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Onkyo TX NR709 Owners' Thread

344K views 3K replies 439 participants last post by  merceg100 
#1 ·
Mini-Review:

Onkyo's Jan Brady might be the Best Sub-$750 Receiver this Year


In years past, many Onkyo owners (myself included) tended to migrate to either the value-curve melting entry-level 6-series or the full chassis muscle of the 8 series and up. The 7 series has long been an "in-between" model in Onkyo's lineup. It was omitted in 2006 altogether and seems to be an easy step to overlook as prices naturally descend above and below it. To this extent, the 70x was the proverbial Jan Brady - not quite the brawny muscle of the 80x or the entry-level, high bang for your buck 60x.


Networking, THX certificiation, and quality video processing have all tricked down the lineup even further this year, making model differentiation for the 709 more difficult. That said, the 709 presents a big leap over the 609 in respects of the version of Audyssey auto room callibration (2EQ vs MultiEQ XT); multichannel pre-outs for the connection of a separate amplifier; dual HDMI outs for video toggling between two displays; the historical inclusion of a learning feature in the remote; and a somewhat ridiculous 8 HDMI inputs. These are all (and in particular MultiEQ XT) considerable reasons to opt for the 709 over the 609. The advent of HDMI and rapdily falling prices have led to a scarcity of inputs on most modern mid-range receivers, notably with Denon. The onkyo tx nr709 and upcoming pioneer vsx-1121 probably offer some of the best connectivity in this space.


I have owned numerous Onkyo products in the past and am well aware of their quirks (massive heat, moody HDMI boards, etc), but have always been impressed by their raw power, strong featureset, and intuitive setup menus. Onkyo appears to have addressed a number of its predecessors' shortcomings in the 709. Gone is the easy-bake oven operating temperatures of past models. In fact, I was shocked to compare it to Denons, Marantzs, and Pioneers operation in an enclosed cabinet to find the 709 an incredibly cool-operating machine. I believe there is an internal fan, but its operation is silent from normal distances.


Somewhat strangely, I have always relied on Onkyos exclusively for my mother and mother-in-law as they are the only receiver that can be setup over the telephone easily. Their menus are intuitive and easy to navigate, unlike modern Denon and Marantzs that seem to always hide something at some point. Beginning in 2010, Onkyo introduced an overlain onscreen display similar to Denon, but an abstract of the full menu/GUI (Denon offers overlain access to the full setup menu). In some ways Onkyo's approach is superior in that it offers great aspect adjustments (ie zoom in on blu rays to remove black bars) and the full picture simultaneously (Denon and Marantz gray the picture to some extent). I must admit I am a fan of the quick-reach tweaks to video and audio settings in addition to input (which is largely redundant considering the remote is already in your hand). The 709 relies on video-processing from the highly touted Marvell Qdeo chipset. This is a significant improvement from the long-in-the tooth Farjouda chip Onkyo dragged in various versions since 2008. The Marvell chip was also used in mid-range Pioneer and Pioneer Elite receivers last year and I found performance to be excellent in both. That said, video processing in receivers is helpful, but far from essential - most displays will offer identical or better processing. From a competive perspective, it should be mentioned that Denon (and Marantz) has dropped the very good ABT-2015 chipset in its mid-range receivers in favor of none or an Analog Devices chip. Pioneer continues to rely on the Marvell chip as well.


Speak setup and callibration is very easy with the Onkyo once the setup microphone is plugged in. Initially, the Onkyo confirms the speaker setup (height, wide, rear/normal, or zone 2) and confirms whether you want to run full audyssey or a quick setup. The former is what I strongly recommend as it unlocks the amazing ability of Audyssey to set speaker distances, levels, crossovers, and other equalizer filters to get the most out of your speakers and set reference volume. The current iteration of Audyssey MultiEQ XT foregoes the center/left/right measurements it did two or three years ago. It does offer multi-positional measurement, but I have found from experience that letting it remain in the center of the listening environment throughout the measuremetns yields the best result.


Real-world power and sound quality is excellent for a receiver in this price range. Many people overstimate the actual power they need in real-world usage and rely on ignorant comments such as "it must be less powerful since i have to turn it up to -20 on movies" as anecdotes of amplification power. The 709 provides ample amplification power that will leave all but truly inefficient speakers struggling at reference volume. In mere anecdotes, the 709 seemed to offer power nearly to the level of my Denon AVR-3311ci, which is a complement to its amplification ability. The 709 is a THX Select2 Receiver, which is largely marketing save the listening modes THX offers (they anecdotally provide a thuddier version of the orignal audio).


In respects of networking, the 709 provides what I would classify as the essentials - Pandora, Napster, Rhapsody, and DLNA streaming. It lacks the bleeding edge Airplay Denon introduced last year and Pioneer improved upon this year in respects of multi-zone playback. The lack of Airplay is somewhat disappointing, but could be overcome with an Apple TV2, which offers video-streaming unlike the aforementioned receivers.


All in all, the Onkyo TX NR709 is an incredible value, although it is not perfect. It lacks a dettachable power plug, which is incredibly pedestrian in light of pre-outs and dual hdmi outs. The lack of airplay relegates the 709's appeal in a world where most people's music library now resides on a pc and an ipod/iphone. That said, I would encourage many people to find a receiver that offers the same featureset, power, and connectivity at the same street price ($650). Well done Onkyo even if most people will still end up picking Marcia.
 
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#2 ·
Hi winston,


i am looking for onkyo-tx nr709 too.i have Jamo-c607/c60/c603 and jamo sub650.i am currently running with marantz 4600.


i have another marantz option too.Its new AVR 5006(releasing soon).


what would u prefer between 709 and 5006 for my jamo 5.1.


thx

hifi
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hifi999 /forum/post/20554371


Hi winston,


i am looking for onkyo-tx nr709 too.i have Jamo-c607/c60/c603 and jamo sub650.i am currently running with marantz 4600.


i have another marantz option too.Its new AVR 5006(releasing soon).


what would u prefer between 709 and 5006 for my jamo 5.1.


thx

hifi

Both have audyssey MultiEQ XT and should present similar results. Onkyo has THX listening modes, which offer a "thuddier" experience of sound.


Both are very good options, but other than the inclusion of limited Airplay, the 709 offers a lot more features that the Marantz.
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by winston9332 /forum/post/20554929


Both have audyssey MultiEQ XT and should present similar results. Onkyo has THX listening modes, which offer a "thuddier" experience of sound.


Both are very good options, but other than the inclusion of limited Airplay, the 709 offers a lot more features that the Marantz.

can you explain more about "limited airplay" ?
 
#5 ·
hi winston,


thanks for the reply.


i am mostly in to music.(75% and 25% for movies and TV)

i checked their specs.709 has 4k chip and THX both are lack in marantz 5006.

my samsung TV is fullHD,can they make a dfference for 4K resolution???.


many reviews says that marantz is better option for music.do you think so?i never experience any good marantz and onkyo or denon model.

i know only form the reviews from the internet not in reality.


thanks again mr.winston,

hifi.
 
#8 ·
Hello folks,

I have this receiver from 3 weeks i already replaced it once this is my second unit and i again i noticed couple of issues.


Need your help to see if these are really issues.


Monitor Out from the rec is connected to TV, so when ever i switch on the TV the rec doesnt send the signal i have manually switch on the rec and once it switches on it goes in to TV/CD mode, even though the last used mode is Cable/Sat(This only happens when i leave the TV switched off for a long time ).

Is there a setting to change this?


and during this process of initialization i see flickering of the image (Green color screen) (Like a badly scratched CD output)


any help is greatly appreciated
 
#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by faither /forum/post/20591420


Just picked up my TX-NR709 today from hhgregg. They matched Newegg's $649 (out the door). Set up was a breeze. It is replacing a TX-SR803. The 709 rocks, the network hook-up was a simple plug-in of a Linksys WET610N and away we went. Woot!

Are you able to get your updates plus use the other internet features with the Linksys? I am replacing a 703, so surely this will be a huge upgrade.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ds139 /forum/post/20600614


Hello folks,

I have this receiver from 3 weeks i already replaced it once this is my second unit and i again i noticed couple of issues.


Need your help to see if these are really issues.


Monitor Out from the rec is connected to TV, so when ever i switch on the TV the rec doesnt send the signal i have manually switch on the rec and once it switches on it goes in to TV/CD mode, even though the last used mode is Cable/Sat(This only happens when i leave the TV switched off for a long time ).

Is there a setting to change this?


and during this process of initialization i see flickering of the image (Green color screen) (Like a badly scratched CD output)


any help is greatly appreciated

Try disabling HDMI control on both tv and receiver.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hifi999 /forum/post/20557577


hi winston,


thanks for the reply.


i am mostly in to music.(75% and 25% for movies and TV)

i checked their specs.709 has 4k chip and THX both are lack in marantz 5006.

my samsung TV is fullHD,can they make a dfference for 4K resolution???.


many reviews says that marantz is better option for music.do you think so?i never experience any good marantz and onkyo or denon model.

i know only form the reviews from the internet not in reality.


thanks again mr.winston,

hifi.

no, 4k will not make a difference on any 1080p set.
 
#20 ·
I upgraded to the 709 from a 606 a couple weeks ago and have been very pleased so far. I was mostly looking for a receiver with HDMI 1.4 and ARC support to go with my new Panasonic VT30 plasma, and it fits that bill perfectly. As a previous Onkyo user, it was very easy to get the 709 up and running, and it does seem to run quite a bit cooler than the 606. Overall, I'm very happy so far and can't wait until my Aperion speakers are delivered next week to see how it all sounds.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by disarm78 /forum/post/20655442


I upgraded to the 709 from a 606 a couple weeks ago and have been very pleased so far. I was mostly looking for a receiver with HDMI 1.4 and ARC support to go with my new Panasonic VT30 plasma, and it fits that bill perfectly. As a previous Onkyo user, it was very easy to get the 709 up and running, and it does seem to run quite a bit cooler than the 606. Overall, I'm very happy so far and can't wait until my Aperion speakers are delivered next week to see how it all sounds.

Onkyo has made huge strides in cooling in the past two years. The X08 and X09 models run very cool in my experience. I have an old HT RC-180 (807 clone) that can fry eggs.
 
#22 ·
I have had mine for about 3 weeks and LOVE IT. That being said, there is something peculiar happening that I need help with. Every now and then, when i turn the volume up, or even sometimes when i just turn the unit on, the "mute" function toggles on and off incessantly. The only fix i have found that works is to turn the power off and then back on.


I am wondering if it is some kind of signal form the remote, or perhaps from the source...what would cause this to happen, "mute" to go on, off, on, off, on, off...etc


Any help is appreciated. I tried calling Onkyo phone support and was on hold for longer than I wanted to wait lol.


Thanks


L
 
#24 ·
After a few days of mourning the loss of my 805 i got this delivered and hooked up today via amazon's prime overnight shipping for only 3.99 (can't beat that).


gotta say, right out of the box it is a definite improvement on the 805 on the biggest area i needed a boost in and that is picture quality on my projector. the upscaling to 1080p helps but the added adjustments for picture options on the receiver have helped me immensely as my optoma projector's picture never "popped" the way i thought it should. i'm managed to get what i think is a much imporved picture through the onkyo settings. granted, my eyes my be tricking me since i was so used to what i was staring at before but it seems better.


sound wise i can't notice anything different thus far from the 805.


i could care less about the internet radio since i have an htpc hooked up to my display but the best feature of the internet connectivity is the easy firmware updates. it took about an hour for the update to install but getting online was a synch if you can get it hooked up to an ethernet port.


thus far i'm very happy, just hope i'll have much better luck than my 805 and this thing will last longer than 2 years.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Leojo /forum/post/20660734


I have had mine for about 3 weeks and LOVE IT. That being said, there is something peculiar happening that I need help with. Every now and then, when i turn the volume up, or even sometimes when i just turn the unit on, the "mute" function toggles on and off incessantly. The only fix i have found that works is to turn the power off and then back on.


I am wondering if it is some kind of signal form the remote, or perhaps from the source...what would cause this to happen, "mute" to go on, off, on, off, on, off...etc


Any help is appreciated. I tried calling Onkyo phone support and was on hold for longer than I wanted to wait lol.


Thanks


L


There is a press release regarding this issue you have described

http://www.us.onkyo.com/press_releases.cfm?id=215

JT
 
#26 ·
After buying a 55" Samsung D8000 and an Oppo 93 I bit the bullet and picked up an Onkyo 709 (from a Denon 3808). I have been a long time Denon fan, but I was really surprised at the performance and the features that Onkyo included in this receiver. I would have picked up the 809 but it wouldn't fit in my cabinet.
 
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