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

I use tidal, qobuz and YouTube music. From time to time I need to hard reset the device which takes around 10 seconds. It seems that when there are several people connecting and changing apps, it over loads the p 80 after sometime. It's not like I have to reset everyday, but once a week or so. I hope they fix it in one of the future fw releases
 
Thank you very much for the responses. Unfortunately for me it looks like the device needs some more time to be "ready" for everyday use without struggle...
 
An interesting thread. The Cambridge Audio EXN100 I just purchased isn't playing well with Spotify Connect and unfortunately is slated for a return.

Speaking with Crutchfield this P80 was recommended along with others like the NAD C658, Bluesound Node Icon and Hifi Rose RS451.

For all of its apparent weaknesses it is the rattling top of the P80 that is most objectionable. How does that get pass QA on a $2000 device?
 
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Snoopy said:
Exactly what I was about to write.. fancy case with something that looks like entry level AV receiver stuff on the inside.. oh boy. Glad I didn’t get a P80 after all.
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i don't understand the subjective views over how the internals "look". Has it been competently test? Amir?

The reason the P 80 "looks" empty inside is because Onkyo like other companies that make matched set well try to match them which means size. The preamp dac/streamer etc is scaled up or stretched to sit upon and match the amp. This means it has more air inside by design. You don't fill it just to make it appear busier or heavier.

Crammed and heavy don't equate to high(er) performance. I've never bought a car based on how full the engine compartment is.

As for the lack of ART which is the latest "must have" trend Onkyo made a marketing decision. If you look at the industry history they like Kenwood and others got into trouble trying to do it all. Onkyo got burned and filed for bankruptcy. What I have read is in their comeback they are refocusing on what went well and what worked. Stereo. They seem to be going a little old school. I think the those big VU meters underscore that.

I've heard positive and negative things about room correction software. But speaker manufacturers have already put a lot into design to get the proper sound provided the loudspeakers are positioned per that manufacture's recommendation. I say first get your room correct and go from there. Doesn’t matter what the before and after curves look like if you can't hear it or isn't significant (enough).
 
It's not about the "emptiness" of the case. The problem is with the quality of the implementation. Look at the power amp. Inside it's a generic board widely used in mediocre 2 or multichannel receivers. Common supply rails for both channels with a total of 2 smoothing capacitors of 10000uF each. Given the claimed rated power this is very modest to say the least. At higher power, the quality of the DC supply for the amplifiers will be very poor with lots of ripple. Also, the option of using same DC supply rails for both channels will affect the channel separation. Not a big deal for a lower priced amp., but for an amplifier positioned in the upper market, it is not acceptable. Look at integrated amps from Denon or Marantz, at the same price you get a far better implementation. Also, the heatsink is too small, sustaining audition at higher power being not a good idea. Maybe the implementation is good for a small room, with efficient small bookshelf speakers but totally inadequate for larger rooms and less efficient speakers. Another problem is the ridiculous small number of analog inputs of the preamp. In the end a very nice looking combo but seeing their guts it looks like they optimize the costs at cent level in order to maximize the profit margins.
 
stormglass said:
but for an amplifier positioned in the upper market, it is not acceptable.
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It's not really 'upper market' though. At £1350 it's above 'entry level' but not close to upper market. Upper market for a power amp these days is five grand (ofc you can pay a lot more than that for a power amp, but I'd say that's the price level beyond which it starts to get pointless).
 
Each element of this combo might be positioned just above the entry level equipment territory but the total amount asked for the combo is 3100 Euro which is not exactly a bargain. A quick look on the market is enough to support this conclusion. Excluding some of the so called hi-end boutique brands with their nonsense component crowded overengineered approach for the sake of the show, good old established brands (Onkyo used to be one of them) have far better offers in their product range with similar or even lower prices. Some random examples are Yamaha A-S1200 a very well designed serious piece of equipment (it has vu-meters too:)) priced well below 3000 Euro or the Denon PMA-3000NE with its exemplary refined but no-nonsense design (in terms of circuitry and component choice), at a price situated slightly above.
 
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stormglass said:
Each element of this combo might be positioned just above the entry level equipment territory but the total amount asked for the combo is 3100 Euro which is not exactly a bargain. A quick look on the market is enough to support this conclusion. Excluding some of the so called hi-end boutique brands with their nonsense component crowded overengineered approach for the sake of the show, good old established brands (Onkyo used to be one of them) have far better offers in their product range with similar or even lower prices. Some random examples are Yamaha A-S1200 a very well designed serious piece of equipment (it has vu-meters too:)) priced well below 3000 Euro or the Denon PMA-3000NE with its exemplary refined but no-nonsense design, at a price situated slightly above.
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I agree there are better options at the price, at least on paper. My amplification is decades old but if I wanted a new power amp I'd still be tempted to get the Onkyo since I prefer its appearance to the alternatives.

The engineering differences will only really matter if the devices are used close to their limits which I wouldn't be likely to do. Nor would a lot of people.
 
Yes, as long Onkyo was genuine Onkyo, the brand was indeed an excellent choice. Now, I suspect is no longer a Japanese engineered company but just a name bought by someone to milk the legend associated with the name. Most probably these Onkyo products are designed and manufactured by a nameless OEM manufacturer located in PRC.
And yes, keeping in service an old Onkyo amplifier is by far a better option than purchasing this new one.
With all due respect, I cannot agree that the differences only matter when you use it close to their upper limits.
 
stormglass said:
With all due respect, I cannot agree that the differences only matter when you use it close to their upper limits.
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You may be right but we will only know for sure when/if we get some proper testing of this amplifier.
 
Very bummed to hear about the build quality on these. I'm looking for an integrated amp or seperates in the 2-4k range and was seriously considering these due to the look and price. Guess I'll have to come up with something else.
 
Chanur said:
Very bummed to hear about the build quality on these. I'm looking for an integrated amp or seperates in the 2-4k range and was seriously considering these due to the look and price. Guess I'll have to come up with something else.
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Technics
 
Descartes said:
Technics
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I think this is what I have to go for. They also run cool and I'll be putting them into an AVR cabinet. The 3050 was a contender looks wise but seems pretty substandard build wise.
 
There is a review of P‑80 + M‑80 in the latest HFNRR. Quickly glanced at a train station few days ago. The power amp looks decent. Not SOTA of course, but it exceeds the specified power comfortably (and significantly), including into 2ohms, if I remember correctly. Didn't look carefully into digital measurements. Tiny graphs and was too lazy to put the glasses on. Maybe someone has access to share.
 
Well wife really wanted these and hated everything else. So I'll go my thoughts when I get it.
 
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