Onkyo TX-NR626 Receiver Review

[Adam]

Hi Monte,

Congrats on the new receiver! Sorry for the late response. My comments below are just to get the ball rolling.

From your questions, I'm guessing that you don't have the receiver hooked up to a TV - is that correct?

Did you not run the Audyssey set up, yet? I ask because you asked about calibrating the music. If you haven't run Audyssey, that may explain why the volume sounds low. Maybe not...but it might. When you run Audyssey, it sets the speaker levels relative to the volume setting in order to hit a reference level (I forget...75dB?) at some volume setting. I think (but forget for sure) that the setup menu with come up when you plug in the microphone. If so, you wouldn't have to try and navigate the menu to get it started.

For connecting up your blu-ray player, which model do you have? Different models have different available connections. That said, I think that HDMI is always going to be your best choice between a blu-ray player and the Onkyo.

 

[MonteMallin]

Hi Monte,

Congrats on the new receiver! Sorry for the late response. My comments below are just to get the ball rolling.

From your questions, I'm guessing that you don't have the receiver hooked up to a TV - is that correct?

Did you not run the Audyssey set up, yet? I ask because you asked about calibrating the music. If you haven't run Audyssey, that may explain why the volume sounds low. Maybe not...but it might. When you run Audyssey, it sets the speaker levels relative to the volume setting in order to hit a reference level (I forget...75dB?) at some volume setting. I think (but forget for sure) that the setup menu with come up when you plug in the microphone. If so, you wouldn't have to try and navigate the menu to get it started.

For connecting up your blu-ray player, which model do you have? Different models have different available connections. That said, I think that HDMI is always going to be your best choice between a blu-ray player and the Onkyo.

 

[MonteMallin]

hey there,

first, and most important, getting back in less than a day does not constitute a "late response." it is very appreciated and no apologies are necessary! In response to your questions:

- do not have it hooked up to a TV. My focus is audio for now. I wanted this receiver because it gives me lots of options, and I can expand to full AV usage over time. Not ready to do that quite yet.

- have not run Audyssey yet. Haven't quite figured out how to do that. I'll try to work on it this weekend. Like a prior commenter, I find it hard to figure things out without an actual printed manual, and the damn thing is 140 pages long. I will work on that.

- Blue ray is fairly modern Samsung with HDMI. I'll try that first.

Now what else can I tell you? I do want to get the wi-fi running; I am sure there's a way.

I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of the potential of this receiver!

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the firmware, and how to upgrade it, btw

Thanks,

Monte

 

[Adam]

I forget if the menu shows upon the front panel display, but you might be able to navigate it without an attached display. In case it doesn't, do you have a TV or computer monitor that you could use just to set it up? A lot of computer monitors have HDMI inputs these days - just a thought.

Audyssey is really easy to use. If you have a display connected, it will walk you through it. My suggestion, at least to start - set the microphone up in your primary listening position (using a tripod is good if you have one) and then run all of the calibrations without moving the mic at all. That simplifies it for you, and it focuses the calibration on your primary spot. If you have a display hooked up, though, I think that it gives you a graphic to describe where to move the mic if you want to do that. Btw, you'll want to move off to the side and not be in the way of the speakers during the test (leaving the room is good), and try to have your music room be as quiet as possible (like, no music playing elsewhere, A/C running, and so on). Ambient noise will interfere with the calibration. It doesn't have to be totally silent, as no house will be, but try to turn off noises that you can.

After you run Audyssey, I'll bet that the low volume issue gets better.

 

[markosti]

Nice review Adam, good job

 

[MonteMallin]

Hi Adam!

OK, lots of progress. Ran Auddyssey and it did help, but also I set up the CD player and ran a comparison and I think part of the problem is just the lower output of the phono. So for the moment, I'll just turn the volume up as I work on other things.

I think my biggest challenge is accessing the wi-fi without a tv to use, which would make it much easier to run the set up for the entire system. I don't think it's possible to access and set up the wi-fi without the monitor. What I'm going to try to do is use a laptop or phone. I an skeptical about this. Please let me know what you think. I'm also going to try to contact Onkyo and see what they recommend.

Thanks for your help so far. We'll get there! In addition to upgrading the receiver, I've also added a new cartridge and stylus to the phono (audio-technica 311). Music is starting to sound really good - and how I remembered it.

Let me know if you have any thoughts regarding the possibility of using a laptop.

Thanks, I appreciate your time and insights!

Monte

 

[Adam]

Monte,

Glad that's coming along! Stupid question - do you have your turntable plugged into the PHONO input? That's not meant to be patronizing at all. If you had it plugged into another input, it would sound much quieter. Hey, it's worth asking.

Good luck running the menu through a laptop or your phone - if you get that to work, please let us know! I don't see an obvious way to do that, but that doesn't mean that it can't be done.

Do you have a computer monitor or any other display that you could hook up to it temporarily? If so, what sorts of video inputs does it have?

 

[MonteMallin]

haha yes of course it is! I'm not an audio neophyte - I'm just middle aged! Used to be you bought a receiver, plugged stuff in, and that was that! Times have changed!

The question is a) is there a way to connect to the net without the monitor, b) if so, how? and if not, c) what do I do as an alternative? Find one to borrow I guess!

Monte

 

[mamos1975]

Hi Adam
Great review.

I have a NR 626 since a few months. lately I bought 2 Wharfedale diamond 10.6 (front ) and a 10.cs (center) speakers in order to upgrade my old JVC ones.
I noticed that when I choose Theatrical Dimension I can hear a white noise and periodically (every 20 secs) another noise like brrr. It is not loud, but I can definitely hear it when there is silence in a movie scene.
Have you heard about it before?

GM

 

[Adam]

Hi, GM, and welcome to the forum! I never used that mode because I have surround speakers, so I apologize that I can't speak intelligently on it. Have you noticed any noises like that when you use the other listening modes?

 

[mamos1975]

Adam,
thank you for immediate response.

yes I can hear the noise with DOLBY PRO LOGIC and NEO 6 CINEMA as far as I can remember.

if you were using my speakers configuration + two surround speakers, what listening mode would YOU choose for watching a movie?

GM

 

[Adam]

Hi, again. Sorry for taking longer to get back to you. I just had a new TV delivered.

You ask a good question. Hmmm. If I had a 5.0 or 5.1 setup (which I think is what you're asking about), I'd probably go with the ones listed on the right side of page 43 in the manual (e.g. "Dolby Digital", "Dolby TrueHD", "DTS", and so on). I think that's the way that I went when I was using this receiver. I also tried "Direct." Honestly, I play around for a little while until I find a setting that I like, and then I tend to use that one for quite a while.

 

[PhilipA]

I've read complaints about the Zone 2 feature being very limited. Can you explain a little bit better how that feature works on this receiver? I'm a novice when it comes to surround sound and home theater stuff in general.

I also noticed that you recommended the Pioneer due to being able to configure it for multiple locations. We're planning on using this for a fairly large great room with a sectional couch. Would that be something that a multiple configuration unit be useful for or would a single configuration work well in that situation? I'm trying to wrap my head around the need for being able to configure multiple locations in a large room for multiple guests.

 

[Adam]

Hi, Philip, and welcome to the forum! Sorry for the delayed response.

The limitation that I know about for Zone 2 is that you can't play the digital audio input sources over it. You can only play analog inputs, internet radio, and USB inputs through Zone 2. So, for example, you couldn't listen to a CD player hooked up via a digital audio input through Zone 2. In that example, you'd have to connect the CD player up to a set of analog inputs for Zone 2.

Regarding multiple configurations on the Pioneer, that let's you store calibration settings for different locations. However, you can only use one configuration at a time, so it's not meant for when you have a large group of people in the room at the same time. This Onkyo would do at least as well as the Pioneer in that situation. MCACC shines when you want to listen somewhere other than the primary location, such as if you have a chair (or bar...or dining area) off to the side, for example. For your section couch, whether multiple configurations would benefit you (not a large group of people) depends on where various pieces of the couch are relative to your speakers...and how much you'd notice the difference between seats. I happen to have a chair that is much closer to the right front speaker than my couch, so I can easily tell a difference between the configuration run for the couch and the one run for the chair.

 

[PhilipA]

Thanks for the timely and helpful response. Now I just need to decide if I want all 7 speakers in the great room or put a couple in the kitchen area. Is there s big difference between 5.1 and 7.1 when it comes to watching movies and sporting events?

 

[Adam]

There is a difference, but maybe not a noticeable one to you. You could always try both and see if you care about the difference.

 

[Alex2507]

Is there a big difference between 5.1 and 7.1 when it comes to watching movies and sporting events?

Short answer is no but if you have the space to properly implement a 7.1 system and you play a 7.1 movie ... it's probably still not a big difference ... most of the time.