Onkyo TX-NR818 "official" owner's thread discussion - Page 67

There are many people contemplating both in the other related thread also. I am frequenting both for said reasons. Not looking down upon either. And even though the 818 is this years model does not guarantee anymore software support than a flagship model. Last years model is still an upgrade over this years model and I am sure there are a few who appreciate us 3009 owners trying to tip the scale in their favor. This thread did both for me and I was very appreciative. Honestly, getting it home after a side by side demo I did not expect that big a jump in clarity and oomph from similar rated spec receivers on paper. These two models are very similar and get the denon/marantz thing going sometimes. It is what it is. Nobody is trying to derail the thread. Again, most people frequenting here probably need to just get the 818 and be done with it. A few want to know if they're going to get the magic for the extra $500. They will. Joerod who has tested many of these and more on his own dime will probably back me up. And cool cat has been helpful for helping people go either way also.

butter and jelly please.
Edited by pukemon - 8/26/12 at 9:30pm

I agree with the above. This is an owners thread, most don't care about the 3009 or 5009 or they would have bought them instead.
More news, tips, etc, for the 818 please.

Lol. I guess I'll leave on that note. Smdh.

butter and jelly please.

Right you are.
I almost missed your comment about the bluescreen within all the mess. That is interesting - but maybe your TV is just faster in switching so you do not need to see it.

What color has the screen on your TV when you go to the AVR input and the source (e.g. BD-player) is not turned on?

Maybe there is a difference between European and US models though...


Sorry man but if I read this %&*"§! question of yours one more time in this thread I'll go nuts.
I made an effort and read 60+ pages within a few days just to find some useful information and it felt like 50% of the posts was you asking this question.
EVERYONE told you already it's the best price anyone got for an 818 but still you keep asking and asking the same question. PLEASE just buy the thing or don't buy it but stop with this crap. I kind of wish your 770$-deal is not valid anymore once you get your &%$ moving.

hey folks hoping this isn't an issue and is just another oversight on my part. here goes

I use both HDMI outputs, one in the main part of my basement and the other (sub) in the storage area where i have a treadmill setup with a tv in front of it. I finally got around to setting up the harmony remote with the 818 this weekend and i'm not getting sound out of the treadmill tv. I get picture without issue. I have sound in the main basement area at the same time regardless of whether the main tv is turned on or not. What am I missing? I'm hoping this isn't just a shortcoming of the 818? If so that royally sucks since my previous AVR (yammy a1000) could do this. Just to be clear, i'm not trying to get a DIFFERENT signal as what's playing in the main area - I just want to be able to watch AND listen to what's playing in the main area while running on the treadmill.

Edit - I know that the 5507 allowed you to do this. I must be missing something.

Additional Edit - i'm guessing what i'm going to have to do is turn on the HDMI audio output to On? Gonna have to fiddle with this later tonight.
Edited by LansdaleHokie - 8/27/12 at 6:16am

Lol sorry man , you are right 770 is a good price

I know this was a long time ago but I had a chance to test this last weekend and surprisingly DSD bitstream + Audyssey DOES work!
The Audyssey logo shows up on the display and I switched the sound mode to "Pure Audio" to compare - it definitely sounds different in comparison to Audyssey=on. So Audyssey is actually applied.

AFAIK, you haven't been able to do this (pass 2.0 PCM audio a second HDMI output in addition to the AVR processing 5.1/7.1 etc. in the main zone) until just this year with the new products from some manufacturers...

I know the new Yamaha A3020 does it as do some of the newer Denon units... In addition, the Denon's allow you to select a different source for the Zone 2/ Zone B outputs.

However, the 818 most certainly does not (as I said, it is a brand new feature to market.... hasn't been available AFAIK on any AVR's pre 2012...)

Neither do the new "flagships" 5010 and 3010.

read my post again..........all I'm trying to do is SIMULTANEOUSLY be able to watch the same video, and hear the same audio - using BOTH HDMI outputs. I know for a fact that the Yamaha RX-A1000 could accomplish this, as could the Onkyo PR-SC5507. I owned and used both in similar setups.

My post said nothing at all about PCM.

Again, my guess is that i'll need to turn on the HDMI audio output option to On / Through / Auto whatever will allow the audio to pass through. And then I'll just need to mute the TV in my main zone.

PCM 2.0 is what the AVR would pass to the TV when the "Audio TV Out" setting (p. 75 OM) is set to ON (which it must be if you want to use the TV's speakers). However, there's a note in the manual that indicates the same audio may still play through the FL/FR speakers as well.

thanks for that JDS. What i'm hoping WON'T happen is that when my TV at the treadmill is turned OFF that I won't be limited to 2.0 (FR / FRL only) in the main zone.

That's a very good possibility if that TV is still in Standby mode, although could be resolved by changing the "Monitor Out" setting back to "Main".

if that's the case i'm gonna be livid. I know that on the 5507 my main zone tv was turned off but i got surround sound in that room while i was watching TV (with sound from the TV) in the other room.

Good morning all!

My Onkyo UBT-1 is really annoying me. I'm running it through the rear USB as I don't want my cover open all the time. When USB on the receiver is not selected it connects with my phone (iPhone 4S) automatically so hijacks the audio including ringtones from the phone. It always shows "Pairing" even after it pairs and is displaying "Chris's iPhone" on the line above and display. I don't want to have to turn off Bluetooth on the phone as all my vehicles have Bluetooth and streaming audio and I forget to turn it back on. After screwing with it (rear USB isn't convenient to get to) it now shows "No Storage"... Am I doing something wrong or is there a better Bluetooth solution for the 818, I love it when it works as I have 3000 songs on my phone and really sounds good...

Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. Thank you jmpage2 for post #1983!! Between the Denon fanboys telling us why theirs is better, comparisons with *009s and the angst and handwringing over a hundred bucks, I was getting a headache...

$600 more? Have you visited a Fry's B&M and seen the close out prices on the 1009, 3009, and 5009?

$699, $999 and $1499 respectively. They still had stock over the weekend.

maybe he's not lucky enough to live close to a Fry's? I know that if I was, I would have scooped up a 3009 but since i'm not I'm happy with the 818.

I'm happy with the 818 too. I only made note of the X009’s because I was looking for an Audyssey Pro capable model. The 818 isn't (though the Audyssey website said it was for a day or two). The 3009 and 5009 *are* unless you have a US model, then you'd be SOL.

Only for local store pick-up, and I am sure most stores are out-of-stock by now on these deals.

Removes foot from mouth.
Well I got serious and cancelled my order for the 3009 and instead ordered the 818. The biggest reason for this was that I was misled on the Onkyo website which stated the unit would output the OSD to all video outputs. I was willing to pay for that but alas none of the Onkyos do this no matter what you spend. So I decided to save the $500 and got the 818. So now I can post here because I am a quasi owner so to speak though nobody may be interested. BTW I could not get the magical $770 deal though I did well enough. When I cancelled the 3009 order I told them to give me their best offer on the 818 and it was not even close to that 770, but we worked it out. I know what I am getting and there will be no learning curve for me. I am actually happy to be getting the new hybrid standby power thing and hope it works as advertised.

I suppose I will try to get an App to control the AVR when watching movies on the projector but I have to do more research on that because I am using Android ICS. Any help with that would be appreciated. Now I wait because Onecall does not ship anywhere near as fast as Amazon when you are a prime member. Can't wait to try the XT32. I could give a flip less about the input preview thing because I do not see the utility but I may get surprised. Sounds like a gimmick because I generally know what is on my inputs.

Thanks for reading. Also, my experience here on AVS is that you will not stop folks from comparing or asking about comparisons no matter whether the thread is an owner's thread. The more popular or attractive the item is, the more of this the thread will attract. It is just that way and means you have bought a solid unit folks are interested in. I have always found the 8 series was a very attractive option that gets really close to the upper end. It is a great compromise and draws a lot of comparisons about what you really need. It is rarely compared to the 7 and lower series if that means anything to anybody. That level and below is getting into the budget area.

I was clear what your post stated.

There is a reason there is an option for choosing HDMI Audio TV in the menu system, as JD pointed out..

While some of your older units indeed offered pass through, being able to process HDMI audio in the AVR's main zone and pass it through as 2.0 PCM onto a secondary output (to a TV) simultaneously is a new feature as I pointed out.

I am interested in getting a 818, I was pretty much sold by the new "HOME" GUI after I saw a review video, although I am bit confused by Onkyo's recent lineup.
The 717 is much more reasonably priced for my budget ($1000 max), but the 818 has XT 32.
I am coming from a HT-RC370, which already has MultEQ XT and it was selling for prices lower than the 709 in its day.
Then again, the HT-RC470 is a mystery product, it appears on Onkyo's firmware update page and is apparently sold in Canada, but strangely it has no official product information page.
I would like to see how the 470 stacks up against the 818, but I can't find reliable information to compare feature sets.

Oh yeah, before the 370, I had a 1009 which got bricked and repaired still sitting in my storage room.
So reliability of the unit is another concern, and I don't have so much confidence regarding the new lineup after reading the 414/515/616 Problems Thread...

I hear what you are saying on the reliability side of things. The onkyo's have always offered great value for the money and therefore probably sell a lot more units. So it follows there will be more failures that you read about. I am truly with you on your concerns as my 809 HDMI out board has failed. If the new one repeats I may need to abandon Onkyo. Too bad I need to buy a new unit while I fart around with Onkyo on the warranty which takes a long time only to try and sell the old unit once repaired.

We are not talking $100-400 here.
Edited by Mikes2cents - 8/27/12 at 8:38pm

Sorry to rock the boat. But for those who are interested, I currently have 3 1/2 weeks on my 818. It replaced a 2006 yammy rxv2700 (second only to the z11 in its day) which drove a Polk m70 front stage.

In 2008, I bought and returned the outlaw 7125 because the difference was not that great to justify back burnering the Yammy to PP duties (it was nice, but A/B proved nothing - especially for HT).

I then bought 3 outlaw 200 wpc mono blocks and found them to be too harsh, so those got returned. I used the refund to get an outlaw lfm 1 plus - now we're cooking, and the upgrade bug was satisfied).

Years past, I bought and returned more OB amps - maybe I need to go high end I said - I dunno. I'm a bang for the buck while avoiding diminishing returns kinda guy.

FF spring 2012, oh oh the bug again. What to do? I have a sub that rocks maybe I should ditch my towers and use my tower budget to get nicer bookshelf's? I started researching BS speakers (axiom, B&Ws, Aperions, Ascends, MAs).

I settled on two pairs of B&W 685s and used them as LCR. Awesome speakers, spacious, detailed. My one gripe was that the highs sounded detached from the mid range - very unnerving, but excellent speakers non-the-less.

I fetched a pair of Monitor Audio silver Bookshelves. The B&Ws won. Both were great but I preferred the airiness of the B&W sound - with music especially. This airiness didn't translate well to HT as I felt they lacked impact and the top end still nagged. All that said the jump from the B&Ws was so good I was intrigued.

Next! Aperion Verus Grande bookshelves and a matching center. Boy, time to send the B&Ws back. Aperions were awesome best, upgrade in a long time.

Still got the itch what else shall I upgrade , my projector? No nothing worthy for around 2k yet. Hmm, Ive been back and forth looking at new yammies but I'm not completely sold on ypao, especially since I just use it on my surrounds and run the sub and front stage direct. Audyessey seems intriguing , but is it worth it? Hmm maybe another sub yes? Just like clock work I get an email with a smashing deal for a second outlaw sub.

The second sub sounded like crap. I tried for weeks to integrate but ypao failed miserable. I resorted to running direct and moving these heavy ass subs over and over to try to get rid of a 50-72hz null!! Finally I gave up, the sub goes back. Then I though about audyssey again. What can it hurt?

So I picked up the 818 at $1150 (which I turned down at $850 on release). Boy was I pissed!!! Cut to hookup -I have never heard bass in my theater like this before. Forget about the other areas of sonics and fidelity - WTF yamaha!!?? I felt slighted. This thing is a monster. I'm totally satisfied except for my center channel performance which is now too localized (sound comes from bottom of screen). I have not had this problem in the past. Besides that, it got me thinking about the B&W upgrade. Maybe there is more?

Last week I walked into a store and saw a sales tag for a 5009 at $999. the sales man told me some lady walked out earlier with the last four. I almost threw up - wait I did (a little in my mouth - I swallowed; gross).

So where did I begin? Yes, I'm 3 1/2 weeks in and today I ordered a 3009 from one-call (overnight-ed).....

...to be continued....

I don`t know about the 818 but on the 3009 there is a setting for screen centered dialogue. I puts more volume of the center into front heights if you have them. It really makes a noticable difference to me.

okay folks i'm glad to report that my concerns with the audio not coming out of the tv hooked to the Sub HDMI output have been resolved. As expected, when I turned on the option to allow volume to pass to the TV via HDMI that did the trick HOWEVER it resulted in 2.0 audio in my main room which is absolutely unacceptable. After I fumed for about 30 seconds I decided to see what would happen if I turned the HDMI TV volume option back to OFF, but instead turned on the HDMI standby option on (to allow for the DirecTV input to be sent through when the unit was turned off). Surprisingly, and much to my delight, this worked. I got audio and video on the tv at my treadmill when the 818 is turned off, but when I turned it back on I got picture and surround sound from my main listening area. The only limitation to this is that I will only be able to watch/listen to DirecTV when working out. If I want to watch a movie from my AppleTV i'll have to work through the menus prior.

I just don't get why Onkyo changed this. To me, this seems like a big loss since most folks who use the dual HDMI outputs probably have both displays at the same location (LED / plasma for everyday viewing and a projector for special event watching). Unless i'm wrong, they won't be able to get surround sound from both HDMI outputs anymore which blows.

You do know, that surround sound is not produced by the display?

Most people have a projector on the Sub HDMI Out - you are right. But projectors don't need to receive sound...
Do you get what I'm saying?

Man I'm dumb

At least you have a good sense of humor!

Nevermind, could have happened to anyone...