Onkyo Icon P‑80 + M‑80 World First Unboxing and Preview

[Miniyouuuu]

So dual sub outputs but no chance to introduce independent adjustments of each sub??? It makes no sense!
Same happened to me with MiniDSP flex. 4 independent channels within the MiniDSP console but only 2 channels recognized inside Dirac software. At least with MiniDSP you can set delay, gain, DSP and crossover for each output before Dirac. It that possible inside Onkyo setup console? Is there any chance for manual setup?
If not… this new product is incomplete.

 

[Toni71]

Not much to set in the Onkyo controller. Subs volume, one or two subs that's it. Crossover for the fronts. Independent subs is a must have for me.

The Onkyo representative is nice and responsive. Today, I received the message that the engineering and international team and Dirac team are checking the problems, I mentioned.

 

[salamassi]

Ho notato che ora sono elencati su Richer Sounds nel Regno Unito come "in arrivo", con i seguenti prezzi (disponibili anche in nero):

Amplificatore stereo di rete A-50 (integrato): £ 1199
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Preamplificatore per streaming di rete P-80: £ 1349
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Amplificatore di potenza stereo M-80: £ 1449
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Test ampli-streamer Hifi Onkyo Icon A-50 : puissance brute, connectivité réseau et Dirac Live

L'Onkyo Icon A-50 est un ampli-streamer Hifi abordable avec HDMI ARC et calibrage Dirac Live. Puissant, polyvalent, il saura alimenter bon nombre d'enceintes.

www.on-mag.fr

Ho letto la recensione e, nonostante il tentativo di esaltare il nuovo approccio di Onkyo in termini Hi-Fi, l'articolo rivela luci e ombre. Sebbene questo amplificatore integrato sia il più coerente tra i prodotti della serie ICON

 

[alindquistswe]

Just unboxed my P-80 and M-80. First impressions is wow, it's truly a piece of beauty. Well built, rigid buttons and volume wheel.
Haven't been able to listen that much yet.
About the app, I think it lacks a lot of functionality, not much you can do here. I would at least like to see individual tone adjustment per input channel, volume limitation per input channel would be a need to have for inputs as Bluetooth, Spotify, Airplay etc. Also you can't see recent firmware or force updates.

As said, more adjustment for sub channels is needed, you can't do literally anything except activating one or two outputs.
I've sent my wishes to Onkyo and hopefully we'll see some updates in later firmwares.

 

[Toni71]

Streaming on the Onkyo is working nice. Using Qobuz connect on my phone to the Onkyo. The sound is good for my 54 years old ears. A fast connection on startup.

Edit: a kind response from the Onkyo team:

1. In Dirac Live, Subwoofer 1 and Subwoofer 2 can be assigned to separate groups, allowing independent adjustment of EQ (Filter Curve) and Crossover. (However, in the case of DLBC, Dirac instructs that the subwoofers be placed in a single group, and in that mode, Crossover/Target Curve cannot be set independently.)
2. Even not using Dirac, distance and level can be configured independently. (Through the Onkyo Controller App/web setup

They confirm the outputs are independent and Dirac has told me the same story as above. I haven´t found the sub distance setting. Tomorrow, I make someone else happy with the device.

 

[Romario]

Youtube:
How they look in use ( German)

 

[lead_injection]

Can anyone confirm what the digital optical output passes along? Is it just an audio pass through, or does it pass along Dirac processed signal (I think this would be atypical).

 

[l_lama]

Is it possible to use DIRAC and Fidelity IQ (Onkyo's Loudness compensation) simultaneously?

 

[salamassi]

Is it possible to use DIRAC and Fidelity IQ (Onkyo's Loudness compensation) simultaneously?

Forgive my intrusion, but I believe that a good piece of equipment (and I say this after 45 years of passion and consulting) can sound good even without any digital corrections or alterations to the original track. During my consulting experience, I've always tried to keep the settings "flat" and carefully adjust the speaker placement, the distances from the walls, and the use of sound-absorbing panels (some of which are aesthetically pleasing), perhaps fabrics, or glass-free paintings. It's not the system that sounds good or bad, but the listening room! Altering the sound and correcting it without the above interventions doesn't always lead to improved results! Every amplifier has its own sonic signature, and so does every room! Let's adapt them without altering the original track and the manufacturer's signature.

 

[davmol]

... Every amplifier has its own sonic signature...

I've never owned an amplifier with a sound signature, but I also have never owned tube amps / distortion machines. I don't have a dedicated listening room, so my personal preference is for minimal acoustic treatment i.e. only in areas that can't be addressed to my tastes by dsp. I wouldn't buy any integrated amp or preamp now that doesn't have some form of digital parametric eq, or equivalent room correction of their own.

 

[l_lama]

It's not the system that sounds good or bad, but the listening room! Altering the sound and correcting it without the above interventions doesn't always lead to improved results! Every amplifier has its own sonic signature, and so does every room! Let's adapt them without altering the original track and the manufacturer's signature.

Humans hearing frequency sensitivity depends on SPL, no room treatment can compensate this effect it even hypothetically, when volume changes significantly.
So for late evening listening application of corresponding equal-loudness contour is way to keep perception of lower and higher frequencies adequate.

Speaking of DIRAC, I never had one, but I want to give it a try and want it working together with loudness compensation system.
Listening room with acoustic treatment is kind of luxury, even full DIRAC licenses set is two order of magnitude cheaper.

 

[Toni71]

I was still not sure about the independent sub out. There is no distance setting in the onkyo app for the subs. On the cheaper Onkyo avr's the dual sub out are mono. Probably thoughts without enough knowledge from within my old brain, I have sold the Onkyo.

After being a Topping tester and an almost blowing my tweeters experience with an Fosi preamp and hearing a slight (am I crazy), distortion when using a Fosi p4 with different sources, poweramps and speakers (gone when using a Wiim Ultra as pre). I ve decided to buy an AV20 to use as a 2.2 processor. Let's see if this makes me happy in 2026. Owning an AV10 already and an empty bank account now, I think it stil will.

 

[Acapella]

Which distance setting do you need in detail?

On the web interface Distance and Level Settings are there for two subwoofers (I only use one and Dirac is enabled on the Screenshots):

And also on the Onkyo Controller app the settings for level and distance for the subwoofers are there.
As I note, there is some bug on the distance setting for the subwoofer in the app, as it shows every time 2.70 meters.
I also wrote Onkyo about this.

The Onkyo P-80 isn't perfect in every detail, but it is one of the rarely available devices which offers Dirac Live Bass Control in a stereo device without the need of buying an AVR with lots of unused amp channels and so on.

And the Dirac Live implementation is very much more stable, which I cannot say of my former device the NAD C658.

 

[l_lama]

Is it possible to use DIRAC and Fidelity IQ (Onkyo's Loudness compensation) simultaneously?

I've got a reply on my question below in last hours of past year, Onkyo took 10 days to respond probably due to Christmas:

• Does Fidelity IQ works like loudness compensation to adjust for low-level listening? I'm using Audyssey Dynamic EQ on my Denon receiver, is it similar technology to compensate Fletcher-Munson hearing curves?
• Can I use Fidelity IQ together with Dirac Live, so I can listen late night at low level with room correction configured?
• Can I use do some manual equalizer corrections on top of Fidelity IQ?

The answers were:

The Fidelity IQ is a loudness compensation similar to the Audyssey technology based of curves chosen by the design team. You can definitely use Fidelity IQ with Dirac Live, you have the choice of low, mid, high, and off for the Fidelity IQ. You can adjust the speakers manually on top of the Fidelity IQ but not with Dirac. Dirac locks out adjustments after being ran.

I don't have subwoofer yet, bot room corrections with loudness compensation enabled was a blocker for me.

@Acapella do you have a chance to enable Fidelity IQ and share how do you like the effect at lower volume/late evening listening?

 

[Toni71]

Great to see that there is a distance setting. At the time there was none. Not sure why.There were two subs in DLBC but no distance level in the app(only for loudspeakers). A well, Good information. Thank you. Perhaps, I give the P-80 another try.

 

[salamassi]

La sensibilità alla frequenza uditiva degli esseri umani dipende dall'SPL; nessun trattamento ambientale può compensare questo effetto, nemmeno ipoteticamente, quando il volume cambia in modo significativo.
Quindi, per l'ascolto a tarda sera, l'applicazione del contorno di uguale intensità sonora corrispondente è un modo per mantenere adeguata la percezione delle frequenze più basse e più alte.

A proposito di DIRAC, non ne ho mai avuto uno, ma vorrei provarlo e vorrei che funzionasse insieme al sistema di compensazione del volume.
Una sala d'ascolto con trattamento acustico è una specie di lusso, anche un set completo di licenze DIRAC costa due ordini di grandezza in meno.

Sono d'accordo con la fisica dell'udito, ma l'alta fedeltà è l'arte di riprodurre un evento reale. Un evento reale (un pianoforte, una voce) non ha automaticamente un "volume" quando il musicista suona piano: il timbro cambia naturalmente, e noi vogliamo sentire quel cambiamento, non una versione corretta e normalizzata.

 

[Michael K.]

Here in Germany you can get a Nad c658+c298 for almost the same price. Sure the Onkyos may look nicer but thats about it

 

[l_lama]

Here in Germany you can get a Nad c658+c298 for almost the same price. Sure the Onkyos may look nicer but thats about it

C658 known to be sick (HDMI input complaints, missed loudness compensation, low level at sub outputs).
There are entire https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/nad-c658-streaming-dac-review.12090/ thread about it.

C268 is better spec-wise, no doubt. I barely see any use for M-80, if I would ever need VU meters Yamaha is the way.

 

[Acapella]

Personally, I would no longer recommend a NAD C658 to anyone unless they are specifically looking for a device that has almost everything integrated (a reasonably good streaming platform, phono input, enough digital and analog inputs, and two subwoofer outputs).

Otherwise, the C658 and other NAD devices are not necessarily recommended, especially when it comes to the software. With every firmware update, you have to play roulette to see whether Dirac Live will still work afterwards or whether it has been broken again or only works partially. NAD has managed to do this twice in 2025 alone, and even now there are still a few bugs that NAD has not fixed. In addition, NAD still hasn't managed to release Bass Control for their devices, even though the devices are technically capable of it, at least in my opinion.

The P-80 may not have the same variety, but it works without any problems and the Dirac calibration was also perfectly feasible, no comparison to the odyssey with NAD devices, and I can choose which Dirac profile I want to use for each input. A big advantage over NAD devices.

The NAD power amplifiers are not bad in terms of technology and measurements, but for the price of a C298, you can get the same performance for less money from well-known manufacturers in a more compact housing (Audiophonics, Buckeye, etc.).

If you don't need as much power, you can go for the Nilai stereo amplifier, which also has the advantage that you can swap out parts at any time, as only standard parts are used here, in case the amplifier modules or the power supply break down.

 

[Acapella]

@l_lama
I don't use Fidelity IQ and don't plan to use it either, as I don't see any benefit in it for me.

There are three reasons for this:
1. I can hear louder when I use Dirac Live, so loudness correction isn't absolutely necessary and I don't miss anything. Of course, the reverberation remains high and does not go away (I would need more than a subwoofer, etc. for that), but despite everything, Dirac takes some energy out of the room modes so that you can listen louder before it becomes too much. This means that loudness correction does not make sense for me here.

2. Some signals (especially from the TV) are quite bass-heavy, so loudness correction doesn't make sense here either, as it would simply be too much.

3. I want to avoid Dirac Live and Fidelity IQ negatively influencing each other in the end.

Regarding point 2:

One of the main uses of my system is for watching television. I have the impression that the sound signal sometimes has an increase in bass and treble. In my opinion, this is understandable, as most people only use the small speakers built into the television or a soundbar, which does not have the playback quality of a large stereo system.

To make it sound better or fuller, I can imagine that the bass and treble are boosted, especially in the upper bass range. Small TVs can't really handle low frequencies, and I have my doubts about soundbars as well.

I therefore use a linear target curve in Dirac Live with a boost of +1dB to the bass and treble respectively and don't miss any loudness compensation. On the contrary, with some TV programs, you're almost shocked at how good the sound is (despite the fairly flat target curve in Dirac), but that could also be due to the KEF speakers. If I were to compensate for loudness here, it would certainly sound too rich.

For music, the target curve with +1dB in bass and treble may sound a little too flat, but I have stored other curves in the Onkyo and can switch accordingly or permanently store a different target curve for the input of the streamer or record player.