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Onkyo 3008 review (w/pics of OSD)

13K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  mjfink 
#1 ·
I recently got an Onkyo 3008, and thought I would post up some pics of the AVR, it's OSD, and some of my initial impressions. Please let me know if anyone would like additional/different pics; photography is one of my other hobbies, so I'm more than happy to take more shots..


First the mini-review.


Gear list:


Epson 8500

Axiom M60v2, VP150, and QS8s for surround, surround backs (7 channel)

Epik Castle subwoofer

Dedicated theater, ~20X17

Room treatments (NO bass trapping, just for highs)

HTPC w/5500 series video card (HD bitstreaming)



I'm coming from a Pioneer 1018, a ~500 dollar AVR that's ~2-3 years old. This is a good AVR, and I've been happy with it. The biggest reasons for my upgrade is to get OSD (all my gear is behind me in a closet; I can't see what mode/volume/etc I'm in on the Pioneer on screen, and it's driving me nuts), better room correction, and dual sub balancing EQ correction. The Pioneer also supported HD sound, so that's consistent between the systems; as well as the speakers (everything is the same).


First off, for those who have been reading the 3008/5008 thread, I'm on my second 3008; the first one sent had a "hum/buzz" in the front two speakers (L/R). So my initial impression was "how about some QC!".
2nd AVR seems fine so far, the buzz/hum is gone..


As soon as I got the AVR I upgraded the firmware to the most recent available. I did it once via USB, and once via network. Both times it took a long time to finish (30+ minutes), but went without a hitch. As such, I can't comment on the "old" firmware or what the upgrades "fixed".


After running the FW updates, I then ran through Audessey. Easy process, took about 1-1.5 hours to measure 8 positions and calculate the results. The calculation took much longer than I expected (10 minutes or so), on the Pioneer the room calculation was much faster (but much less sophisticated). As you can see, I mounted the Audessey mic on my photography rig using some blue painters tape. I think that the tape adds a nice "color" and "transparency" to the final EQ calculations.



Anyway.. On to listening. I setup the default audio modes, a feature I didn't know I wanted, but man, I couldn't live without it now. For those who don't know, it allows you to select the default mode for different types of audio; stereo is output as 2.1, TrueHD is output at 7.1 in THX Cinema mode, etc. Once you set this, all the switching between modes is fully automated. Really nice when you have one source (HTPC) that can play tons of different types of audio/video files! I set stereo to 2.1 and the HD audio codecs to 7.1 THX Cinema mode.


First thing I played was music. Bass was significantly/dramatically better (depending on the source material). From the main listening position, it was tight, clear, and very easy to listen to. Also, stereo separation was better; there's a much higher "sense of space" with the new AVR. Not sure how to explain it, but I'm very happy with the results. Set the sub volume a little higher (apparently I'm a bass head, I like it louder than reference) but that was my only listening tweak. Music was much "easier" to listen to; probably because some of the ringing or smearing is being processed out by the room correction software in the 3008. Regardless, very happy with the music results!


On to video.. I've watched a few movies since the install (I haven't slept very much), and all of them were "improved" to "much improved" over the Pioneer. Again, the bass is SO much better that it's really hard to say if that's causing everything else to "sound better" too. The surrounds are much more noticeable (not in a bad way, just more ambient sound), and the system sounds better "blended" than it did with the 1018. I'm in love with the immediate OSD, for folks with gear in a closet (or out of sight) it's exactly what the doctor ordered! I haven't been through all the listening modes yet; I'm stuck on THX Cinema because I like the results so much! Overall, again, very happy with the video results.


General stuff.. This thing runs MUCH hotter than my Pioneer did (driving the same speakers and at the same volumes). It's not "dangerous" hot (IMHO), but much, much hotter than it's predecessor, that's for sure. Also, this thing weighs a TON compared to the Pioneer.. A TON! It's hard to move with one person (you can do it, but don't put in into a glass rack (which is what I have) without help!). The rear of this device is laid out really nicely! I'm very happy with it; easy to connect the speakers (takes bananas securely) and the source component(s). Audessey was easy to run, and correctly detected all my speakers and room layout both times.


The OSD (overlay and full menu) is pretty snappy (it could be better), much faster and nicer to look at the the older Pioneer. However, it's nothing "great", it's still mostly text; it get's the job done, but isn't going to wow you with graphics (I'd much prefer simple and fast over pretty and slow, so this works well for me).


AVR seems to be able to handle high volume just fine; I played some music at 5 under reference and it kept right up. Didn't hear any clipping or distortion; but, to be honest, my Pioneer was just as good at this volume and didn't get as hot..


All right, I think that's a reasonable overview of my experiences thus far. I'll continue to add to this thread as I get more experience with the device, and if folks would like more pictures, I'll also post them in this thread.


Hope this helps!
 
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2
#2 ·
Audessey pics and room overview..



 
#3 ·
Pics of the 3008 installed in the rack,and some pics of the wire attachments and labels provided by Onk..



 
#4 ·
Some OSD shots..


1080P resolution (HDMI source) playing HD audio from a home theater PC with an ATI 5XXX series video card (bitstream)..


 
#6 ·
Nice review mjfink, four questions:


(1) Why the 3008 over the 5008?


(2) It looks like so far you like this AVR and the sound from multiEq XT32 calibration. Is there anything that you have noticed so far that is not to your satisfaction or anything that bothers you (other than the "heating up" issue)?


(3) Have you tried highs and/or wides yet or do you just prefer the conventional 7.2 setup with rear surrounds?


(4) When setting the microphone on the tripod, is it better to place the tripod legs on top of the seating surfaces or right in-front of the seats on solid ground?


Thx, great review. This is one I might go for as well.
 
#8 ·
Thanks, glad it was helpful/interesting..



1) From my comparisons, it looks like the big upgrade to the 5008 is in the amplifier section. I'm moving to Emo amps anyway, so I didn't want to pay extra for something that I'm just going to turn off a few weeks from now. For my purposes, the primary goal of my upgrade was better room EQ, dual sub EQ, and good OSD overlay. The 3008 fit all those goals, so I just didn't want to spend any extra to get features that I'll likely never need/use.


2) Yes, I really like the sound of the MulitEq, it's a big leap forward from the room correction on the Pioneer! Anything bothering me? Well, I wish the setup screen overlayed the HDMI like the "Home" screen does. When you go into "full setup" you lose video and audio. It's not a huge deal, but it's kind of annoying (HDMI resync, takes 5 seconds or so). Also, I wish that there was a direct button interface to HDMI lip sync. You've got to really dig to get to that feature; I'd much prefer direct access to the delay! I've got to look at the Harmony codes to see if there's something that might work (a macro maybe) to get me directly to those settings. Other than that, no; I can't think of anything "bothering me" yet.. Give it time..



3) No, I haven't tried wides or highs yet. Unfortunately, my room is only wired for 7.2, going to more is going to be a pretty big PITA. I'm considering height speakers, those wouldn't be overly difficult to wire, so I might put them in one of these days. However, much like everything, I'm sure I've started to reach a point of very quickly diminishing returns. I honestly can't imagine how it could improve the surround experience that much more than it already is. IMHO, it's better than any movie theater I've ever been in; I guess it could always be better though.. Check back in 6-12 months, I'll probably have heights going in by then.



4) I put the tripod on my seating with the mic at approx ear level. I'm not sure if that's the "best" way to do it, but it allowed me to get a consistent spot/height on each seating position (and held the mic very solidly, which is why I use the tripod in the first place). There are some Audessey superfrieks on here that would probably disagree with my technique; all I can say is that I'm happy with the results, and would suggest that others try the "mic on a tripod" if they have a difficult room to get 8 locations in.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Upgrader /forum/post/19524421


Nice review mjfink, four questions:


(1) Why the 3008 over the 5008?


(2) It looks like so far you like this AVR and the sound from multiEq XT32 calibration. Is there anything that you have noticed so far that is not to your satisfaction or anything that bothers you (other than the "heating up" issue)?


(3) Have you tried highs and/or wides yet or do you just prefer the conventional 7.2 setup with rear surrounds?


(4) When setting the microphone on the tripod, is it better to place the tripod legs on top of the seating surfaces or right in-front of the seats on solid ground?


Thx, great review. This is one I might go for as well.
 
#10 ·
I'm sorry, I don't use CEC and I don't put the AVR into standby mode (I just power it all the way down when I'm finished). I can tell you, the heat on this thing seems to be mostly related to amplification. If I'm not pushing it hard, it gets warm, but not "hot". When it start to push some DBs, that's when it really starts to go beyond what my Pioneer did..


What are you calling "standby" mode? Turned off but still plugged in? I never really use those modes with my programmable remote, it's easy to just turn it all the way off and then back on when I'm ready to use it.
 
#11 ·
You b**ard. I've been on the backorder list for this stupid thing for what feels like the better part of a year!


Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrsage /forum/post/19525145


Ceton InfiniTV4 Tuner
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjfink /forum/post/19525284


I'm sorry, I don't use CEC and I don't put the AVR into standby mode (I just power it all the way down when I'm finished). I can tell you, the heat on this thing seems to be mostly related to amplification. If I'm not pushing it hard, it gets warm, but not "hot". When it start to push some DBs, that's when it really starts to go beyond what my Pioneer did..


What are you calling "standby" mode? Turned off but still plugged in? I never really use those modes with my programmable remote, it's easy to just turn it all the way off and then back on when I'm ready to use it.

Awesome, thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjfink /forum/post/19525288


You b**ard. I've been on the backorder list for this stupid thing for what feels like the better part of a year!
Nya Nya Nya! Sorry, could not resist. I had it on order the day it went on preorder, so I wanted forever. I can honestly say it is an AWESOME card! You will be very happy when you get it, though it does run a bit hot. I simply set an 80mm silent fan on an angle leaning against the card and have no worries. Probably is not needed, but it makes ME feel better.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the review. I am a new 3008 owner as well and it is good to hear other impressions. A few comments after reading your review:


--I also have my equipment rack at the back of the room and I can *so* relate to your comments on the OSD. I'd been using an Onkyo 805 (no HDMI OSD) for almost 3.5 years and I've got so used to craning my head around to check volume level and so forth that I was still doing it with the 3008 and I had to stop and say to myself, "hey dummy, you don't have to do that anymore." Ha!


--I updated firmware via USB and it was totally easy. Once I got the files on the USB drive, it only took a couple minutes to actually do the update. When you say 30 minutes, did that include the whole process or did it take that long once the USB drive was connected to the receiver?


--I timed Audyssey and I can do the positioning/measurements for 7 speakers and dual subs in about 15 to 20 minutes, then the calculation only takes 5 minutes. So about 20 to 25 minutes total.


--Just curious, when you ran Audyssey, did you make changes/tweaks in the Speaker setup menu? I changed my speakers to a 80hz crossover setting. As far as trim levels, I was surprised how low they were. I bumped each trim exactly 5db so as to not change the relative trim settings. Then I bumped each sub an additional 3db as I like my subs to be a little hot. This gave me the same "reference" level that I got with my 805. I am trying to figure out why this was necessary. It makes me wonder if my tweaks got the receiver to actual reference. Or if "reference" was actually higher than what it should have been on my 805.


--As far as Audyssey mic positions and so forth, I just watched this video recently and it gives a lot of good tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okyNlhJ3Hvo


--I am also noticing enhanced clarity with all channels including the surrounds. I first thought this was due to Dynamic EQ, but I turned it off and the clarity was still there. This has to be due to Audyssey XT32. I have a disc of demo scenes that I have watched hundreds of times. I was hearing detail in some of those scenes that I've never heard before!


--Interesting that your 3008 has the sticker on the front. I'm happy mine didn't come with one, but my 805 did so I thought it was odd. Appears Onkyo is inconsistent in that regard.


--As far as lip sync delay, I hardly ever mess with that, but it is nice from time to time. On prior Onkyo receivers, it could be pulled up on the fly by holding down the source button for a few seconds. But I just tried and that doesn't work on the 3008. ?



That ended up being a review within a review. Sorry about that!
 
#14 ·
It probably took longer to do mine because my firmware was older. It was the part after the file was loaded (moved from the flash drive or Internet into the AVR) that took a long time (VPU writing, DAC writing, etc). It took about 30 minutes after the USB drive was connected to the AVR; must have something to do with the revision your updating from (perhaps your update was only for some of the components, and therefore didn't take as long because most of your stuff was already up to date)? And, I'm in complete agreement, they couldn't have made it much easier; very intuitive and simple to complete.


LOL, maybe I was just being impatient! I did 8 measurements, and tried to get the room totally quiet; so my total time (from start to finish) was probably closer to 60-90 minutes. I'm sure I could have done it faster, but I was doing it slowly to make sure I did it right.. Also, my "computation" time seems longer than yours; but, either way, 5 (or 10) minutes is a long time for any modern gear to be "computing" anything.



Why bump up all trims? Isn't that just the same thing as increasing the MV on the AVR? I also set my bass a bit hot, I guess that comes from my days in car audio!



Oh man, you've given me hope on the Lip Sync delay thing. I'm going to have to keep looking to see if I can find a way to directly access it!


Thanks for the comments!


Yes, I forgot to mention that; I (per the Audessey setup thread recommendations) manually set all my speakers to 80Hz crossovers. All of them measured below that, so I had to reset them all to 80Hz.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad T /forum/post/19526426


--I updated firmware via USB and it was totally easy. Once I got the files on the USB drive, it only took a couple minutes to actually do the update. When you say 30 minutes, did that include the whole process or did it take that long once the USB drive was connected to the receiver?


--I timed Audyssey and I can do the positioning/measurements for 7 speakers and dual subs in about 15 to 20 minutes, then the calculation only takes 5 minutes. So about 20 to 25 minutes total.


--Just curious, when you ran Audyssey, did you make changes/tweaks in the Speaker setup menu? I changed my speakers to a 80hz crossover setting. As far as trim levels, I was surprised how low they were. I bumped each trim exactly 5db so as to not change the relative trim settings. Then I bumped each sub an additional 3db as I like my subs to be a little hot. This gave me the same "reference" level that I got with my 805. I am trying to figure out why this was necessary. It makes me wonder if my tweaks got the receiver to actual reference. Or if "reference" was actually higher than what it should have been on my 805.


--As far as Audyssey mic positions and so forth, I just watched this video recently and it gives a lot of good tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okyNlhJ3Hvo


--I am also noticing enhanced clarity with all channels including the surrounds. I first thought this was due to Dynamic EQ, but I turned it off and the clarity was still there. This has to be due to Audyssey XT32. I have a disc of demo scenes that I have watched hundreds of times. I was hearing detail in some of those scenes that I've never heard before!


--Interesting that your 3008 has the sticker on the front. I'm happy mine didn't come with one, but my 805 did so I thought it was odd. Appears Onkyo is inconsistent in that regard.


--As far as lip sync delay, I hardly ever mess with that, but it is nice from time to time. On prior Onkyo receivers, it could be pulled up on the fly by holding down the source button for a few seconds. But I just tried and that doesn't work on the 3008. ?



That ended up being a review within a review. Sorry about that!
 
#16 ·
Maybe you'd have room if you took out the Ceton card? You can just send it to me for safe-keeping, I have plenty of room in my rack for it.

 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjfink /forum/post/19526942


It probably took longer to do mine because my firmware was older. It was the part after the file was loaded (moved from the flash drive or Internet into the AVR) that took a long time (VPU writing, DAC writing, etc). It took about 30 minutes after the USB drive was connected to the AVR; must have something to do with the revision your updating from (perhaps your update was only for some of the components, and therefore didn't take as long because most of your stuff was already up to date)? And, I'm in complete agreement, they couldn't have made it much easier; very intuitive and simple to complete.


LOL, maybe I was just being impatient! I did 8 measurements, and tried to get the room totally quiet; so my total time (from start to finish) was probably closer to 60-90 minutes. I'm sure I could have done it faster, but I was doing it slowly to make sure I did it right.. Also, my "computation" time seems longer than yours; but, either way, 5 (or 10) minutes is a long time for any modern gear to be "computing" anything.



Why bump up all trims? Isn't that just the same thing as increasing the MV on the AVR? I also set my bass a bit hot, I guess that comes from my days in car audio!



Oh man, you've given me hope on the Lip Sync delay thing. I'm going to have to keep looking to see if I can find a way to directly access it!


Thanks for the comments!


Yes, I forgot to mention that; I (per the Audessey setup thread recommendations) manually set all my speakers to 80Hz crossovers. All of them measured below that, so I had to reset them all to 80Hz.


As far as firmware, I wrote down my before and after firmware versions:


Before: 1031-0200-0310-2101

After: 1051-0400-0310-2101


It appears it changed a couple things. Firmware updates on my 805 were a nightmare, which makes USB/NET options seem even better!



I changed the trims because I am so used to "reference" as it was on my 805. It's simply a matter of familiarity/point of reference for when watching. It really has me wondering why there is a discrepancy. Something is off somewhere: 805 or 3008 mic accuracy, 805 or 3008 test tone accuracy, SPL meter accuracy, etc.
 
#18 ·
BTW, I tried to find a discrete remote control command for lip sync adjustment but I'm coming up empty. Hopefully, with time, something else will surface. However, the XX07 and XX08 lines are very similar and I don't think anything ever surfaced for the XX07s so it's unfortunately doubtful for the XX08s.
 
#20 ·
I did consider it; but the 5007 doesn't have MultiEqXT32, which was one of the features that I consider critical.


On the 5008 vs 3008 decision; I'm going to be doing most of my amplification external to the AVR in the future; so I didn't feel the need to upgrade to the 5008 and get the better amp section. It really didn't have a single feature that I wanted other than amps; and that was not a selection criteria for me.



Quote:
Originally Posted by mpstan /forum/post/19532529


I'm researching these units and notice that for the same money within $50 I can buy either a 3008 or a 5007........ did you consider the NR5007? Anyone have insights as to which one is the best value?


Thanks
 
#21 ·
I was asked by PM to elaborate on the hum/buzz that was present on my first AVR; I figured it might be useful for others in case the symptom presents in other environments.


Basically, the sound was very slight (barely audible at 10', clearly audible with your head next to the front R or L tweeter); I'd say that most probably wouldn't notice it. I have a very quiet room; so it was probably easier for me to hear that for most.


The sound would be best compared to taking an intermittent short on one of the speaker wires. It was a random sound (no pattern that I could discern) that happened about 3-5 times per second. The hiss was constant, but, to be honest, I'm not sure that was really a problem; I think I only noticed the hiss because I had my head pressed against the tweeter for the first time ever. My new AVR also has a very slight hiss; I can't say if it's more or less than the first. The hiss is a constant sound; the "problem" was a random sound (it was always there, but had a random pattern).


I would not hear the sound if no digital source was playing. I don't have any analog sources; so, apparently, the 3008 disconnects/powers down the amps when there's no digital audio signal present. However, as soon as a started a digital source the sound would present itself. It was also volume dependent; the higher the volume, the higher the undesired sound level. Muting the AVR totally removed the sound. Muting the source was the best way to get the sound to present itself; you'd never hear it over any playing music/video source.


The new AVR still has a slight hiss (which may be my wire routing in the room, not the AVR itself), but the crackling/popping from the old AVR is totally gone.
 
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