Onkyo TX-NR818 "official" owner's thread discussion - Page 9

Thanks for your time again

I have only tryed a DVD film and seen some youtube clips with my laptop connected to the amp via hdmi. I realy dont know if my TV have some overscan future(Pioneer KRP 500M)

I take it then that you think the up scaling of the Sony is better than that of the Onkyo for DVDs? I have a few DVDs I'm gonna play but mostly bluerays of course

It's not that bad. The AppleTV integrates well, probably better than anything Onkyo could do since it has that nice UI.

The only problem with it is apps like Onkyo's cannot read the current song info, but Apple has an app for that too.

Also, AirPlay appeared last year in Onkyo's app as a network service, they yanked it around mid-year. Their AirPlay universal port accessory is also MIA. So there are no guarantees until it actually ships. I'm very happy with the 818, AirPlay or not.

Actually I never tried it. I bet the Onkyo does well but we average one or two DVDs a year so by far for the greater good it is more optimal two use both HDMI outs on the 790.

I appreciate the advice. Only thing is I am not paid whatsoever to do my site so any extra funds (besides what I'm charged monthly) is a loss. This is more of a hobby for me. Now that I just found out today I'm going to be a Dad I have to save every extra penny.

Congratulations Joe!

Joe,

Congrats! I hope that you are able to spoil your newborn with nice toys such as AVRs, projectors, amps, etc.

Thanks for the answers; I will see if I can experiment with it when I get the chance.
Your nice reviews of both the nr-818 and the S790 made me even more stoked now and I can't wait until the two will be delivered to me next week

Edit - Congrats to you becoming a dad!

On the AirPlay front, a lot of people seem to care about that feature and I originally decided against the 818 and was going to get a Pio Elite instead. Then I realized that all the AirPlay-capable receivers only do audio, no video or display mirroring. So I went with AppleTV to get the full AirPlay experience and my 818 arrives tomorrow. Since its remote is pre-programed to work with AppleTV, its a win-win to me!

Thanks for the Review on the 818 and congrats

Hmm. It looks like it might finally be time to put my trusty old TX-DS989 out to pasture. The 818 sounds like a worthy replacement.
I may wait to see what happens with AirPlay though. Hopefully the feature is added as a firmware update instead of an slightly different model. We have so many Apple mobile devices kicking around I would kick myself for getting a new receiver that isn't AirPlay enabled.

I need to replace my rear surrounds with something with less depth. Does anyone know if there are any issues running speakers with different impedance on this (or other) Onkyo receivers? My current setup is all 4ohm but all the rear surrounds I'm looking at are 8ohm.

Thanks guys! I am nervous and excited all at once...

We plan to tell our families this weekend. You guys get to find out first.

should be fine.

Ok, well we expect a review in nine months.

You got it.

Anymore new 818 owners show up today?

You could consider these LSi surrounds from Polk...4 ohms.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/lsi/specs.php#surround

Ok, update on my 818 and a small review.

Tried unplugging all day, tried pushing power down while plugging it in and tried power on and cab/sat at the same time. Nothing. It just keeps clicking trying to turn on. Maybe it isn't the firmware but a part that took a sh!t. So I called Amazon and UPS is going to pick it up tomorrow and I'll get a full refund. Now since I have to wait for a new 818, I just ordered it from Vann's for $900 instead of waiting for Amazon.

Anyway, I am going to keep my review very short, like my short time spent with the 818. lol

The video quality is great and the picture is true to the source. I rarely watch DVDs and never watch TV/cable in my dedicated theater, so I didn't get a chance to see the up-converting. It does suck that the OSD is soft around the edges. When I first turned on the 818, I thought I had to adjust my projector. I normally have to adjust my projector every 2-3 movies because of my subwoofers shack it out of focus. But this time, it was the 818's OSD.

Going threw the setup and features, the 818 is very easy to use. I made sure to shut off any features I don't use. Dynamic Volume, Dynamic EQ, HDMI control, etc. This receiver does way more then I'll ever need it to. I bought it for NEOx, XT32,4K, 9.2 and better sound quality.

I am running a 9.2 system with Highs. I also have 2 pairs of side surrounds for the front and back seats and 4 subwoofer. Running Audyssey was very simple and it seemed to get most of the setting right. I did lose some bass/headroom because Audyssey didn't setup my subs the greatest. They were not in phase with the speakers. Because of this, I lost about 2-3db compared to my previous setup. I used my Omnimic and ran a FR with the receiver in 9 channel stereo and slowly increased the distance until the FR was at it's flattest.

Now the important part, the sound. I watched, Black Swan, Red Tails, This Means War, Unstoppable and The Book of Eli. I remember watching The Book of Eli on my old Pioneer 1018 and it sounded good but some of the background music was a little annoying and over-barring. With the 818, it flows much better into the movie and is very enveloping. With Eli and Black Sway, the high speakers sounded 10 feet high in my 7' theater. It is a very cool effect and very realistic. I will NEVER go back to 7.1.

With all the cool features, multi channel modes, 8 seat auto calibration and 9.2 surround. This receiver really shines with music. I could not beleave how good my CDs were sounding. Very smooth and natural sound with stereo and multi channel surround. I am guessing it is the higher end D/A converters. All I know is it blows my Pioneer 1018 out of the water with sound quality.

Sorry, I know is isn't the best review. But, obviously, if I have a 818 that stopped working and I already ordered a new one, I really love it.

Ok, goodnight.
I am sleepy and gotta get up for work in 3 hours.

I read that there are some differences in Audyssey functionality other than the lack of SubEQ. It was posted that the 818 only supports a "flat" eq goal but the 4311 allows more options such as a house curve. Does anyone know the details about these audyssey eq targets and the differences between these two models (or the details on either one).

Sorry I'm a bit ignorant on audyssey features as my current AVR is older and does not have it; I assume this question could be more clear if I had a bit more experience with audyssey's capabilities. Seems weird for there to be a feature difference as they are both XT32. I do understand what the various target curves are and have read up on the flat line approach, house curve, x curve, another one (is it hard knee or something like that), and PEQ. Would be nice to be able to try some different goal curves out. I did recently get a minidsp but it's purpose will be subs once I get to dabbling with it.

You get the Audyssey reference curve and the Flat curve. The difference is the reference curve rolls off high freq.

With the onkyo, dennon, or both? Is there a diff?

Hmmm, maybe I am misunderstanding. So my current AVR has some of those addition surround modes like "Movie" and "Hall". I never cared for those much other than the more pure modes like DTS, Dolby, etc... I thought what they were referencing was not a "surround mode" type selection but the target curve audyssey was attempting to try and achieve during the over all system set up, but those "surround modes" could be applied after the fact. I guess it's all just DSP trickery and I'm not loving how it sounds like so many levels of it. Isn't less more with these peq solutions? A small number of well placed filters was the way to go I thought.

Jungle Jack at HTS wrote
and later it was said by zheka
re-reading this I'm not sure if he's really saying there's a difference, we should be able to get to the bottom of this though.

So there is no difference in terms of audyessey target curves between the 4311 and the 818?