Onkyo TX-NR7100 AVR Review

[dlaloum]

is it acceptable these days to have 'hi feature' devices like this with no full channel pre-outs?

pre-outs would at least give onkyo pioneer an.... "out"

isnt this the 3rd onkyo pioneer device that displays this engineered behavior?

The brand has a member of the family with full pre-outs - Integra DRX 3.4

The NR7100 is clearly designed for those who would never consider an external power amp....

 

[dlaloum]

i kind of feel like these boxes of rapid obsolescence have kind of had their day

like do people out there care too much about 7.2 home theater any more? in a streaming world?

They do a damn good job at 5.1.4 in my setup (with external power amp... using the Integra version)

 

[AdamG]

is it acceptable these days to have 'hi feature' devices like this with no full channel pre-outs?

pre-outs would at least give onkyo pioneer an.... "out"

isnt this the 3rd onkyo pioneer device that displays this engineered behavior?

Without any preouts (except for the subwoofer) this is just a total shit show. Sadly I recall the day when Onkyo was the leading competitor in AVR’s. The bean counters now only won the fight with Engineering department but seemingly outsourced it into oblivion.

Thanks for the review Boss. I know these complicated AVR’s become time sucks on your test bench. Your hard work will benefit thousands of consumers who will avoid this product and dodge a bullet with lipstick.

 

[restorer-john]

Without any preouts (except for the subwoofer) this is just a total shit show.

Nothing like a bit of subtlety...

 

[DoctorRobert]

I do not own nor have an opinion about this product, but I do have a Denon avr-x2600 which is not a power house. But it never runs out of steam and stays nice and cool, while being plenty loud. In a typical home cinema setup (like mine) there is always one or more subwoofers to do the heavy lifting. So I wonder about the real power requirements for most people. If you have a large room and you don't want to use subwoofers the story changes, but that does not seem like an obvious approach. In my experience, the power handling is the first thing people look at when evaluating AVRs, but as long as you use capable subs, almost any power rating will do.

Still it seems an odd approach to design an AVR with a very decent output and then defeat that with a protection circuit.

As always, YMMV.

 

[beagleman]

I am not shocked at the typical AVR bashing, (a LOT truly deserved)

But playing Devil's Advocate a bit, What would it cost with actual separates to get truly great or borderline great performance AND all the stuff this does for a bit over a Thousand?

$5,000,.....$6000??

In other words, are we just expecting far too much??

 

[AndreaT]

It has the wrong user’s interface: is it clearly stated anywhere on the manual the need to remove the power cord to restore full power after a drift into “eco mode”? Poor showing in each of the distortion tests. AVR are a long way to transparency compared to class D offerings from Hypex and inexpensive DAC/preamps from Topping and others.

 

[beagleman]

People still have old video cameras, retro gaming consoles, and movie players. Why do people think it’s crazy for AVRs to include a converter when Abalog devices are still used today? I had to buy an external converter (RetroTink 5X-Pro $300) to play my retro consoles because my JBL SDP-55 and OLED didn’t have any.

I think most consumers of this type AVR expect to have connections for random (electronic) stuff, FAR more than Pre-out connections.

There are tons of things with analog connections they "might" want to hook up. Lacking those connections, even if rarely used, looks like it is missing an feature that some expect to use or need.

 

[Subway2400]

I'm getting a little tired of those AVR boxes that try to stuff as much low-efficiency A/B Class amplifier channels on undersized heatsinks, with a traditionnal old-fashioned, large and heavy power transformer. Just to find out that half of those AVR have agressive power limiters to prevent them from getting too hot when actually using them for what they are sold as.

However, I'm glad to see new ranges using modern D Class amplifiers and SMPS like the new JBL AVR range. I hope to see more of them in the near-future.

 

[eeMGee]

It seems that EU version has pre-out for front channel.

 

[welwynnick]

But playing Devil's Advocate a bit, What would it cost with actual separates to get truly great or borderline great performance AND all the stuff this does for a bit over a Thousand?
$5,000,.....$6000??

Its always achievable if you're prepared to pay.

The cost depends on whether you need immersive audio and effective room correction?

Personally I think the secret is to use off-board D-A conversion, for example using an HDMI audio stripper, or a Dante output from a processor that supports it.

 

[jcbenten]

I don't understand those legacy video connectors. Much be cheaper to just put them in there instead of designing the system without them.

Wii, etc..

 

[Power Pop 23]

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[EDMoser]

Anyone else still waiting for evidence that 75dB SINAD and only 40W/ch is an audible issue in a typical living room/bedroom use case? I know I am.

 

[welwynnick]

Anyone else still waiting for evidence that 75dB SINAD and only 40W/ch is an audible issue in a typical living room/bedroom use case? I know I am.

Ignorance is bliss

 

[Koeitje]

Wii, etc..

You can buy an HDMI adapter for that for €10.

 

[mns3dhm]

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.

 

[rank]

I personally wouldn't spend more than $300 on a home theater receiver, avoiding Onkyo/Pioneer/Marantz at all costs. They are made to reproduce movies not too loudly, I just need the atmos and the 4 channels to play BRs and some SACDs. Luckily at this price we avoid the clamp terminals, a mania among these people.

 

[Dzhaughn]

Without this type of product, there wouldn't be a reason for this website to exist. So thanks, Onkyo!

 

[NOAMattD]

is it acceptable these days to have 'hi feature' devices like this with no full channel pre-outs?

pre-outs would at least give onkyo pioneer an.... "out"

isnt this the 3rd onkyo pioneer device that displays this engineered behavior?

The step up models like RZ-50 have preouts.

This is indeed the 3rd device to show this behavior but to be fair they were all released at the same time in 2021 so it's not like this should be surprising.

Actually I think it's nice to see that the measurements of the amp are the same as the more expensive models and it still includes Dirac.