Onkyo TX-NR7100 AVR Review

[kyuu]

That will do 120 watts at 8 ohms and 150 watts into 4 ohms>??

Just as an example, this Fosi is rated rated 180W @ 4Ohms into 2 channels. Costs $150 with power supply. Fosi also sells a monoblock that does 200W into 4Ohms with pretty much SOTA SINAD, dynamic range, etc. for $140/ea.

Now standalone amps don't have to pay for all the licensing AVRs need, along with the video board, DAC, etc. But I still expect that they can do decent engineering for $1000+.

 

[Sligulus]

Seems like a decent thread to add this, but the Onkyo RZ50 is $800 right now at Adorama through SlickDeals.

Probably going to grab it because anything over 80 dB makes me uncomfortable.

 

[ryanmh1]

Integra DRX-3.4 is now at $699 at Adorama, new with 5 year warranty. Basically the same unit with preouts and more buttons for those who missed earlier discussion. https://www.adorama.com/indrx34.html?sdtid=17711397&emailprice=t

 

[Rottmannash]

This device has a severe power limiting mode and that makes it junk. If it cannot output rated power then it is useless.

But remember no one has claimed this has occurred during normal use AFAIK. I know it hasn't happened to me and I've run this thing hot-of course I'm only using the inboard amps for Atmos channels.

 

[Doodski]

But remember no one has claimed this has occurred during normal use AFAIK. I know it hasn't happened to me and I've run this thing hot-of course I'm only using the inboard amps for Atmos channels.

I have since read this and wondered if my previous comment is brash and too hard-line. In the interest of not changing my commentary I will leave it be. I don't change my commentary because it interrupts the natural flow of the commentary in a thread. I did however EDIT the comments that I made in the post. Does this satisfy the need for disclosure?

 

[Rottmannash]

I have since read this and wondered if my previous comment is brash and too hard-line. In the interest of not changing my commentary I will leave it be. I don't change my commentary because it interrupts the natural flow of the commentary in a thread. I did however EDIT the comments that I made in the post. Does this satisfy the need for disclosure?

I agree Onkyo should make it known via the Owners Manual this circuit exists and how to reset it if it trips-that is a fail. However in use I don't see this circuit tripping. I may hook up my F208's and use the internal amps and crank it way up and watch the app and see if it trips.

 

[peng]

I agree Onkyo should make it known via the Owners Manual this circuit exists and how to reset it if it trips-that is a fail. However in use I don't see this circuit tripping. I may hook up my F208's and use the internal amps and crank it way up and watch the app and see if it trips

Haha you may have to play tones, such as 80, 100 or 200 Hz. If you play music, wear ear plugs, but neighbor may complain.

 

[anphex]

Thanks for this review

And all it would take to fix it would be to display a warning on screen when it happens.
Something they could easily do with a firmware update.

You expect post sale product support or even feature drops? *Gasp*. Please hold your horses!

From what I know most manufacturers use the most dirt ass chip that BARELY handles the purpose it's designed to do. I would pay hefty money for a FPGA preprocessor with dual boot that can be updated and programmed by myself or even open source community. There a plenty of network routers that allow this or even are purpopsedly designed for open source operating software. I don't know why it is so hard to find this in the hifi area. Though I guess proprietary codecs (fuck you Dolby, DTS, HDCP) and open source don't go well together.

 

[dlaloum]

You expect post sale product support or even feature drops? *Gasp*. Please hold your horses!

From what I know most manufacturers use the most dirt ass chip that BARELY handles the purpose it's designed to do. I would pay hefty money for a FPGA preprocessor with dual boot that can be updated and programmed by myself or even open source community. There a plenty of network routers that allow this or even are purpopsedly designed for open source operating software. I don't know why it is so hard to find this in the hifi area. Though I guess proprietary codecs (fuck you Dolby, DTS, HDCP) and open source don't go well together.

The processors used are relatively generic, and details of how to program them are available from the chip manufacturers.
I believe the underlying OS used is Linux

But these are made and sold as black boxes - so unless you know how to hack your way in...

 

[Bentail]

What DAC is inside the 7100? I just purchased the Integra DRX-3.4 and am curious if they put the same DAC in it as the Onkyo 7100. Integra told me that they could not give out that information, yet they do not hesitate boasting about the DAC brand inside their best products.

 

[dlaloum]

I believe it was identified earlier in the thread... by people open it up to check out the chips

 

[EWL5]

What DAC is inside the 7100? I just purchased the Integra DRX-3.4 and am curious if they put the same DAC in it as the Onkyo 7100. Integra told me that they could not give out that information, yet they do not hesitate boasting about the DAC brand inside their best products.

They both have TI PCM1690 according to this:

 

[dtomsen]

Insufficient heatsink needing an internal fan, that fact alone makes it a hard pass...

 

[dlaloum]

Insufficient heatsink needing an internal fan, that fact alone makes it a hard pass...

From my observations, the fan does not seem to get triggered often (I haven't seen it running) - and the rear HDMI/DSP area stays cooler than any of my other audio gear.... so the heatsink is doing its job, and the fan seems to be a supporting failsafe....

I'm very happy with a solution that has failsafes, stays very cool, and seems to be destined for a long service life as a result!

 

[Miker 1102]

Reading this makes me both sad and glad I abandoned multi-channel a few years ago and went back to a 2.1 setups. What prompted this decision was an interview with Kevin Voecks from Revel in which he was describing the upcoming multi-channel object-oriented sound codecs they were working on. Specifically, large multi-channel configurations for home theater setup like 7.2.4, 9.2.6, etc. This was a bit of an epiphany for me as I realized I was going to spend a great deal of money and actually build a real theater in my house to achieve the full benefit of multi-channel sound. In my case this would have required removing the ceiling in the theater room to install overhead speakers and I just said, 'no thank you'. It seems increasingly apparent that unless you are willing to spend a lot of time, effort, and money on actual theater equipment, you're going to wind up using sub-optimal equipment like this or one of Sound United brands and take your chances that they will actually be sold to someone who actually cares about audio.

I am not sure about sub optimal. Honestly, I am always amazed at how good my avr sounds with the right settings using room correction. I use the upmixer in my Sound United product to play remixed 5.1 or atmos of Floyd, Yes, Rush. I am happy with it.

 

[Miker 1102]

Did you forget about the Denon X3600H and newer ones? In most cases we're talking about SINAD levels that are beyond the normal theater's noise floor, and beyond what most likely audible (below around -80dB). It's just a numbers game for the chart topping DACs in the 100dB+ range. I don't know if you'll get a decently priced AVR with all the different components and capabilities shoved in there to compete with a single purpose DAC. I really don't think it will make an audible difference over say a Denon X4800H unless you have some super sensitive speakers and top Class D amps that are cleaner than the AVR.

I agree with this. My avr sounds excellent in comparison to most things. It lags at two channel but upmixed Led Zeppelin at 82 db in Auro 3D and I am a happy camper.

 

[Miker 1102]

HTPC is dead as far as I'm concerned. Not because of Atmos - because of streaming. De facto current video and audio media distribution method is streaming, everything else is either dying, already dead and/or significantly less convenient to use. And each streaming platform has its own apps that don't integrate well into some common HTPC UI (e.g. Kodi), and some of these apps in their PC versions don't have the same features (like support for surround sound formats or download, for example) as their Android or iOS/iPadOS/tvOS counterparts. The result of this is unacceptably bad user experience. HTPC was great once all content were files on local disks or NAS but this time passed long time ago.

Google TV player with all the streaming apps and Kodi app (or VLC, or anything you like) for local content result in incomparably superior user experience. Probably the same is true about Apple TV (I have no experience with it).

My htpc is alive and kicking. Streaming isn't a library and you don't own anything. All free media players will just pass the atmos data to the avr. They also will all play hdr content and 4k. I prefer to own my content. To be fair, this is as far as I go on the hobby after 20 years. It's been a good ride.

 

[dlaloum]

My htpc is alive and kicking. Streaming isn't a library and you don't own anything. All free media players will just pass the atmos data to the avr. They also will all play hdr content and 4k. I prefer to own my content. To be fair, this is as far as I go on the hobby after 20 years. It's been a good ride.

I too have been using HTPC as my main source (with a connected NAS) for a bit more than 20 years now...

 

[Miker 1102]

I too have been using HTPC as my main source (with a connected NAS) for a bit more than 20 years now...

My favorite hobby for sure.

 

[Oso Polar]

Streaming isn't a library and you don't own anything.

And? Long time ago I had a big collection of books at home, yet I was regularly going to a library because it had so many more. I have a local collection of favorite music and films, it is, however, a drop in a bucket compared to what is offered by streaming services. It is impossible and doesn't make any sense to own all of it. Problem is not that the content is online, problem is that there is no standard way to access this content - every media provider has their own app and they typically don't provide any API to integrate well with third-party software.

I prefer to own my content.

That's great, and you own it how - by downloading a pirated copy from BitTorrent? ;-)

If you are "buying" a digital copy online then you don't really own it anyway. There are very few places where you can legally get DRM-free music and selection is limited. And AFAIK there is nothing for video at all. Physical media are dead, virtually everything is digital distribution with DRM and separate apps, people who pretend that it is not so are just lying to themselves. Until the problem of "walled gardens" is solved somehow, traditional HTPC is not a viable choice. And I know it first hand - I still have my old HTPC hardware running (now acting as a NAS and NVR). I stopped using it even before XBMC became Kodi - it was already too much hassle at that time.