Bought new Onkyo TX-NR6050, hope I won't regret

[Mike Up]

Mike Up
Supporting Actor
I have loved my Denon receivers but they have quirks that I don't like as anything. Music side, they sound great but on HT side, the AVR-2312ci is very complicated and had some analog to HDMI black level issues. It's equivalent to the Denon AVR-X3800H but with 7.1 channels. AVR3803 was the best receiver I've owned but it's only analog and 19 years old. It's equivalent to the newer Denon AVR-X4700H but with 7.1 channels.

Anyhow, since I've moved to 4K and Dolby Vision in my living room (Denon AVR-2312ci 1080P HDMI Only) and 1080P in the media room (Denon AVR-3803 no HDMI), I have been getting irritated with no on-screen displays since everything goes through the TV's HDMI inputs, then TV's optical output to the receivers. This way I can enjoy 4K in living room and HDMI in media room.

I would had loved to get the Denon AVR-X2800H but this is a $800 receiver selling for $1200. This is thanks to Denon jacking up their prices due to the Pandemic. Denon has had no discounts while other brands have had discounts trying to bring their selling price somewhat back to their previous Pre-Pandemic MSRP prices.

Looking at the Onkyo TX-NR6100 at $700 looked like a great deal compared to the Denon AVR-X2800H for $500 more. Well I stumbled onto the Onkyo TX-NR6050 which is really a TX-NR6100 minus the THX feature for an amazing $440! I've never used THX sound features so I wouldn't had with the TX-NR6100. The Yamaha RX-VA6 was another that use to sell at $650 MSRP but jumped up to $850 MSRP with price raising. I had many Yamahas and every one either had firmware/software defect, hardware defect, or dented or scratched faceplates with no box damage. To say the least, the Yamaha RX-V2095 was the last Yamaha I actually kept without returning for defects.

I'm not so sure with this Onkyo as they have had HDMI issues and software/firmware issues of their own while Denon has been pretty solid in previous years. I've read Denon did have some firmware/software issues in the later receivers but no worse than any other brands fight with HDMI copy protection.

Hopefully I won't be disappointed with the Onkyo TX-NR6050 as it has a great feature set, good looking amp section, and unreal low price.

I actually bought this mainly for the great deal. Otherwise I would had waited another 6 months to a year.

Anyone here have good or bad experiences with it?

I searched and seen most posts were about just recently bought receivers or were considering buying it.

Now that it's been out for a while and likely setup in people's HT systems for some time, what's everyone's likes and dislikes?

 

[Trebdp83]

I have had an Onkyo TX-NR6050 for several months and am enjoying it. I used Denon receivers for many years but tired of prices going up and 3XXX features going away and held only for the 4XXX models and up. My 3803 is a tank but currently collecting dust. But, winter is coming and I may need a room heater.

I believe I’ve mentioned it elsewhere on the forums that Onkyo currently offers the best feature set for the price of any brand. The TX-NR6050 is a steal. It replaced my TX-NR696 as I needed HDMI 2.1 video features. I also have a TX-NR777 and a Yamaha RX-V6A. All but the 6050 are currently on music duty in other rooms as all support network music streaming services and Airplay.

Switching to an Onkyo from a Denon is not very difficult regarding setup as they have more in common than say either of them compared to a Yamaha receiver. But, all have different designations for some features and one would be wise to study the manual. Unfortunately, Onkyo didn’t sift through the 6050 manual very well and 6100 info can still be found in it and confuse the reader.

New receivers have wonderful new network features and the 6050 should be connected to your network immediately to run any available firmware updates. Then, download the Onkyo Controller app to a Smart device for convenient control of the unit. It also has a web setup feature that contains HDMI 2.1 specific settings that cannot be accessed from the on screen settings using the remote control.

Do you have a favorite music streaming service? AV receiver brands handle some services differently than others and some services aren’t supported at all. Onkyo has a nice music streaming feature but there are some limitations.

Mixing older HDMI connectable devices with new receivers and TVs can be difficult because of the HDCP spec. What are you planning on connecting to the receiver? What is the TV model in use here? I hope you enjoy the 6050. It is capable but don’t expect the kind of power and indestructibility that the 3803 possesses or the “set it and forget it” easiness of analog connections. 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos can be very fun but very frustrating to setup in some cases. I sometimes miss component video and 7.1 analog connections for HD and multichannel audio for discs.There were no silly handshake and platform issues then.

 

[Mike Up]

I have had an Onkyo TX-NR6050 for several months and am enjoying it. I used Denon receivers for many years but tired of prices going up and 3XXX features going away and held only for the 4XXX models and up. My 3803 is a tank but currently collecting dust. But, winter is coming and I may need a room heater.

I believe I’ve mentioned it elsewhere on the forums that Onkyo currently offers the best feature set for the price of any brand. The TX-NR6050 is a steal. It replaced my TX-NR696 as I needed HDMI 2.1 video features. I also have a TX-NR777 and a Yamaha RX-V6A. All but the 6050 are currently on music duty in other rooms as all support network music streaming services and Airplay.

Switching to an Onkyo from a Denon is not very difficult regarding setup as they have more in common than say either of them compared to a Yamaha receiver. But, all have different designations for some features and one would be wise to study the manual. Unfortunately, Onkyo didn’t sift through the 6050 manual very well and 6100 info can still be found in it and confuse the reader.

New receivers have wonderful new network features and the 6050 should be connected to your network immediately to run any available firmware updates. Then, download the Onkyo Controller app to a Smart device for convenient control of the unit. It also has a web setup feature that contains HDMI specific settings that cannot be accessed from the on screen settings using the remote control.

Do you have a favorite music streaming service? AV receiver brands handle some services differently than others and some services aren’t supported at all. Onkyo has a nice music streaming feature but there are some limitations.

Mixing older HDMI connectable devices with new receivers and TVs can be difficult because of the HDCP spec. What are you planning on connecting to the receiver? What is the TV model in use here? I hope you enjoy the 6050. It is capable but don’t expect the kind of power and indestructibility that the 3803 possesses or the “set it and forget it” easiness of analog connections. 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos can be very fun but very frustrating to setup in some cases. I sometimes miss component video and 7.1 analog connections for HD and multichannel audio for discs.There were no silly handshake and platform issues then.

Thanks for the comments.

My plan is to replace my Denon AVR-2312ci in my living room with the Onkyo TX-NR6050 and then move the Denon AVR-2312ci into my Media Room replacing the Denon AVR-3803.

It's easier to just copy my signature from another forum than try to relist everything. I couldn't use a signature here for some reason.

Main Living Room (16'X15'X8') Sys. : Hisense 65U6G Quantum Dot 4K TV, Onkyo TX-NR6050, Sony UBP-X700, Magnavox ZV427MG9, Harman/Kardon CDR 20, Roku Streaming Stick 4K 3820, Fire TV Stick 4K Max w/Amazon Music UHD, Audio-Technica AT-LP60-USB, Polk TSI100, Polk CS10, Infinity Primus P143, Infinity Entra .5, Klipsch R-120SW.
Media Room (11'X10'X8') Sys. : LG 47LW5600 3D TV, Denon AVR-2312ci, Sony BDP-S6500, Roku Streaming Stick+ 3810, Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Polk TL150 speaker sys. w/ Klipsch R-100SW

My main listening service is Amazon Unlimited with UHD 24 bit/192Khz albums and songs. I listen to low rez Pandora music for background listening.

Looking forward to having Wifi and bluetooth on this receiver. AVR-2312ci needed an Ethernet to wifi adapter to use its network radio that never worked and for it's onscreen display in a browser which wasn't very good. Hope the Onkyo works better.

It will be nice having the Denon AVR-2312ci in the media room as the Denon AVR-3803 isn't using it's video switching since it's only analog. The TV outputs through an optical cable to the Denon. For settings and displays, it's a headache as the receiver doesn't display any info on it's own display. The AVR-2312ci does, Thank God, but it's hard to see some times. To set up the AVR-3803, I had to run a composite cable to the TV since it doesn't display anything on it's screen. Plus at 19 years, the AVR-3803 display is dimming in areas which makes me wonder how long before it goes out.

Glad to hear you like your TX-NR6050. WIth the current $60 discount, the $440 price is incredible next to the Denon AVR-X2800H's $1200 price tag and the AVR-S970H $900 price!

As I said, not much of a Yamaha fan mainly due to their stuff just not working right out of the box. I setup some HT systems for people and we had to exchange a couple of times to get a correctly working receiver. Myself, the Advantage 710 I believe was the Yamaha I tried before my Denon AVR-2312ci and it's HDMI just wouldn't work correctly with the TV or devices so it went back also. Just very poor luck with recent Yamaha's. The ones that I liked and worked correctly were the RX-V783 and RX-V2095. I liked the RX-V995 until it's transformer started buzzing very loudly then I used my dealers upgrade program and upgraded to RX-V2095. I've seen another 5 yamaha receiver have problems out of the box so I'm not a fan and found Denon's sound quite a bit better for music.

 

[Trebdp83]

I believe that TV supports HDR10+. The Onkyo TX-NR6050 will pass an HDR10+ signal from Amazon devices to the TV BUT, they must be connected to HDMI ports 1-3. Ports 4-6 will not pass HDR10+.

 

[Mike Up]

I believe that TV supports HDR10+. The Onkyo TX-NR6050 will pass an HDR10+ signal from Amazon devices to the TV BUT, they must be connected to HDMI ports 1-3. Ports 4-6 will not pass HDR10+.

I been reading through the manual and seen nothing about HDR10+ being limited to HDMI 1-3. How did you find out, trial and error?

Yes, I do use HDR10+ on Prime Video. It looks very similar to Dolby Vision, both being much better than HDR10.

Is the Dolby Vision limited to HDMI 1-3 as well?

That pretty much takes away 3 useful HDMI inputs as I thought all the HDR formats should be compatible with all HDMI inputs since they are tied to 4K and not 8K.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Trebdp83]

The manual is flawed in a few ways. I found the fine print on the product sheet. I confirmed it on my own receiver when trying to view HDR10+ material from Amazon Prime using HDMI port #4. But, Dolby Vision is available from HDMI ports 1-6.

Another feature that is also missing in the receiver but is mentioned in the manual is the “Relative” (-dB - +dB) volume display setting. Only Absolute(0 on up) volume display is actually present. Some have been annoyed by the omission.

 

[Mike Up]

The manual is flawed in a few ways. I found the fine print on the product sheet. I confirmed it on my own receiver when trying to view HDR10+ material from Amazon Prime using HDMI port #4. But, Dolby Vision is available from HDMI ports 1-6.
View attachment 58106
Another feature that is also missing in the receiver but is mentioned in the manual is the “Relative” (-dB - +dB) volume display setting. Only Absolute(0 on up) volume display is actually present. Some have been annoyed by the omission.

Wow, those footnotes are something. Hidden in the fine print.

Yeh, I may not be happy with no relative volume. I've always had that on my receivers that had digital volume controls.

Thanks!

 

[lovinthehd]

The manual is flawed in a few ways. I found the fine print on the product sheet. I confirmed it on my own receiver when trying to view HDR10+ material from Amazon Prime using HDMI port #4. But, Dolby Vision is available from HDMI ports 1-6.
View attachment 58106
Another feature that is also missing in the receiver but is mentioned in the manual is the “Relative” (-dB - +dB) volume display setting. Only Absolute(0 on up) volume display is actually present. Some have been annoyed by the omission.

You mean reference volume scale?

 

[Trebdp83]

Yes, “Relative” is Onkyo’s designation.

 

[Mike Up]

Pretty crappy the important footnotes are in a marketing sheet but not in the actual manual.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Mike Up]

Do you have the latest and greatest firmware revision?

TX-NR6050
(Current Version R119-0509-0050-0031)
The 09/09/2022 update will address the following:
1. Update the compatible speakers for Klipsch Optimized Mode.
Add Klipsch Reference Premiere series new models.
2. Improve stability of Bluetooth Transmitter function.
3. Minor bug fixes and stability improvements.

Looks like this version is used on NR6050/NR6100/NR7100/ and RZ50. NR5100 uses different version.

 

[Trebdp83]

I keep all of my receivers up to date and, surprisingly, ALL of them received firmware updates this year.

 

[Mike Up]

I keep all of my receivers up to date and, surprisingly, ALL of them received firmware updates this year.

Good to hear but would had thought a lot of those issues you stated would had been rectified by a firmware revision already. I wonder what they are waiting on.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, “Relative” is Onkyo’s designation.
View attachment 58107

Dang, had a look back at my Onkyo avr manual and it also used relative, forgot about that....been in D&M land too much lately I guess

 

[Trebdp83]

With streaming services and different devices connecting to the internet, there are bound to be issues and “bug fixes” are common these days for new and older models. There is also the trend of selling half baked new models with features that are “coming soon” in a “future firmware update.”

 

[Mike Up]

I picked it up from Costco after it was delivered there.

NOT IMPRESSED!

The stupid receiver will only play in 2 channel with no sub and everytime I hit any music mode button, it says unavailable.

The speaker setup is grey out and unavailable as well.

I then did an update which helped nothing as well as restart on the receiver itself. Nothing.

What's even worse is that the stupid thing didn't come with a manual. They refer you to a download. So now I have to run back and forth from room to room so I can read manual.

I'm thinking about just taking it back, my patience runs thin on stupidity and this receiver is even more complicated than the Denon.

Now I see why it was so cheap.

 

[lovinthehd]

Personally I prefer a pdf manual, can take it with me on a variety of mobile devices (I don't even use a desktop type pc). Can't imagine a unit that won't do 2ch with sub otoh. My old Onkyo does but that one has Audyssey, too. AVRs are somewhat complicated and generally need a fairly decent run-thru on the manual to optimize to one's preferences....good luck, tho.

 

[Mike Up]

Well its stuck in direct mode and every button I push says unavailable so I have to do a reset. Tons of posts about Onkyo receiver locking up and glitching like this. GREAT. I'll waste more time setting it up but likely going back to my Denon AVR-2312ci.

 

[lovinthehd]

Try just a soft reset first if it gets stuck in a mode (unplug from power for a bit). Full microprocessor/factory reset might be in order if that doesn't work.

 

[lovinthehd]

Oh, and I don't think newer avrs are free from glitches, probably more subject to them if anything.