The "Official" Onkyo TX-NR906 Owners Thread...

[Jon S]

Yippee!!! My Onkyo TX-NR906 is here!!! My dealer said it is in and I can pick it up tonight... I will be setting it up this weekend and will post pictures in this thread when I can... If any of you have any questions about the receiver, I will try to answer them. As with my TX-NR905 thread, I will try to post any important factoids in this, the first post... Do not expect anything until late Saturday or sometime Sunday while I take out the TX-NR905 from the system and put in the TX-NR906 in.



First Update...

The Onkyo TX-NR906 looks exactly like the TX-NR905... I cannot really see any differences between the two other than the stickers on the front are different. The internals also look identical... but the DSPs are different... Oh yeah... the unit is now made in Malaysia, not Japan like my 905 was...

The firmware shows:

Firmware 1.00 08703A
DSP1 SR9061/08611A
DSP2 SR9062/08605C
DSP3 SR9063/08506A
HDMI 1.00/08627A
Video 08703E01293

I did not notice any difference when switching HDMI sources (it's not any faster) but so far I did notice that the amps do not "thump" the speakers like the 905 did with the PS3. I will try to see if the Reon processor has any black or white level issues later and report again when possible.

Second Update..
To answer some questions...
New features:
There is a new Zoom mode which allows one to fill the entire screen when watching an non-anamorphic widescreen DVD. This works rather nicely, except that the zoom mode is fixed that way until you reset it back to full which returns you to a normal image. Watching an anamorphic DVD with the zoom enabled will zoom into the image as well. To me, this alone makes the 906 a worthwhile upgrade... i was sick of watching non-anamorphic movies with a black box all around... unfortunately, watching them zoomed in now shows how badly they were mastered... edge enhancement raised its ugly head a lot in those early DVDs.

I was also asked if the Onkyo zooms a 4:3 image to 16:9 automatically like the 905 (I don't remember having this problem with my 905), it does not have this problem.

The new EQ modes, Dynamic Volume etc., allows you to compress the dynamic range so that softer passages are louder and that the louder passages are softer, do you do not have to worry about having too loud stuff going on audiowise. When enabled to high compression mode, the sound is notably compressed to the point where any action scenes seem muted. The normal dynamic compressed mode is a better option where the compression is not as heavy handed. Please note that enabling dynamic volume seems to kill the bass output a bit....

The auto-calibration for the Audyssey EQ is still painfully slow, taking about 30+ minutes to do an six seat calibration. Although some reviews reported that the Audyssey in the 905 was inaccurate in judging distances with speakers, I did not experience that problem with either the 905 or 906.

The Reon processor seems to be better behaved than the 905. The Reon on the 905 upscaled rather poorly imho. The Reon in the 906 is an improvement over that. The scaling is as good as I have ever seen. Inputting a 480P signal thru the HDMI comes out very nicely, as good as the Sony PlayStation 3, maybe a bit better. Watching "Transformers" on Blu-Ray and on the standard DVD was close enough where I did not notice the SD-DVD as being that much of a downgrade over the Blu-Ray. I did not notice any issues when switching the Reon off or on like the early 905s where it altered the black levels to a considerable degree.

The HDMI switching is painfully slow... It took an average of 10-12 seconds to switch between my Sony DVP-NS975 HDMI upscaling DVD player and the Sony Playstation 3. I understand some people were saying that on the 905 the image would appear before the audio would lock in... well, the 906 is reversed... you will hear the audio first for a couple of seconds before the video image appears.

The audio in the 906 is identical to the 905... I could not discern any issues or differences between the 906 or the 905. I would like to mention that while the 905/906 has very good audio compared to a Denon AVR-3806 (which sounded very flat) or a Sony STR-DA5300ES (which sounded very weak), it still does not quite come up to dedicated amps... I noticed that connecting my speakers using a Marantz SA-8260 SACD/CD player and a Marantz PM7200 integrated amplifier had better soundstaging, the depth was better and the detail was better with more focus than with the Onkyo connected to the same Marantz SA-8260 player. Still, the Onkyo easily outperformed both the Sony and Denon with better impact and dynamics. The Denon did sound a bit smoother on the top end over the Onkyo, but still not enough to compensate over the other Onkyo advantages.

Most of you will want to know if the 906 is a worthwhile upgrade over the 905... If you want the Reon processor looking better or need the upscaling feature, then yes. Watching upscaled video in the 905 was bad enough where i always had the source upscale to 1080P. Now the 906 is good enough where i can just leave the HDMI to 1080P in the receiver. Otherwise, the dynamic volume and zoom modes are really the only improvements I can see. If you have no need for them, stick with the 905.. especially as they would probably dropping that price down with the 906 now out. After thinking about the 906, I would not have really reconsidered buying it if i had not needed another receiver in the house. Hope this answer everyone's questions.

The attached photos are of the unit itself...

[Jon S]

These are pictures of the GUI (graphical user interface)... as you can see, they were prettied up a bit but basically they are the same...

1. This is a picture of the primary setup screen
2. Speaker distance setup screen
3. Something new here... Zoom mode. You now can stretch a non-anamorphic image to fill the screen. Note that this mode once set, remains that way until you go back into the menu and change it... i.e. if you place an anamorphic movie in, the movie is also stretched out to fill beyond the normal screen.
4. here is the so-called ISF mode where an ISF tech can adjust the image to correct grayscale... note that this is NOT the same as CMS to correct color inaccuracies.
5. speaker configuration screen

[optivity]

Congrats "Jon S," I am looking forward to your review.

[Lee Weber]

Jon S Would you mind doing me a fav and seeing if the "zoom" mode stretches 2:35.1 widescreen to fill the 16:9 display (not a zoom/crop) and not losing any data?.

It sure looks lke a vertical stretch and not a zoom in the manual on page 111.

I have attached a snapshot from the manual.

Thanks!

Lee

[toolwarrior]

No pressure Jon, but there are going to be hundreds of us waiting to see if all the problems with the 905 have been fixed on your sweet new unit.

[Lee Weber]

Originally Posted by toolwarrior

No pressure Jon, but there are going to be hundreds of us waiting to see if all the problems with the 905 have been fixed on your sweet new unit.

True...I was waiting for that to pop up....
Why dont we not clutter the thread asking about the fixes of 905 bugs BUT have 1 post with a concise list of them and Jon S can, or anyone who gets a 906 soon can be kind enough to answer as to the 906 and those issues. Toolwarrior might you be able to do that??

[toolwarrior]

Originally Posted by W3bbY

True...I was waiting for that to pop up....
Why dont we not clutter the thread asking about the fixes of 905 bugs BUT have 1 post with a concise list of them and Jon S can, or anyone who gets a 906 soon can be kind enough to answer as to the 906 and those issues. Toolwarrior might you be able to do that??

Thats a great idea. I would love to generate a list, but I was not graced with a 905. I currently have a Marantz. However, I have been researching for months and have narrowed my new purchase down to an Onkyo or Denon. I am especially concerned about the Reon chip issues and implementation (delay when switching sources/resolution) and the color space issue. I will defer a concise list to someone like AdamWL who has more history with a 905. I am sure your post will now generate a number of folks responding who own or have owned either an 875 or 905.

[facesnorth]

Jon S how do you keep getting your hands on these Onkyo AVR's before everyone else all the way down there in Hawaii?

[merc4a2]

Originally Posted by facesnorth

Jon S how do you keep getting your hands on these Onkyo AVR's before everyone else all the way down there in Hawaii?

I've seen a lot of stuff in Japanese Department stores in Hawaii that are directly from Japan (stuff you can't get in stores on the mainland), so could he possibly be getting the "Japan" version?

[Suzook]

well the boats do pass right by the island on the way to Cali. He must "know" someone

[AdamWL]

Originally Posted by toolwarrior

I am especially concerned about the Reon chip issues and implementation (delay when switching sources/resolution) and the color space issue. I will defer a concise list to someone like AdamWL who has more history with a 905. I am sure your post will now generate a number of folks responding who own or have owned either an 875 or 905.

I've had one eye on this thread since Jon S started it on Friday morning. I too am interested to see if the 906 has addressed the three known issues that affected the 875/905: Aspect ratio adjustment ("Zoom Mode" on new models), color space issue when x.v.Color is enabled, and HDMI output signal delays when swithcing source resolutions/devices (HDCP handshake delay issue).

Originally Posted by facesnorth

Jon S how do you keep getting your hands on these Onkyo AVR's before everyone else all the way down there in Hawaii?

I'd like to know that too. You seemed to be the first to get the 905 back when and first to get the 906. Are you with the "Aloha State HT Review"?

[optivity]

Originally Posted by AdamWL

You seemed to be the first to get the 905 back when and first to get the 906. Are you with the "Aloha State HT Review"?

On the opposite end of the spectrum... I live in smAlbany NY where there is no authorized Onkyo dealer.

[ezervoud]

Originally Posted by optivity

On the opposite end of the spectrum... I live in smAlbany NY where there is no authorized Onkyo dealer.

Just to alleviate your thoughts there, I will tell you that I live in a country where Onkyo is not present directly. There is one distributor and the price we get to pay is usually 2:1 over US
So, perhaps you want to rethink your proximity with an Onkyo Authorized Dealer?

[optivity]

Originally Posted by ezervoud

Just to alleviate your thoughts there, I will tell you that I live in a country where Onkyo is not present directly. There is one distributor and the price we get to pay is usually 2:1 over US
So, perhaps you want to rethink your proximity with an Onkyo Authorized Dealer?

Dude... I live in America & we "Americans" expect to have everything at our fingertips.

What's the point of being the World's only Superpower if we can't have what we want when we want it?

[ezervoud]

Originally Posted by optivity

Dude... I live in America & we "Americans" expect to have everything at our fingertips.

What's the point of being the World's only Superpower if we can't have what we want when we want it?

Dude, you do have everything but you just don't realize it
Blame it on the size of the country
Anyway you live in the capital of NY, what more can you ask for!!!

[optivity]

Originally Posted by ezervoud

Anyway you live in the capital of NY, what more can you ask for!!!

This one is easy... lower taxes!

In all seriousness though, I am not a fan of using the Internet to purchase A/V equipment costing $$$$ of dollars. I prefer to shop at a local store, even if the item costs a few hundred $ more, to have the convenience of returning that component if something of significance is wrong with the device.

Anyone who has enjoyed this little hobby of ours for any period of time knows all-too-often that new A/V components can be bad right out-of-the-box (e.g. my failed experiment with Samsung's BD-UP5000 HD-DVD/Blu-ray player).

[ezervoud]

Originally Posted by optivity

This one is easy... lower taxes!

In all seriousness though, I am not a fan of using the Internet to purchase A/V equipment costing $$$$ of dollars. I prefer to shop at a local store, even if the item costs a few hundred $ more, to have the convenience of returning that component if something of significance is wrong with the device.

Anyone who has enjoyed this little hobby of ours for any period of time knows all-too-often that new A/V components can be bad right out-of-the-box (e.g. my failed experiment with Samsung's BD-UP5000 HD-DVD/Blu-ray player).

I do not intend to buy over the internet but non the less I do take the risk since I will have virtually no warranty.

Half the price is a big incentive though, outweighing the relevant risk

[ezervoud]

By the way, today you are a certified basketball superpower since you won the gold metal in the Olympic Games
So congratulations are due

[MarcW]

Originally Posted by Jon S

Do not expect anything until late Saturday or sometime Sunday while I take out the TX-NR905 from the system and put in the TX-NR906 in.

OK it's Sunday afternoon... where are the pics/updates... inquiring minds want to know about this thing

[Jon S]

The OP has been updated...

sorry for the delay guys... but yesterday got all messed up with other things and I just got the receiver out of the box... I will post pictures in about three or four hours (my camera battery was dead... it's the details that kill you). The 906 is pretty much identical to the 905, could not see much if any differences other than some cosmetic changes. Dang thing is still super heavy. My local Onkyo dealer just places an order in as soon as the units are available for sale from Onkyo. i guess that way he ends up on top of the list. Although he ordered several, he only got one... It may be like the 905 debacle again... everybody orders, but they only trickle in to the dealers.

I am now taking the 905 out of the system and will put the 906 in thereafter. Looked at the setup screens. they look very like the 905 with little pictures added to the sides (I am impressed )... their speaker config screens are a little better. I did notice the ISF calibration section added in the HDMI section but it appears to be inaccessible to laymen... not sure until i hook up a player to it... more to follow...

[AdamWL]

Originally Posted by Jon S

I am now taking the 905 out of the system and will put the 906 in thereafter. Looked at the setup screens. they look very like the 905 with little pictures added to the sides (I am impressed )... their speaker config screens are a little better. I did notice the ISF calibration section added in the HDMI section but it appears to be inaccessible to laymen... not sure until i hook up a player to it... more to follow...

I'd love to know if the GUI (menus) are superimposed over whatever video you're viewing or if it blanks out the video (like the 905 did) and takes over the TV screen when you press the setup button. Basically, is it like Onkyo AVRs were or like the high-end Denons are.

Thanks!

[facesnorth]

Originally Posted by Jon S

These are pictures of the GUI (graphical user interface)... as you can see, they were prettied up a bit but basically they are the same...

Does it still go down to 480p? Looks more like 1080p.

[alumataz]

does it still have a slight audio delay? tested by running the audio source strait through the tv and also the 906 and having the speakers volumes to both turned up simultaneously and listening for a slight echo? or else hooking up a microphone and tapping on it to see if there is a delay in the audio. Could you please check this for me?

[Jon S]

Originally Posted by AdamWL

I'd love to know if the GUI (menus) are superimposed over whatever video you're viewing or if it blanks out the video (like the 905 did) and takes over the TV screen when you press the setup button. Basically, is it like Onkyo AVRs were or like the high-end Denons are.

Thanks!

The GUI does not superimpose over the background, it disables the previous display...

[Jon S]

Originally Posted by facesnorth

Does it still go down to 480p? Looks more like 1080p.

The GUI appears to be 480P... It's quite blocky on screen....

[Jon S]

Originally Posted by alumataz

does it still have a slight audio delay? tested by running the audio source strait through the tv and also the 906 and having the speakers volumes to both turned up simultaneously and listening for a slight echo? or else hooking up a microphone and tapping on it to see if there is a delay in the audio. Could you please check this for me?

Sorry, i am using a front projector with no other options for sound... can't tell if there is an audio delay but i would not be surprised if there was one...

[corentin]

Jon S, from your experience, is there any difference in sound quality between the 905 and the 906?

[optivity]

Originally Posted by ezervoud

I do not intend to buy over the internet but non the less I do take the risk since I will have virtually no warranty.

Half the price is a big incentive though, outweighing the relevant risk

Unless I want to make the drive to Vermont or Massachusetts, I will have to buy off the Internet too.

[ezervoud]

Originally Posted by optivity

Unless I want to make the drive to Vermont or Massachusetts, I will have to buy off the Internet too.

In case you have a repair issue you can FEDEX the box downtown, though and your warranty will be honored
In any case, I do see the inconvenience you talked about
As far as I am concerned, I will fly to NY the begging of Sep. in order to take advantage of the better pricing and the favorable Euro/USD ratio

[gurkey]

The firmware shows:

Firmware 1.00 08703A
DSP1 SR9061/08611A
DSP2 SR9062/08605C
DSP3 SR9063/08506A
HDMI 1.00/08627A
Video 08703E01293

It doesn't really show, if the DSPs have changed in terms of hardware (chips).
Just the descriptors within the firmware version display seem to have changed...