Basically, it is altering the sound in a manner analogous to (but not identical to) a typical loudness compensation circuit. But they will not tell you precisely what it does, as it is "proprietary."

The really short (and not exact) answer is, it adds bass to the signal.

Yeah, I got the basics of it. But just wanted to know the exact details, which as you say is proprietary, so basically nobody outside of Audyssey really knows.

It does seem to work best when the master volume is -20 to -30, which is good for me.

 

[ReUpRo]

Re: A/v receiver died & time to replace, need advise..

DEQ is basically a modern version of "loudness" on/off concept. It creates an eq using the concept of the equal loudness curves. Further, sources' Dynamic Range gets taken into account, therefore necessitating the Reference Offset Setting (0dB for Movies, -5 Classical, -10 Jazz and -15 Pop/Rock).

The effect is measured in this thread on AVS Forum, http://www.avsforum.com/t/1314969/audyssey-dynamic-eq-measurments

 

[slipperybidness]

I've had my Onkyo for a year now had one a long time ago. Never had issues, but my rack is wide open. Even the Xbox didn't ever red ring on me.

You had an early-model Xbox (IIRC I think it was the Zephyr board)? And it didn't red-ring????

Not YET anyway.

Every single person that I know (i.e. friends and co-workers) with the original models had the RROD AT LEAST once. Personally, I had it twice! As did a couple of my other friends.

If you have an early model XBOX that hasn't RROD, then go buy a lottery ticket! You already hit the lottery once!

 

[3db]

Here is the short explanation:

Dynamic EQ | Audyssey

Here is a discussion about it:

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/entries/20992326-Dynamic-EQ-Questions

Basically, it is altering the sound in a manner analogous to (but not identical to) a typical loudness compensation circuit. But they will not tell you precisely what it does, as it is "proprietary."

The really short (and not exact) answer is, it adds bass to the signal.

Then Yamaha has their own version of this and had it before Audessy came out with theirs. Page 88/157 according the RX-V1800 Manual. It does not operate in Pure Direct Mode. I notice that my sub output is curtailed more during low level listening verses louder listening levels.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

DEQ is basically a modern version of "loudness" on/off concept. It creates an eq using the concept of the equal loudness curves. Further, sources' Dynamic Range gets taken into account, therefore necessitating the Reference Offset Setting (0dB for Movies, -5 Classical, -10 Jazz and -15 Pop/Rock).

The effect is measured in this thread on AVS Forum, Audyssey Dynamic EQ Measurments

Audyssey DEQ Bass Boost @ 5hz/10hz/ 20hz/ 40hz/ 80hz:

VOL -40: 21.8/ 21.0/ 17.8/ 12.9/ 6.4
VOL -30: 16.1/ 15.7/ 13.3/ 09.1/ 4.6
VOL -20: 10.2/ 09.9/ 08.3/ 05.6/ 2.7
VOL -10: 07.2/ 04.7/ 03.9/ 03.0/ 1.5
VOL -00: 00.4/ 00.4/ 00.4/ 00.2/ 0.1

So if my master volume is -20.0, there is a bass boost of +8.3dB @ 20Hz, +5.6dB @ 40Hz, & +2.7dB @ 80Hz.

Well, I do like what I hear.