Onkyo TX-NR818 "official" owner's thread discussion - Page 166

holy crapola -3 wow....can you still hear...

it was intense, that's for sure. Was perhaps a little loud. ok, a lot loud.

point being after 3 and a half hours of hard driving, I believe the heat issues have been adequately addressed .

but yeah, it was loud, but awesome !!

heat wise you got that right...i had an 805 as well(i think you stated you had one) talk about frying an egg on top of that. damn that unit got hot...the 818 is an iceberg compared to that one.

I have a six year old 805 that has had 2 fans on the top right corner since day 1 and I have set the display to dim. I have had zero problems with my 805 running movies at reference level or a MV of 0.0dB. The 818 runs very cool to the touch and much cooler than the 805...that being said, I have placed two fans over the HDMI board and have the display set to dim.

Old habits die hard...

Good to hear the majority of people are seeing the 818 runs cool, like I saw... Perhaps I'll watch a movie tonight or tomorrow and then will report back.

... Altan

I've been listening to music and watching movies hovering around reference level 5 to 6 hrs a day for about 2 weeks with the cabinet door closed and still find the 818 to be cool by comparison. My 898 would get hot enough to cook an egg after 1hr with plenty of ventilation and my PS3 (fatboy) melted down while watching a 2hr movie and didn't recover(replaced with Sony a BDP-790). I love this magical box.

For those who are on the fence re this AVR, here is my initial impressions:

*I have been using 818 for about two months now. It replaced another Onkyo, 608.

* Excellent audio. Aud XT32 makes wonders to correct some room acoustics issues. I rarely exceed -20 volume level (4 x 6m room, one side open to a large kitchen). Seamless Sub integration (single SVS)

* HDMI Main: Very good video processing of SD content coming from cable. I did not use HDMI sub yet.

* Average network integration and limited music streaming service. Having said that I don't care much about AVR streaming as it adds unnecessary complexity to the mix and you are better off a dedicated device like WDTV, ATV, Roku, etc. They are cheap and you have more than enough HDMI ports to allocate for this purpose. I personally use WDTV (for wife) and Mac Mini HTPC to stream Web content and to play NAS content (mainly Flac & Mkv)

* It runs cool, no over heating issues

* Excellent third party iOS app called "oRemote". It works like a charm. I found it especially useful if I get a blank screen where I can not use the on-screen menus to change settings. Highly recommended.

Some issues:

* Sometimes I get HDMI handshake issues. I get blank screen when I switch it to the cable box. If I restart AVR and/or cable box it works again. This issue is not repeatable so I did not report it to Onkyo. I don't observe the same behaviour with other devices; Oppo BD player, WDTV MSP, Mac Mini, Pana DVD recorder. Once I had to remove the power cord and reset the unit to get audio from the AVR. Video was OK but there was no audio (again cable box was the source)

* Network connection may be problematic. 2-3 times I got network freezes. It is connected to a Gigabit switch.

* On-screen menu system is logical & functional but feels like 1980's Commodore 64.

* In a totally dark room you cannot turn off the front status lights.

Hope this helps.

Not sure if its a bug or a feature, but I have the MAIN HDMI output connected to my panasonic plasma, but the TV is set to 'Skip' that input. Switching the AVR to 'NET' or 'USB' will completely over-ride that preference and enable the skipped input on my TV.

If I change the AVR from 'Both' to 'SUB', but leave the MAIN cable connected to the TV, the TV still switches to that input but just shows a blank screen (but shows spotify etc) on the AVR's LCD.
Switching the TV over to the 'SUB' input then shows the basic white text menu items as usual.

Its not really a problem as that input goes back to being skipped again as soon as I turn the AVR to another function, but it is rather surprising that the AVR can simply force the TV into enabling an input that the TV has been told to surpress. What I don't get is that the Home screen (setup GUI) can't force the same behaviour, which would actually save me the trouble of having to enable the input on the TV whenever I wanted to use the GUI.

I wish we had more control of what get used and when. This thing has a mind of its own.

The dual HDMI was a major consideration in my decision to purchase this unit. Getting a great deal helped.
Problem being, my main TV is older, and can only do 1080i max, but my projector can do 1080p. And there is no way , that I've found, to make this box do exactly what I want. There are workarounds, but every one of them entails giving up something... either the GUI, video processing, decent OSD... very frustrating so far, but...

The sound quality this box produces... and it may just be the improvement I'm noticing coming from Audyssey MultiEq to XT 32, is outstanding. Purely subjective, I know, but there is a noticeable difference, and I like it.

And I know the simple solution is to just upgrade to a 1080p capable tv, so I wouldn't need different output resolutions... but that was a problem I was trying to solve in the first place, and I like my tv.. it works just fine..I'm frugal...it ain't broke...etc. but I almost feel like this box isn't giving me too many other options.

I am hoping this thing drops into the 600 range again soon. I tried the 599 deal and failed. Next one should come out fairly soon I hope.

a re-badged 818 with the 24 bug fix implemented

I am test driving one of these units right now.along with a Marantz Sr5007 thats performs flawlessly thus far.I just finished setup and the such,BUT lots of stuf to play around with.The marantz GUI is way better and qucker responsiveness,and more simplified.That could be due to the more features of th 818.I am just getting started witht this one.That Marantz is crisp and detailed though.I paid $1000 cdn w/5 yr warranty for the 818
Speakers are
Energy A3+2 Bipolar
Energy Rvss dipolar rears
Energy C-C1 center
Energy 12 sub.
Edited by snowyo - 2/16/13 at 9:26pm

I think multichannel is what I want. I tried Direct, but that disabled Audessy.

Thanks for the help.

I have had the 717 now for a couple of months and have been amazed at how cool it runs in comparison to the 705 I had back in 2008. Having said that, I watched Skyfall last night at -10 (all the way through its nearly 2.5 hour running time) and it felt quite hot towards the end. I didn't measure the temp though and I still believe it was considerably cooler than if I had been using the 705. I should mention too that Skyfall has a fairly aggressive audio track, so I expected it to be warmer than what I had encountered with many of the other Blu-rays I've watched recently. I wonder how it would fare (temperature-wise) watching Underworld: Awakening at near reference levels all the way through?

I'm 95% sure I will be ordering an 818 Monday, But i wanted the owners perspective if you feel that your missing out on anything from the stepup models from here. (5010, 3010 ECT.)

I'm using mine for nearly pure home theater, It will be running a 7.2 setup With Paradigm Monitor 11s and matching surrounds/center, Unsure of the sub choices yet.
from my reading I dont think I will miss out on anything, The additional 10-15 Watts wont make much of a difference, I don't mind manually tuning my subs, and Im pretty certain i wont be adding height speakers or width, and If i do I would just add en emotiva for the front 3 channels.

Also appears the cheapest i can find is accessories 4 Less ($779 Refurbished 1 year warranty) or A 1 components (New 2 year warranty $799, Makes more sense to me)

Am I missing anything?

As an 818 owner I personally don't think I'm missing out on anything the higher models offer. But I do keep my system overly simple. Meaning I only use one zone and the features I need from an AV receiver are all on the 818. Things like XT32, on screen menu, and so on. When I shop for a receiver I look at all the units the have the features I am not willing to live without then buy the cheapest one. This time around the 818 was the winner.

I'm not so sure how accurate a measure the volume level is for loudness across different environments. I usually watch films on BD with the 818 set anywhere from -10 to -4, television can range from -15 to -10. When I had the 805, I was setting about -5 db lower. Of course, I'd see other people and they'd have there's set way lower than mine. I think it must have something to do with room design, speakers, etc. Since we are all (I assume) setting to reference level and (most of us) with the 818 using Audyssey, I doubt many of us are listening at whisper low levels most of the time or, conversely, blasting our ear drums out most of the time, yet we have a pretty wide range of typical volume settings. Of course, this has nothing to do with temperature, I was was just thinking about airgas1998's response.

Anyone running 4ohms speakers with the 818.

give onecall a call first...

Have you received it from Onkyo Europe? I have mailed them since Thursday night and I wonder if I will receive any response?

Onkyo USA. The firmwares are the same.

I was running a 21 year old pair of KEF 104/2's until a month ago with no issues at all. It was able to drive those speakers nicely.

So far i have found the 818 to run pretty cool,First onkyo product ive had,BUT comparing to other pieces .Ive had pushed my music around -8 for hrs and the top seems fairly mild to the touch same with movies at referance level,IF you can make it to the end ,cause it's Frikkin loud still JUST warm.BUT I will say this musically I have SR5007 Marantz that is crisp and much detailed compared to this in back and forth testing.I was thinking the weight would throw down on the marantz but not the case.Maybe it's just a 10lb heat sink in there to keep it cool..,Oh even the wife said the Marantz has nicer tighter crisper sound..I am not trying to shlag the Onkyo at all.It just seems more muddy sounding and no such detail.It does go loud.but my speakers start to clip up top.The marantz does not do this...Jury is still out in my house.

My Onkyo 818 runs MUCH cooler than my three-times-as-expensive Denon receiver. And the audio performance is more to my taste.

As the new Onkyos make their way into the market in late April/early May, we should start seeing more deals like the $599 "one day" deal from B&H. I called the following day and the deal was already over. B&H never advertised it. I spoke with one of its sales reps and he said that the only way one finds out about the deal is if they call in that day to order the item or ask the price for the item He said that Onkyo provided B&H with a rebate to be able to sell it at that price. Sounds strange but that's what he said. I'm in the same boat, waiting for for that $599 deal to once again raise its head so I can snag one. Great receiver for a steal of a deal....if I can snag it. Let's keep the forum posted in the event such a deal or something similar should ever occur again.

I am running Polk Stereo Dimension Array SDA1As for my front speakers that are 4 ohm.

I am running 3 Triad LCRs for the front stage with my 818 with no issue - plus the surrounds.

I mentioned earlier I'm hearing some "random" clicking during DVR trick modes. I've figure out what causes it and how to fix it... I've updated my site, but also included the info below.

I was able to determine there are two causes for the clicking. One case is the receiver transition from a 5.1 output to 2.0 output. The other is the receiver transition from 2.0 output to 5.1 output. It appears the Windows Media Center (which I use for DVR) doesn't output a very consistent Dolby Digital stream during trick modes and, occasionally, the TX-NR818 thinks it is receiving a PCM 2.0 source.

The TX-NR818 is "smart" and remembers the last output mode for each input mode. It appears the default output mode for PCM 2.0 is Stereo. My goal was to tell the receiver to always output 5.1, even for PCM 2.0 sources. There is a Home->Setup menu that would appear to give this ability, but it didn't work for me. I ended up telling the TX-NR818 to use the optical input for audio, rather than the HDMI connector, and feeding it a stream from a CD player. This caused the Onkyo TX-NR818 to select PCM 2.0 mode. I then told the receiver to always output 5.1 by selecting "All Ch Stereo". I then put the audio back to HDMI.

Now when performing trick modes and the TX-NR818 sees a transition from Dolby Digital to PCM, it no longer changes the output from 5.1 to 2.0. It just stays in 5.1 mode. Since it doesn't transition to 2.0, there is no click.
Edited by MadMyers - 2/18/13 at 6:34am

I have the 818 and I have it in the rack in the theater room in the basement, I was wondering what kind of FM antenna you guys use? I have an ancient T style wire antenna that I bought with my very first stereo back in 1986 or 87, an Onkyo TX-36 which I still have and it still works perfect. I have the factory Onkyo antenna on the 818 and I dont get the greatest reception. Is it because I have it in the basement? My house is a raised ranch so in reality the basement is only 4 feet into the ground. What is a decent fairly cheap antenna for good FM reception?

Cheers!

Sling

Hmm - I would surmise that the poor reception with the 818's antennae is due to it being in the basement. If it's 'cheap', I'd see if there's an antennae that's the same style as the one that came with the 818 but much 'longer' so you can snake it much higher to get better reception.