"Official" Onkyo TX-NR809 Thread - Page 11

It's all dependent upon the end device which is why I said "may not"...

Network control is mainly to allow automation systems like Crestron, AMX, Elan, etc. to have 2-way control over the unit via IP.

yes it is there, but I haven't played with it yet

Well, I have some initial impressions, based on listening to the 809 with several different inputs. I only run a 5.1 system. A Sherbourn A1500 amp(200 wpc x 5) handles the Front and Center speakers, and I connected the surrounds to the Onkyo.

I set this up just like the RX-V1800, in that I did not run Audessy or any EQ. All I did was set speaker distances and played around with crossover settings for the center channel. As I have tower speakers for the fronts and surrounds, I set them to FULL BAND. With the Yamaha, I had selected "LARGE".

My Oppo BDP-83 is connected via HDMI. My cable box is connected via optical for the audio.

First, I watched some HD cable TV including news sites, HDNet Movies, ESPN Sportscenter. It was immediately apparent that the Onkyo sounds a bit different from the 1800. On the HD cable programs I watched, the sound was sharper and more immediate and alive sounding, compared to the Yamaha.

Next, I tried some CDs, and they sounded like, well, CDs. What I really wanted to hear was high resolution music, so I listened to the Jane Monheit Never Never Land dual disc(96/24) as well as the Linda Ronstadt What's New (192/24) DVD-Audio. These sounded just a good or better than with the Yamaha. The delicacy and tonality of Jane Monheit's voice was particularly impressive. What's New sounds about as good as it can get, given that it has never seemed to me like all that great of a recording in the first place.

Next, I tried a couple SACDs, which sounded the best. I have my Oppo set to output DSD for SACDs, and tried the 809 on both DIRECT and Pure Audio. I played Diana Krall's Look of Love and the SACD soundtrack of A Beautiful Mind. I think one impressive thing about the Onkyo is that for the first time, SACD quality seemed to surpass DVD-Audio. With the Yamaha, I never could say I could notice any differences between SACD and DVD-Audio. On both the Look of Love and A Beautiful Mind, I was blown away by the lushness and liquid and musical quality of vocals and mid range instruments like strings.

Blu-ray was my next format, and it was in this arena that the Onkyo seemed to show the most superiority over the RX-V1800. I have never been all that impressed with the decoding of DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD with the Yamaha. Perhaps that may be because it was one of the first receivers able to decode those formats and does not have the same level of decoders as these newer receivers. Also, the Yamaha does not use equal decoders for all channels. I can say there is no doubt the Onkyo decoding is superior to the 1800, which is exactly what I was looking for. I played Quantum of Solace as my first test. Everything is improved, but what I noticed most was the clarity and separation of sounds across the sound stage, as well as greater dynamics on explosions and other effects on the left or right channel. They just seem to jump out of the speakers. Dialog also seems more intelligible, which was another top concern.

Thus, so far, I am fairly impressed with the audio quality of this unit, especially given the Amazon pricing. Add to that the network and wireless capabilities that the 1800 lacks, and I think this may be a keeper. I need to live with it and use it some more before ruling out any potential deal breakers.

Due to the strong opinions here of folks much more knowledgeable than I that receivers should not sound different when not over driven, I had hesitated to even try this unit. But the difference is quite obvious. My guess is that the pre-amp section as well as the decoders are just more advanced and explain the improvement, especially since I am using a separate power amp. I'd be interested to hear any other impressions and/or comparisons to prior receivers.

Oremote for the ipad is awesome.Highly recommended

Oh man, I didn't realize the 55W power consumption applies even if you only have network control enabled. I'm not sure I would have pulled the trigger had I known that but now I'm committed. Network control was the main reason I decided to buy a new receiver and it feels like I picked a turkey with respect to that particular feature.

Oh well, I'm happy to read so many glowing reviews of the sound/video quality. I'm excited to see for myself when mine arrives on Wednesday. My current receiver is an 8-yr-old non-HDMI Yamaha entry level model so I'm expecting a big improvement.

Not really, reread the thread. Didn't the guy who tested it say it only is 55W power right after you turn it off, then it goes into normal low power mode.

I'm still pissed about no Direct DSD

One guy said it went into low power mode but he didn't say if he had network control enabled. Another reported that it only went into low power mode with network control disabled. I'm mostly basing my conclusion on this blog post on the 709 that was linked to earlier in the thread:

http://blog.hekkers.net/2011/06/15/k...on-acceptable/

If you check out the rest of his blog it's clear he knows his stuff, and it falls in line with the other power consumption reports in this thread.

Oh well, I guess I can live with turning the power on manually if I can still use my iPhone as a remote once it's on.

As for Direct DSD, I had to look it up to know what it is so I don't think I'm going to miss it.

I played a couple SACDs yesterday, and set the listening mode to "Direct". When I checked the "Signal" info, it said input=DSD, and output=5.1 Direct. Apparently, this is not the same as DSD Direct, but as I said in my post above, this is the best I have heard my SACDs sound, so I guess I am OK with it.

Anyone use Spotify through the receiver yet? If so, how does one enter song names to play?
Remote, iOS app, etc...

Thanks very much
Ron

Well... mine is in place.

Initial impressions are almost all positive.

• Coming from a TX-SR605 (my first HDMI receiver following a string of disappointments from Sony & Technics/Panasonic), the build quality of this unit really stands out. I know that it weights slightly less than the prior 8-series, but it seems rock solid nontheless & the classy aluminum front face plate is a truly nice touch on this model.
• Setup was suprisingly simple. I expected to have some snafus due to the number of components & the complexity & length of my HDMI chain. However, other than my own dumb self plugging the DVR into the wrong HDMI port, I had a complete uneventful setup.
• Also, despite this unit being significantly more powerful than my 605 (& it leaves no doubt to the accuracy of those claims the first time you put on a good DTS HD:MA track & crank it up into the 70s) it actually seems to be much cooler. Actually, having a fair bit of experience with Onkyos through other owners units, I was expecting another oven... this unit really does NOT get that hot. No more so than a Pioneer VSX-33 I had tested. Who knows if that is the case with continued pushing, but at the volumes I normally operate (low- to mid- 60s for BD/DVD & mid-50s for everything else), I notice no significant increase in heat after several hours of continuous use.
• The video processing is great. Does a commendable job with LD, but the real miracle can be seen in what it does with an SD digital source such as the Wii. I've always considered the Wii to be nearly unbearable on my 120" screen, but with the 809 set to upscale to 1080p & apply low to medium edge enhancement, the Wii actually looked... dare I say it... almost GOOD (relative to its capabilities of course.)

However, I cannot lavish it with unconditional praise as I do have a few quibbles.

• I was able to overlook this due to how stunning, as I commented above, the video processing is, however, i did notice that the upscaling of some SD sources seems to underscan significantly. In the case of the Wii in particular, I was unable to eliminate approximately 8% underscan from all sides.
• I did have one instance when, while switching between inputs, the HDMI handshake was broken & the 809 made no attempt to renegotiate, forcing me to power down & back up.
• I had trouble with Audyssey due to the fact that Audyssey asks you to calibrate your powered sub so that it is outputting 75db with their test signal. I was unable to get my velodyne down that low. Even with the volume in its lowest setting (setting it any lower would cause it to mute), I was only able to bring it down to 81db. I do not know if this adversely affected my audyssey results otherwise, but I do not see why it is necessary as Audyssey could just as easily calibrate the output level for the sub (as it does in the end anyway.)

Overall, I am very thrilled. And Onkyo's "track record" does not scare me. I know others here are concerned due to reports of problems with other models- particulary the '05s & 08s. However, each major manufacturers threads here are filled with similar stories & numerous problems. It is only by virtue of the fact that Onkyo is SO popular (and for good reason), that we see so many disturbing reports of failures. Hopefully, this will be a good model for Onkyo as the bang for the buck is unparalled.

This is what I've always said. No other manufacturer offers the bang for buck that Onkyo does. And they've even topped themselves this time, with the 809 hovering around the $700 dollar mark, depending on when and where you look. Everyone can have an almost high-end receiver for a very mid-range price, plenty of power and a ton of features. (I consider the 809 a high-end receiver, but some people might not)

That said, I agree that every other brand has threads with people complaining. No company is immune to it. And even more so at this website, where most people come to solve problems. Nobody really goes out of their way to come to this site to just praise equipment.

I bought an 809 last week, even though I didn't need a receiver, just for the amazing price. And I really like it so far.

Was hotter than hell today, so the new 809 did get into the mid 50C range while watching some 5ch content. Then again I don't have a sub, so I'm not overly surprised. My older 607 would have been hot enough to fry eggs on at the same volume :P

Loved how the new AVR powers my Paradigm Studio 60s for music. Definitely worth the $800 (after taxes)!

Yes folks, so far I am very happy with the 809 as a replacement for my Pio Elite VSX-23. Small quibbles are the passthrough wattage and switching the HDMI out between my TV and PJ. Heck the AVR is so easy to use I may skip the passthrough once the wife figures it out which is really a no brainer. I have gotten used to the HDMI output switching via remote and viewing the AVR display. So, plenty of power, not too hot, I like it. Too bad I have to wait for a new crossover board from Polk for my RF speaker because I melted that one down. Literally. So my torture test has been cut short for now though it looks like the 809 is a keeper.

Yes, and I was disappointed. Very limited; frankly about as featured as basic dlna with playlists imported from itunes. Prefer itunes streaming in Pioneer (and to a lesser extent Denon).

Well I have more nitpicks.

I remember reading someone saying it was bottoming out their sub after setup. Well on Inception blu ray it made mine do it as well. And mines NEVER done that ever in decade I've owned it.

Also I hear clicking from the unit from time to time like when it changes sound fields, 876 never did that unless you changed from like pro logic-dolby D or lossless. This I swear is doing it from time to time for no apparent reason.

Explain a bit further what happens when the sub bottoms out? Have you tried any synthetic test discs?

Well I assume it clipped, only once in entire movie. Near start where he is laying on beach and a wave comes in.

I guess that the clicking, is the fan turning on or off, or moving up to higher level of speed. Which clearly no ones 876 did properly which is why those POS' were so bloody hot.

Nope not yet I'll test more the issue with sub lately to late haha neighbors would not love me. I ran Auddssey so it's supposed to be balanced out. I'll fuss more with it tomorrrow.

I was thinking of getting the wireless usb dongle for the 809 and leaving that in permanently and also attaching a usb drive for mp3 music and leaving that in permanently. I'd rather not use the front usb port if possible because I'd I don't want the front flap open 24/7 for aesthetic reasons.

So I was wondering if it would work if I got a cheap usb hub and hooked that up to the back usb port of the Onkyo and then plugged both a flash drive and the wireless dongle into the usb hub. Anyone tried this before or knows if it will work? Thanks so much for any help, because I'll probably not get the wireless dongle unless I can hook up both usb devices in the back.

My 809 should be arriving in about 4 days.

I'll be auditioning it against a Yamaha a-1000 and a Marantz 6005 and I'll let you all know the results (though I'm most likely to keep the Onkyo). I'm moving up from a Onkyo 705.

Hey Mike, I also purchased the 809 to replace my Pioneer elite 23 that is being moved to the Rec room for the kids. Like you, I am very pleased with the performance of this unit. So far, so good.


I was the one posting about my sub bottoming out with the 809 and it NEVER did with my Pio Elite 23. After rerunning Audessy and some tweaking, I got to fix. My resolution was to leave the sub's output to 85db instead of the requested 75db that comes up when you first start Audessy. It set my sub level to -8.5db on the receiver. After that I replayed the scenes on Battle LA and GI Joe and kept raising the sub level on the receiver until it bottomed out again and turned it down a notch. Settled on -3db on the receiver and my sub's volume knob is at 9-10 o'clock. Everything plays as it should now.

I must not that for listening to music, I do have to turn the actual sub's volume know to ~12 o'clock to get the bass I like to hear. Trying to tweak it some more so that I can make the two different adjustments from the receiver and leave the sub on one setting. On my Pio Elite 23, there were 6 or so presets for MCACC so I had one for music and one for movies. I haven't found that feature yet on the 809.

Hope this helps.

Network control allows using an app like oRemote or onkytroller. What did you plug in that asked for drivers? You plugged in into a computer?

Also you can access the web interface to set up items. I think if network control is turned off, and you go to access the web UI, it will not find it. The unit will need to be turned on first. But if the network control is enabled, you can access the web UI even if unit is turned off. When the unit is off you will see "NET" displayed.



I agree, pretty good.

For android devices there is onkytroller. Not as good as oRemote, but only one for android.

The apps are a must have if you have a zone 2 or 3 outside and using them outside.

Sounds good

Tom899, how did the 809 compare to your DVDO Edge?

After years of looking I finally pulled the trigger on the 809. Very nice unit. The networking features are very intuitive and the sound is on par with my old Onkyo this one is replacing. Not up to par with my 90's Adcom separates as far as music is concerned but for the price I'm not sure how you could beat this one. And it weighs 40 lbs which means a lot to an old guy like me....

I've got all my Hdmi pass through. Works fine and auto detects

It just showed up in Network area on my pc. It's obviously on the network. Maybe it did it when I had it connected using connection sharing and ran it through NIC instead of router at first.

Anyway it's all good I just wondered what kind of control you could do from a pc, none I guess. Only stupid phones and devices huh.

You can control it all from a PC. A phone is just a little PC these days.

http://blog.krautsourced.com/?page_id=284

Is there a list of these someone can post?

I just called OneCall on their return 30 day shipping if defective I hope you got that in writing on your invoice the nice lady I talked to said if it was a manufactors defect I would have to pay return shipping.Unless I called in and ordered it then they would put it on my invoice that they would pay return shipping for up to 30 days.

So switching between 5.1+2 to 7.1 isn't as easy as one would hope...meaning I should be able to turn on Z2 and the main room should drop to 5.1 and vice versa.

Instead you have to go into speaker setting select powered zone 2 "yes" and it will auto turn off your 6th and 7th channel. But to come back not only do you have to set powered Z2 to off but also select which 6th and 7th to turn on (height, wide or back) and then select their crossover point. As far as I can tell it doesn't remember my 6th and 7th channel settings. If somebody knows how to make it remember please chime in.

This is a separate Z2 question from the one above. Is it possible to turn off the main room while Z2 or Z3 is playing?

I have pandora playing in Z2 and the main room wants to play, all I can do to stop it is mute or switch to an unused input.